Justin (; fl. century AD) was a Latin writer and historian who lived under the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

Life

Almost nothing is known of Justin's personal history, his name appearing only in the title of his work. He must have lived after

Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus also anglicized as was a Gallo-Roman historian from the Celtic Vocontii tribe in Narbonese Gaul who lived during the reign of the emperor Augustus. He was nearly contemporary with Livy. Life Pompeius Trogus's grandfa ...

, whose work he excerpted, and his references to the Romans and

Parthians Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemen ...

having divided the world between themselves would have been anachronistic after the rise of the Sassanians in the third century. His

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

appears to be consistent with the style of the second century.

Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roma ...

, however, argues for a date around 390, immediately before the compilation of the Augustan History, and dismisses anachronisms and the archaic style as unimportant, as he asserts that readers would have understood Justin's phrasing to represent Trogus' time, and not his own.

Works

Justin was the author of an

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 Trogus' expansive ''Liber Historiarum Philippicarum'', or ''Philippic Histories'', a history of the kings of

Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

, compiled in the time of

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

. Due to its numerous digressions, this work was retitled by one of its editors, ''

Historia Philippicae et Totius Mundi Origines et Terrae Situs The ''Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus'' (Latin ''Epitoma Historiarum Philippicarum Pompei Trogi'') by the second-century Roman writer Justin is an abridgment of the Augustan historian Pompeius Trogus' lengthy work the ''Histo ...

'', or ''Philippic History and Origins of the Entire World and All of its Lands''. Justin's

preface __NOTOC__ A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literature, literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a ''foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface o ...

explains that he aimed to collect the most important and interesting passages of that work, which has since been lost. Some of Trogus' original arguments (') are preserved in various other authors, such as

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

. Trogus' main theme was the rise and history of the

Macedonian Empire Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

, and like him, Justin permitted himself considerable freedom of digression, producing an idiosyncratic anthology rather than a strict epitome.

Legacy

Justin's history was much used in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, when its author was sometimes mistakenly conflated with

Justin Martyr Justin, known posthumously as Justin Martyr (; ), also known as Justin the Philosopher, was an early Christian apologist and Philosophy, philosopher. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue did survive. The ''First Apolog ...

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * . * .

External links

An early edition
(Milan, 1476) of the ''Epitome'' from the Bavarian State Library * Justin's ''Epitome'' a

,

* Watson's 1853 translation at
the Tertullian Project

* Arnaud-Lindet's 2003 translation at * Correa's 2003 partial translation at
''Prologi'' of Pompeius Trogus's work
at the Tertullian Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Justin 2nd-century Romans 2nd-century historians 2nd-century writers in Latin Latin historians Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown Place of birth unknown