Arabs And Sasanids In Publilius Optatianus Porfyrius’ 14th Poem

Abstract

This work is a historical analysis of the references to Sasanids and Arabs in Publilius Optatianus Porfyrius’ 14th poem, a panegyric to Constantine the Great, composed in the mid-320-es. The mention of the Parthian putting aside his arrows is a reference to the end of the war against Sasanid king Shāhpūhr II, waged in 324–325. The same war seems to be behind Optatianus’ words on the Mede rushing to a ‘love contest’ by which exchange of gifts, a standard diplomatic practice and a sui generis competition in courtesy, is probably meant. So, Optatianus appears to mean that the Sasanid king began negotiations and sent an embassy with gifts. The statement that Persians wish to recognize Constantine as their sovereign and give him their royal power and possessions is ambiguous. Optatianus may refer to Hurmuzd, a Sasanid prince who fled to the Romans and became a general at their service. Alternatively, Optatianus may reproduce the then existing belief that following the war of 324–25 king Shāhpūhr became a tributary of Rome. A reference to Arabs seems to be connected to the Roman rulers’ policy to attract Arabic tribes of border regions, especially those on the Euphrates, and use those tribes in their struggle against the Sasanids.

References

1. Mishin D.E. Voyna mezhdu Sasanidskoy derzhavoy i Rimom v seredine 20-kh gg. IV v.: oshibka istochnika ili real'nost'? [War between the Sasanid Empire and Rome in the Mid-20s of the 4th Century: an Error in the Source or Reality?]. Lomonosov Oriental Studies Journal, 2025, Vol. 69, No. 1, pp. 3–13. DOI: 10.55959/MSU0320-8095-13-69-1-1. (In Russ.)

2. Mishin D.E. Hosrov I Anushirvan (531–579), yego epokha i yego zhizneopisaniye i poucheniye v istorii Miskaveyha [Khusraw I Anushirvan (531–579), His Epoch and His Biography and Admonition in the History by Miskawayh]. Moscow: IV RAN, 2014. (In Russ.)

3. Ammianus Marcellinus. [Ed. and] tr. J.C. Rolfe. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1982 (Vol. I), 1986 (Vol. II, Vol. III).

4. Annales quos scripsit ... at-Tabari. Ed. M.J. De Goeje et al. Prima series. II. Rec. J. Barth, Th. Nöldeke. Lugduni Batavorum, 1881–1882.

5. Barnes T.D. Publilius Optatianus Porfyrius // The American Journal of Philology. 1975. Vol. 96, No. 2. P. 173–186.

6. Benoist E., Goelzer H. Nouveau dictionnaire latin-français. Paris, 1893.

7. Chronique de Michel le Syrien, patriarche jacobite d’Antioche (1166–1199). Ed. et tr. J.-B. Chabot. T. I. Paris, 1899.

8. Eusebius Werke. Erster Band, erster Teil. Über das Leben des Kaisers Konstantin. Hrsg. F. Winkelmann. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1975.

9. Festi Breviarium rerum gestarum populi romani. Ed. C. Wagener. Lipsiae, Pragae, 1886.

10. Georgii Monachi Chronicon. Ed. C. De Boor. Vol. II. Lipsiae, 1904.

11. Georgius Cedrenus. Ed. I. Bekker. T. I. Bonnae, 1837.

12. Hoffmann G. Auszüge aus syrischen Akten persischer Märtyrer. Leipzig, 1880.

13. Ioannis Zonarae Epitome historiarum. Ed. L. Dindorf. Vol. III. Lipsiae, 1870.

14. Kluge E. Studien zu Publilius Optatianus Porfyrius // Münchener Museum für Philologie des Mittelalters und der Renaissance. 1924. Bd. 4. S. 323–348.

15. Moreno Resano E. El elogio del emperador Constantino en la literatura cristiana de su época // Anuario de historia de la iglesia. 2013. Vol. 22. P. 83–109.

16. Oxford Latin Dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968.

17. Pipitone G. Optaziano Porfirio come fonte storica per l’età di Costantino // L'antiquité classique. 2016. Tome 85. P. 105–126.

18. P. Optatiani Porfyrii carmina. Rec. E. Kluge. Lipsiae: B.G. Teubner, 1926.

19. Symeonis Magistri et Logothetae Chronicon. Rec. S. Wahlgren. Berlin; New York: Walter De Gruyter, 2006.

20. The History of the Holy Mar Maʻin with a Guide to the Persian Martyrs Acts. Ed. S.P. Brock. S.l.: Gorgias Press, 2008.

21. Theophanis Chronographia. Rec. C. De Boor. Vol. I. Lipsiae, 1883.

22. The Works of the Emperor Julian. [Ed.] and tr. W. Cave Wright. Vol. I. London; New York, 1913. Vol. III. London: William Heinemann; New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1923.

23. Wienand J. Die Poesie des Bürgerkriegs. Das constantinische aureum saeculum in den Carmina Optatians // Constantino prima e dopo Constantino. Constantine before and after Constantine. Ed. G. Bonamente, N. Lenski, R. Lizzi Testa. Bari: Edpuglia, 2012. P. 419–444.