Theophylactus Simokates

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Theophylactus Simokates (also Simokatta ; short Theophylakt ; Latinized Theophylactus Simocatta ) was a late antique - early Byzantine historian of the early 7th century . The nickname Simokatta ( snub-nosed cat ) probably refers to its appearance.

Life

Theophylact, generally considered to be the last ancient historian since Arnold J. Toynbee , came from the eastern Roman province of Egypt , most likely from Alexandria . He was probably born around 580, but little is known about his life. Presumably he received rhetorical training in Egypt. This assumption is at least quite reasonable, as the educational institutions in Alexandria still enjoyed a good reputation in the early 7th century: Stephanos of Alexandria , the last known ancient Neo-Platonist , taught at the local university until around 610. Theophylact also shows in his literary works knowledge of the Greek classics ( Homer , Thucydides , Plato ), but also of later authors (e.g. Lukian and Libanios ). He came to Constantinople under Emperor Phocas , i.e. between 602 and 610 . Theophylact, who also had a legal education, then served Emperor Herakleios as an official in various functions. He apparently also held the high office of praefectus urbi of Constantinople, seems to have become magister scriniorum afterwards and possibly still lived in 641: In that year a Greek inscription from Aphrodisias mentions a former prefect named Theophylactus as a member of the imperial court.

plant

Theophylakt wrote, in addition to a collection of letters and a "scientific" treatise (known as Quaestiones physicae , which is more likely to be assigned to entertainment literature), a history in eight books, which is usually referred to as histories . It is generally considered to be the last work in ancient history. Theophylact ended a more than two-hundred-year-old tradition, because in the 5th and 6th centuries a whole series of high imperial functionaries wrote classicist historical works.

Theophylact wrote contemporary history: following on from the work of Menander Protector , he dealt with the reign of the Eastern Roman emperor Maurikios (582-602) and especially with his wars against Sassanids and Slavs (see also Roman-Persian wars and the Balkan campaigns of Maurikios ) . Theophylact mainly used written templates. The main source for the Persian War (which ended in 591) was the historical work of John of Epiphaneia , which has been lost except for a fragment. The fragment makes it clear, however, that John was in the tradition of the late antique classicist historians; he also appears to have relied on good sources and on eyewitnesses. For the time of the Persian War, Theophylact probably used a second work that presented the deeds of Herakleios the Elder in a very positive light. Theophylact used a similar work, probably more a kind of memorandum than a real work of history - in addition to, according to Michael Whitby , at least two other sources - for Maurikios' Balkan campaigns. In this context, the magister militum Priskos is viewed very positively. The illustration shows that Theophylact's work must have been written around 630: The last war that Ostrom had waged against the Persians under Herakleios (602-628) was apparently already over, since Theophylact anticipated the death of the Persian king Chosrau II . (628) mentioned, but the attacks of the Arabs (since 634) had not yet started; at least there are no allusions to them. However, a date around 640 has recently been suggested.

Theophylakt's work is still written in ancient Greek , but already contains numerous forms that point to the language of the Middle Byzantine period. Linguistically and stylistically, it cannot compete with the historical works of Priskos or Prokopios of Caesarea , precisely because Theophylact always wants to demonstrate his classical education and therefore uses numerous rhetorical figures. This is already clear in the Proömium , where there is a "dialogue" between the personified Philosophia and the Historia . Theophylact was strongly based on the ancient models and visibly tried to imitate them ( mimesis ), which led to distracted expressions and anachronisms. Often the language seems very overloaded, the structure is complicated by unnecessary insertions; Even for readers who speak Greek very well, the work is often difficult to understand. Christian festivals and dignitaries, for example, are described in a rather tortuous way by Theophylact, who was obviously a Christian himself. In other places, however, he refers to the work of God (a break with the conventions of secular historiography), and in some cases even aspects of church history can be recognized in the work. In addition, Theophylact obviously lacks its own military experience, which is noticeable in some descriptions.

Despite these weaknesses, the histories , which go back to 603 and have probably remained unfinished (Theophylact probably wanted to choose the assumption of power of Herakleius in 610, or perhaps the victory over the Sassanids in 628 as the end point), offer very important and largely reliable information about the Eastern Roman History between 574 and 603, then about the Persians and the Avars and Slavs. Since the late ancient civilization also experienced a rapid decline in Ostrom after the attack by the Arabs, Theophylact could no longer find a continuation. The tradition of ancient historiography broke off and the later Byzantine historiography no longer followed it seamlessly (see also Byzantine historiography ).

The histories were in the early 9th century and certified by Theophanes used Photios made as part of its Bibliotheke a brief excerpt on. The editio princeps was published in 1604 by J. Pontanus in Ingolstadt.

Editions and translations

Entry in Clavis Historicorum Antiquitatis Posterioris (CHAP) .

  • Carl de Boor (Ed.): Theophylacti Simocattae historiae. Teubner, Leipzig 1887 (new edition. Edited by Peter Wirth. Teubner, Stuttgart 1972, ISBN 3-519-01857-8 ).
  • Peter Schreiner : History. Theophylactus Simokates. History (= Library of Greek Literature. Vol. 20, Byzantine Studies Department ). Hiersemann, Stuttgart 1985, ISBN 3-7772-8533-1 .
  • Michael Whitby , Mary Whitby: The History of Theophylact Simocatta. An English Translation with Introduction and Notes. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1986, ISBN 0-19-822799-X .
  • Nicolaus Copernicus : Theophylacti scolastici Simocati epistolae morales, rurales et amatorie interpretatione latina. Haller , Cracow 1509 (translation of poems into Latin).

literature

Web links

Wikisource: Theophylaktos Simokates  - Sources and full texts

Remarks

  1. ↑ See Arnold J. Toynbee : Greek Historical Thought. From Homer to the Age of Heraclius. JM Dent, London et al. 1924.
  2. ↑ For the presumed curriculum vitae, see Whitby: Emperor Maurice. 1988, p. 28 ff.
  3. ↑ For general information on the sources, see Whitby: The Emperor Maurice and his Historian. 1988, pp. 92 ff. And 222 ff .; briefly also in the translation by Whitby and Whitby, pp. XXI ff.
  4. ↑ Stephanos Efthymiades: A Historian and his Tragic Hero: A Literary Reading of Theophylact Simokatta's Ecumenical History. In: Ruth Macrides (Ed.): History as Literature in Byzantium. Ashgate, Farnham et al. 2010, ISBN 978-1-409-41206-9 , pp. 169-186.
  5. ↑ See Meier: Prokop. 2004, p. 306 ff.
  6. ↑ Cf. in summary Hunger: The high-level profane literature of the Byzantines. Volume 1. 1978, p. 317 f.
  7. ↑ See especially Meier: Prokop. 2004, p. 304 ff .: on theophylact.
personal data
SURNAME Theophylactus Simokates
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Theophylactus Simokatta; Theophylactus Simocatta; Theophylact Simokates
BRIEF DESCRIPTION late antique historian
DATE OF BIRTH around 580
DATE OF DEATH 7th century