Bridging the Cultural Divide: Libanius, Ellebichus, and Letters to “Barbarian” Generals

Abstract

Roman elite society was changing rapidly in the late fourth century. Increasingly, military men of foreign origin acquired positions of power. Despite differences in education and background, members of the civilian and “barbarian” military elite managed to bridge this often stark cultural divide by exchanging letters, a key practice of traditional aristocratic, status–based culture. This study focuses on the friendship of Libanius and Ellebichus, magister militum of the East, as found in the letters and orations of Libanius composed between 385 and 390. As one of the few well–documented relationships between an educated civilian and a “barbarian” general, their friendship offers insight into the broader pattern of letter exchanges between these seemingly disparate groups. Libanius clearly valued this relationship, as did Ellebichus, who requested orations from the famous rhetor. Libanius’s letters conformed to generic conventions and maintained the semblance of a shared cultural background. When the relationship broke down, Libanius could criticize his friend’s foreign origin only in an oration, not a letter. Whatever the true feelings of the correspondents, the very act of exchanging letters helped unite the Roman Empire and, in effect, carefully mitigated the differences in culture, education, and power between the civilian and “barbarian” military elite.