ABSTRACT
In this article Oxford University’s Peter Heather, an accomplished historian of both Roman and barbarian history in Late Antiquity, reminds us that the Romans had developed and used sophisticated, formal techniques for dealing with the barbarians over a long period of time. Roman diplomatic practices served to control frontier regions, to manipulate the barbarian peoples’ dealings with one another, and to procure timely intelligence about activities along and beyond the frontiers. In reading Heather’s article, there are several issues to be kept in mind: Were the Romans wise to assign such important responsibilities to barbarian allies? Might the barbarians themselves have felt their loyalties to be divided? Thinking back to the paper by Goffart, one might ask: Did Roman treaty policy “accommodate” the barbarians or did that policy mix diplomatic and military policies in ways that were detrimental to the latter? Keeping in mind the differences between Maps 1 and 2, what impression does Heather provide of the frontier regions on the eve of Rome’s structural transformation? Do Heather’s arguments support a long or a short history for the barbarians? How, the reader might ask, would Heather critique Ferrill?
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