John Zonaras' Epitome of Histories: A Compendium of Jewish-Roman History and Its Reception

by: Kampianaki, T.

John Zonaras' Epitome of Histories
A Compendium of Jewish-Roman History and Its Reception
Theofili Kampianaki
Oxford Studies in Byzantium
Only the second book in international bibliography which focuses on John Zonaras' historical account, an incredibly popular text in the Greek-speaking world during the Middle Ages
Provides a case study of how a medieval text, which is a compilation of earlier accounts, can be examined and assessed as an intellectual product in its own right
Explores the work's composition, sources, and political, ideological, and literary background, also discussing the intellectual networks in twelfth-century Constantinople
Offers a detailed investigation of the reception of the chronicle in Byzantium and beyond, on the basis of textual, palaeographical, and other evidence

Description
The twelfth-century chronicle of John Zonaras, which begins with the biblical Creation and ends in 1118, is one of the longest historical accounts written in Greek that has come down to us. It was also one of the most popular historical works of the Greek-speaking world during the Middle Ages, with a remarkably large number of manuscripts preserving the entire text or parts of it.

John Zonaras' Epitome of Histories: A Compendium of Jewish-Roman History and Its Reception analyses Zonaras' chronicle as both a literary composition and a historical account. It concentrates on its composition, sources, and political, ideological, and literary background. It also includes discussions that go beyond the text, such as on the intellectual networks surrounding Zonaras, and the anticipated audience and the reception of the chronicle. By examining such issues, Theofili Kampianaki aims to present Zonaras' chronicle as a product which emerged from a milieu characterized by the increased contacts with Western people and the Komnenian style of rulership in the imperial bureaucracy, and as a work which seamlessly merges the traditions of chronicle writing and classicizing historiography.

Table of Contents
Preface and acknowledgements
Note on transliteration, citations, and quotations
List of abbreviations
Introduction
1:John Zonaras: biography and oeuvre
2:The composition of the Epitome
3:Zonaras' working method and treatment of his sources
4:The political and ideological context of the Epitome
5:Zonaras' keen interest in Roman antiquity
6:Intellectual networks and intended readers
7:Readers' responses and the reception of the Epitome
Overall conclusions
Bibliography

John Zonaras' Epitome of Histories: A Compendium of Jewish-Roman History and Its Reception

by: Kampianaki, T.

• ISBN-13: 9780192865106 / 978-0-19-286510-6
• ISBN-03: 0192865102 / 0-19-286510-2
• Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2022