EN
There is a brief mention of a certain Iamblichus in the Romana, a treatise on Roman history by Jordanes. Judging from the place Iamblichus holds in the structure of the Romana, we can safely assume that he must have been important to Jordanes and his views. Because no known author can be identified with him, we must turn our attention to all known bearers of that name. There is, in fact, only one Iamblichus who can be seriously considered: a physician living in Constantinople in the mid-6th century. He is known only through a poem (Anthologia Graeca, XVI,272) by Leontios, a lawyer who also lived in the mid-6th century Constantinople. According to him, this Iamblichus taught “wisdom”, which seems to mean educational lectures for general public. Leontios emphasizes that Iamblichus never took money for his teaching. While exact identification of Jordanes’ Iamblichus remains elusive, he may very well have been a Greek-speaking, erudite doctor (and – judging by the name – a Syrian), who taught Jordanes at some point during the first half of the 6th century.