ABSTRACT
This chapter takes a closer look on an old idea of contrast and antagonism between East and West, as it appears in Roman historiography. It approaches the question by analysing descriptions of Roman-Parthian/Persian wars by four key Roman and Byzantine historians: Livy, Cassius Dio, Ammianus Marcellinus, and Procopius of Caesarea, focusing on how records of these writers can be applied to the idea of so-called proto-orientalism, that is, an idea of Western superiority over East. Concentrating on longue durée, a period of circa 500 years, the chapter traces the change and continuity in Roman attitudes, concluding that while Parthians and Persians were generally seen as inferior Easterners, their remarkable fighting abilities were also admitted particularly by later authors. Thus, the chapter points out that the idea of (proto-)orientalism itself can be an oversimplifying concept, if used without caution and without actively looking behind motifs, contexts, and intentions of historians writing about conflicts between East and West.
