Synopses & Reviews
The Early Byzantine Historians is the first original study of every significant Byzantine historian from Eusebius of Caesarea (c.255-339) to Theophylact Simocatta (c.585-after 641?). Written for general readers as well as professional scholars, and filled with new discoveries and interpretations, the book presents a remarkable portrait gallery of forty historians. Many were gifted writers, incisive thinkers, engaging personalities, or all three at once; two of them, Ammianus Marcellinus and Procopius of Caesarea, ranked with the greatest historians of all time. Individually and as a group, these authors had a decisive influence on Byzantine culture and modern perceptions of Byzantine history.
Review
"A detailed survey of all known Byzantine historical writings, secular and ecclesiastical, to the end of Late Antiquity in the seventh century...The reader will have at his disposal an authoritative work of reference, indispensible to all serious students of a pivotal period." - Cyril Mango, Exeter College
"A remarkable accomplishment...Treadgold describes and evaluates the work of forty historians spread across three hundred years and more. The style is easy, plain, forceful, clear, reasonable -- everything it should be. Beyond that, Treadgold is interested not just in the texts, but in the ancient authors as human beings, and looks to discover their individual purposes, methods, and peculiarities." -- Ramsay MacMullen, Yale University
"A masterly survey of the historians on whom our knowledge of the dramatic history of early Byzantium, from Constantine to the eve of the Moslem conquest, depends." -- Fergus Millar, Oriental Institute, University of Oxford "Treadgold assesses the lives, work and the degree of success that each historian enjoyed. ... Such portraits are vivid and intriguing. ...[T]his volume will be the first point of reference for all those interested in late Roman and early Byzantine historiography." -- Geoffrey Greatrex, Journal of Ecclesiastical History
"Treadgold very capably interweaves the study of writing traditions, individual historians, and the time period they chronicled. The end product is an engaging, comprehensive study, beginning with the foundation of Greek historiography up to the seventh century. ...[E]veryone who likes Byzantine history will enjoy this historiography." -- M. Johnson, Choice
Synopsis
This is the first full study of every significant Byzantine historian from Eusebius of Caesarea (c.255-339) to Theophylact Simocatta (c.585-after 641?).
Synopsis
The Early Byzantine Historians is the first original study of every significant Byzantine historian from Eusebius of Caesarea (c.255-339) to Theophylact Simocatta (c.585-after 641?). Individually and as a group, these authors had a decisive influence on Byzantine culture and modern perceptions of Byzantine history.
About the Author
WARREN TREADGOLD is National Endowment for the Humanities Professor of Byzantine Studies at Saint Louis University, and author of many books and articles on Byzantine history and literature, including A History of the Byzantine State and Society (1997) and A Concise History of Byzantium (2001).
Table of Contents
Preface * The Greek Background * Eusebius of Caesarea * Ammianus Marcellinus * The New Classical Historians * The New Church Historians * Procopius of Caesarea * Procopius' Contemporaries * Procopius' Successors * Conclusion * Bibliography * Chronological Table of the Early Byzantine Historians * Map 1. The Eastern Roman Empire about 312 * Map 2. The Eastern Roman Empire about 395 * Map 3. The Empire about 565 * Map 4. Birthplaces and Workplaces of the Early Byzantine Historians