John Skylitzes: A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811–1057
Translation and Notes

The first complete English translation of John Skylitzes' Middle Byzantine chronicle, with introductions and notes.

John Skylitzes (Author), John Wortley (Author)

9781107404748, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 16 February 2012

526 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 3 cm, 0.76 kg

'As John Wortley indicates, this translation took many years to come to fruition. But it now has the potential to contribute very substantially to those reassessments of the political and cultural history of Byzantium in the tenth and eleventh centuries which are currently underway in a variety of scholarly contexts across Europe and North America.' Catherine Holmes, Early Medieval Europe

John Skylitzes' extraordinary Middle Byzantine chronicle covers the reigns of the Byzantine emperors from the death of Nicephorus I in 811 to the deposition of Michael VI in 1057, and provides the only surviving continuous narrative of the late tenth and early eleventh centuries. A high official living in the late eleventh century, Skylitzes used a number of existing Greek histories (some of them no longer extant) to create a digest of the previous three centuries. It is without question the major historical source for the period and is cited constantly in modern scholarship. This edition features introductions by Jean-Claude Cheynet and Bernard Flusin, along with extensive notes. It will be an essential and exciting addition to the libraries of all historians of the Byzantine age.

Introduction. John Skylitzes, the author and his family Jean-Claude Cheynet
Re-writing history: John Skylitzes's Synopsis historion Bernard Flusin
1. Michael I Rangabe The Kouropalates (811–13)
2. Leo V The Armenian (813–20)
3. Michael II The Stammerer (820–9)
4. Theophilos (829–42)
5. Michael III The Son Of Theophilos (The Drunkard) (842–67), and his mother Theodora (842–62)
6. Basil I Kephalas The Macedonian (867–86)
7. Leo VI The Philosopher (The Wise) (886–912)
8. Alexander (912–13)
9. Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (913–59) bis
10. Romanos I Lekapenos (919–44)
11. Constantine VII (944–59)
12. Romanos II The Younger (959–63)
13. Basil II and Constantine VIII (976–1025)
14. Nikephoros II Phokas (963–69)
15. John I Tzimiskes (969–76)
16. Basil II and Constantine VIII bis (976–1025)
17. Constantine VIII (1025–8)
18. Romanos III Argyros (1028–34)
19. Michael IV The Paphlagonian (1034–41)
20. Michael V The Caulker / Kalaphates (1041–2)
21. Constantine IX Monomachos (1042–55)
22. Theodora (1055–6)
23. Michael VI The Elder / Stratiotikos (1056–7).

Subject Areas: Medieval history [HBLC1], Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], European history [HBJD]