Late Antique Historiography

Persian history

Title(s):
  • Persian history
  • Περσικά
    (Persika, Persian history)
Author:
Period covered:
At least 260-266
Language:
Greek
State of Preservation:
Fragmentary
Genre:
  • Secular history (classicizing history)
  • Secular history (general)
Remarks:
Philostratus was eponymous archon in 262-263 or in 255-256 (Follet 1976: 332, 341-342, 510). Janiszewski (2006: 106) suggests that Philostratos may have written a second history on Aurelian's war against Zenobia. Philostratus' account on Valerian's Persian campaign is contrasted by Malalas 12.26 with that of Domninus. He was probably one of the authors Malalas consulted and used directly (Jeffreys 1990: 196). Janiszewski, instead, argues that Malalas knew him only by mentions made by Domninus (Janiszewski 2006: 103). Philostratus' account of the cities conquered by Sapor in Cilicia is confirmed in the Res gestae Divi Saporis (Downey 1961: 587-595).
Edition - Translation:
  • FGrHist 99
  • BNJ 99
  • B. Bleckmann, J. Gross (2016) Historiker der Reichskrise des 3. Jahrhunderts. Volume One (Kleine und fragmentarische Historiker der Spätantike, A 1/4, 6/8). Paderborn.
Fragments:
Users:
Sources:
Bibliography:
  • G. Bowersock (1969) Greek sophists in the Roman Empire. Oxford: 2.
  • G. Downey (1961) The history of Antioch in Syria from Seleucus to the Arab conquest. Princeton: 587-595.
  • S. Follet (1976) Athènes au IIe et au IIIe siècle: Études chronologiques et prosopographiques. Paris.
  • P. Janiszewski (2006) The missing link: Greek pagan historiography in the second half of the third century and in the fourth century A.D. Warsaw: 97-109.
  • E. Jeffreys (1990) 'Malalas' sources'. In: Studies in John Malalas, ed. E. Jeffreys - B. Croke - R. Scott. Sydney: 167-216.