Introduction

Libanius had the most extensive personal network known from any period of antiquity. After the Theodosian Code, Libanius stands out as the single most important source for the Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire (PLRE) or ‘Who’s Who’ of the Eastern Roman Empire in the fourth century ad. The principal source for documenting the network is the collection of some 1,544 extant letters: 1,269 written in the decade 355–65, 250 in the period 388–393. Nearly 700 people appear in the letters, including court officials of all ranks from the emperor on down, prefects and governors, lawyers and doctors, army generals and sophists, city councillors, old schoolmates and both present and former pupils. The letters suggest a world constantly travelling and making and maintaining connections. Due to the difficulty of Libanius’ Greek and the absence of a complete translation (cf. Chapter 7), the breadth of his connections, and the relative absence of up-to-date scholarly aids, the letters, which are the richest source for patronage studies from the ancient world, remain little studied.

After an eighteen-year absence for study and teaching, Libanius returned to his native Antioch in 354, never again to journey a major distance from the city gates. Antioch would become the centre of his social world and geographical hub of his personal network. It was an excellent place from which to develop and maintain a far-flung network: cosmopolitan and wealthy, it was often in the fourth century an imperial residence, and at mid-century it was headquarters not only to the governor of Syria, but also to the comes Orientis (Count of the East) and the praefectus praetorio Orientis (Praetorian Prefect of the East). It was thus a city top-heavy with government officials and a magnet for people in pursuit of social and political advancement.