__NOTOC__ John Phokas ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης Φωκᾶς, ''Iōánnēs Phōkâs'') or Phocas ( la, Johannes Phocas) was a 12th-century

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

pilgrim to the Holy Land. He wrote an account of his travels, the so-called ''Ekphrasis'' or ''Concise Description of the Holy Places'', which has been called "the most elegant of Palestinian pilgrimage accounts".

Michael Angold Michael Angold (born 1940) is Professor Emeritus of Byzantine History and Honorary Fellow in the University of Edinburgh. Biography Michael Angold was educated at the University of Oxford (Bachelor of Arts, BA, Doctor of Philosophy, D.Phil.). He ...

(2016), "The Fall of Jerusalem (1187) as Viewed from Byzantium," in Adrian J. Boas (ed.), ''The Crusader World'' (London & New York: Routledge) pp. 289–308, at 294. Doubt has recently arisen over whether Phokas was in fact the author of the ''Ekphrasis'', which has been re-attributed instead to the John Doukas who went on an imperial mission to the Holy Land in 1177. Little biographical information about Phokas is available. One manuscript of the ''Ekphrasis'' contains a note stating that he was a priest and that his father, a certain Matthew, became a monk on

Patmos Patmos ( el, Πάτμος, ) is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. It is famous as the location where John of Patmos received the visions found in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament, and where the book was written. One of the northern ...

. According to this marginal note, his trip to the Holy Land took place in either 1177 or 1195. He is known to have accompanied Emperor ManuelI (reigned 1143–80) on an expedition to the sea off Attaleia (now

Antalya la, Attalensis grc, Ἀτταλειώτης , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 07xxx , area_code = (+90) 242 , registration_plate = 07 , blank_name = Licence plate ...

). He may be the same person as the "Focas" who, according to the '' Annales Herbipolenses'', was sent by Manuel in 1147 to guide the crusading army of King Conrad III of Germany from

Nicaea Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and s ...

to Iconium. Phokas's ''Ekphrasis'' is both concise and precise. He had a rather positive attitude towards the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

. In some cases he provides unique information. He describes a fanatical

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

sect called the ''Chasisioi'' (perhaps the Assassins). He calls the

river Jordan The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...

"the holiest among rivers" and names three monasteries in the vicinity of site of the

baptism of Jesus The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is a major event in the life of Jesus which is described in the three synoptic Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark and Luke). It is considered to have taken place at Al-Maghtas (also called Bet ...

dedicated to Our Lady of Kalamon,

John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος; 14 September 407) was an important Early Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of ...

and

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

. The latter was rebuilt, he says, by ManuelI. He also reports that

Cana Cana of Galilee ( grc, Κανὰ τῆς Γαλιλαίας; ar, قانا الجليل , translit= Qana al-Jalil , lit=Qana of the Galilee) is the location of the Marriage at Cana, at which the miracle of turning water into wine took place in ...

was nothing more than a ''kastellion'' (a small fortified settlement), that there were two monasteries (one Greek, one Latin) atop

Mount Tabor Mount Tabor ( he, הר תבור) (Har Tavor) is located in Lower Galilee, Israel, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, west of the Sea of Galilee. In the Hebrew Bible (Joshua, Judges), Mount Tabor is the site of the Battle of Mount Tabo ...

, and that the site of ancient Jericho was covered in gardens and vineyards. Besides the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

, Phokas also quotes from such ancient authors as Josephus Flavius and

Achilles Tatius Achilles Tatius ( Greek: Ἀχιλλεὺς Τάτιος, ''Achilleus Tatios'') of Alexandria was a Roman-era Greek writer of the 2nd century AD whose fame is attached to his only surviving work, the ancient Greek novel, or ''romance'', '' The Adv ...

. The ''Ekphrasis'' may have been written against the pilgrimage account of Constantine Manasses, who returned from the Holy Land disillusioned and wondering why Christ lived there. In the ''Ekphrasis'', the beauty of the places is stressed repeatedly.

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* {{Authority control 12th-century Byzantine writers Byzantine geographers Officials of Manuel I Komnenos Christians of the Second Crusade Holy Land travellers Christian pilgrimages Pilgrimage accounts 12th-century Eastern Orthodox priests

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