Leo the Deacon
Encyclopedia
Leo the Deacon was a Byzantine Roman historian and chronicler.
He was born around 950 at Kaloe in Asia Minor
, and was educated in Constantinople
, where he became a deacon
in the imperial palace. While in Constantinople he wrote a history covering the reigns of Romanus II, Nicepheros II, John Tzimiskes, and the early part of the reign of Basil II
. Often his observations were based on his experiences as an eyewitness to events. His writing style has been described as "Classical", as he employed language reminiscent of the poet Homer
and other ancient Greek
historians such as Agathias
.
Leo is particularly well-known for his eyewitness description of Sviatoslav I of Kiev
, who invaded Bulgaria
in 969 and fought against Roman Imperial forces over its territory.
He was born around 950 at Kaloe in Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
, and was educated in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, where he became a deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
in the imperial palace. While in Constantinople he wrote a history covering the reigns of Romanus II, Nicepheros II, John Tzimiskes, and the early part of the reign of Basil II
Basil II
Basil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...
. Often his observations were based on his experiences as an eyewitness to events. His writing style has been described as "Classical", as he employed language reminiscent of the poet Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
and other ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
historians such as Agathias
Agathias
Agathias or Agathias Scholasticus , of Myrina , an Aeolian city in western Asia Minor , was a Greek poet and the principal historian of part of the reign of the Roman emperor Justinian I between 552 and 558....
.
Leo is particularly well-known for his eyewitness description of Sviatoslav I of Kiev
Sviatoslav I of Kiev
Sviatoslav I Igorevich ; , also spelled Svyatoslav, was a prince of Rus...
, who invaded Bulgaria
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...
in 969 and fought against Roman Imperial forces over its territory.
External links
- Leo's Greek text (ed. MignePatrologia GraecaThe Patrologia Graeca is an edited collection of writings by the Christian Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the ancient Koine or medieval variants of the Greek language. It consists of 161 volumes produced in 1857–1866 by J. P. Migne's Imprimerie Catholique...
) in Adobe format - Scan of text (ed. Niebuhr, CSHB) in Adobe
- Text in Russian translation