Chronicle of Monemvasia
Encyclopedia
The Chronicle of Monemvasia is a medieval text of which four versions, all written in medieval Greek
, are extant. The author (or authors) of the account is currently unknown. The Chronicle, specifically the version from the Iberikon monastery
, narrates the events that depict the Avaro
-Slavic
conquest and colonization of mainland Greece, covering a period from 587 to 805 AD.
. The text was reissued in 1884 by Spyridon P. Lambros along with two other versions, one belonging to the Iberikon monastery and the other belonging to the Koutloumousiou monastery
in Mount Athos
. Minor corrections were made to all three versions of the Chronicle by N. A. Bees who republished the texts in 1909. Three years later (1912), a fourth version was published by Lambros who discovered another text at the Collegio Greco in Rome
.
whereas the Koutloumousion and Turin texts use the older Alexandrian dating system.
was responsible for compiling the text. However, Koder's argument was rejected by I. Dujčev based on the Chronicle's allusion to Emperor Nikephoros II
(r. 963–969), who lived after Arethas. What is ultimately known about the author(s) is his/their ignorance of Balkan geography outside of the Peloponnese, despite basing his/their depiction of Avar attacks on Procopius
's description of attacks by the Huns
.
argues that the original text was first written in 932 AD when it was used in the Scholion of Arethas. However, Spyridon Lambros believes that the Iberikon text was composed between 806 and 1083, whereas the Turin and Koutloumousion texts were written sometime during the end of the 13th century. N. A. Bees disputes Lambros’s assessment and believes the entire Chronicle was developed between 1340 and the 16th century. S. Kougeas dates the composition of the text to after the reign of Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas (r. 963–969) whereas Michael Whitby states that the Chronicle was first composed in the Peloponnese in circa 1000 AD. I. Dujčev dates the Chronicle to 963–1018 AD, and Florin Curta dates the writing of the text to either the late 10th century or the early 11th century.
, Epirus
, Attica
, and the island of Euboea
. As a result, many Greeks retreated to other areas: the inhabitants of Patras
fled to Rhegium
in Calabria
, the Argives
fled to the island of Orobe, the Corinth
ians fled to Aegina
, and the Laconia
ns fled to Sicily
. The city of Monemvasia
, specifically, was built at the time on the coast in an inaccessible region of the Peloponnese by groups that would later be known collectively as Tzakones
. Due to the more rugged terrain of the eastern Peloponnese, the areas from Corinth to Cape Malea
remained under "Roman" (Byzantine Greek
) control. One of the governors of the Peloponnese, a native of Lesser Armenia
, came into conflict with a number of Slavic tribes and successfully annihilated them. This unnamed member of the Skleroi
family helped make way for the native Greeks to reclaim their lands. Upon hearing these events, Emperor Nikephoros I
(r. 802–811) contributed towards revitalizing the cities, rebuilding the churches, and Christianizing the barbarians.
, Theophanes the Confessor
, Menander Protector
, and Theophylactus Simocatta. The author(s) of the Chronicle, however, used another source in order to write about the Avars and Slavs establishing their rule in the Peloponnese for 218 years. This unknown text may have been a forgery of ecclesiastical origin used by or on behalf of the Bishop of Patras. Despite the source being unknown, it was used in both the Scholium of Arethas and in a letter by Patriarch Nicholas III to Emperor Alexios I Komnenos
(r. 1081–1118).
, for example, describes the Chronicle as "absolutely trustworthy". Kenneth Setton
, however, disagrees with Charanis and argues that the Chronicle is a "medley of some fact and some fiction". Stilpon Kyriakides finds that the Chronicle contains an ecclesiastical bias and that the conquest of Greece by the Avars/Slavs is a myth.
, which is contradicted by a correspondence (February 591 AD) between Pope Gregory the Great and Archbishop Anastasius of Corinth. As for the rebuilding of churches in the Peloponnese, there is no substantial architectural record that corroborates this particular event mentioned in the Chronicle.
From an archaeological viewpoint, the Chronicle of Monemvasia overstates the impact of the Avaro-Slavic invasions of Greece. In Methana
, there is no evidence of any widespread disruption of settlement patterns (this is also the case elsewhere in the Peloponnese). The island of Kythera, on the other hand, was abandoned along with other coastal sites due to attacks conducted by one or more Slavic fleets.
Despite its compelling narrative, the Chronicle is not an actual chronicle. The text represents a compilation of sources involving Avars and Slavs and focuses on the foundation of the metropolitan see of Patras. It is possible that the Chronicle was actually used in negotiations with the metropolitan of Corinth over the status of the metropolitan of Patras.
Medieval Greek
Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, is the stage of the Greek language between the beginning of the Middle Ages around 600 and the Ottoman conquest of the city of Constantinople in 1453. The latter date marked the end of the Middle Ages in Southeast Europe...
, are extant. The author (or authors) of the account is currently unknown. The Chronicle, specifically the version from the Iberikon monastery
Iviron monastery
Holy Monastery of Iviron is an Eastern Orthodox monastery at the monastic state of Mount Athos in Greece...
, narrates the events that depict the Avaro
Eurasian Avars
The Eurasian Avars or Ancient Avars were a highly organized nomadic confederacy of mixed origins. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit entourage of nomad warriors, an organization characteristic of Turko-Mongol groups...
-Slavic
South Slavs
The South Slavs are the southern branch of the Slavic peoples and speak South Slavic languages. Geographically, the South Slavs are native to the Balkan peninsula, the southern Pannonian Plain and the eastern Alps...
conquest and colonization of mainland Greece, covering a period from 587 to 805 AD.
Versions
The first manuscript of the Chronicle was published in 1749 by Joseph Pasinus (or Giuseppe Passini) and his colleagues, Rivautella and Berta, at the Royal Library of TurinRoyal Library of Turin
The Royal Library of Turin is located under the porticoes on the ground floor of the Royal Palace in the north-west Italian city of Turin...
. The text was reissued in 1884 by Spyridon P. Lambros along with two other versions, one belonging to the Iberikon monastery and the other belonging to the Koutloumousiou monastery
Koutloumousiou monastery
Koutloumousiou monastery is an Eastern Orthodox monastery at the monastic state of Mount Athos in Greece. The monastery ranks sixth in the hierarchy of the Athonite monasteries....
in Mount Athos
Mount Athos
Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. A World Heritage Site, it is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the...
. Minor corrections were made to all three versions of the Chronicle by N. A. Bees who republished the texts in 1909. Three years later (1912), a fourth version was published by Lambros who discovered another text at the Collegio Greco in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
Order of the texts
There is currently no consensus among modern scholars regarding the chronological order of the four Chronicle manuscripts. Lambros argues that the text discovered at the Iberikon monastery is the earliest version. N. A. Bees, however, disagrees with Lambros and finds the Iberikon manuscript to be a later variant of the Turin and Koutloumousion versions. Recent studies show the Iberikon text to be a later version of the Chronicle through its use of the Byzantine dating systemByzantine calendar
The Byzantine calendar, also "Creation Era of Constantinople," or "Era of the World" was the calendar used by the Eastern Orthodox Church from c. 691 to 1728 in the Ecumenical Patriarchate. It was also the official calendar of the Byzantine Empire from 988 to 1453, and in Russia from c...
whereas the Koutloumousion and Turin texts use the older Alexandrian dating system.
Authorship
The author (or authors) of the Chronicle of Monemvasia is unknown. One hypothesis by J. Koder states that Arethas of CaesareaArethas of Caesarea
Arethas of Caesarea became Archbishop of Caesarea early in the 10th century, and is reckoned one of the most scholarly theologians of the Greek Orthodox Church.-Life:He was born at Patrae . He was a disciple of Photius...
was responsible for compiling the text. However, Koder's argument was rejected by I. Dujčev based on the Chronicle's allusion to Emperor Nikephoros II
Nikephoros II
Nikephoros II Phokas was a Byzantine Emperor whose brilliant military exploits contributed to the resurgence of Byzantine Empire in the tenth century.-Early exploits:...
(r. 963–969), who lived after Arethas. What is ultimately known about the author(s) is his/their ignorance of Balkan geography outside of the Peloponnese, despite basing his/their depiction of Avar attacks on Procopius
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea was a prominent Byzantine scholar from Palestine. Accompanying the general Belisarius in the wars of the Emperor Justinian I, he became the principal historian of the 6th century, writing the Wars of Justinian, the Buildings of Justinian and the celebrated Secret History...
's description of attacks by the Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
.
Dates of composition
Scholars are also divergent in their views regarding the exact composition dates of the four Chronicle manuscripts. Paul LemerlePaul Lemerle
Paul Lemerle was a French Byzantinist.Lemerle taught at the École française d’Athènes , at the Faculté des Lettres of the University of Burgundy at Dijon , at the École Pratique des Hautes Études , at the Sorbonne and at the Collège de France...
argues that the original text was first written in 932 AD when it was used in the Scholion of Arethas. However, Spyridon Lambros believes that the Iberikon text was composed between 806 and 1083, whereas the Turin and Koutloumousion texts were written sometime during the end of the 13th century. N. A. Bees disputes Lambros’s assessment and believes the entire Chronicle was developed between 1340 and the 16th century. S. Kougeas dates the composition of the text to after the reign of Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas (r. 963–969) whereas Michael Whitby states that the Chronicle was first composed in the Peloponnese in circa 1000 AD. I. Dujčev dates the Chronicle to 963–1018 AD, and Florin Curta dates the writing of the text to either the late 10th century or the early 11th century.
Narrative
According to the Iberikon manuscript of the Chronicle, the Avars/Slavs conquered ThessalyThessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
, Epirus
Epirus
The name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
, Attica
Attica
Attica is a historical region of Greece, containing Athens, the current capital of Greece. The historical region is centered on the Attic peninsula, which projects into the Aegean Sea...
, and the island of Euboea
Euboea
Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. The narrow Euripus Strait separates it from Boeotia in mainland Greece. In general outline it is a long and narrow, seahorse-shaped island; it is about long, and varies in breadth from to...
. As a result, many Greeks retreated to other areas: the inhabitants of Patras
Patras
Patras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens...
fled to Rhegium
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, southern Italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria and seat of the Council of Calabrian government.Reggio is located on the "toe" of the Italian...
in Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
, the Argives
Argos
Argos is a city and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. It is 11 kilometres from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour...
fled to the island of Orobe, the Corinth
Corinth
Corinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
ians fled to Aegina
Aegina
Aegina is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina, the mother of Aeacus, who was born in and ruled the island. During ancient times, Aegina was a rival to Athens, the great sea power of the era.-Municipality:The municipality...
, and the Laconia
Laconia
Laconia , also known as Lacedaemonia, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti...
ns fled to Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. The city of Monemvasia
Monemvasia
Monemvasia is a town and a municipality in Laconia, Greece. The town is located on a small peninsula off the east coast of the Peloponnese. The peninsula is linked to the mainland by a short causeway 200m in length. Its area consists mostly of a large plateau some 100 metres above sea level, up to...
, specifically, was built at the time on the coast in an inaccessible region of the Peloponnese by groups that would later be known collectively as Tzakones
Tsakonians
Tsakonians ; are a native Greek population group, speakers of the Tsakonian dialect, or more broadly, inhabitants of Tsakonia in the eastern Peloponnese and followers of certain Tsakonian cultural traditions, such as the Tsakonian dance....
. Due to the more rugged terrain of the eastern Peloponnese, the areas from Corinth to Cape Malea
Cape Malea
Cape Maleas is a peninsula and cape in the southeast of the Peloponnese in Greece. To distinguish it from the cape, the peninsula is sometimes referred to as "Epidavros Limira" peninsula, after the most prominent ancient city located on it. It separates the Laconian Gulf in the west from the...
remained under "Roman" (Byzantine Greek
Byzantine Greeks
Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenised citizens of the Byzantine Empire, centered mainly in Constantinople, the southern Balkans, the Greek islands, Asia Minor , Cyprus and the large urban centres of the Near East...
) control. One of the governors of the Peloponnese, a native of Lesser Armenia
Lesser Armenia
Lesser Armenia , also known as Armenia Minor and Armenia Inferior, refers to the Armenian populated regions, primarily to the West and North-West of the ancient Armenian Kingdom...
, came into conflict with a number of Slavic tribes and successfully annihilated them. This unnamed member of the Skleroi
Skleros
The Skleros or Sclerus , feminine form Skleraina/Scleraena , was a noble Byzantine family active mostly in the 9th–11th centuries.-Origin and early members:...
family helped make way for the native Greeks to reclaim their lands. Upon hearing these events, Emperor Nikephoros I
Nikephoros I
Nikephoros I or Nicephorus I, Logothetes or Genikos was Byzantine emperor from 802 to 811, when he was killed in the Battle of Pliska....
(r. 802–811) contributed towards revitalizing the cities, rebuilding the churches, and Christianizing the barbarians.
Derivative works
Most of the narrative in the Chronicle is derived from works by Evagrius ScholasticusEvagrius Scholasticus
Evagrius Scholasticus was a Syrian scholar and intellectual living in the 6th century AD, and an aide to the patriarch Gregory of Antioch. His surviving work, Ecclesiastical History, comprises a six-volume collection concerning the Church's history from the First Council of Ephesus to Maurice’s...
, Theophanes the Confessor
Theophanes the Confessor
Saint Theophanes Confessor was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy, who became a monk and chronicler. He is venerated on March 12 in the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church .-Biography:Theophanes was born in Constantinople of wealthy and noble iconodule parents: Isaac,...
, Menander Protector
Menander Protector
Menander Protector , Byzantine historian, was born in Constantinople in the middle of the 6th century AD. The little that is known of his life is contained in the account of himself quoted by Suidas. He at first took up the study of law, but abandoned it for a life of pleasure...
, and Theophylactus Simocatta. The author(s) of the Chronicle, however, used another source in order to write about the Avars and Slavs establishing their rule in the Peloponnese for 218 years. This unknown text may have been a forgery of ecclesiastical origin used by or on behalf of the Bishop of Patras. Despite the source being unknown, it was used in both the Scholium of Arethas and in a letter by Patriarch Nicholas III to Emperor Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus , was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118, and although he was not the founder of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power. The title 'Nobilissimus' was given to senior army commanders,...
(r. 1081–1118).
Reliability
The historical validity of the Chronicle of Monemvasia is still a subject of academic dispute. Peter CharanisPeter Charanis
Peter Charanis was a Greece born American scholar of Byzantium and the Voorhees Professor of History at Rutgers University. Dr. Charanis was long associated with the Dumbarton Oaks research library.Dr. Charanis was born in Lemnos, Greece...
, for example, describes the Chronicle as "absolutely trustworthy". Kenneth Setton
Kenneth Setton
Kenneth Meyer Setton was an American historian and an expert on the history of medieval Europe.- Early life, education and awards :...
, however, disagrees with Charanis and argues that the Chronicle is a "medley of some fact and some fiction". Stilpon Kyriakides finds that the Chronicle contains an ecclesiastical bias and that the conquest of Greece by the Avars/Slavs is a myth.
Exaggerations and errors
There are a number of errors and exaggerations in the Chronicle. For example, the city of Monemvasia was not built after the barbarians invaded Greece. In actuality, the city was constructed approximately four to five years (circa 582–583) before the advent of the Avars and Slavs. Another example entails the Corinthians' migration to the island of Aegina in the Saronic GulfSaronic Gulf
The Saronic Gulf or Gulf of Aegina in Greece forms part of the Aegean Sea and defines the eastern side of the isthmus of Corinth. It is the eastern terminus of the Corinth Canal, which cuts across the isthmus.-Geography:The gulf includes the islands of; Aegina, Salamis, and Poros along with...
, which is contradicted by a correspondence (February 591 AD) between Pope Gregory the Great and Archbishop Anastasius of Corinth. As for the rebuilding of churches in the Peloponnese, there is no substantial architectural record that corroborates this particular event mentioned in the Chronicle.
From an archaeological viewpoint, the Chronicle of Monemvasia overstates the impact of the Avaro-Slavic invasions of Greece. In Methana
Methana
Methana is a town and a former municipality on the Peloponnese peninsula, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Troizinia, of which it is a municipal unit....
, there is no evidence of any widespread disruption of settlement patterns (this is also the case elsewhere in the Peloponnese). The island of Kythera, on the other hand, was abandoned along with other coastal sites due to attacks conducted by one or more Slavic fleets.
Despite its compelling narrative, the Chronicle is not an actual chronicle. The text represents a compilation of sources involving Avars and Slavs and focuses on the foundation of the metropolitan see of Patras. It is possible that the Chronicle was actually used in negotiations with the metropolitan of Corinth over the status of the metropolitan of Patras.