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BANDITS IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE
purpose; but this is speculation. Tensions among those penned up inside are
the inevitable consequence of any siege. In any case, Lydius’ victim went
over to the Romans and offered to kill Lydius with a long distance shot. It
worked: Lydius was hit as he leant out of a spy hole. 127 Severely wounded,
he got his comrades to swear that they would hold out to the bitter end
and then died. The besieged felt themselves in no way bound by their oath
and gave themselves up immediately after his death. 128 As the driving force
of the revolt Lydius appears to have possessed the personal magnetism of
the charismatic leader. This is another variant of the theme of the leader
as the brain and backbone of a political movement.
The wider historical context of the revolt of Lydius and that of our next
subject, Palfuerius, is well known thanks to the many stories about Isauria
found in writers from Strabo to Ammianus Marcellinus and the author of
the Historia Augusta. 129 Isauria was part of a wider area of constant political
instability in southern Asia Minor. The region reacted to the ‘Crisis’ with
manifestations of separatism. The imperial government found it increasingly
difficult to control. In the fourth century, it was regarded virtually as part of
Barbaricum. 130 As long as we can trust what we know about Lydius as being
historically authentic, it exemplifies the instability of the area.
Very close to Zosimus’ Lydius in time, location and circumstance is
Palfuerius, an Isaurian ‘bandit’ of the time of Probus. 131 The similarities
between these two men have led some to propose that they are one and the
same person – the most recent advocate of this suggestion is J. Rougé. 132
But Palfuerius figures in the Historia Augusta, not in Zosimus, and the two
accounts differ from each other on significant points regarding geography
and detail. Lydius occurred at the time of Probus’ Germanic wars. His
original sphere of power lay in Lycia and Pamphylia. He was pursued by
an anonymous Roman field commander. Palfuerius, on the other hand, was
based in Isauria. The author of the Historia Augusta makes no mention of his
taking refuge in Cremna. And he was hunted down and taken out by Probus
himself, following the completion of the campaigns in the Rhineland. The
number of significant discrepancies makes it therefore unlikely that Lydius
and Palfuerius are the same person. 133
That Probus is supposed to have taken on the task of combating Palfuerius
in person is in itself a sign that the latter was no ordinary bandit but a selfdeclared
local dynast. The emperor drew the attention of the population
of Rome to his success in this war within the framework of gladiatorial
shows that he staged on the occasion of his victories over the Germans and
the Blemmyes. ‘Bandits’ captured in Isauria were among those compelled
to appear in the arena. 134 With reference to the capture of Palfuerius, the
writer of the ‘Life’ of Probus has the emperor remark that it is easier to keep
brigands out of Isauria than to expel them from there. 135 He adds that, in a
political measure designed to restrict local ‘banditry’, Probus gave land in
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