A brief chronicle of Roman history from Aeneas to 1323 or 1341 survives in Vindobonensis Historicus Graecus 99, folios 15r– 35r. The presentation of events is brief throughout the text, and after Alexios Komnenos, the last two centuries are a simple list of the emperors’ reigns.

An examination of the text's discussion of emperors Philippikos and Anastasios indicates that it draws on the work of Zonaras. Further study is needed to determine whether this dependency is consistent for the rest of the chronicle.

The text has “of the lord Akropolites Grand Logothete” written in the margin at the head of the chronicle. On chronological grounds, Heinrich associated this text with Constantine Akropolites (1250/12 55– ca. 1324/ 1325), who was the older son of George Akropolites and held the title of Grand Logothete. He died between 1321 and 1324, and is known mostly as the author of hagiography. He composed numerous lives of saints of earlier eras in high- style Greek. Yet, the literary style of the chronicle is far simpler and less elegant than Constantine Akropolites's other writings, suggesting that perhaps this association is unwarranted.

Manuscripts, Editions, and Translations

Manuscript

Vindobonensis Historicus Graecus 99 can be dated to the first half of the fourteenth century.

Edition

A new edition is being prepared by Albrecht Berger. An edition of the preface and four short excerpts was published by Heinrich:

Heinrich, Alfred. Die Chronik des Johannes Sikeliota der Wiener Hofbibliothek. Graz : Verlag des K. K. ersten Staats- Gymnasiums, 1892.

U RTHER READING

On This Text

Tocci, Raimondo. “ Zu der Konstantinos Akropolites zugeschriebenen Chronik.” In Koinotaton Doron: das sp ä te Byzanz zwischen Machtlosigkeit und kultureller Bl ü te (1204– 1461), edited by Albrecht Berger, Sergei Mariev, G ü nter Prinzing, and Alexander Riehle, 197 – 206. Byzantinisches Archiv 31. Berlin : De Gruyter, 2016.