George Akropolites ( Latinized as Acropolites or Acropolita; el, , ''Georgios Akropolites''; 1217 or 1220 – 1282) was a Byzantine Greek historian and statesman born at Constantinople.

Life

In his sixteenth year he was sent by his father, the

logothete Logothete ( el, λογοθέτης, ''logothétēs'', pl. λογοθέται, ''logothétai''; Med. la, logotheta, pl. ''logothetae''; bg, логотет; it, logoteta; ro, logofăt; sr, логотет, ''logotet'') was an administrative title ...

Constantine Akropolites the elder, to the court of

John III Doukas Vatatzes John III Doukas Vatatzes, Latinized as Ducas Vatatzes ( el, Ιωάννης Δούκας Βατάτζης, ''Iōannēs Doukas Vatatzēs'', c. 1192 – 3 November 1254), was Emperor of Nicaea from 1221 to 1254. He was succeeded by his son, known ...

emperor of Nicaea This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

, where Akropolites continued his studies under Theodore Hexapterygos and Nicephorus Blemmydes. The emperor afterwards entrusted George with important state missions, as did his successors ( Theodore II Laskaris and Michael VIII Palaiologos). The office of Grand Logothete, or chancellor, was bestowed upon him in 1244. As commander in the field in 1257 against Michael II,

despot of Epirus The despot of Epirus was the ruler of the Despotate of Epirus, one of the successor states of the Byzantine Empire in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade. The name "Despotate of Epirus" and the title "despot of Epirus" are modern historiographical ...

, he showed little military ability. George was captured and kept for two years in prison, from which he was released by Michael Palaiologos. Meanwhile, Michael Palaiologos was proclaimed emperor of Nicaea, afterwards expelling the Latins from Constantinople, and became emperor of the restored

Byzantine Empire 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 ...

. From this moment Akropolites becomes known in the history of the eastern empire as one of its greatest diplomats. After having discharged the function of ambassador at the court of the Bulgarian Tsar Constantine, he became the first head of the University of Constantinople, where he lectured on mathematics and philosophy. His students included

George of Cyprus George of Cyprus ( el, Γεώργιος Κύπριος; Latinized as ''Georgius Cyprius'') was a Byzantine geographer of the early seventh century. Nothing is known of his life save that he was born at Lapithos in the island of Cyprus. He is kno ...

and

George Pachymeres George Pachymeres ( el, Γεώργιος Παχυμέρης, Geórgios Pachyméris; 1242 – 1310) was a Byzantine Greek historian, philosopher, music theorist and miscellaneous writer. Biography Pachymeres was born at Nicaea, in Bithynia, wher ...

. In the meantime, Michael, afraid of a new Latin invasion, proposed to Pope Clement IV to reunite the Greek and the Latin Churches; and negotiations ensued which were carried on during the reign of five popes, Clement IV, Gregory X, John XXI, Nicolaus III, and Martin IV. Akropolites was chosen as the emperor's ambassador, and in 1273 he was sent to Pope Gregory X. In 1274, at the Second Council of Lyon, he confirmed by an oath in the emperor's name that that confession of faith which had been previously sent to Constantinople by the pope had been adopted by the Greeks. The reunion of the two churches however roused considerable opposition in Byzantium and was afterwards broken off. It did however serve its main purpose, delaying and ultimately entirely averting a Latin attack on Constantinople. Later negotiations George Akropolites led included leading a mission to the Empire of Trebizond in 1281 to convince the Emperor John II to discontinue using the title of "Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans"—which Michael Palaiologos held as his sole right. He failed in this endeavor, for John responded to his arguments that he was simply following the practice of his predecessors, and his chief nobles would not permit him to give up this honor. William Smith in his '' Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' follows Hankius ''De Byzantinarum Rerum Scriptoribus Graecis'' in stating that Akropolites was sent on an embassy to the king of Bulgaria in 1282;

George Finlay George Finlay (21 December 1799 – 26 January 1875) was a Scottish historian. Biography Finlay was born in Faversham, Kent, where his Scottish father, Captain John Finlay FRS, an officer in the Royal Engineers, was inspector of government powd ...

has shown that both are in error. Finlay notes, "in this case he ankiusseems inadvertently to have written ''Bulgarorum'' instead of ''Lazorum Principem'', for he quotes at length the passage of

Pachymeres George Pachymeres ( el, Γεώργιος Παχυμέρης, Geórgios Pachyméris; 1242 – 1310) was a Byzantine Greek historian, philosopher, music theorist and miscellaneous writer. Biography Pachymeres was born at Nicaea, in Bithynia, wher ...

as his authority, which states distinctly that Acropolita was sent to the prince of the Lazes, as the vain Constantinopolitan writers called the emperor of Trebizond."Finlay, ''A History of Greece: Medieval Greece and the Empire of Trebizond AD 1204-1461'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1877), p. 345 n. 1

Works

Akropolites' historical work, the ''Annals'', embraces the period from the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade by the Latins in 1204 to its recovery by Michael Palaiologos in 1261, thus forming a continuation of the work of

Nicetas Choniates Niketas or Nicetas Choniates ( el, Νικήτας Χωνιάτης; c. 1155 – 1217), whose actual surname was Akominatos (Ἀκομινάτος), was a Byzantine Greek government official and historian – like his brother Michael Akominatos, wh ...

. It is valuable as written by a contemporary, whose official position as Grand Logothete, military commander, and confidential ambassador afforded him frequent opportunities of observing the course of events. Akropolites is considered a trustworthy authority as far as the statement of facts is concerned, and he is easy to understand, although he exhibits special carelessness in the construction of his sentences. His style is archaising but lucid. He was also the author of several shorter works, amongst them being a funeral oration on John Vatatzes, an epitaph on his wife

Irene Laskarina Irene Laskarina (died 1240) ( el, Εἰρήνη Λασκαρίνα, ''Eirēnē Laskarina'') was an Empress of Nicaea. She was a daughter of Theodore I Laskaris, emperor of Nicaea and Anna Angelina. Her maternal grandparents were Emperor Alexios ...

and a panegyric of Theodore II Laskaris of Nicaea. While a prisoner at

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

he wrote two treatises on the procession of the Holy Spirit.

Editions

Authorities: '' Editio princeps'' by Leo Allatius (1651), with the editor's famous treatise ''De Georgiis eorumque Scriptis''; editions in the ''Bonn Corpus Scriptorum Hist. Byz.'', by I. Bekker (1836), and Migne, ''

Patrologia Graeca The ''Patrologia Graeca'' (or ''Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca'') is an edited collection of writings by the Christian Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the Greek language. It consists of 161 volumes produced in 1857– ...

'', cxl; in the Teubner series by A. Heisenberg (1903), the second volume of which contains a full life, with bibliography; see also

Karl Krumbacher Karl Krumbacher (23 September 1856 – 12 December 1909) was a German scholar who was an expert on Byzantine Greek language, literature, history and culture. He was one of the principal founders of Byzantine Studies as an independent academic ...

, ''Geschichte der byzantinischen Litteratur'' (1897). * A. Heisenberg (ed). ''Georgii Akropolitae Opera''. Vol. 1-2 (Leipzig, 1903); reprinted with corrections by P. Wirth (Stuttgart, 1978). * Ruth Macrides (intr. and comm.), George Akropolites. ''The History'' (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2007) (Oxford Studies in Byzantium). * French translation ''Acropolitès: chronique du XIIIe siècle'' by Jean Dayantis, Les Belles Lettres ed., collection "La roue à livres", Paris 2012. * Spanish translation in: ''Jorge Acropólites: Narración histórica''. Estudio preliminar, traducción, notas y comentarios de Teresa Vila Vilar. Granada: Centro de Estudios Bizantinos, Neogriegos y Chipriotas, 2012.

Notes

References

* * * R. Macrides, "George Akropolites' Rhetoric," in E. Jeffreys (ed.), ''Rhetoric in Byzantium. Papers from the Thirty-fifth Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies, Exeter College, University of Oxford, March 2001'' (Aldershot, 2003), 201–211.

External links