Fear and Anxiety before Barbarians. Ammianus Marcellinus and the Persians

Abstract

From the First Roman-Parthian War to the Battle of Nineveh, Rome and Persia fought each other at the East for nearly seven hundred years. It is well known how Roman writers perpetuated ancient stereotypes which represented the Persians as inferior barbarians. Yet, modern researchers have held that Ammianus Marcellinus, miles quondam et Graecus, built a nuanced image of the Persians, due to his direct experience over their land: the Persians would not be barbarians to Ammianus. The aim of this paper is to analyze the literary devices of Res gestae in order to prove that the Persians, in fact, were perceived, categorized and represented as barbarians by Ammianus. Medi, Parthi, and Persae provoke fear and anxiety in our author, who uses the word ‘barbari’ with the Persians at two passages of his work: Amm. XXIII, 5, 2 and XXIV, 3, 4. Furthermore, Ammianus attributes a Scythian origin to the Persians, and he represents them as barbarians throught pejorative vocabulary and degrading hetero-images.

Keywords

• amiano
• alteridad
• bárbaro
• persas
• representación