- Ohio State University, Greek and Latin, Graduate Studentadd
- Classics, Roman History, Latin Literature, Modern Greek literature, Late Antiquity, Byzantine Studies, and 18 moreGreek and Latin, Historiography, Bessarion, Byzantine History, Late Antique and Byzantine Studies, Byzantine Literature, Byzantine historiography, Byzantine Paleography and codicology, Late Antique and Byzantine History, Late Byzantine history, Procopius, Aelius Aristides, Ancient Historiography, The empire of Trebizond, Thucydides, Herodotus, Classical philology, and Papyrologyedit
Thucydides was very popular among late antique rhetors. His Histories was widely read in rhetorical schools. Since this was the first time many ancients would have encountered Thucydides, how he was studied in schools can influence his... more
Thucydides was very popular among late antique rhetors. His Histories was widely read in rhetorical schools. Since this was the first time many ancients would have encountered Thucydides, how he was studied in schools can influence his overall reception. This paper examines how he was read in schools and suggests how the habits of ancient rhetors may have influenced ancient reading habits.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The cardinal Bessarion was a foremost figure of the Italian Renaissance and late Byzantium. However, some of the details of his life are not yet securely established, especially his date of birth. Over the last century, scholars have... more
The cardinal Bessarion was a foremost figure of the Italian Renaissance and late Byzantium. However, some of the details of his life are not yet securely established, especially his date of birth. Over the last century, scholars have proposed dates ranging from 1400 to 1408. In this study, I critically interrogate the two most commonly accepted dates (1400 and 1408). In the past, scholars have relied on the age requirements of canon law or the testimony of Italian observers to determine Bessarion’s age. By critically examining the validity of these two assumptions, I reprioritize the evidence, approximating the cardinal’s year of birth
as 1403.
as 1403.
Research Interests:
This article on Callimachus' reception during Byzantium challenges how scholars have constructed Callimachus from Byzantine sources by highlighting the difficulty of extracting Callimachus from his Byzantine context. In this article, I... more
This article on Callimachus' reception during Byzantium challenges how scholars have constructed Callimachus from Byzantine sources by highlighting the difficulty of extracting Callimachus from his Byzantine context. In this article, I focus on the uses made of him by the twelfth scholar and metropolitan of Athens, Michael Choniates, the last known person to have possessed a copy of Callimachus' Aetia and Hecale.
Research Interests:
This book length translation of Bessarion's encomium of Trebizond (mod. Trabzon) makes available for the first time in English this crucial source for the history of the empire of Trebizond and the Greek Pontos. Conforming to the genre of... more
This book length translation of Bessarion's encomium of Trebizond (mod. Trabzon) makes available for the first time in English this crucial source for the history of the empire of Trebizond and the Greek Pontos. Conforming to the genre of late antique encomia of cities, this text draws heavily on Isocrates, Aelius Aristides, and Libanios to retell the history of Trebizond from Xenophon's Anabasis to the present day. It examines issues such as Byzantine identity and alterity during the fifteenth century, while also providing a valuable descriptions of the Komnenoi and their palace. As such, it is a valuable source not only for late Byzantine history, but also rhetoric and the construction of the past.
I also translate Michael Panaretos' chronicle of Trebizond, our only surviving history of Trebizond. It provides the backbone of what we know about the empire of Trebizond, while also offering the historian key information on Trebizond's relations with its Turkish and Turkmen neighbors. Panaretos's chronicle is notoriously obscure and laconic. This translation provides detailed historical and topographical commentary.
I also translate Michael Panaretos' chronicle of Trebizond, our only surviving history of Trebizond. It provides the backbone of what we know about the empire of Trebizond, while also offering the historian key information on Trebizond's relations with its Turkish and Turkmen neighbors. Panaretos's chronicle is notoriously obscure and laconic. This translation provides detailed historical and topographical commentary.
Research Interests: Rhetoric, Historiography, Turkmen, Libanius, Byzantine Studies, and 14 moreByzantine History, Byzantine Architecture, Xenophon, Isocrates, The empire of Trebizond, Aelius Aristides, Bessarion, Turks, Komnenoi, Trebizond, Alexios I Komnenos, Trabzon, Pontus, and Identity and Alterity In Byzantine Culture
Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, Volume 52 In 1204, brothers Alexios and David Komnenos became the unwitting founders of the Empire of Trebizond, a successor state to the Byzantine Empire that emerged after Crusaders sacked... more
Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, Volume 52
In 1204, brothers Alexios and David Komnenos became the unwitting founders of the Empire of Trebizond, a successor state to the Byzantine Empire that emerged after Crusaders sacked Constantinople. Trebizond, which stretched along the coast of the Black Sea, outlasted numerous rivals and invaders until its fall to the Ottoman Turks in 1461. Though this empire has fascinated writers from Cervantes to Dorothy Dunnett, few Trapezuntine writings survive.
This volume presents translations from the Greek of two crucial primary sources published together for the first time: On the Emperors of Trebizond and Encomium on Trebizond. In the fourteenth century, Michael Panaretos, the emperor’s personal secretary, penned the only extant history of the ruling dynasty, including key details about foreign relations. The encomium by Bessarion (1403–1472), here in English for the first time, praises the author’s native city and retells Trapezuntine history from antiquity to his own moment. It provides enlightening perspectives on Byzantine identity and illuminating views of this major trading hub along the Silk Road.
In 1204, brothers Alexios and David Komnenos became the unwitting founders of the Empire of Trebizond, a successor state to the Byzantine Empire that emerged after Crusaders sacked Constantinople. Trebizond, which stretched along the coast of the Black Sea, outlasted numerous rivals and invaders until its fall to the Ottoman Turks in 1461. Though this empire has fascinated writers from Cervantes to Dorothy Dunnett, few Trapezuntine writings survive.
This volume presents translations from the Greek of two crucial primary sources published together for the first time: On the Emperors of Trebizond and Encomium on Trebizond. In the fourteenth century, Michael Panaretos, the emperor’s personal secretary, penned the only extant history of the ruling dynasty, including key details about foreign relations. The encomium by Bessarion (1403–1472), here in English for the first time, praises the author’s native city and retells Trapezuntine history from antiquity to his own moment. It provides enlightening perspectives on Byzantine identity and illuminating views of this major trading hub along the Silk Road.