Eutropius

Abridgement of Roman History Eutropius

Publisher Marketing: Flavius Eutropius was an Ancient Roman historian who flourished in the latter half of the 4th century. He held the office of secretary (magister memoriae) at Constantinople, accompanied the Emperor Julian (361-363) on his expedition against the Persians (363), and was alive during the reign of Valens (364-378), to whom he dedicates his Breviarium historiae Romanae and where his history ends. The Breviarium historiae Romanae is a complete compendium, in ten books, of Roman history from the foundation of the city to the accession of Valens. It was compiled with considerable care from the best accessible authorities, and is written generally with impartiality, and in a clear and simple style. Although the Latin in some instances differs from that of the purest models, the work was for a long time a favorite elementary school-book. Its independent value is small, but it sometimes fills a gap left by the more authoritative records. For the early parts of his work, Eutropius depended upon an epitome of Livy; for the later parts, he used the now lost Enmannsche Kaisergeschichte. The Breviarium was enlarged and continued down to the time of Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian the Great by Paulus Diaconus; the work of the latter was in turn enlarged by Landolfus Sagax (c. 1000), and taken down to the time of the emperor Leo the Armenian (813-820) in the Historia Miscella. Of the Greek translations by Paeanius (around 380) and Capito Lycius (6th century), the version of the former is extant in an almost complete state. The best edition of Eutropius is by H. Droysen (1879), containing the Greek version and the enlarged editions of Paulus Diaconus and Landolfus. There are also numerous English editions and translations.