ABSTRACT
As Diocletian and his colleagues rose to prominence and reshaped the history of the recent past, there were other groups that were shaping their own histories in quite different ways. Alternatives to the grand narrative of imperial history had always existed, and did not necessarily clash in theme with the one that emanated from the central government or was composed by aristocratic historians who chose to write imperial history. Through media such as public buildings, coins, or inscriptions, cities could create a narrative of their relationship with the imperial power, and with the more distant past. The local traditions that informed works such as Quintus of Smyrna’s poem, recorded by men like Philostratus or Pausanias or presented to local publics through countless orations over time, were one sort of alternative narrative. John Malalas’ sixth-century Chronicle derives some of its confused history of the third century from local traditions. Thus he is alone of the traditional sources for this period in preserving the memory of Uranius Antoninus, albeit a distorted one. Likewise Malalas was able to extract information about the sack of Antioch, about Mariades, and about Odaenathus, while ignoring the fate of Decius, from broader narratives composed elsewhere. While Malalas could err by placing the revolt of the monetales under Aurelian at Antioch, he could also note what no other historian noted, that the wife of Narses was kept at Daphne.1 The compiler of the Thirteenth Sibylline Oracle likewise was able to create a sort of prophetic history that culminated in eastern events, with little interest, as the narrative came closer to the victory of Odaenathus, in anything happening outside of Syria.2 Narratives of local focus stand alongside very personal chronicles in the private archives of individuals who retained their tax records, records of sale, copies of imperial edicts, and such like as they needed them. Institutions such as the Synod of International Victors would produce documents admitting new members that quoted individual imperial documents that guaranteed the privileges of 3
3 4 5111 6 7 8 9 1011 1 2 3111 4 5 6 7 8 9 20111 1 2 3 4 5111 6 7 8 9 30111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40111 1 2 3
the imperial government.
