Joannes Xiphilinus epitomator of Dio Cassius

Dio Cassius

Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus , known in English as Cassius Dio, Dio Cassius, or Dio was a Roman consul and a noted historian writing in Greek...

, lived at Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

 during the latter half of the 11th century AD. He was a monk and the nephew of Patriarch John VIII of Constantinople

Patriarch John VIII of Constantinople

John VIII Xiphilinus , a native of Trebizond, was patriarch of Constantinople from 1064-1075. He was the uncle of John Xiphilinus the Epimator. John VIII also wrote a hagiography of Saint Eugenios of Trebizond....

, a well-known preacher (Migne

Jacques Paul Migne

Jacques Paul Migne was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely-distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a universal library for the Catholic priesthood.He was born at Saint-Flour, Cantal and studied...

, Patrologia Graeca

Patrologia Graeca

The Patrologia Graeca is an edited collection of writings by the Christian Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the ancient Koine or medieval variants of the Greek language. It consists of 161 volumes produced in 1857–1866 by J. P. Migne's Imprimerie Catholique...

, cxx.).

The epitome

Epitome

An epitome is a summary or miniature form; an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment....

 of Dio was prepared by order of Michael Parapinaces

Michael VII

Michael VII Doukas or Ducas , nicknamed Parapinakēs , was Byzantine emperor from 1071 to 1078.- Life :...

 (1071–1078), but is unfortunately incomplete. It comprises books 36–80, the period included being from the times of Pompey

Pompey

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...

 and Caesar

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

 down to Alexander Severus

Alexander Severus

Severus Alexander was Roman Emperor from 222 to 235. Alexander was the last emperor of the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his cousin Elagabalus upon the latter's assassination in 222, and was ultimately assassinated himself, marking the epoch event for the Crisis of the Third Century — nearly fifty...

. In book 70 the reign of Antoninus Pius

Antoninus Pius

Antoninus Pius , also known as Antoninus, was Roman Emperor from 138 to 161. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty and the Aurelii. He did not possess the sobriquet "Pius" until after his accession to the throne...

 and the early years of Marcus Aurelius appear to have been missing in his copy, while in books 78 and 79 a mutilated original must have been used. Xiphilinus divided the work into sections, each containing the life of an emperor. He omitted the names of the consul

Consul

Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...

s and sometimes altered or emended the original. The epitome is valuable as preserving the chief incidents of the period for which the authority of Dio is wanting.

See H Reimar

Hermann Samuel Reimarus

Hermann Samuel Reimarus , was a German philosopher and writer of the Enlightenment who is remembered for his Deism, the doctrine that human reason can arrive at a knowledge of God and ethics from a study of nature and our own internal reality, thus eliminating the need for religions based on...

's edition of Dio Cassius, ii.; J Melber's Dio

Dio Cassius

Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus , known in English as Cassius Dio, Dio Cassius, or Dio was a Roman consul and a noted historian writing in Greek...

 in Teubner series; C Wachsmuth, Einleitung in das Studium der alten Geschichte (1895); W Christ, Geschichte der griechischen Litteratur (1808).