Priscus
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Priscus was from Panium (in Thrace) living in the Roman Empire during the 5th century. He was a diplomat, sophist and historian. He accompanied Maximin, the ambassador of Theodosius II, to the court of Attila in 448. During the reign of Marcian (450-457), he also took part in missions to Arabia and Egypt. Priscus was the author of a historical work in eight books (the Byzantine History), probably from the accession of Attila to that of Zeno (433-474). Only fragments of the work remain, largely preserved in Jordanes's Getica, but the description of Attila and his court and the account of the reception of the Roman ambassadors is a valuable piece of contemporary history, his writings are unusually impartial and objective.
[edit] Remaining works
Three collections of his remaining works are:
- Ludwig Dindorf: Historici Graeci Minores (Leipzig, Teubner, 1870) (in Greek).
- C.D. Gordon: The Age of Attila: Fifth-century Byzantium and the Barbarians (Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 1960) (in English with commentary and annotation).
- Blockley, R.C.: The Fragmentary Classicising Historians of the Later Roman Empire, vol. II (ISBN 0-905205-15-4) (includes fragments from other historians, including Olympiodorus of Thebes).
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
[edit] External links
