ABSTRACT
The Ecumenical History of Theophylact SimokaĴa has ever since Photios been deplored as a work difficult in style, with successive shiĞs in narrative focus, few and not always reliable chronological indications, repetitive insertions of apophthegmatic sentences, rhetorical speeches and other devices.1 In addition to severely testing its modern readers’ patience, this rather rambling reconstruction of twenty years of Roman history cannot completely satisfy those seeking sound historical information and is a disappointment to those in search of deeper ideas and philosophical messages. By common scholarly consent, Theophylact largely failed to be a reliable reporter of the reign of Maurice and moreover, for all his highminded pretensions, he hardly succeeded in endowing his account with the profundity and breadth of classical historiography.2
