Kholod, M. M.
Cyrus the Great in the Chronicle of John of Nikiu, in: Proslo gion: Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Social History and Culture. 2024. Vol. 8 (1). P. 78–97.
Maxim Mikhailovich Kholod, PhD in History, Associate Professor, St. Peters burg State University (Mendeleevskaya liniya 5, St. Petersburg, Russia, 199034)
m.holod@spbu.ru
Language: Russian
The article analyzes one of the stories given in the Chronicle of John of Nikiu (late 7th century AD), namely that of the Persian king Cyrus the Great (558–530 BC). The author of the article shows that when composing this story, the chronicler relied almost entirely on the corresponding passage from the work of John Malalas (6th century AD). Only in connection with one place in John of Nikiu’s text, it can be reasonably argued that he, in order to clarify the information given by Malalas, drew evidence from some other work. The main thing that differentiated the text of John of Nikiu from Malalas’ account of Cyrus is the result of the latter’s reduction. It is obvious that John of Nikiu kept only what he considered particularly important — the storyline around Cyrus’ decision to return the Jews to their homeland from the Babylonian captivity.
Keywords: John of Nikiu, Cyrus the Great, Achaemenids, Croesus, Daniel the Prophet, Persian Empire
URL: http://proslogion.ru/72-kholod/
10.24412/2500-0926-2024-72-78-97
