Thomas Banchich – författare

While an exile from Constantinople, the twelfth-century Byzantine functionary and canonist John Zonaras culled earlier chronicles and histories to compose an account of events from creation to the reign of Alexius Comnenus. For topics where his sources are lost or appear elsewhere in more truncated form, his testimony and the identification of the texts on which he depends are of critical importance.

For his account of the first two centuries of the Principate, Zonaras employed now-lost portions of Cassius Dio. From the point where Dio’s History ended, to the reign of Theodosius the Great (d. 395), he turned to other sources to produce a uniquely full historical narrative of the critical years 235-395, making Books XII.15-XIII.19 of the Epitome central to the study of both late Roman history and late Roman and Byzantine historiography.

This key section of the Epitome, together with Zonaras’ Prologue, here appears in English for the first time, both complemented by a historical and historiographical commentary. A special feature of the latter is a first-ever English translation of a broad range of sources which illuminate Zonaras’ account and the historiographical traditions it reflects. Among the authors whose newly translated works occupy a prominent place in the commentary are George Cedrenus, George the Monk, John of Antioch, Peter the Patrician, Symeon Magister, and Theodore Scutariotes. Specialized indices facilitate the use of the translations and commentary alike.

The result is an invaluable guide and stimulus to further research for scholars and students of the history and historiography of Rome and Byzantium.

While an exile from Constantinople, the twelfth-century Byzantine functionary and canonist John Zonaras culled earlier chronicles and histories to compose an account of events from creation to the reign of Alexius Comnenus. For topics where his sources are lost or appear elsewhere in more truncated form, his testimony and the identification of the texts on which he depends are of critical importance.

For his account of the first two centuries of the Principate, Zonaras employed now-lost portions of Cassius Dio. From the point where Dio’s History ended, to the reign of Theodosius the Great (d. 395), he turned to other sources to produce a uniquely full historical narrative of the critical years 235-395, making Books XII.15-XIII.19 of the Epitome central to the study of both late Roman history and late Roman and Byzantine historiography.

This key section of the Epitome, together with Zonaras’ Prologue, here appears in English for the first time, both complemented by a historical and historiographical commentary. A special feature of the latter is a first-ever English translation of a broad range of sources which illuminate Zonaras’ account and the historiographical traditions it reflects. Among the authors whose newly translated works occupy a prominent place in the commentary are George Cedrenus, George the Monk, John of Antioch, Peter the Patrician, Symeon Magister, and Theodore Scutariotes. Specialized indices facilitate the use of the translations and commentary alike.

The result is an invaluable guide and stimulus to further research for scholars and students of the history and historiography of Rome and Byzantium.

The Lost History of Peter the Patrician is an annotated translation from the Greek of the fragments of Peter’s History, including additional fragments which are now more often considered the work of the Roman historian Cassius Dio''s so-called Anonymous Continuer. Banchich’s annotation helps clarify the relationship of Peter''s work to that of Cassius Dio. Focusing on the historical and historiographical rather than philological, he provides a strong framework for the understanding of this increasingly important source for the third and fourth centuries A.D.

With an introduction on Peter himself - a distinguished administrator and diplomat at the court of Justinian – assessing his literary output, the relationship of the fragments of Peter''s History to the fragments of the Anonymous Continuer, and the contentious issue of the place of this evidence within the framework of late antique historiography, The Lost History of Peter the Patrician will be an invaluable resource for those interested in the history of the Roman world in general and of the third and fourth centuries A.D. in particular.

The Lost History of Peter the Patrician is an annotated translation from the Greek of the fragments of Peter’s History, including additional fragments which are now more often considered the work of the Roman historian Cassius Dio''s so-called Anonymous Continuer. Banchich’s annotation helps clarify the relationship of Peter''s work to that of Cassius Dio. Focusing on the historical and historiographical rather than philological, he provides a strong framework for the understanding of this increasingly important source for the third and fourth centuries A.D.

With an introduction on Peter himself - a distinguished administrator and diplomat at the court of Justinian – assessing his literary output, the relationship of the fragments of Peter''s History to the fragments of the Anonymous Continuer, and the contentious issue of the place of this evidence within the framework of late antique historiography, The Lost History of Peter the Patrician will be an invaluable resource for those interested in the history of the Roman world in general and of the third and fourth centuries A.D. in particular.