George Akropolites ( Latinized as Acropolites or Acropolita; el, , ''Georgios Akropolites''; 1217 or 1220 – 1282) was a

Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the Ottoman co ...

historian and statesman born at Constantinople.

Life

In his sixteenth year he was sent by his father, the logothete Constantine Akropolites the elder, to the court of

John III Doukas Vatatzes John III Doukas Vatatzes, Latinized as Ducas Vatatzes ( el, Ιωάννης Δούκας Βατάτζης, ''Iōannēs Doukas Vatatzēs'', c. 1192 – 3 November 1254), was Emperor of Nicaea from 1221 to 1254. He was succeeded by his son, known ...

, emperor of Nicaea, where Akropolites continued his studies under Theodore Hexapterygos and

Nicephorus Blemmydes Nikephoros Blemmydes (Latinized as Nicephorus Blemmydes; el, Νικηφόρος Βλεμμύδης, 1197–1272) was a 13th-century Byzantine author. Biography Blemmydes was born in 1197 in Constantinople as the second child of a physician. After ...

. The emperor afterwards entrusted George with important state missions, as did his successors (

Theodore II Laskaris Theodore II Doukas Laskaris or Ducas Lascaris ( gr, Θεόδωρος Δούκας Λάσκαρις, Theodōros Doukas Laskaris; 1221/1222 – 16 August 1258) was Emperor of Nicaea from 1254 to 1258. He was the only child of Emperor John II ...

and Michael VIII Palaiologos). The office of Grand Logothete, or chancellor, was bestowed upon him in 1244. As commander in the field in 1257 against

Michael II Michael II ( gr, Μιχαὴλ, , translit=Michaēl; 770–829), called the Amorian ( gr, ὁ ἐξ Ἀμορίου, ho ex Amoríou) and the Stammerer (, ''ho Travlós'' or , ''ho Psellós''), reigned as Byzantine Emperor from 25 December 820 to ...

, despot of Epirus, he showed little military ability. George was captured and kept for two years in prison, from which he was released by Michael Palaiologos. Meanwhile, Michael Palaiologos was proclaimed emperor of Nicaea, afterwards expelling the

Latins The Latins were originally an Italic tribe in ancient central Italy from Latium. As Roman power and colonization spread Latin culture during the Roman Republic. Latins culturally "Romanized" or "Latinized" the rest of Italy, and the word Latin ...

from Constantinople, and became emperor of the restored Byzantine Empire. From this moment Akropolites becomes known in the history of the eastern empire as one of its greatest diplomats. After having discharged the function of ambassador at the court of the

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

Tsar

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given na ...

, he became the first head of the

University of Constantinople The Imperial University of Constantinople, sometimes known as the University of the Palace Hall of Magnaura ( el, Πανδιδακτήριον τῆς Μαγναύρας), was an Eastern Roman educational institution that could trace its corporat ...

, where he lectured on mathematics and philosophy. His students included George of Cyprus and George Pachymeres. In the meantime, Michael, afraid of a new Latin invasion, proposed to Pope Clement IV to reunite the Greek and the Latin Churches; and negotiations ensued which were carried on during the reign of five popes, Clement IV,

Gregory X Pope Gregory X ( la, Gregorius X; – 10 January 1276), born Teobaldo Visconti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 September 1271 to his death and was a member of the Secular Franciscan Order. He was ...

John XXI Pope John XXI ( la, Ioannes XXI; – 20 May 1277), born Pedro Julião ( la, Petrus Iulianus), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 September 1276 to his death on 20 May 1277. Apart from Damasus I (from ...

, Nicolaus III, and

Martin IV Pope Martin IV ( la, Martinus IV; c. 1210/1220 – 28 March 1285), born Simon de Brion, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1281 to his death on 28 March 1285. He was the last French pope to have ...

. Akropolites was chosen as the emperor's ambassador, and in 1273 he was sent to Pope Gregory X. In 1274, at the

Second Council of Lyon :''The First Council of Lyon, the Thirteenth Ecumenical Council, took place in 1245.'' The Second Council of Lyon was the fourteenth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, convoked on 31 March 1272 and convened in Lyon, Kingdom of Arl ...

, he confirmed by an oath in the emperor's name that that confession of faith which had been previously sent to Constantinople by the pope had been adopted by the Greeks. The reunion of the two churches however roused considerable opposition in Byzantium and was afterwards broken off. It did however serve its main purpose, delaying and ultimately entirely averting a Latin attack on Constantinople. Later negotiations George Akropolites led included leading a mission to the

Empire of Trebizond The Empire of Trebizond, or Trapezuntine Empire, was a monarchy and one of three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Despotate of the Morea and the Principality of Theodoro, that flourished during the 13th through to t ...

in 1281 to convince the Emperor John II to discontinue using the title of "Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans"—which Michael Palaiologos held as his sole right. He failed in this endeavor, for John responded to his arguments that he was simply following the practice of his predecessors, and his chief nobles would not permit him to give up this honor. William Smith in his '' Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' follows Hankius ''De Byzantinarum Rerum Scriptoribus Graecis'' in stating that Akropolites was sent on an embassy to the king of Bulgaria in 1282; George Finlay has shown that both are in error. Finlay notes, "in this case he ankiusseems inadvertently to have written ''Bulgarorum'' instead of ''Lazorum Principem'', for he quotes at length the passage of Pachymeres as his authority, which states distinctly that Acropolita was sent to the prince of the Lazes, as the vain Constantinopolitan writers called the emperor of Trebizond."Finlay, ''A History of Greece: Medieval Greece and the Empire of Trebizond AD 1204-1461'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1877), p. 345 n. 1

Works

Akropolites' historical work, the ''Annals'', embraces the period from the

capture of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city fell on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 53-day siege which had begun o ...

during the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

by the Latins in 1204 to its recovery by Michael Palaiologos in 1261, thus forming a continuation of the work of Nicetas Choniates. It is valuable as written by a contemporary, whose official position as Grand Logothete, military commander, and confidential ambassador afforded him frequent opportunities of observing the course of events. Akropolites is considered a trustworthy authority as far as the statement of facts is concerned, and he is easy to understand, although he exhibits special carelessness in the construction of his sentences. His style is archaising but lucid. He was also the author of several shorter works, amongst them being a funeral oration on John Vatatzes, an epitaph on his wife Irene Laskarina and a

panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of grc, ...

of Theodore II Laskaris of Nicaea. While a prisoner at Epirus he wrote two treatises on the procession of the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

Editions

Authorities: ''

Editio princeps In classical scholarship, the ''editio princeps'' (plural: ''editiones principes'') of a work is the first printed edition of the work, that previously had existed only in manuscripts, which could be circulated only after being copied by hand. For ...

'' by

Leo Allatius Leo Allatius (Greek: Λέων Αλλάτιος, ''Leon Allatios'', Λιωνής Αλάτζης, ''Lionis Allatzis''; Italian: ''Leone Allacci, Allacio''; Latin: ''Leo Allatius, Allacius''; c. 1586 – January 19, 1669) was a Greek scholar, theolog ...

(1651), with the editor's famous treatise ''De Georgiis eorumque Scriptis''; editions in the ''Bonn Corpus Scriptorum Hist. Byz.'', by

I. Bekker August Immanuel Bekker (21 May 17857 June 1871) was a German philologist and critic. Biography Born in Berlin, Bekker completed his classical education at the University of Halle under Friedrich August Wolf, who considered him as his most promis ...

(1836), and

Migne Jacques Paul Migne (; 25 October 1800 – 24 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias, and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a u ...

, '' Patrologia Graeca'', cxl; in the Teubner series by A. Heisenberg (1903), the second volume of which contains a full life, with bibliography; see also Karl Krumbacher, ''Geschichte der byzantinischen Litteratur'' (1897). * A. Heisenberg (ed). ''Georgii Akropolitae Opera''. Vol. 1-2 (Leipzig, 1903); reprinted with corrections by P. Wirth (Stuttgart, 1978). * Ruth Macrides (intr. and comm.), George Akropolites. ''The History'' (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2007) (Oxford Studies in Byzantium). * French translation ''Acropolitès: chronique du XIIIe siècle'' by Jean Dayantis, Les Belles Lettres ed., collection "La roue à livres", Paris 2012. * Spanish translation in: ''Jorge Acropólites: Narración histórica''. Estudio preliminar, traducción, notas y comentarios de Teresa Vila Vilar. Granada: Centro de Estudios Bizantinos, Neogriegos y Chipriotas, 2012.

Notes

References

* * * R. Macrides, "George Akropolites' Rhetoric," in E. Jeffreys (ed.), ''Rhetoric in Byzantium. Papers from the Thirty-fifth Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies, Exeter College, University of Oxford, March 2001'' (Aldershot, 2003), 201–211.

External links