The ''Metz Epitome'' is a

late antique Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English has ...

summary of earlier

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

fragments and covers the conquests of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

between

Hyrcania Hyrcania () ( el, ''Hyrkania'', Old Persian: 𐎺𐎼𐎣𐎠𐎴 ''Varkâna'',Lendering (1996) Middle Persian: 𐭢𐭥𐭫𐭢𐭠𐭭 ''Gurgān'', Akkadian: ''Urqananu'') is a historical region composed of the land south-east of the Caspia ...

and northwest India.Baynham, E.(1995) ''An Introduction to the Metz Epitome: its Traditions and Value'', Antichthon 29, 1995,Loube, Heather The (1995) "Metz Epitome": Alexander (July, 330 B.C.-July, 325 B.C.) A commentary. University Ottawa ON Canada
Worthington, Ian (2003) ''Alexander the Great: a reader''. page 1

/ref> The only surviving manuscript was found in

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

, from which the text's name originates. The manuscript was destroyed during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, but there are two transcriptions of the original. The Epitome was part of the same manuscript as the so-called ''Liber de Morte Alexandri Magni Testamentumque'' (which may have been written by the same epitomator, as suggested by E. Baynham). The sources of the

anonymous author Anonymous works are works, such as art or literature, that have an anonymous, undisclosed, or unknown creator or author. In the case of very old works, the author's name may simply be lost over the course of history and time. There are a number ...

have much in common with the historian

Cleitarchus Cleitarchus or Clitarchus ( el, Κλείταρχος) was one of the historians of Alexander the Great. Son of the historian Dinon of Colophon, he spent a considerable time at the court of Ptolemy Lagus. He was active in the mid to late 4th centu ...

, through the writings of

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...

and

Quintus Curtius Rufus Quintus Curtius Rufus () was a Roman historian, probably of the 1st century, author of his only known and only surviving work, ''Historiae Alexandri Magni'', "Histories of Alexander the Great", or more fully ''Historiarum Alexandri Magni Macedon ...

. Non-Cleitarchan elements in the

text Text may refer to: Written word * Text (literary theory), any object that can be read, including: **Religious text, a writing that a religious tradition considers to be sacred **Text, a verse or passage from scripture used in expository preachin ...

seem to reflect a certain

Hebraic Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

view concerning Alexander. The ''Epitome'' paints a unique portrait of Alexander and includes some information not found elsewhere but in view of its late authorship and the few additional historical fact it offers, the value of the ''Metz Epitome'' lies in its interpretation of Alexander's career rather than as a source for it.

References

Historiography of Alexander the Great History of navigation Travel books Geography books Roman-era Greek historiography Roman itineraries Texts in Koine Greek {{Geo-book-stub