162 The Imperial Government
andfrontierinstallationsatsuccessiveperiods,andtodeducefromthemthe
nature and intentions of the current imperial strategy. It remains possible,
however,todoubtwhetherallthesuccessivephasesactuallyanswertoLutt-
wak’sanalyses,andtowonderwhetherindeedtherewasa‘‘grandstrategy’’
ratherthanaseriesofpositionsarrivedatbyadhocdecisions.^7 Itisthere-
foreallthemoreimportanttoaskwhetherwecanknowhowtheemper-
orsorotherscouldordidacquireinformation,formviews,andformulate
decisionsintheseareas.Itmaybe,ofcourse,thatwecannot.AsDiohim-
self observed in a famous passage, under the Empire decisions were taken
insecret,andwhatwasgivenoutwasoftenuntrue,oratleastunverifiable.^8
Butimperialcivildecisionsdidatleastproduceavastseriesofwrittenpro-
nouncements,letters,andverdicts,preservedinliteraryandlegalsourcesand
onpapyriandinscriptions,whicharenotmerelyproductsoftheimperial
entourage, but which cannot be falsified (unless proved to be inauthentic)
becausetheyareperformativeutteranceswhichembodyratherthanreport
imperialactions.Bycontrast,whereasweknowthattherewascorrespon-
dencebetweenemperorsandthegovernorsofimperialprovincesonmatters
offrontierpolicy,notextsofsuchletterssurvive.Therewerealsolettersbe-
tweenemperorsandforeignkings,butouronlytextsoftheseareofferedby
literarysourcesofthefourthcentury(theletterofConstantinetoShapurII,
and Shapur’s exchange of letters with Constantius in 358), and are of un-
certainauthenticity.^9 Comparableproblemsarisewithimperialpronounce-
ments which are certainlyauthentic, theRes Gestaeof Augustus or Julian’s
LettertotheAthenians,^10 butwhichcontainretrospectivereports,justifications
or celebrations of military or diplomatic policy. Like the victory titles of
emperors,ortheircoins,columns,orarches,thesepronouncementswilltell
uswhatwasclaimed,whileleavinguswithouteventhecertaintythatthe
claimwasnotjustified.Thedifficultyinknowingsimply‘‘whathappened’’
is illustrated dramatically, for instance, by the total contradiction between
Graeco-RomannarrativesourcesonthedeathofGordianIIIandtheend-
ingofthePersiancampaignsunderPhilip,andouronlyexternaldocument
- SoJ.C.Mann,‘‘Power,ForceandtheFrontiersoftheEmpire,’’JRS69(1979):175.
NotealsoMann,‘‘TheFrontiersofthePrincipate,’’ANRWII.1(1974),508. - Dio53,19.
- Constantine:Eusebius,VC4,9–13.Eusebius(4,8)atteststhepreservationofacopy
of the Latin original in Constantine’s own hand,which he reproduces in Greek. See H.
Dörries,Das Selbstzeugnis Kaiser Konstantins(1954),48–49,125–27.ShapurandConstantius:
Ammianus17,5. - Julian268A–287D.