Zosime (historian)

Biography

Probably born around year 460, Zosime (or Zosimos in Greek) lived with Byzance under the reigns of Zénon and Anastase I {{er}}.

He was civil servant of the imperial treasure, undoubtedly in Byzance, and had the row of comes (count). By deduction, the historians estimate that it wrote its work after having exerted its functions, in the years 500-520.

Its account proves in addition that it was pagan at one time when the Christianisme was protected by the Emperor. Zosime learns to us on this subject that the new religion was not yet widespread in all the Roman Empire, the Paganisme being maintained long enough in the villages after its extinction in the cities.

In spite of its parties taken, the work of Zosime remains an incomparable testimony on the end of the Roman Antiquité, which supplements preciously the history of Ammien Marcellin, him also pagan and of Greek origin.

New History

The work of Zosime, entitled new History (Ίστορία νέα in Greek), attempts to recall the causes of the apogee and the decline of Rome. Zosime claims to take example on Polybe, which studied the origins of the power and the splendor of the Roman empire: he proposes in his turn to show with same exactitude the events who brought the degradation and the tearing of the Empire and prepared its ruin.

This subject was to be developed in its last book of which there exist nothing any more but the first pages. If this last book represented same volume as each of the five others, the history of Zosime was to finish at one less moved back time. Historians concluded from it that Zosime wrote about the middle of the 5th century, even still later.

The new Histoire consists of six books. One finds there in some places of the more or less long gaps and the errors of copyist, like confusions between proper names, or obviously erroneous figures, as about the victory gained by Julien the Apostate over the Alamans, close to Strasbourg: the historian writes that: 60000 of the latter remained on the battle field and that he perishes about it as much in the the Rhine. If the author thus multiplied by ten a number, it could leave other errors in its manuscript.

Structure of the history

book 1, after a very fast overflight of the History of ancient Greece and republican period of Rome, starts in fact with Auguste, but the first two century old emperors are just enumerated. The account shapes really only as from the 3rd century, in particular providing details on the Germanic invasions and the campaigns of Aurélien against Palmyre.
Because of a gap, the account of book 1 stops with the reign of Probus (276-282), and 2 begins again with a digression on the secular Jeux delivers it then continues starting from the abdication of Dioclétien (305) until the rise day before in Julien to the dignity of César.
book 3 tells the reign of Julien, initially César then Auguste, and that of Jovien (355-364).
book 4 tells years 364-395 (Valentinien I {{er}}, Valens, Gratien, Valentinien II, Théodose I {{er}}).
book 5 puts in scene the events of the East of 395 - 404 and those of Occident of 407 - 409.
book 6 and the last, very in short and unfinished, includes the account of the events of a few months, 409 at the summer 410, and stops little before the catch of Rome by Alaric.

Testimony on the end of a world

Although of its work we miss the conclusion, one supposes that Zosime illustrates the fall of the Empire by the devastations of the Goths, pushed by the Huns, and the occupation of the old capital, Rome, by the Barbare S.

Throughout its account, Zosime estimates that the degradation of the situation is due to two main causes:

negligence of Constantin, more worried by its ostentation and its pleasures that by the safety of the provinces borders, of which it withdrew the garrisons, and by the prosperity of the State, to which it carried a disastrous blow by transferring the imperial seat to Byzance. The evil had worsened under Constance II, and Julien had hardly time to repair the effects of them;
the protection granted to a new worship, Christianity, and the abandonment of the gods to which the Romans had since so a long time their glory and their prosperity.

These conclusions are influenced by the convictions of Zosime, undoubtedly one of the last pagan authors. Its text reveals in addition that he did not hesitate to grant faith to the wonders, with the oracle S, with the supernatural causes, although this point of view was usual in many authors of the end of the Antiquité.

Historians however put forward who because of the risks which Zosime at the time of the Christian emperors incurred, its work could be known only after its death.

An incomplete version

The gaps noticed in the text of Zosime are old, and former to the 9th century if one judges some by the extract that Photius gives some, which does not differ from that which reached us.

The current account is only one second mitigated or deteriorated copy. Photius did not know the first version, which perhaps did not exist any more its time. In its Library (codex 98), it indicates that the work of Zosime was to some extent only one summary of more extended history of Olympiodore and especially of that of Eunape, continuator of Dexippe. These summaries, like that of Trogue-Pumped, by Justin, often contributed to neglect and lose the great works which one undertook to reduce in small volumes.

Photius adds that, as Eunape had written twice its book, Zosime had also started again to it his. In the first edition, the two authors pled the cause of the old religion and decided against the news, whereas the second version reduced these positions clearly. These changes could however be inserted by a Christian Copiste.

Photius rents the style precise, Net and elegant of Zosime but reproach to the author to rent the last pagan emperors too much and to devalue those which had supported Christianity, especially Constantin and Théodose I {{er}}.

Old editions

The history of Zosime was printed initially in Latin at the 16th century, in a translation of Leunclavius, with Procope and other historians of the same time. This version reappeared in the History of Auguste , towards 1600. Henri Estienne published the first two books in Greek, with the version of Leunclavius, in 1581 and 1611.

The six books, in Greek and Latin, were published in 1590 by F. Sylburg with the version and the apology for Zosime by Leunclavius. Cellarius published an edition, initially of the first two books, then of the six in 1679. It was the first to divide the text into chapters and to join a comment to it. Other editions were published in the 18th century, like those of Th. Smith and of J. - F. Reitemeier, then at the 19th century, like that of L. Mendelssohn.

The versions in vulgar languages are that of Louis Cousin, in French (1678), of Th. English Smith (1684), of Seybold and Heyler, in German (1802).

One finds in the Mémoires of the Académie of the inscriptions (1808) of the Observations of Holy-Cross on Zosime.

Modern editions

New History , edition and translation François Paschoud, 3 volumes in 5 volumes, Paris, the Beautiful Letters, 1971-1989.

See too

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