Classica et Christiana 8/1 2013 - Facultatea de Istorie ...

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Bogdan-Petru MALEON
The reigns of Alexios I’s successors, namely John II and Manuel
I, are depicted in the work of John Kinnamos, who allocates infinitely
more space for the latter. Although the work is, obviously, a historical
one, many encomiastic elements can be also identified. It is obvious
that the author wants to make an apology to the reign of Manuel I
Comnenos, who considered himself a true restorer of the Universal
Empire 50 . Emblematic in this regard is that the historian tries to distort
the sovereign’s failure, focusing on his successes, both in Western
and Oriental politics 51 . In fact, Kinnamos’ work reveals the last glorious
reign of a Byzantine ruler, even if his successes were overshadowed
by equally resounding failures. In terms of political evolution, there
followed an inexorable decline era, temporarily interrupted by the
reigns of some capable emperors, who tried to restore the old prestige
of the Empire. The last significant historian of the period was Niketas
Choniates, who witnessed the decline of the Byzantine power in the
late 12 th century and the conquest of Constantinople by the crusaders
in 1204 52 . The author depicts, in a suggestive manner, though often
quite bombastic, a series of events and suggests explanations for the
historical evolutions that he witnessed. Acquainted with the classical
culture, he borrowed a series of narrative methods from the literature
of antiquity 53 . One may say that the very times of crises that he experienced
increased his acuity of observation and determined him to
identify the causes behind the drama of the Empire. As a contemporary
of the events he described, the author collected information directly
from the ones who witnessed them and from official sources 54 .
Niketas Choniates’ historical work belongs to the genre of imperial
biographies, as it is structured so as to render the history of some
reigns. Several tragic imperial pictures are depicted, such as Andronic
50 John Kinnamos, Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus. Translated by
Charles M. Brand, New York, Columbia University Press, 1976, 8-9.
51 Paul Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 1143-1180, Cambridge
University Press, 1997, 442.
52 Alicia J. Simpson, Before and After 1204: The Version of Niketas Choniates’
Historia, DOP, 60/2006, 189-221.
53 Stephanos Efthymiadis Niketas Choniates: the Writer, in Alicia Simpson,
Stephanos Efthymiadis, Niketas Choniates. A Historian and a Writer, Geneva, La
Pomme d’Or, 2009, 37-40.
54 Alicia Simpson Niketas Choniates: the Historian, in Niketas Choniates.
A Historian and a Writer, 27-28.