The Pannonians in ancient historiography from 1st to 4th century

Abstract

The Pannonians (as well as other ethnic groups from Illyricum) were depicted as primitive barbarians in ancient historiography. Ancient writers emphasize their bodily strength and military prowess, but also attribute boorishness and cruelty to them. A particularly unfavorable image of Pannonians can be found in testimonies from the 4th century. According to Ammianus Marcellinus, the Pannonian dignitaries in imperial service under Valentinian I were people of "the most despicable kind". They are bloodthirsty and often compared to wild beasts in Ammianus' work. In this paper we will show the general representation of barbarians in Greco-Roman world, and then we will go through some important testimonies about the Pannonians from 1st to 4th century. In the end, we will try to shed more light on 4th-century events that made an impact on, without any doubt, exaggeratedly negative image of the Pannonians in the historiography of the Late Antiquity.