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Leo the Deacon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Leo the Deacon(Greek:Λέων ο Διάκονος;bornc. 950) was aByzantine Greekhistorian and chronicler.

He was born around 950 atKaloeinAsia Minor,and was educated inConstantinople,where he became adeaconin the imperial palace. While in Constantinople he wrote a history covering the reigns ofRomanos II,Nikephoros II,John Tzimiskes,and the early part of the reign ofBasil II.Often his observations were based on his experiences as an eyewitness to events. His writing style has been described as "Classical", as he employed language reminiscent of the poetHomerand otherancient Greekhistorians such asAgathias.

Leo is particularly well known for his eyewitness description ofSviatoslav I of Kiev,whoinvadedBulgariain 969 and fought against Byzantine Imperial forces over its territory.

References[edit]

  • The History of Leo the Deacon: Byzantine military expansion in the tenth century.Introd., transl., and annotations by Alice-Mary Talbot and Denis F. Sullivan (Washington, DC, 2005).

External links[edit]

  • Leo's Greek text[permanent dead link](ed.Migne) in Adobe format
  • Scan of text(ed.Niebuhr,CSHB) in Adobe
  • Text in Russian translation
  • Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913)."Leo Diaconus".Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.