Scylitzes, John

▪ Byzantine historian

flourished 11th century

      Byzantine historian, the author of a Synopsis historiarum dealing with the years 811–1057.

      Scylitzes was a high officeholder at the Byzantine court. He may have written a legal work for Alexius I in 1092. In his history he drew on the work of others for the early part and then largely relied on sources no longer extant and on contemporary oral tradition. In some manuscripts the work is extended to cover the years 1057–79; this section is of little independent value and is known as Scylitzes continuatus. There is no edition of the Greek text of this important historian, who is known through the almost literal reproduction of his work by George Cedrinus.

* * *