Theophylact Simocatta (
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 ...
: Θεοφύλακτος Σιμοκάτ(τ)ης ''Theophýlaktos Simokát(t)ēs''; la, Theophylactus Simocatta) was an early seventh-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 ...
historiographer, arguably ranking as the last historian of
Late Antiquity
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 ha ...
, writing in the time of
Heraclius
Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exa ...
(c. 630) about the late
Emperor Maurice
Maurice ( la, Mauricius or ''Mauritius''; ; 539 – 27 November 602) was Eastern Roman emperor from 582 to 602 and the last member of the Justinian dynasty. A successful general, Maurice was chosen as heir and son-in-law by his predecessor Tib ...
(582–602).
Life
Simocatta is best known as the author of ''History'', a work split into eight books, about the reign of the emperor
Maurice Maurice may refer to:
People
* Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
* Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
*Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...
(582–602), for which period he is the best and oldest authority. However, his work is of lesser stature than that of
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gener ...
and his self-consciously classicizing style is pompous, but he is an important source of information concerning the seventh-century
Slavs
Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
, the
Avars and the
Persians
The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian.
...
, and the emperor's tragic end. He mentions the
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
of
Heraclius
Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exa ...
against the Persians (610–28), but not
that against the Arabs (beginning 629), so it is likely that he was writing around 630. Among his sources he used the history of
John of Epiphania
John of Epiphania ( el, Ιωάννης Επιφανεύς) was a late sixth century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine historian.
John was born in Epiphania (modern Hama, Syria). He was a Christians, Christian and served as a legal counselor to the Pat ...
.
Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, is k ...
wrote:
His want of judgement renders him diffuse in trifles and concise in the most interesting facts.
This notwithstanding, Simocatta's general trustworthiness is admitted. The history contains an introduction in the form of a dialogue between
History
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
and
Philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
.
Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic Church, Catholic cano ...
translated Greek verses by Theophylact into
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
prose and had his translation, dedicated to his uncle
Lucas Watzenrode
Lucas Watzenrode the Younger (sometimes ''Watzelrode'' and ''Waisselrod''; german: Lucas Watzenrode der Jüngere; pl, Łukasz Watzenrode; 30 October 1447 – 29 March 1512) was Prince-Bishop of Warmia (Ermland) and patron to his nephew, astr ...
, published in
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
in 1509 by
Johann Haller
Johann Haller or Jan Haller (1463–1525) is considered one of the first commercial printers in Poland.
Early life
Haller was born in Rothenburg,
Franconia, Germany. After his studies at the Kraków Academy, Haller became a merchant in wine, cop ...
. It was the only book that Copernicus ever brought out on his own account.
Simocatta was also the author of ''Physical Problems'', a work on
natural history, and of a collection of 85 essays in epistolary form.
In regards to the Far East, Simocatta wrote a
generally accurate depiction of the
reunification of China by
Emperor Wen (r. 581–604 AD) of the
Sui Dynasty
The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...
, with the conquest of the rival
Chen Dynasty in
southern China
South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...
, correctly placing these events within the reign period of Byzantine ruler
Maurice Maurice may refer to:
People
* Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
* Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
*Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...
.
[Yule (1915), pp 29-31.] Simocatta also provided cursory information about the
geography of China
China has great physical diversity. The eastern plains and southern coasts of the country consist of fertile lowlands and foothills. They are the location of most of China's agricultural output and human population. The southern areas of the ...
along with its
customs and culture, deeming its people "idolatrous" but wise in governance.
He also related how the ruler was named ''Taisson'', the meaning of which was "Son of God", possibly derived from Chinese ''Tianzi'' (
Son of Heaven
Son of Heaven, or ''Tianzi'' (), was the sacred monarchical title of the Chinese sovereign. It originated with the Zhou dynasty and was founded on the political and spiritual doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven. Since the Qin dynasty, the secula ...
, a title of the
emperor of China
''Huangdi'' (), translated into English as Emperor, was the superlative title held by monarchs of China who ruled various imperial regimes in Chinese history. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was considered the Son of Heave ...
) or even the name of the contemporaneous ruler
Emperor Taizong of
Tang
Tang or TANG most often refers to:
* Tang dynasty
* Tang (drink mix)
Tang or TANG may also refer to:
Chinese states and dynasties
* Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...
.
[Yule (1915), p. 29, footnote #4.]
Works
*
Notes
References
*Michael and Mary Whitby, translators
''The History of Theophylact Simocatta: An English Translation with Introduction'' Oxford University Press, 1986, , 9780198227991
*Angus Armitage, ''The World of Copernicus'', New York, Mentor Books, 1947.
*
Yule, Henry (1915). Henri Cordier (ed.)
''Cathay and the Way Thither: Being a Collection of Medieval Notices of China, Vol I: Preliminary Essay on the Intercourse Between China and the Western Nations Previous to the Discovery of the Cape Route'' London: Hakluyt Society. Accessed 21 September 2016.
*
External links
*
*Raw Greek OCR of Carl de Boor's Teubner editio
''Theophylacti Simocattae Historiae''(1887) from the Lace collection at
Mount Allison University
Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839.
Like other liberal arts colleges in North America, Mount Allison does not parti ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simocatta, Theophylact
7th-century Byzantine historians
Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown
Nicolaus Copernicus