Royal annals of Persia

Title(s):
  • Royal annals of Persia
  • Βασιλικὰ ἀπομνημονεύματα
    (Basilika apomnēmoneumata, Royal annals)
Period covered:
Sasanian dynasty as far as the accession of Khosrow I (531)
Language:
Greek
State of Preservation:
Fragmentary
Genre:
  • List (rulers)
  • Form (epitome)
  • Form (translation)
  • Secular history (epic history)
Remarks:
The Persian Royal annals were, probably, originally written in Sasanian Pahlavi. Sergius abbreviated the Royal annals and translated them into Greek. The Annals are supplemented with personal comments and contaminated with a Syrian-Christian bias. Agathias' version of the Sasanian history is a mixture of material taken from Sergius, a certain amount of popular material and other sources, such as Procopius and Ctesias. Sergius' original work was probably a list of kings accompanied by a brief account on their doings.
Edition - Translation:
Fragments:
  • Agathias, Histories, 2.22-24.1, 2.26, 2.27.4-9, 4.28-32
Sources:
Bibliography:
  • A. Baumstark (1894) 'Lucubrationes Syro-Graecae'. Jahrbuch für classische Philologie 21: 368-369.
  • Av. Cameron (1969-1970) 'Agathias on the Sassanians'. Dumbarton Oaks Papers 23-24: 67-183.
  • J.D. Frendo (1975) Agathias: The Histories (Corpus fontium historiae Byzantinae). Berlin.
  • R. Keydell (1967) Agathiae Myrinaei Historiarum libri quinque. Berlin.