The monk Theophanes (+ 818) reports on the period from 284 5 to 812 3 AD in simple language and
a clear chronological text. According to Theophanes the 7th century was the decisive epoch in
the history of the Byzantine Empire encompassing the last Persian Wars and the empire's first
confrontations with the Arabs who had been newly converted to Islam by the Prophet Muhammad.
Other central themes are the settlement of Slavic tribes in south-eastern Europe in the wake of
the Avar campaigns of conquest and Byzantine domestic politics. The introduction addresses the
biographical background and ideological basis of the author the influence of Greek and
Oriental sources on the Chronicle of Theophanes and its influence on the historiography of the
Western Middle Ages thanks to the early Latin translation by Anastasius Bibliothecarius (+
879) a Vatican librarian. The introduction also discusses how Theophanes portrays the
political leaders prominent in the chronicle as well as peculiarities in his style vocabulary
and language. Also examined are the frequent use of direct speech in the account often inserted
into the account and the slogans mostly in verse that the Green and Blue political parties
shouted during demonstrations in Constantinople loudly supported by the people.
