International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

THE EARLY BYZANTINE EMPIRE ‒ PART 2
Chairs: 
Katerina Nikolaou, Eirini Chrestou
Adrian Szopa, 
The Barbarians in Service of the Late Roman Empire in the East
Aleksandr Aibabin
, 
Fortresses of Gothia in the Crimea in the Eighth and Ninth Centuries
Eirini Chrestou – Katerina Nikolaou
, 
Popular Resistance to Authority: From the Circus Factions to the Citizens
Hugh Jeffery
, 
Angel Cult and the Transformation of the Temple of Aphrodite at Aphrodisias
Andrzej Kompa
, 
The Constantinopolitan Authors, the Constantinopolitan Point of View? – 
Groups and Individuals as Seen by the Authors Active in the Early Byzantine Capital
Qiang Li
, 
Review on the Research about the Age of Justinian in China
Vadim Serov
, 
On the Modern Research Methods of Early Byzantium: New Prospects for Old Theme
(The Imperial Finances from the Late 6
th
to the Middle of the 7
th
Centuries)

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Adrian Szopa
Pedagogical University of Krakow, Krakow, Poland; 
[e-mail]
The Barbarians in Service of the Late Roman Empire in the East
During the V century, which began in historiography in 395 A.D. when Theodosius the Great, 
the last ruler of undivided empire, died, a lot of irreversible changes took place. However, the 
consequences of those in the Eastern Roman Empire were not so critical as in the Western section, 
but still even there the transformation of the state was deep. One of the most influential factors for 
the Roman policy in Late Antiquity was the process of so called “barbarization” in the army and in 
government. One can assume that differences in this process in both parts of the Roman Empire had 
determined the collapse of the Western part whereas the Eastern survived. Although, the position 
of barbarians in court of Constantinople was never as dominant as in Ravenna, nevertheless one can 
point out some periods, when their influences were strong. Quite often one can find barbarians in 
the highest positions of the Roman government. The careers of Bauto, Plintha, Ardaburios or Aspar 
can be excellent examples. Using prosopographical method one can build a model of ordinary 
career of a barbarian in service of the Eastern Roman Empire in Vth century and formulate a couple 
of interesting conclusions to the point of ethnical interaction in the higher echelons of the Eastern 
Roman Empire society in Late Antiquity.