Customer Reviews

Anni Mundi, 6095-6305 (A.D.602-813): Chronicle of Theophanes (The Middle Ages)

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This excerpt from the Chronicle of Theophanes is a useful work covering a period in Late Roman/Early Byzantine history where the primary source material is scanty at best. Indeed, for the period covered here between AD 602 and AD 813, Theophanes is, sadly, the best we've got.

This portion of the chronicle sheds light on the eventful reigns of Heraclius, Justinian II, Leo III, Constantine V, and the Empress Irene, among others. It details the conquest of much of the Roman east by the forces of Islam, as well as the on-again-off-again Iconoclastic convulsions of the 8th century. Aside from a few minor typos, the translation seems to be readable and well-executed.

My only minor quibble is that the translator does not give any indication of the criticisms historians commonly reserve for Theophanes--that his chronology is sometimes strangely inaccurate, as if to fill up the years where his sources had little data, he simply moved in passages from other years.

Regardless, this is a valuable historical work and Turtledove is to be commended for making it available in a form that allows general readers easy access to it.

I own an earlier paperback printing. The book was originally published in 1982.

Turtledove's translation is clear & simple, avoiding the affected 19th-century diction some translators slip into. One topic the Editorial Review above overlooks is that Theophanes provides a rather coherent account of the Islamic conquest of the Middle East & North Africa. If you are interested in the history of the Byzantine Empire, this is one primary source you should own.

Harry Turtledove has done a good job translating this snippet of Theophanes. The translation is crisp and most of the transliterations are well done. Occasionally some modern colloquialism sneaks in, but it is usually minor. Turtledove does an excellent job in rendering Greek wordplay and puns into English, and the fact that he cites it in the footnotes just goes to improve this edition.

Nonetheless, this edition isn't perfect. The issue of length may lie with the publisher, as Penn Press has similarly sized editions of the Strategikon and Gunther of Paris' history. Starting at Phokas doesn't provide the reader enough background, and while the text from Phokas on may be the only historically valuable part, would it have been so hard to add the reign of Maurikios? Additionally, the notes occasionally aren't all that useful or critical. While they often describe transliterated Greek terms, they are not sufficient to make this the standard edition of Theophanes. It's value lies in its availability and afford-ability, something that the Mango text cannot claim.

Dr. Turtledove's translation achieves a rare goal: a clear treatment that is not only an important historical reference but also "a good read." Although Theophanes must take primary credit for the historical content, I think Turtledove must be credited with the latter. My only gripe is that while this treatment is moderately well footnoted, I would have liked to see a bit more information about sources of information, perhaps in an "afterword."

Modern treatments of this period are often superficial and imply that the interactions between "Romania" (Theophane's term)and the Arabs were one-sided with the Byzantines always coming out second best;Theophanes clearly shows that such a view is far too simple. Turtledove's well-chosen words allow the reader to get a grasp of the complexity of the situation.

The detail of Byzantine political and religous strife is cleanly detailed - obviously by a translator well-familiar with the material. The translator has the choice of the words and phrases to present to the reader; an uninspired translation can be spot on with the correct words, but dreadully dull and pedantic. The stupified reader loses context, interest, and fact in these situations. Fortunately, Turtledove has a natural-born writer's grasp of the "turn of a phrase" that keeps the factual heart of the translation true to the author's intent while making the narrative not only readable but in many places, quite gripping. Unusual for such a scholarly work, this book is, in places, literally "a page turner."

I would urge this book to any historian of this period, be their interest vocational or avocational. It provides insight into a period of history that - for most Americans - is poorly understood and seldom read about. This short book provides a great deal of information that helps remedy both failings.