The Historians' History of the World 06

Nicetas Acominatus, was born at Chonæ, Phrygia, in the middle of the twelfth century, and died at Nicæa, Bithynia, about 1216. He held high offices under Isaac II Angelus; and was at the taking of Constantinople in 1204, of which he relates an impressive account. His history in continuation of Zonares is in ten corollaries of 21 books and deals with the Eastern emperors from 1180 to 1206. In style at times bombastic, Nicetas is deeply incensed against the Latin conquerors, but he is impartial as to his facts.

Nonnosus, Ἱστορία, edited by C. Müller, in his Fragmenta Historicorum Græcorum, Paris, 1841-1870, 5 vols., new edition 1883; by L. Dindorf, in his Historici Græci Minores, Leipsic, 1870-1871, 2 vols.

Nonnosus, who wrote a history of an embassy he undertook to the Saracens in 533, lived under Justinian I. His original work has perished, and exists only as an abridgment preserved by Photius.

Pachymeres, Georgius, Historia Byzantina, edited by P. Possimus, Greek and Latin text, Rome, 1666-1669, 7 vols.

Georgius Pachymeres was born about 1242 at Nicæa, whither his father had fled after the capture of Constantinople in 1204. After the recapture of the city, Pachymeres went there to study divinity and law, and became advocate general of the Eastern Church and chief justice. He was also employed diplomatically, and died either in 1310 or 1340. His portrait in wood-cut, alleged to be derived from an old manuscript is in Wolf’s edition of Nicephorus Gregoras, Basel, 1562. Pachymeres wrote a number of works, mainly philosophical, but the most important is his history, continuing that of Acropolita, in thirteen books, comprising the histories of the emperors Michael Palæologus and Andronicus Palæologus. It is written with calmness, dignity, and a fair amount of impartiality; but the work is often marred by the introduction of dogmatic theology in which the author seemed to take a keen delight. He was indeed the first Byzantine historian to deal with the history of a highly dogmatic age. Pachymeres was continued by Gregoras Nicephorus.

Petrus Patricius, Ἱστορίαι, edited by L. Dindorf, in his Historici Græci Minores, Leipsic, 1870-1871, 2 vols.

Petrus Patricius, was born at Thessalonica, in the year 500. He was employed in the diplomatic service by Justinian I, and died about 562 A.D. His history is supposed to include the period from the second Triumvirate to a little later than the time of Constantine the Great, although only the part extending to the reign of Julian is expressly attributed to him. The rest is from an excerpt De sententiis the conclusion of which is usually called Anonymus post Dionem. Only extracts from it are preserved. Petrus also wrote a work entitled, περὶ πολιτικῆς καταστάσεως, i.e. on state organisation.

Photius, Μυριποβιβλου ἤ Βιβλιοθήκη, edited by David Hoeschelius, Augsburg, 1601; Latin version by A. Schottus, Augsburg, 1606; Greek and Latin reprints, Geneva, 1612, and Rouen, 1653; revised Greek text by L. Bekker, Berlin, 1821-1825.

Photius was related by marriage to the emperor Theophilus, and in 858 was irregularly elected to the patriarchate of Constantinople, a circumstance which ultimately led to the separation of the Eastern and Western churches. These events will be fully detailed in volume VIII, in our account of the Papacy. Photius was a man of remarkable intellectual endowment, and held many high offices. His writings for these reasons are extremely valuable. His Βιβλιοθήκα is a comprehensive review of the then existent Greek literature, including historians, civil and ecclesiastical, biographers, philosophers, orators, poets, and story writers. Photius has thus preserved accounts of many writers and works that have otherwise been lost, including portions of the writings of such men as Demosthenes, Diodorus Siculus, Hyperides, and Lycurgus. Photius also wrote a number of theological and ecclesiastical works, a lexicon, and a great number of letters, all valuable for their pictures of the mentality of the age.

Phranzes, Georgios, Χρονικόν Γεωργίου Φραντζῆ τοῦ προτοβεστιαρίου … Νῦν προῶτον ἐκδοθὲν ἐπιμελείᾳ φραγκίστου Καρόλου Αλτερ (Alter), Vienna, 1796; Latin translation by Jacob Pontanus, Ingolstadt, 1604.

Georgius Phranzes, the last of the Byzantine historians lived during the fifteenth century and held high official position under Constantine XIII. After the capture of Constantinople by the Turks he entered a monastery, where he composed his Chronikon, which is a valuable authority for the details of the capture of Constantinople, and extends from 1259 to 1477. He is trustworthy when dealing with contemporary events, but indulges in long digressions. Professor Alter’s edition is the standard; the translation of Pontanus was characterised by Gibbon as “deficient in accuracy and elegance.”