John Xiphilinus or Joannes Xiphilinos (), epitomator of

Dio Cassius Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history of ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

, lived at

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

during the latter half of the 11th century AD. He was a monk and a member of the Xiphilinus family, a nephew of

Patriarch John VIII of Constantinople John VIII of Constantinople (; 1010 – 2 August 1075), a native of Trebizond, was a Byzantine intellectual, jurist, and Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1064 to 1075. He was the uncle of John Xiphilinus, the Epimator. He is consid ...

, a well-known preacher (

Migne Jacques Paul Migne (; 25 October 1800 – 24 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias, and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a ...

, '' Patrologia Graeca'', cxx.). The

epitome An epitome (; , from ἐπιτέμνειν ''epitemnein'' meaning "to cut short") is a summary or miniature form, or an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment. Epitomacy represents "to the degree of." A ...

of Dio was prepared by order of Michael Parapinaces (1071–1078), but is incomplete. It comprises books 36–80, the period included being from the times of

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...

and

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war. He ...

down to

Alexander Severus Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – March 235), also known as Alexander Severus, was Roman emperor from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. Alexander took power in 222, when he succeeded his slain co ...

. In book 70 the reign of

Antoninus Pius Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius (; ; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from AD 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatorial family, Antoninus held var ...

and the early years of

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

appear to have been missing in his copy, while in books 78 and 79 a mutilated original must have been used. Xiphilinus divided the work into sections, each containing the life of an emperor. He omitted the names of the

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

s and sometimes altered or emended the original. The epitome is valuable as preserving the chief incidents of the period for which the authority of Dio is wanting.

References

* This work in turn cites: ** H. Reimar's edition of Dio Cassius, ii ** J. Melber's Dio Cassius in the

Teubner The Bibliotheca Teubneriana, or ''Bibliotheca Scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana'', also known as Teubner editions of Greek and Latin texts, comprise one of the most thorough modern collections published of ancient (and some medieva ...

series ** C. Wachsmuth, ''Einleitung in das Studium der alten Geschichte'' (1895) ** W. Christ, ''Geschichte der griechischen Litteratur'' (1808) * Erich Trapp. "Johannes Xiphilinos der Jüngere." In: ''

Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon The ''Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon'' (''BBKL'') is a German biographical encyclopedia covering deceased persons related to the history of the church, philosophy and literature, founded by Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz, the first volu ...

''. Vol. 3, Bautz, Herzberg 1992, pp. 618–619. {{DEFAULTSORT:Xiphilinus, John 11th-century Byzantine historians