Zosimus's "New History" is a pivotal historical narrative that chronicles the decline of the Roman Empire from a distinctly Eastern perspective. Written in the early 5th century, this text employs a sophisticated style that bridges classical historiography with a burgeoning Christian view of history, asserting the inevitability of Rome's fall while intertwining the rise of the Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantium. Zosimus'Äôs work is notable for its critical approach to previous historians, ...

Zosimus's "New History" is a pivotal historical narrative that chronicles the decline of the Roman Empire from a distinctly Eastern perspective. Written in the early 5th century, this text employs a sophisticated style that bridges classical historiography with a burgeoning Christian view of history, asserting the inevitability of Rome's fall while intertwining the rise of the Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantium. Zosimus'Äôs work is notable for its critical approach to previous historians, ...

WHEN Polybius of Megalopolis proposed to write the history of all the remarkable occurrences of his own times, he thought it proper to demonstrate by facts, that the Romans, who were continually at war with the neighbouring states, for six hundred years after the building of their city, acquired in that space of time no considerable extent of dominion. But after they had subdued a small part of Italy, which upon the invasion of Hannibal they lost at the battle of Cannae, and viewed their e...

Zosimus's New History is the most substantial surviving pagan account of Rome's imperial decline, tracing events from Augustus to the sack of Rome in 410, with greatest emphasis on the crises of the third and fourth centuries. Written in compact, severe Greek prose and indebted to Polybius, Eunapius, and Olympiodorus, it combines political narrative, military analysis, and moral judgment. Its governing thesis is unmistakable: Rome's abandonment of ancestral cults and civic discipline helpe...

In his seminal work 'New History,' Zosimus offers a profound and detailed account of the Roman Empire during the late antiquity period, encompassing events from the reign of Emperor Augustus to Zosimus's own time. His narrative style is notably distinct, characterized by a blend of personal anecdotes, historical analysis, and moral commentary. Utilizing a critical lens, Zosimus stands out in the context of late Roman historiography, where a growing interest in the decline of Rome emerges, ...

The early sixth century historian Zosimus of Constantinople was conservative in his outlook, continuing to believe in the ancient pagan gods, even though he flourished more than a century after Constantine. His ‘New History’ offers a brief sketch of the history of the early Roman emperors from Augustus to Diocletian, before dealing more fully with the ascension of Constantius Chlorus and Galerius to the death of Theodosius I. The final books chart the events leading up to the sack ...