Genesius (, ''Genesios''; ) is the conventional name given to the anonymous Byzantine author of
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...
origin of the tenth century chronicle, ''On the reign of the emperors''. His first name is sometimes given as Joseph, combining him with a "Joseph Genesius" quoted in the preamble to
John Skylitzes. Traditionally, he has been regarded as the son or grandson of
Constantine Maniakes.
Composed at the court of
Constantine VII
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, an ...
, the chronicle opens in 814, covers the
Second Iconoclast period and ends in 886. It presents the events largely from the view of the
Macedonian dynasty
The Macedonian dynasty () Byzantine Empire under the Macedonian dynasty, ruled the Byzantine Empire from 867 to 1056, following the Byzantium under the Amorian dynasty, Amorian dynasty. During this period, the Byzantine state reached its greates ...
, though with a skew less marked than the authors of
Theophanes Continuatus, a collection of mostly anonymous chronicles meant to continue the work of
Theophanes the Confessor.
The chronicle describes the reigns of the four emperors from
Leo V down to
Michael III
Michael III (; 9/10 January 840 – 24 September 867), also known as Michael the Drunkard, was Byzantine emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian dynasty, Amorian (or Phrygian) dynasty. He ...
in detail; and more briefly that of
Basil I
Basil I, nicknamed "the Macedonian" (; 811 – 29 August 886), was List of Byzantine emperors, Byzantine emperor from 867 to 886. Born to a peasant family in Macedonia (theme), Macedonia, he rose to prominence in the imperial court after gainin ...
. It uses Constantine VII's ''Life of Basil'' as a source, though it appears to have been finished before Theophanes Continuatus, and gives information present in neither Continuatus nor Skylitzes.
Modern editions
;English
*Genesios, Joseph, A. Kaldellis. (trans.) ''On the reigns of the emperors.'' Byzantina Australiensia, 11. Canberra: Australian Association for Byzantine Studies, 1998. .
;Greek
*A. Lesmüller-Werner, and H. Thurn, ''Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae'', Vol. XIV, Series Berolinensis. Berlin: De Gruyter, 1973. .
References
*Alexander Kazhdan (ed.), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'', 3 vols., Oxford University Press, 1991, vol. 2, 828–829, s. v. Genesios.
* Somers, Véronique and Bastien Kindt (edd.). ''Thesaurus Iosephi Genesii aliarumque chronographiarum anonymarum.'' Turnhout: Brepols, 2009 (Corpus Christianorum. Thesaurus patrum Graecorum).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Genesius, Joseph
10th-century Byzantine historians
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...