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The Arabs in the Chronicle of Constantine Manasses

100%
Leszka M. J., Deckert M.
Studia Ceranea
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2019
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vol. 9
593-602
EN
This paper looks into the piece by Constantine Manasses considering how it depicts the Arabs. It appears Manasses saw the Arabs primarily as bloody and cruel plunderers who invaded the Byzantine lands. Indeed, they won some of the fights against the Byzantines but eventually had to accept their superiority and concede defeat. It should also be noted that Constantine Manasses did not bring up religious themes when referring to the Arabs.
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The Byzantine chronicles of Symeon the Magister and the Logothete (10th cent.) and Joannes Zonaras (12th cent.). Lesser known sources of knowledge on the Balkan and Eastern Europe Slavs (review of research)

100%
Leszka M., Brzozowska Z.
Balcanica Posnaniensia Acta et studia
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2023
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vol. 30
23-42
EN
The article deals with two Byzantine chronicles that were translated into Old Church Slavic in the Middle Ages on the Balkan Peninsula and were subsequently adapted in Rus’, where they served as the base and source of inspiration for indigenous East Slavic historical studies in universal history. It is about the works of Symeon Magister and Logothete, who probably wrote between the reign of Romanus I Lecapenus and the beginning of the reign of Basil II, and the Epitome historiarum of John Zonaras, covering history from the creation of the world to 1118, which is the most comprehensive Byzantine historical work and which, possibly, was completed ca. 1145. The aim of the article is to establish the chronology of the creation of the Old Church Slavic translations of both chronicles and the history of their dissemination in the Slavia Orthodoxa area (with a review of the state of research). The editions of the translations and unpublished manuscript material were examined (its excerpt is presented in the appendix). We were able to establish that the complete translation of the work of Symeon Magister and Logothete is preserved only in the Moldavian historiographical compilation of 1637, while the text of John Zonaras was translated by the Slavs several times and functioned in their literatures in many versions, none of which, however, is complete.
3
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Słowianie w Historii powszechnej Teofilakta Simokatty – bizantyńska perspektywa aksjologiczna

100%
Kotłowska A.
Slavia Meridionalis
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2017
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vol. 17
EN
Slavs in Theophylact Simocatta’s „Universal History” – a Byzantine axiological perspectiveThe Universal History of Theophylact Simocatta constitutes a very important source for the history of the Later Roman Empire, especially within the context of appearance of the Avars and the Slavs in the Balkans. This article confirms the high reliability and great value of Theophylact’ s narrative concerning the Slavs in the last two decades of the sixth century. In the second part, some new remarks have been given, which argue for the authenticity of the famous episode about Slavs “living at the end of the Western Ocean” (6.2). Moreover, the author is firmly convinced that the so-called Western Ocean should be identified with the Baltic Sea. Słowianie w Historii powszechnej Teofilakta Simokatty – bizantyńska perspektywa aksjologiczna Historia powszechna Teofilakta Simokatty stanowi bardzo istotne źródło do dziejów późnego Cesarstwa Rzymskiego, m.in. w kontekście pojawienia się Awarów i Słowian na Bałkanach. Przedłożony artykuł potwierdza wysoką wiarygodność i faktograficzne znaczenie narracji Teofilakta odnośnie do Słowiańszczyzny ostatnich dwóch dziesięcioleci VI wieku. Druga część artykułu zawiera nową argumentację na rzecz autentyczności słynnego epizodu o Słowianach „mieszkających przy krańcu zachodniego Oceanu”. Autorka jest przekonana, że tzw. „zachodni Ocean” należy utożsamić z Morzem Bałtyckim.
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The Jewish Theme in Theophanes the Confessor’s Testimony on the Prophet Muḥammad

88%
Cecota B.
Studia Ceranea
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2022
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vol. 13
255-269
EN
Theophanes’ account regarding the rise of Islam and the history of the Prophet Muḥammad appears to be the most detailed and precise one that can be found in Byzantine historiography. The Confessor’s aim was to reproduce as many details about Muḥammad’s life as possible. Since his focus was not on religious ideas, but on key events surrounding the rise of the new religion, his account is not predominantly concerned with discussing Islam’s ideology. However, this does not allow us to regard it as in any way objective. Some of the views it contains were included with the clear goal of discrediting Islam as a religion that rivalled Christianity. This, for example, can be said of Theophanes’ remarks about the relationship between Muḥammad and the Jews. In this article, I focus on this aspect of Theophanes’ account, discussing it in the context of the long-running (the last several decades) scholarly debates regarding Jewish-Muslim relations.
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The Portrayal of Abbasid Rulers in Chronography of Theophanes the Confessor

88%
Cecota B.
Studia Ceranea
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2022
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vol. 12
339-350
EN
This text supplements another, a paper presented a decade ago on the portrayal of Umayyad rulers in Chronography of Theophanes the Confessor (B. Cecota, Islam, the Arabs and Umayyad Rulers according to Theophanes the Confessor’s Chronography, “Studia Ceranea” 2, 2012, p. 97–111). I am limiting myself here to discussing only those source remarks which directly concern one of the Abbasid Caliphs, or alternatively, to narratives structured in such a manner that they implied certain traits of a ruler. General remarks concerning the portrayal of the entire dynasty have been included, both in the main text and in the footnotes, only where this was necessary for the understanding of the context in which the Caliphs’ descriptions appear.
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Marcellinus Comes on Emperor Anastasius. A Handful of Remarks

88%
Leszka M. J.
Studia Ceranea
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2022
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vol. 12
689-698
EN
Anastasius was for Marcellinus not only a historical figure, but a ruler whose reign he was first able to observe from the perspective of his native Illyricum, and later as an inhabitant of Constantinople. The dominant influence on Marcellinus’ attitude towards Anastasius, as has already been pointed out many times, had been the Emperor’s religious policy, to which the chronicler, as a supporter of the orthodoxy, was opposed. Undoubtedly it was also not indifferent to the manner of Anastasius’ portrayal that at the time of the creation of the first Chronicle Marcellinus was either already associated with Justinian, or wanted to gain recognition in the eyes of Justin I, who after taking over the power after Anastasius’ death had taken action to reverse the negative outcomes of his predecessor’s religious policy.
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Zoroastrianizm w „Historii powszechnej” Teofilakta Simokatty

75%
Kotłowska A.
Historia Slavorum Occidentis
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2017
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issue 3 (14)
11-22
EN
Theophylact’s details about Zoroastrianism are inaccurrate, general and, at best, only confirming what is commonly known. Therefore, Oikumenike historia as a source to the study of this religion is not important. It must be stressed however, that Theophylact fully accepts and appreciates the crucial role of Zoroastrianism in preserving of Persian identity and culture. The article also briefly describes present demographic condition of the Zoroastrian communities around the world, recording some positive features and trends.
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Alegoria w „Historii powszechnej” Teofilakta Simokatty. Przyczynek do badań nad obecnością alegorii w literaturze bizantyńskiej

63%
Kotłowska A.
Prace Filologiczne. Literaturoznawstwo
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2017
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issue 7(10)
191-203
EN
: The History by Theophylact Simocatta constitutes a very important source for the history of Byzantine civilization in the last two decades of the sixth century, especially within the context of the appearance of the Avars and Slavs in the Balkans.  Its importance as a source is also to be valued in the aspect of the Persian conflict on the eastern border.  Photius, the Patriarch of Constantinople (cod. 65, ed. Henry) was very strict in his opinion of the allegories present in Simocatta’s prose. The purpose of this paper is to verify the appropriateness of such harsh review by analyzing the presence of allegory in historical narrative in question. The analysis of all allegorical images present in Theophylact’s work has confirmed that the opinion presented by the author of Bibliotheca was indeed proper. Allegories in question prove to be highly conventional, lacking creativity, indistinctive and quite standard for the time. Only the image of Odysseus wandering, which served as allegory of writing, deserves to be called authentic and emotional. Not only are they of middling artistic value, but also they do not provide any help in interpreting the historical events they describe. Moreover, there is one fragment, where the allegory used can be even misleading and cause some misunderstandings of the text. Nevertheless, other rhetorical structures present in Theophylact’s History deserve to be praised, such as the method in which he uses the quotes from the epic. Such quotes are always very smoothly and diligently composed into narrative and designed to strengthen the author’s axiological argumentation, which seems to be a universal standard in Byzantine literature.
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Asparuh and His People on the Lower Danube through the Eyes of Theophanes, or a Story that Was Not Meant to Happen

63%
Marinow K.
Studia Ceranea
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2018
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vol. 8
167-191
EN
The Bulgarians’ settlement in the Lower Danube area constituted one of the most significant events in the history of the Balkan Peninsula in the Middle Ages. The Danube Bulgaria’s rise and its territorial expansion changed the political situation in this area. The Bulgarians became Byzantium’s chief opponents in the struggle for establishing ascendancy over the Balkan Peninsula. The analysis of Theophanes’ Chronography, which remains, in addition to the account by Patriarch Nicephorus, the main source of information about these events supports the conclusion that this Byzantine author took a very negative view of the effects of the arrival of these nomads in the former Byzantine territories. Although this account has been analysed in detail by a number of scholars, these authors have paid no attention to the key role of the tale of Khan Kubrat and the disobedience of his five sons who failed to remain faithful to his last wish. The significance of the personal experiences of Theophanes, who witnessed the Bulgarian expansion during the era of Khan Krum, is also omitted from today’s discussion of these issues. These experiences contributed to the way in which he viewed the migration of the ancestors of the distinguished Bulgarian ruler. The chronicler may thus be considered to have offered a very clear view of what the readers should think of the Bulgarians’ arrival in the Balkan territories.
10
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Car bułgarski Piotr (927-969) w bizantyńskiej historiografii X-XII wieku

63%
Leszka M.
Vox Patrum
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2018
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vol. 70
339-354
EN
Byzantine historians tied Peter primarily with the establishment of the las­ting peace with the Empire in 927. In the sources that present the events from before the reign of the emperor Nikephor Phokas (963-969), when the relations between both states deteriorated, Peter is commonly portrayed as a peacemaker, a deeply religious man, accepting of the Byzantine way of understanding the role of the ruler in religious matters. However, Byzantine authors point out that Peter was able to successfully secure his position and ruthlessly deal with his enemies. The sources describing the events from the last years of his reign portray him as a prideful person, daring to stand up against the Byzantine basileÚj, and who gets rightfully and severely punished for his actions. It should be noted that most often the Byzantine authors did not describe their attitude towards Peter, and did not judge him directly. This results in the reader having to build the image of the Bulgarian ruler himself, based on how the sources describe the events concerning his reign.
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Kritobulos z Imbros. Historyk ginącego świata

63%
Kotłowska A.
Balcanica Posnaniensia Acta et studia
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2022
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vol. 29
43-53
EN
The aim of paper is to present wrtitings composed by Critobulus of Imbros, together which some remarks, especially from historiosophical point of view. For him the most important thing was to explain halosis in terms of traditional Byzantine historiosophy.
PL
Celem tekstu jest przedstawienie twórczości Kritobulosa z Imbros wraz z komentarzem ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem aspektu historiozoficznego. Dla niego bowiem podstawową kwestią było wytłumaczenie halosis w kategoriach tradycyjnej bizantyjskiej historiozofii.
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Powstanie Abbasydów i jego następstwa w ujęciu Teofanesa Wyznawcy. Część I

63%
Cecota B.
Balcanica Posnaniensia Acta et studia
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2022
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vol. 29
55-69
EN
This article attempts to interpret the messages of Theophanes the Confessor about the seizure of power in the Muslim caliphate by the Abbasid dynasty. The Byzantine studies debate of the last decades about Chronography was dominated by the dispute over the so-called eastern sources of information contained in the Byzantine chronicle. There were numerous suggestions, most notably about Teophilus of Edessa and alleged Arab sources. In view of this very important discussion, however, the issue of the work that Theophanes the Confessor himself (or the team of people who worked with him and George Syncellus in the context of the selection of materials) put into the creation of this chronicle disappears. What elements of the narrative did he want to emphasize, how did he conduct the narrative, what he wanted to suggest to his readers. According to the author of this text, a good example of the selection work performed by Theophanes are those elements of the narrative that concern the rise and takeover of power by the Abbasids. In the first part of this article, I dealt with the circumstances of the Abbasid seizure of power, which was highlighted by the Byzantine chronicler. Theophanes was certainly not an "supporter" of the Umayyads, as seen especially in the description of Marwan's reign, but he is negative about how the Abbasids seized power - considering their legitimacy questionable, presenting them as the people who led to the robberies and murders by the lower classes . I dealt with these issues, as well as some elements related to possible religious interpretations, in the first part of the work, presented here. In the second, I will present elements of Theophanes' narrative, which seem to suggest that with the seizure of power by the Abbasids he saw a certain collapse of the Muslim state.
PL
Artykuł jest próbą interpretacji informacji wybranych przez Teofanesa Wyznawcy na temat przejęcia władzy w muzułmańskim kalifacie przez dynastię Abbasydów. W bizantyńskiej debacie naukowej ostatnich dziesięcioleci na temat Chronografii dominował spór o tzw. wschodnie źródła, w szczególności dotyczący Teofila z Edessy i rzekomych źródeł arabskich. W świetle tej bardzo ważnej dyskusji znika jednak kwestia pracy, jaką sam Teofanes Wyznawca (lub zespół współpracujących z nim osób i Jerzy Synkelos, w kontekście doboru materiałów) włożył w tworzenie tej kroniki. Jakie elementy narracji chciał podkreślić, jak ją prowadził, co chciał zasugerować swoim czytelnikom. Zdaniem autora tego tekstu, dobrym przykładem pracy selekcyjnej dokonanej przez Teofanesa są te elementy narracji, które dotyczą powstania i przejęcia władzy przez Abbasydów. Teofanes z pewnością nie był „zwolennikiem” Umajjadów, co widać zwłaszcza w opisie panowania Marwana, ale negatywnie odnosi się do tego, jak Abbasydzi przejęli władzę – kwestionuje ich legitymizację, przedstawiając jako ludzi, którzy pozwolili na rabunki i morderstwa dokonywane przez niższe klasy. Tymi zagadnieniami, a także pewnymi elementami związanymi z możliwymi interpretacjami religijnymi zająłem się w pierwszej, prezentowanej tutaj, części pracy. W drugiej przedstawię elementy narracji Teofanesa, które zdają się sugerować, iż wraz z przejęciem władzy przez Abbasydów widział on pewien zmierzch muzułmańskiego państwa w ogóle.
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Powstanie Abbasydów i jego następstwa w ujęciu Teofanesa Wyznawcy. Część II

63%
Cecota B. A.
Balcanica Posnaniensia Acta et studia
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2023
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vol. 30
7-21
EN
In the first part of my article, I described how Theophanes the Confessor refused to legitimize the Abbasids, recognizing the legitimacy of Umayyad rule (according to the chronicler, the Umayyad power came directly from the Prophet Muhammad, which is obviously not entirely true). The chronograph emphasized that the Abbasids used the lower classes to seize power, which allowed them to lead to a state of anarchy. At the same time, he noticed how bad a ruler Marwan the Second was. From this difficult situation, as can be understood, there was no good way out, because both sides of the dispute were tainted with sins that led to injustice or unrighteousness. This was confirmed by supernatural phenomena mentioned by historian in the context of the change of power in the Muslim state. In the second part of my paper, I described how Theophanes tried to suggest that the Abbasid rule had led to religious and class divisions in the country. As a chronicler described the manifestations of anarchy that led to the persecution of Christians in Muslim countries. According to my interpretation, the description of the civil war in the caliphate after the death of Harun ar-Rashid in the work of Theophanes the Confessor is almost a harbinger of the end of the Muslim empire.
PL
W pierwszej części mojego artykułu opisałem, jak Teofanes Wyznawca właściwie odmówił prawa do legitymizacji dynastii abbasydzkiej, uznając prawowierność rządów Umajjadów (według kronikarza władza tych ostatnich pochodziła bezpośrednio od Proroka Muhammada, co oczywiście nie jest do końca prawdą). Chronograf podkreślał, że Abbasydzi wykorzystywali niższe warstwy społeczne do przejęcia władzy, co doprowadziło do stanu anarchii. Jednocześnie zauważył, jak złym władcą był Marwan II. Jak można zrozumieć, z tej trudnej sytuacji nie było dobrego wyjścia, ponieważ obie strony sporu zostały obciążone grzechami prowadzącymi do niesprawiedliwości i nieprawowierności. Potwierdzały to niejako zjawiska nadprzyrodzone, o których historyk wspomniał w kontekście zmiany władzy w państwie muzułmańskim. W drugiej części mojego artykułu opisałem, jak Teofanes próbował zasugerować, że rządy Abbasydów doprowadziły do podziałów religijnych i klasowych. Wspomniałem jak kronikarz opisywał przejawy anarchii, która doprowadziła m.in. do prześladowań chrześcijan. Według mojej interpretacji, opis wojny domowej w kalifacie po śmierci Haruna ar-Raszida jest niemal zwiastunem końca imperium muzułmańskiego.
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Pan Kubrat i jego pięciu synów. Teofanesa wizja przybycia Bułgarów na Półwysep Bałkański

51%
Marinow K.
Balcanica Posnaniensia Acta et studia
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2016
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vol. 23
15-34
EN
The Bulgarians’ settlement in the Lower Danube area constituted one of the most significant events in the history of the Balkan Peninsula in the Middle Ages. The Danube Bulgaria’s rise and its territorial expansion changed the political situation in this area. The Bulgarians became Byzantium’s chief opponents in the struggle for establishing ascendancy over the Balkan Peninsula. The analysis of Theophanes’ Chronography, which remains, in addition to the account by Patriarch Nikephoros, the main source of information about these events supports the conclusion that this Byzantine author took a very negative view of the effects of the arrival of these nomads in the former Byzantine territories. Although this account has been analysed in detail by a number of scholars, these authors have paid no attention to the key role of the tale of Khan Kubrat and the disobedience of his five sons who failed to remain faithful to his last wish. The significance of the personal experiences of Theophanes, who witnessed the Bulgarian expansion during the era of Khan Krum, is also omitted from today’s discussion of these issues. These experiences contributed to the way in which he viewed the migration of the ancestors of the distinguished Bulgarian ruler. The chronicler may thus be considered to have offered a very clear view of what the readers should think of the Bulgarians’ arrival in the Balkan territories.
15
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Τέρνοβος, ἐν ᾗ τὰ βασίλεια ἦν τῶν Βουλγάρων: the Role of the Bulgarian Capital City According to Ῥωμαϊκὴ ἱστορία by Nikephoros Gregoras

51%
Marinow K.
Studia Ceranea
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2022
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vol. 12
135-157
EN
The paper is devoted to a detailed analysis of direct and indirect references to Tărnovo, the capital of the so-called Second Bulgarian Tsardom (12th–14th centuries) in Roman history of Nikephoros Gregoras, an outstanding Byzantine scholar of the first half of the fourteenth century. An analysis of the passages devoted to this city leads to a conclusion that the status of the city was fully obvious to the Byzantine historian – this was the main, capital city of the Bulgarian state, in which its rulers permanently resided, without holding which one could not be a fully legitimate tsar of the Bulgarians and exercise real power of the northern neighbours of Byzantium. Thus the conflicts over power in contemporary Bulgaria focused primarily on taking Tărnovo. The Bulgarian tsar departed with military expeditions most often from this city, having gathered in its vicinity armed forces, and to this city Byzantines and rulers of other neighbouring countries sent their envoys to meet with the Bulgarian autocrat.
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Gnesioi filoi: George Syncellus and Theophanes the Confessor – Addenda

38%
Kompa A.
Studia Ceranea
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2022
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vol. 12
599-632
EN
The paper provides the addenda to A. Kompa, Gnesioi filoi: the search for George Syncellus’ and Theophanes the Confessor’s own words, and the authorship of their oeuvre, Studia Ceranea 5, 2015, p. 155–230. All the expressions crucial to the stylistic and stylometric argument on the authorship of the Chronography of Theophanes have been updated after 7 years and verified in the expanded TLG database. The updated results are presented below. The conclusions confirm the previous opinions on the individual, singular authorship of the chronicle of Theophanes with differences in style from the first part of the universal history, written by George Syncellus. At the same time, both works should be treated as a single project, and the prooimion to Theophanes’ part as a sound base faor the reconstruction of the writing process. The clauses ὡς προέφην, καθὼς καὶ προέφην, ὡς προέφημεν, and καθὼς προέφημεν are specific to the Chronography of Theophanes in their frequency and diversity, but they seem to be known and used by the circles from which Theophanes acquired his literary skills.
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