Theophanes of Byzantium

Theophanes of Byzantium ( Theophanes Byzantios ) was a late ancient historian who lived in the late 6th century.

About his person, little is known. According to the entry in the Libraries of Photios (code 64) Theophanes wrote a classical work of history, which dealt mainly with the 572 erupted under Emperor Justin II Persian war. It was written in ancient Greek and described in ten books, the events of 566 to the tenth year of the war ( 581/82 ), but we do not get down to the fragment with Photios. Probably Theophanes wrote a sequel, seems to have the Photios but not seen.

The excerpt of Photios According to Theophanes reported, among others, a delegation from the Turks ( who are first mentioned here in a Roman source) to Justin II, which prompted the emperor not to receive the Avars. Likewise, Theophanes has reported the introduction of silkworms in the Eastern Roman Empire, the per capita income, however, already had described years earlier. Theophanes seems therefore to have, among other writings are not preserved, also written a book about the reign of Justinian, but which could not prevail over the competing representations of Procopius and Agathias himself. It is possible that Menander Protector has used the work of Theophanes.