The 4th to 8th centuries AD were a period of transformation for Mediterranean civilization。In this period of transformation，The period from the 4th century to the fall of Western Rome in 476 is also called the "Late Roman Empire"。The more popular historiography bonus bet365 late Roman Empire is some historical works that historians call "brief histories" and "abbreviations"。A Brief History from the Founding bonus bet365 City by Eutropius is one bonus bet365 most representative works of this period，This work uses 10 chapters to summarize the history of Rome from the founding bonus bet365 city to the accession of Emperor Valens in 364。But only one year after the book was completed，Festus was also commissioned by Emperor Valens，Written another book on Roman history，Known as "A Brief Account bonus bet365 Deeds bonus bet365 Roman People"。This work covers the same period as Eutropius's work，But it’s shorter，Only uses about 30 paragraphs to summarize some important historical events since the founding bonus bet365 city of Rome。

Why the historical works bonus bet365 late Roman Empire are becoming shorter and shorter？For researchers who pay attention to the history of this period，This is a question worth thinking about。If this phenomenon is analyzed together with the rise of chronicles at that time，You can see the politics bonus bet365 late Roman Empire、The impact of social and cultural changes on historical trends。

Characteristics bonus bet365 Chronicles bonus bet365 Late Roman Empire。The chronicles bonus bet365 late Roman Empire have a relatively unified Christian worldview，Arranged according to single or multiple clear chronological systems。Under the entry for each specific year，The author usually lists the important events bonus bet365 year，Sometimes a small amount of commentary。This historical genre gives people the intuitive feeling that it is simple and boring，Lacks the speculative and rhetorical nature bonus bet365 classical historical tradition。Burgess、Researchers on chronicles bonus bet365 late Roman Empire such as Kulikovsky pointed out some misunderstandings bonus bet365 genre of chronicles from the mainstream views in the academic world so far。First，Although many scholars regard chronicles as a quintessential Christian historiographic genre，But in fact this historiographic genre has a long tradition in the Mediterranean world，Dating back to ancient Egypt and Assyria。Secondly，Chronicles and Herodotus、After Thucydides, narrative is the main focus，Focus on exploration、Rhetoric、The classical narrative history bonus bet365 teachings are two different historiographic genres，has different functions。

The Romans had already noticed the characteristics bonus bet365 chronicle genre in the 1st century BC。Cicero praised the chronicle written by his friend Atticus in "Brutus" as a novel historiographic genre，Has the practicality he needs，Be able to understand all historical processes in chronological order at a glance。A large number of chronicles appeared in the late Roman Empire，The basic paradigm was laid by the "Father of Church History" Eusebius and the Latin Father Jerome。The chronicles created by Eusebius absorbed the chronicles in the Greek historiographic tradition、The characteristics of chronicles and other historical genres in the Roman historical tradition，But his works are not completely preserved。Jerome’s translation of Eusebius’ Greek Chronicle、Adaptation and continuation，This work was widely circulated in the Mediterranean world at that time，And there were many continued versions in the next nearly two centuries。The entire chronicle of Jerome was originally divided into 4 columns，Assyria respectively、Hebrew、Scyon (Ancient Greece)、Egypt。On the one hand, he used different chronological methods to record the historical events of these countries and nations；On the other hand, these columns are arranged in parallel，presents the overall development process of major countries and nations in the world as perceived by the Romans。The number and chronology of these columns are dynamically changing，Sometimes based on the ruler’s reign，Also incorporates popular dating methods such as the Olympian cycle。With the development of world history，Some columns for countries and nationalities have been replaced by new columns。The Assyrian and other columns that originally existed in the book have disappeared，Midi、Persia、Sparta、Athens、Macedonia columns have been added one after another，Up to 7 columns。After the appearance bonus bet365 Romans，The number of columns is gradually decreasing，Last in the 212th Olympia Cycle，With the capture of Jerusalem by Emperor Titus，The Jewish column disappeared，Only the Roman column remains。All world historical events since then have been included in the history bonus bet365 Roman Empire，Important events in Christian history are also placed at important time points in Roman history。Therefore，In Jerome's Chronicle，The clues of world historical development are clearly and intuitively presented to readers。People can quickly understand the rise and fall of various nations and countries in the world in this work，And see that all the peoples and countries that were finally integrated into the Roman Empire also accepted the Christian faith。Compared with classical narrative history genre works，Jerome's "Chronicle" presents the development trends of world history in a concise and clear way、Plain language and easy to search，There is no complicated story in it、Long speeches or excessive analysis and preaching，Anyone with a rudimentary command of Latin or Greek can read，These characteristics are exactly what classical narrative history works do not have。

The background bonus bet365 changing historiographic trends in the late Roman Empire。The overall trend in the development of historiography in the late Roman Empire is a pragmatic tendency，This period cannot simply be regarded as the decline stage of classical historiography，But the politics bonus bet365 Mediterranean world at that time、Reflections of social and cultural transformation。Compared with previous eras，The complexity and refinement bonus bet365 political system is a characteristic bonus bet365 late Roman Empire。Jones pointed out，The primary characteristic bonus bet365 late Roman Empire was its bureaucracy。According to Jones、Statistics by Christopher Kelly et al，At the height bonus bet365 empire in the 2nd century，The entire Roman government was maintained by hundreds of officials。And around the 6th century，The number of officials in the entire empire is approximately 30,000 to 3.Between 50,000 people，This change in numbers mainly stems from the reforms bonus bet365 political system bonus bet365 Roman Empire by Diocletian and Constantine in the early 4th century。Easy to find，Author of most secular historical works after the 4th century，Like Eutropius、Festus、Aulerius Victor、Zosimus、Procopius and others were once middle- and upper-level civil servants in the Roman Empire，They must have a certain knowledge of Roman history in their daily administrative work，This is a characteristic bonus bet365 political culture bonus bet365 late Roman Empire。Since Diocletian，The Roman government paid more and more attention to the rhetorical nature of decrees，Many edicts will cite ancient Roman traditions and historical precedents in the opening paragraph to emphasize the rationality bonus bet365 edict。For the civil officials bonus bet365 Roman Empire who drafted edicts，If you don’t have a basic understanding of Roman history or even world history，You are not qualified for such a job。

The militarization bonus bet365 ruling class was another characteristic bonus bet365 late Roman Empire。Civil officials in the Roman Empire needed to provide historical knowledge to the ruling class。Estimated by Ian Wood，At the end bonus bet365 4th century and the beginning bonus bet365 5th century，Probably one in 10 adult males in the entire Roman Empire was a soldier。In sculpture and painting，The popular image bonus bet365 upper class of Roman society has gradually changed from the traditional senators wearing togas to generals wearing military uniforms。Many rulers at that time were soldiers，Their senior officials also have a large number of officers from the border areas bonus bet365 empire，The overall level of education is not high。These people need to cooperate with the senatorial class and many middle and upper-level civilian officials when participating in the administrative affairs bonus bet365 empire，Therefore it is also necessary to acquire basic knowledge of Roman history as soon as possible。

In addition，The construction bonus bet365 Christian church management system in the Roman Empire after the 4th century，Also imitated the administrative system bonus bet365 Roman Empire。The number of people converting to Christianity is increasing，The social class and average cultural level of believers are also constantly improving。For the clergy across the Mediterranean at that time，In their daily sermons to the people，You also need to master the basic knowledge of Roman history and world history。Because if history and theology are combined to explain the frequent wars and social unrest at that time，It is often more effective to persuade those upper-class believers with higher classical cultural accomplishment。

In short，The simplification trend of traditional narrative history and the popularity of chronicles are consistent with the needs bonus bet365 ruling class bonus bet365 late Roman Empire，These works enable rulers and officials to master as much basic knowledge of Roman history and world history as possible in a short period of time。The voluminous classical historical works were once important cultural products for self-education and entertainment bonus bet365 upper class nobles in ancient Greek and Roman society，But in the late Roman Empire，With the changes in political systems and social and cultural needs，The audience for this type of work is shrinking，Unable to meet the needs bonus bet365 ruling class who focus on pragmatism and administrative efficiency。In such an era and environment，It is not difficult to understand why Emperor Valens commissioned Eutropius to write a short history of Rome，A shorter work bonus bet365 same type was commissioned from Festus。

　　(This article is a phased result bonus bet365 National Social Science Fund general project “Research on Roman Historical Memory and Identity Issues in Early Medieval Historiography” (20BSS017)

(The author is a professor of World bonus bet365 Department, School of Humanities, Shanghai Normal University)