The Orient in Herodian

This paper investigates appearances of the Orient in Herodian. Firstly, through the way in which the East, the Orient, and the opposition between West and East, appears and reappears as a literary theme throughout Herodian’s History and as such triggers its readership’s interpretation. Secondly, it analyses Herodian’s use of the notion of the Orient as literary signposting in his work: what the author knows, or claims to know, about the Orient, and to what degree the information he provides is reliable.