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The Byzantine Summaries of the Lost Books of Ammianus Marcellinus

    Warren TREADGOLD

Jahrbuch der Österreichischen Byzantinistik 73, pp. 251-298, 2024/03/06

doi: 10.1553/joeb73s251

doi: 10.1553/joeb73s251

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doi:10.1553/joeb73s251



doi:10.1553/joeb73s251

Abstract

This paper conjecturally identifies Greek summaries of the lost Books I–XIII of Ammianus Marcellinus’ Res Gestae in the works of over a dozen Byzantine historians, primarily John Malalas, John of Antioch, John Zonaras, and Theodore Scutariotes. These summaries were evidently transmitted by means of a lost world history compiled in Greek by Eustathius of Epiphania, which summarized Ammianus’ Books I–XXV along with other sources. Although the original text of Eustathius’ history is lost, it was paraphrased in a distorted form by John Malalas, most of whose history survives, and was copied almost verbatim by John of Antioch, much of whose history survives in the Historical Excerpts of Constantine VII and in paraphrases by Zonaras, Scutariotes, and other Byzantine historians. In all, the Greek summaries that can be identified seem to be about a tenth as long as the full text of Ammianus’ lost books.

Keywords: Ammianus Marcellinus; John Zonaras; Eustathius of Epiphania; John of Antioch; John Malalas