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Concept
Joannes Zonaras
Summary
Joannes or John Zonaras (Ἰωάννης Ζωναρᾶς Iōánnēs Zōnarâs; 1070 – 1140) was a Byzantine Greek historian, chronicler and theologian who lived in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey). Under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos he held the offices of head justice and private secretary (protasēkrētis) to the emperor, but after Alexios' death, he retired to the monastery on the Island of Hagia Glykeria, (İncir Adası, in the Bay of Tuzla), where he spent the rest of his life writing books.
Almost nothing is known of Zonaras's life. However, various elements can be inferred from his own writings. In one of his writings he states that he "saw" the second marriage of an emperor. This could have been the marriage of Nikephoros III with Maria of Alania in late 1078 or perhaps even the marriage of Manuel I Komnenos to Maria of Antioch in 1161 which would put Zonaras' death significantly later. It's not known with certainty if Zonaras served under John II Komnenos (r. 1118–1143), although this is still a possibility. Zonaras' Epitome served as the basis of Constantine Manasses' chronicle, which was commissioned by Irene Komnene, the widow of the sebastokrator Andronikos Komnenos. Given that Irene died on (or shortly before) 1153, this work must have been written 1150 or 1145. Furthermore, it's possible that Irene requested this shorter chronicle precisely because she had already seen Zonaras' Epitome. Therefore, it can be inferred that Zonaras had already died by 1145.
His most important work, Extracts of History (Ἐπιτομὴ Ἱστοριῶν, Epitome Historiarum), in eighteen books, extends from the creation of the world to the death of Alexius (1118). The earlier part is largely drawn from Josephus; for Roman history he chiefly followed Cassius Dio up to the early third century. Contemporary scholars are particularly interested in his account of the third and fourth centuries, which depend upon sources, now lost, whose nature is fiercely debated. Central to this debate is the work of Bruno Bleckmann, whose arguments tend to be supported by continental scholars but rejected in part by English-speaking scholars.
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