The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus, by
Ammianus Marcellinus

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus

Author: Ammianus Marcellinus

Translator: C. D. Yonge

Release Date: April 22, 2009 [EBook #28587]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROMAN HISTORY ***

Produced by Greg Bergquist and The Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

Transcriber's Note

The punctuation and spelling from the original text have been faithfully
preserved. Only obvious typographical errors have been corrected.

This text contains a several phrases in Greek, with English
transliterations surrounded with + markers like this: +tes d' aretes+.

THE
ROMAN HISTORY
OF
AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS

DURING THE REIGNS OF

THE EMPERORS CONSTANTIUS, JULIAN, JOVIANUS,
VALENTINIAN, AND VALENS.

TRANSLATED BY
C.D. YONGE, M.A.

_WITH A GENERAL INDEX_

[Illustration]

LONDON
G. BELL AND SONS, LTD
1911

[_Reprinted from Stereotype plates._]

PREFACE.

Of Ammianus Marcellinus, the writer of the following History, we know
very little more than what can be collected from that portion of it
which remains to us. From that source we learn that he was a native of
Antioch, and a soldier; being one of the _prefectores domestici_--the
body-guard of the emperor, into which none but men of noble birth were
admitted. He was on the staff of Ursicinus, whom he attended in several
of his expeditions; and he bore a share in the campaigns which Julian
made against the Persians. After that time he never mentions himself,
and we are ignorant when he quitted the service and retired to Rome, in
which city he composed his History. We know not when he was born, or
when he died, except that from one or two incidental passages in his
work it is plain that he lived nearly to the end of the fourth century:
and it is even uncertain whether he was a Christian or a Pagan; though
the general belief is, that he adhered to the religion of the ancient
Romans, without, however, permitting it to lead him even to speak
disrespectfully of Chri