Circulação do poder imperial bizantino no mediterrâneo tardo-antigo: história(s) conectada(s) entre os séculos IV a VI na Crônica de Malalas

Abstract

The present study to the research of the Final Paper proposes to make a critical analysis about the circulation of Byzantine imperial power in Mediterranean spaces in the period of Late An- tiquity. In this research, this period is understood between the 4th and 6th centuries, based on a Connected History. The aim is to understand the exercise of Byzantine imperial power in places that were not necessarily directly under its authority or territorial domains. The source chosen for this research is the Chronicle, by John Malalas, written in the mid-sixth century, originally in Greek, but the version we are using here is translated and organized into English. This chron- icle, in effect, covers the period from the creation of the world to its historical present, though we are interested in the last six of the eighteen books (books thirteen to eighteen), which com- prise the space-time scope of this research. Thus, at the end of this research, we can perceive that the Byzantine imperial power – even though headquartered in the city of Constantinople – circulated throughout the Mediterranean basin in this period of Late Antiquity. As well as in spaces that did not include the borders of the Eastern Roman Empire, providing legitimacy to certain non-Roman authorities and creating political-military alliances in these locations. Hence, these encounters took place in many ways, with cultural, historical, normative, and re- ligious exchanges. Therefore, they were not always through wars and violent trades, since bor- ders are always fluid and changing, with the sea and its waters being a privileged environment for circulations and connections, even in remote temporalities.