Preface

This book owes its existence to a collaborative effort between me and my student Loren Samons II. I had, indeed, written an earlier and more rudimentary version of similar scope some years ago. That version benefited greatly from the criticism of Morton Smith, whom I thank with deep gratitude for his warm interest in my work over the years, especially when I was younger, when encouragement is so important. The book nevertheless left me dissatisfied, however, and so it languished, virtually forgotten, until quite recently, when two special circumstances drew me back to it. The award of a Guggenheim Fellowship (1988–89), afforded me sufficient leisure to contemplate revision of the old manuscript while I simultaneously prosecuted my new-found interest in Ammianus Marcellinus and the historiography of late antiquity. But even so, I did not wish to undertake a project requiring the total rewriting and radical expansion of an older group of studies, which further required a thorough review of the modern literature, without sharing the burden with someone else; and thus it was my acquaintance with Samons that made the possibility a real one, for I recognized that Samons's gifts of intellect and independence of mind would make a joint undertaking feasible. The collaboration was very pleasant and mutually instructive.

Of those who have since read our manuscript, my chief obligation is to Mortimer Chambers, who taught me Greek history while I was his student at the University of Chicago and then at the University of California at Los Angeles. My debt to him is profound and inexpressible,

for he showed me the real meaning of the word scholarship. I also am privileged to thank Peter Rhodes for his careful reading of the manuscript, which also improved it greatly. Neither scholar, of course, necessarily shares the views presented in the text.

Finally, I wish, with Samons, to thank Richard Holway of the University of California Press for the interest he showed in the book and his willingness to further its publication. I am also delighted to acknowledge the benefit of the editorial assistance of Peter Dreyer and my sense of obligation to Mary Lamprech, the Classics Editor of the University of California Press.

C. W. F.
SAUNDERSTOWN, RHODE ISLAND

In the process of collaborating on this book I have accumulated many debts, both scholarly and otherwise. The Department of Classics at Brown University provided a partial subvention for my research, and its chairman, Professor Kurt A. Raaflaub, provided useful assistance. The department's administrative assistant, Ruthann Whitten, in many ways made a difficult task simpler. I am especially grateful to my friend and colleague James Kennelly, who discussed with me various problems in Herodotus and Thucydides and saved me from numerous errors of both judgment and fact.

Of course, my preeminent academic debt is to Professor Charles Fornara, who not only taught me how to study Greek history, but also provided me with the means to do so at a level that I could not have achieved by myself—all this with the patience and instruction that make collaboration between senior and junior partners felicitous. Above all, I wish to thank my wife, Jamie, who shares the dedication of this work, for she rendered immeasurable intellectual aid and personal support and has in every way enriched these first years of scholarship and marriage.

L. J. S. II
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND