182 The Imperial Government
purplecloak,seatedonatribunal,withhisofficersonhorsebackabouthim
andthearmyonparade.Whengivenpermissiontospeak,theambassadors
addressedhimthroughaninterpreterandrepresentedthemselvesaswilling
tomakepeacefromapositionofstrength.TheEmperormadeaspeechin
reply,contemptuouslyrejectingtheirdemands.^101
InformationandConceptualFrameworks
Withinthefewyearsbeforehisdeathin275Aurelianhadmarchedeastand
in two campaigns destroyed the brief ‘‘empire’’ of Palmyra, and then west
andbroughttoanendtheImperiumGalliarum.TheEmpirewasthussub-
stantiallyrestored,butwithouttheterritoriesbeyondtheupperRhine,and
withoutDacia,definitelyabandonedperhapsin271.Aurelianthusrepresents
oneoftheextremeexamplesofthedirectcontrolofmilitaryoperationsby
emperorsandofthesheerextentofthemarchesundertakenbythoseofthe
third and fourth centuries—and the last example of one who carried this
burdenwithoutatleastoneco-emperor.Buthisstrategicchoicesmayalso,
asweshallseebelow,reflectonesetofpresuppositionsonthepartofedu-
catedinhabitantsoftheEmpireastotheshapeandstrategiccharacterofthe
Romanworld.
Thesegeneralpresuppositions—notnecessarilyunanimous,asDio’scriti-
cismofSeverusshows—areofcrucialimportancepreciselybecauseofwhat
seemsonourevidencetohavebeentherelativelackofshort-ormedium-
terminformationonpeoplesandgeographicalfeaturesbeyondtheEmpire.
Threeinterlinkedfactorsareinvolvedhere:themeansbywhichinforma-
tioncouldbeobtained;theformsinwhichitcouldbepresented;andthe
conceptualframeworkswithinwhichitcouldbeusedtoproducedecisions
aboutfrontierpolicy.Itwillbeobviousthattheseareimmensetopics,asto
whichonlyafewsuggestionsanditemsofevidencecanbepresentedhere.
First,then,thereseemtoberelativelyfewcases,allintheearlyempire,
andallconcernedwithprospectiveRomanexpeditions,wherelong-distance
missionsweresenttoexploreenemyterritoryformilitarypurposes.Augus-
tusdespatchedDionysiusofCharaxtotheEast‘‘towriteanaccountofevery-
thing’’ (ad commentanda omnia) in advance of Gaius Caesar’s expedition.^102
More detail is reported of the party of praetorians under a tribune which
wassentbyNerotoEthiopiawithaviewtoanexpeditionthere.Theirre-
- Jacoby,FGrH100,F.6;seeF.Millar,‘‘P.HerenniusDexippus,’’JRS59(1969):12,
onp.25(chapter13inthisvolume). - Pliny,NH6,141.