Zosimus' "New History"

E37101

Zosimus' "New History" is a late antique Greek historical work that offers a pagan, critical account of the Roman Empire’s decline, including a detailed narrative of the Sack of Rome in 410.

Aliases (1)

Statements (46)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Greek prose text
historical work
late antique historiographical work
alternativeTitle Historia Nea
author Zosimus
chronologicalScope from the principate to the early Byzantine period
completionDate early 6th century (approximate)
countryOfOrigin Eastern Roman Empire
criticalOf Christian emperors
barbarian influence in the Roman army
court eunuchs and imperial favorites
evaluatedByModernScholarshipAs tendentious but valuable source
genre historiography
history
historicalPeriod Late Antiquity
historicalValue important narrative of the Sack of Rome by the Visigoths
important source for the early 5th century Roman Empire
influencedBy pagan traditionalist circles in the Eastern Empire
language Ancient Greek
narrativeFocus Roman Empire
notableEventDescribed Sack of Rome in 410
perspective pagan critique of Christian emperors
placeOfComposition Constantinople (probable)
portraysFigure Alaric I
Constantine the Great
Honorius
Stilicho
Theodosius I
religiousPerspective pagan
stanceTowardChristianity critical
stanceTowardImperialPolicy critical
structure divided into books
studiedInField Roman history
classics
late antique studies
subjectMatter military history of the Roman Empire
political history of the Roman Empire
religious policy of the Roman emperors
survivesIn incomplete form
timePeriodCovered Roman Empire from Augustus to early 5th century
transmittedThrough Byzantine manuscript tradition
usesSources earlier Greek historians
imperial documents and records
viewOnRomanDecline attributes decline to abandonment of traditional pagan cults
attributes decline to misgovernment and corruption
workTitleInGreek Νέα Ἱστορία

Referenced by (1)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Sack of Rome (410)
describedIn

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