1

Chronography

OF THEOPHANES THE SINNER, MONK AND ABBOT OF THE FIELD AND CONFESSOR, A CHRONOGRAPHY OF 528 YEARS, BEGINNING FROM

THE FIRST YEAR OF DIOCLETIAN UNTIL THE SECOND YEAR OF MICHAEL AND THEOPHYLACT HIS SON; THAT IS, FROM THE 5777TH YEAR OF

THE WORLD UNTIL THE YEAR 6305 ACCORDING TO THE ALEXANDRIANS, BUT ACCORDING TO THE ROMANS, 6321.

The most blessed abbas George, who was also the syncellus of Tarasius, the most holy patriarch of Constantinople, being an eloquent and most learned man, having read many chroniclers and historiographers and having investigated them carefully, accurately composed a concise chronography from Adam to Diocletian, the emperor of the Romans and persecutor of Christians, having stated the dates with precision after much examination and having reconciled their disagreements and corrected and arranged them as no one else before him, having recorded both the polities and the times of the ancient kings of every nation and, as far as was possible for him, the high priests of the great and ecumenical thrones, of Rome, I say, and Constantinople, of Alexandria and Antioch and Jerusalem, he accurately inserted both those who shepherded the church orthodoxly and those who ruled as heretical brigands, and their dates. But since the end of life overtook him and he was not able to bring his own purpose to completion, but, as we have said, having written up to Diocletian, he left this life and departed to the Lord in orthodox faith, 4 to us, as his true friends, he left behind the book which he had composed and provided the means to fill in what was lacking. But we, not ignorant of our own ignorance and poverty of speech, begged off from doing this, as the undertaking was beyond us. But he, having strongly urged us not to hesitate and leave the work unfinished, compelled us to come to this. Wherefore, being compelled by obedience to him, undertaking things beyond our ability, we have put in no ordinary labor. For we too, having sought out and researched many books as best we could, have accurately compiled this chronicle from Diocletian to the reign of Michael and Theophylact, his son, recording the reigns and the patriarchs and their deeds along with their dates as accurately as we could, composing nothing from ourselves, but selecting from ancient historiographers and logographers we have set down the deeds of each period in their own places, arranging them without confusion; so that readers may know in which year of each emperor a certain deed took place, whether military, ecclesiastical, political, popular, or any other. For not small is the benefit, I think, that one reaps from reading the deeds of the ancients. And if anyone finds anything beneficial in this work of ours, let him give due thanks to God and pray for us, the ignorant and sinful, for the Lord's sake; and if he finds anything lacking, let him attribute it to our ignorance and to the idleness of our crawling mind; and may he forgive us for the Lord's sake. For what is done according to one's ability is dear to God. 5 Diocletian and Maximian Herculius reigned jointly at the same time; Their children: of Maximian, Maxentius who ruled as tyrant in Rome. Constantius married Theodora (six), the father of the great Constantine, who begot him from

1

Chronographia

ΘΕΟΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΑΜΑΡΤΩΛΟΥ ΜΟΝΑΧΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΗΓΟΥΜΕΝΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΑΓΡΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΟΜΟΛΟΓΗΤΟΥ ΧΡΟΝΟΓΡΑΦΙΑ ΕΤΩΝ ΦΚΗʹ ΑΡΧΟΜΕΝΗ ΑΠΟ

ΠΡΩΤΟΥ ΕΤΟΥΣ ∆ΙΟΚΛΗΤΙΑΝΟΥ ΕΩΣ ∆ΕΥΤΕΡΟΥ ΕΤΟΥΣ ΜΙΧΑΗΛ ΚΑΙ ΘΕΟΦΥΛΑΚΤΟΥ ΥΙΟΥ ΑΥΤΟΥ· ΤΟΥΤ' ΕΣΤΙΝ ΑΠΟ ΤΟΥ ΕΨΟΖʹ ΕΤΟΥΣ ΤΟΥ

ΚΟΣΜΟΥ ΕΩΣ ΕΤΟΥΣ ΣΤΕʹ ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟΥΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝ∆ΡΕΙΣ, ΚΑΤΑ ∆Ε ΡΩΜΑΙΟΥΣ ΣΤΚΑʹ.

Ὁ μὲν μακαριώτατος ἀββᾶς Γεώργιος, ὁ καὶ σύγκελλος γεγονὼς Ταρασίου,

τοῦ ἁγιωτάτου πατριάρχου Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, ἐλλόγιμος ἀνὴρ καὶ πολυμαθέστατος ὑπάρχων πολλούς τε χρονογράφους καὶ ἱστοριογράφους ἀναγνοὺς καὶ ἀκριβῶς τούτους διερευνησάμενος, σύντομον χρονογραφίαν ἀπὸ Ἀδὰμ μέχρι ∆ιοκλητιανοῦ, τοῦ βασιλέως Ῥωμαίων καὶ διώκτου τῶν Χριστιανῶν, ἀκριβῶς συνεγράψατο, τούς τε χρόνους ἐν πολλῇ ἐξετάσει ἀκριβολογησάμενος καὶ τὰς τούτων διαφωνίας συμβιβάσας καὶ ἐπιδιορθωσάμενος καὶ συστήσας ὡς οὐδεὶς ἄλλος τῶν πρὸ αὐτοῦ, τάς τε τῶν ἀρχαίων βασιλέων παντὸς ἔθνους πολιτείας τε καὶ τοὺς χρόνους ἀναγραψάμενος καὶ κατὰ τὸ ἐφικτὸν αὐτῷ τοὺς ἀρχιερεῖς τῶν μεγάλων καὶ οἰκουμενικῶν θρόνων, Ῥώμης τε, φημί, καὶ Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, Ἀλεξανδρείας τε καὶ Ἀντιοχείας καὶ Ἱεροσολύμων, τούς τε ὀρθοδόξως τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ποιμάναντας καὶ τοὺς ἐν αἱρέσει λῃστρικῶς ἄρξαντας καὶ τοὺς τούτων χρόνους ἀκριβῶς ἐνέταξεν. ἐπεὶ δὲ τὸ τέλος τοῦ βίου τοῦτον κατέλαβε καὶ εἰς πέρας ἀγαγεῖν τὸν ἑαυτοῦ σκοπὸν οὐκ ἴσχυσεν, ἀλλά, καθὼς προέφημεν, μέχρι ∆ιοκλητιανοῦ συγγραψάμενος τὸν τῇδε βίον κατέλιπε καὶ πρὸς κύριον ἐξεδήμησεν ἐν ὀρθοδόξῳ πίστει, 4 ἡμῖν, ὡς γνησίοις φίλοις, τήν τε βίβλον ἣν συνέταξε καταλέλοιπε καὶ ἀφορμὰς παρέσχε τὰ ἐλλείποντα ἀναπληρῶσαι. ἡμεῖς δὲ τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἀμαθίαν οὐκ ἀγνοοῦντες καὶ τὸ στενὸν τοῦ λόγου παρῃτούμεθα τοῦτο ποιῆσαι, ὡς ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς τὴν ἐγχείρησιν οὖσαν. αὐτὸς δὲ πολλὰ παρακαλέσας ἡμᾶς μὴ ὀκνῆσαι καὶ ἀτέλεστον καταλιπεῖν τὸ ἔργον ἐβιάσατο ἐπὶ τοῦτο ἐλθεῖν. διὸ καὶ ἀναγκασθέντες διὰ τὴν τούτου ὑπακοήν, εἰς τὰ ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς ἐγχειρήσαντες κόπον οὐ τὸν τυχόντα κατεβαλόμεθα. πολλὰς γὰρ βίβλους καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐκζητήσαντες κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν ἡμῖν καὶ ἐρευνήσαντες τόδε τὸ χρονογραφεῖον ἀπὸ ∆ιοκλητιανοῦ μέχρι τῆς βασιλείας Μιχαὴλ καὶ Θεοφυλάκτου, τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, τάς τε βασιλείας καὶ τοὺς πατριάρχας καὶ τὰς τούτων πράξεις σὺν τοῖς χρόνοις κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν ἡμῖν ἀκριβῶς συνεγραψάμεθα, οὐδὲν ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν συντάξαντες, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῶν ἀρχαίων ἱστοριογράφων τε καὶ λογογράφων ἀναλεξάμενοι ἐν τοῖς ἰδίοις τόποις τετάχαμεν ἑκάστου χρόνου τὰς πράξεις, ἀσυγχύτως κατατάττοντες· ἵνα εἰδέναι ἔχωσιν οἱ ἀναγινώσκοντες ἐν ποίῳ χρόνῳ ἑκάστου βασιλέως ποία πρᾶξις γέγονεν, εἴτε πολεμική, εἴτε ἐκκλησιαστική, εἴτε πολιτική, εἴτε δημώδης, εἴτε τις ἑτέρα. οὐ γὰρ μικρὰν ὠφέλειαν, ὡς οἶμαι, καρποῦται τῶν ἀρχαίων τὰς πράξεις ἀναγινώσκων. εἴ τις δέ τι ἐν τούτῳ τῷ ὁ πονήματι ἡμῶν ὀνησιφόρον εὕροι, τὴν πρέπουσαν τῷ θεῷ εὐχαριστίαν ἀποδώσῃ καὶ ἡμῖν τοῖς ἀμαθέσι καὶ ἁμαρτωλοῖς διὰ τὸν κύριον ὑπερεύξηται· καὶ εἴ τι ἐλλεῖπον εὕροι, τῇ ἀμαθίᾳ ἡμῶν τοῦτο λογίσηται καὶ τῇ ἀργίᾳ τοῦ χαμερποῦς νοὸς ἡμῶν· καὶ συγγνώσεται ἡμῖν διὰ τὸν κύριον. φίλον γὰρ θεῷ τὸ κατὰ δύναμιν. 5 Κοινῶς κατὰ ταὐτὸν ἐβασίλευον ∆ιοκλητιανὸς καὶ Μαξιμιανὸς ὁ Ἐρκούλιος· Τούτων τέκνα· Μαξιμιανοῦ Μαξέντιος ὁ τυραννήσας Ῥώμην. Θεοδώραν ἔγημε Κωνστῖνος (σιξ), ὁ τοῦ μεγάλου Κωνσταντίνου πατήρ, τοῦ τεκόντος αὐτὸν ἐξ