Glosa and references of the book «Fourteen Byzantine Rulers» (Cronografía), by Miguel Psellos, including a vocabulary into Spanish.

Glosa and references of the book «Fourteen Byzantine Rulers» (Cronografía), by Miguel Psellos, (Robert Sewter trans.), with a vocabulary into Spanish

 

 

Biographical References (From Wikipedia)

Claudius Aelianus. (Κλαύδιος Αἰλιανός; c. 175 – c. 235 AD), commonly Aelian (/ˈiːliən/), born at Praeneste, was a Roman author and teacher of rhetoric who flourished under Septimius Severus and probably outlived Elagabalus, who died in 222. He spoke Greek so fluently that he was called "honey-tongued" (μελίγλωσσος meliglossos); Roman-born, he preferred Greek authors, and wrote in a slightly archaizing Greek himself. His two chief works are valuable for the numerous quotations from the works of earlier authors, which are otherwise lost, and for the surprising lore, which offers unexpected glimpses into the Greco-Roman world-view.

Agesilaus II. (/əˌdʒɛsəˈleɪəs/; Greek: Ἀγησίλαος Agesilaos; c. 444/443 – c. 360 BC), was a king (basileus) of the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta and a member of the Eurypontid dynasty ruling from 398 to about 360 BC, during most of which time he was, in Plutarch's words, "as good as though commander and king of all Greece," and was for the whole of it greatly identified with his country's deeds and fortunes. Small in stature and lame from birth, Agesilaus became ruler somewhat unexpectedly in his mid-forties. His reign saw successful military incursions into various states in Asia Minor, as well as successes in the Corinthian War; however, several diplomatic decisions resulted in Sparta becoming increasingly isolated prior to his death at the age of 84 in Cyrenaica. Agesilaus was greatly admired by his friend, the historian Xenophon, who wrote a minor work about him titled Agesilaus.

Alexander Alexandrovich Vasiliev. (Russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Васи́льев; 4 October 1867 (N.S.) – 30 March 1953) considered the foremost authority on Byzantine history and culture in the mid-20th century. His History of the Byzantine Empire (vol. 1–2, 1928) remains one of a few comprehensive accounts of the entire Byzantine history, on the par with those authored by Edward Gibbon and Fyodor Uspensky.

Euergetes. (Ancient Greek: Εὐεργέτης, Euergétēs), lit., "the Benefactor" (from ευ-, "good", + εργετης, "doer, worker"), was an epithet, an honouring title, given to various benefactors. Euergetism (literally "doing good deeds") was the practice of high-status and wealthy individuals distributing part of their wealth to the community. For example, Archelaus I of Macedon supplied wood to Athens, taking the titles of proxenos and euergetes in 407/6 BC.

The title was given to several Hellenistic monarchs:

• Antiochus VII Euergetes, Seleucid king, reigned 138–129 BC
• Attalus III Philometor Euergetes, king of Pergamon, reigned 138–133 BC
• Mithridates V Euergetes, king of Pontus, reigned 150–120 BC
• Nicomedes III Euergetes, king of Bithynia, reigned 127–94 BC
• Ptolemy III Euergetes, king of Egypt, reigned 246–222 BC
• Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II, king of Egypt, reigned 169–164, 144–132, 126–116 BC
• Telephos Euergetes, Indo-Greek ruler, reigned 75–70 BC
• Tiraios I Euergetes, king of Characene, reigned 95/94-90/89 BC

The feminine form Euergetis (Εὐεργέτις) was also used:

• Cleopatra Euergetis, queen of Egypt, reigned 142–131, 127–101 BC.

 

Gagik II. (Armenian: Գագիկ Բ; c. 1025 - May 5/November 24, 1079) was the last Armenian king of Bagratuni dynasty. Known as Gagik II King of Ani (Ani being the capital of the kingdom at the time), a juvenile at the time, he was enthroned as Gagik II and ruled for a brief period from 1042 to 1045 before the Bagratid dynasty rule collapsed in Armenia.

George Kedrenos. (Greek: Γεώργιος Κεδρηνός). Byzantine historian. In the 1050s he compiled Synopsis historion (also known as A concise history of the world), which spanned the time from the biblical account of creation to his own day. Kedrenos is one of the few sources that discuss Khazar polities in existence after the sack of Atil in 969.

Georgy Alexandrovich Ostrogorsky. (Russian: Гео́ргий Алекса́ндрович Острого́рский; 19 January 1902 – 24 October 1976), known in Serbian as Georgije Ostrogorski (Serbian Cyrillic: Георгије Острогорски) and English as George Ostrogorsky, was a Russian-born Yugoslavian historian and Byzantinist who acquired worldwide reputations in Byzantine studies. He was a professor at the University of Belgrade.

Hermogenes of Tarsus. (Greek: Ἑρμογένης ὁ Ταρσεύς) was a Greek rhetorician, surnamed The Polisher (Ξυστήρ). He flourished in the reign of Marcus Aurelius (AD 161–180). His precocious ability secured him a public appointment as teacher of his art while he was only a boy, attracting the note of the emperor himself; but at the age of twenty-five his faculties gave way, and he spent the remainder of his long life in a state of intellectual impotence. According to legend, he probably fell victim to a disease which resulted in meningitis, such as measles or yersinia.

Holy Unmercenaries. (Greek: Άγιοι Ανάργυροι, Agioi Anárgyroi). Epithet applied to a number of Christian saints who did not accept payment for good deeds. These include healers or Christian physicians who, in conspicuous opposition to medical practice of the day, tended to the sick free of charge. It may refer to:

• Zenaida and Philonella (c. 100)
• Saint Tryphon (c. 250)
• Martyr Thalelaeus the Unmercenary, at Anazarbus in Cilicia (284)^[1]
• Saints Cosmas and Damian (c. 303)
• Saint Pantaleon (c. 305), also called Saint Panteleimon
• Saints Cyrus and John (c. 304)
• Saint Diomedes of Tarsus (c. 311)
• Saint Sampson the Hospitable (c. 530)
• St Agapetus of the Kiev Caves (1095)
• St Luka Voyno-Yasenetsky (1961)
• Saint Blaise
• Blessed Matrona Nikonova.

 

Iamblichus. (Ἰάμβλιχος) c. AD 245 – c. 325) Syrian Neoplatonist philosopher of Arab origin. He determined the direction that would later be taken by Neoplatonic philosophy. He was also the biographer of Pythagoras, a Greek mystic, philosopher and mathematician.

Joannes or John Zonaras. (Greek: Ἰωάννης Ζωναρᾶς, Iōánnēs Zōnarâs; fl. 12th century) Byzantine chronicler and theologian who lived in Constantinople. Under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos he held the offices of head justice and private secretary (protasēkrētis) to the emperor, but after Alexios' death, he retired to the monastery in the Island of Hagia Glykeria, (Incir Ada, in the Aegean Sea), where he spent the rest of his life writing books.

John Skylitzes. Latinized as Ioannes Scylitzes (Greek: Ἰωάννης Σκυλίτζης, also Σκυλλίτζης/Σκυλίτσης. (Iōannēs Skylitsēs; early 1040s – after 1101. Greek historian of the late 11th century.

Khusrau Shah. (also spelled Khosrau Shah, Khosrow Shah, and Khusraw Shah) was the king of the Justanids from 972 to ca. 1004. He was the son and successor of Manadhar. The words "Khosrow" and "Shah" are both Iranian words that mean "king".

Leo Paraspondylos. (Greek: Λέων Παρασπόνδυλος) was a high-ranking 11th-century Byzantine official, who served as chief minister to Empress Theodora and Emperor Michael VI.

Megarian school of philosophy. Flourished in the 4th century BC, was founded by Euclides of Megara, one of the pupils of Socrates. Its ethical teachings were derived from Socrates, recognizing a single good, which was apparently combined with the Eleatic doctrine of Unity. Some of Euclides' successors developed logic to such an extent that they became a separate school, known as the Dialectical school. Their work on modal logic, logical conditionals, and propositional logic played an important role in the development of logic in antiquity.

Mysia. (Μυσία, Latin: Mysia, Turkish: Misya). Former region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor (Anatolia, Asian part of modern Turkey). It was located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. It was bounded by Bithynia on the east, Phrygia on the southeast, Lydia on the south, Aeolis on the southwest, Troad on the west and by the Propontis on the north. In ancient times it was inhabited by the Mysians, Phrygians, Aeolian Greeks and other groups.

Pyrrhus Ι. (Πύρρος, 319/318–272 BC). Greek general and statesman of the Hellenistic period. He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house (from c. 297 BC), and later he became king (Malalas called him also toparch) of Epirus (r. 306–302, 297–272 BC). He was one of the strongest opponents of early Rome. Several of his victorious battles caused him unacceptably heavy losses, from which the term Pyrrhic victory was coined. He is the subject of one of Plutarch's Parallel Lives.

Saint George of Samatya or Surp Kevork. (Armenian: Սամաթիոյ Սուրբ Գէորգ Եկեղեցի; Turkish name: Sulu Manastır, meaning: "Water Monastery") is an Armenian church in Istanbul. The edifice, built between 1866 and 1887, has been erected above the substructure of a Byzantine church and monastery built in the eleventh century. The complex, dedicated to St. Mary Peribleptos (Greek: Μονὴ τῆς Θεοτòκου τῆς Περιβλὲπτου, Monì tis Theotókou tis Perivléptou) was one of the most important Greek Orthodox monasteries in Constantinople. After the Ottoman conquest of the city in 1453 it was ceded to the Armenian community in Istanbul, and became for a period the seat of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople.

The Triballi. (Greek: Τριβαλλοί, Triballoí) were an ancient tribe whose dominion was around the plains of modern southern Serbia, northern part of North Macedonia and western Bulgaria, at the Angrus and Brongus (the South and West Morava) and the Iskar River, roughly centered where Serbia and Bulgaria are joined. The Triballi were a Thracian tribe that received influences from Celts, Scythians and Illyrians.

 

 

Geographical references

 

Abydos. (Ancient Greek: Ἄβυδος, Latin: Abydus) was an ancient city and bishopric in Mysia. It was located at the Nara Burnu promontory on the Asian coast of the Hellespont, opposite the ancient city of Sestos, and near the city of Çanakkale in Turkey. Abydos was founded in c. 670 at the narrowest point in the straits, and thus was one of the main crossing points between Europe and Asia, until its replacement by the crossing between Lampsacus and Kallipolis in the 13th century, and the abandonment of Abydos in the early 14th century. In Greek mythology, Abydos is presented in the myth of Hero and Leander as the home of Leander. The city is also mentioned in Rodanthe and Dosikles, a novel written by Theodore Prodromos, a 12th-century writer, in which Dosikles kidnaps Rodanthe at Abydos.

Amasya. (Greek: Ἀμάσεια) is a city in northern Turkey and is the capital of Amasya Province, in the Black Sea Region. Tokat from east, Tokat and Yozgat from south, Çorum from west, Samsun from north. The city of Amasya (Turkish pronunciation: [aˈmasja]), the Amaseia or Amasia of antiquity, stands in the mountains above the Black Sea coast, set apart from the rest of Anatolia in a narrow valley along the banks of the Yeşilırmak River. Although near the Black Sea, this area is high above the coast and has an inland climate, well-suited to growing apples, for which Amasya province, one of the provinces in north-central Anatolia Turkey, is famed. It was the home of the geographer Strabo and the birthplace of the 15th century scholar and physician Amirdovlat Amasiatsi. Located in a narrow cleft of the Yeşilırmak (Iris) river, it has a history of 7,500 years which has left many traces still evident today.

Büyükada. (Greek: Πρίγκηπος or Πρίγκιπος, rendered Prinkipos or Prinkipo) is the largest of the nine so-called Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbul, with an area of about 2 square miles (5 square kilometres). It is officially a neighbourhood in the Adalar (Islands) district of Istanbul Province, Turkey.

Cilicia. (/sɪˈlɪʃə/) was the south coastal region of Asia Minor and existed as a political entity from the Hittite era until the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, during the late Byzantine Empire. Extending inland from the south-eastern coast of modern Turkey, Cilicia is due north and northeast of the island of Cyprus and corresponds to the modern region of Çukurova in Turkey.

Dalassa. (Δάλασσα). Talas is a town in central Anatolia and a district of Kayseri Province in Turkey. The population of Talas city was 40,122 in 2000, while the district of Talas as a whole counted 60,925 people. It is located about 7km from the city of Kayseri.

Dodona. (/doʊˈdoʊnə/; Doric Greek: Δωδώνα, Dōdṓna, Ionic and Attic Greek: Δωδώνη,[1] Dōdṓnē) in Epirus in northwestern Greece was the oldest Hellenic oracle, possibly dating to the second millennium BCE according to Herodotus. The earliest accounts in Homer describe Dodona as an oracle of Zeus. Situated in a remote region away from the main Greek poleis, it was considered second only to the oracle of Delphi in prestige. Aristotle considered the region around Dodona to have been part of Hellas and the region where the Hellenes originated. The oracle was first under the control of the Thesprotians before it passed into the hands of the Molossians. It remained an important religious sanctuary until the rise of Christianity during the Late Roman era.

Mangana. (Greek: Μάγγανα). One of the quarters of Byzantine-era Constantinople. Located on the easternmost edge of the Sirkeci peninsula in which the city is located, it housed an imperial palace, arsenal and several churches and charitable establishments throughout the middle and late Byzantine periods.

Monastery of Stoudios. Also Monastery of Saint John the Forerunner "at Stoudios" (Greek Μονή του Αγίου Ιωάννη του Προδρόμου «εν τοις Στουδίου» Monē tou Hagiou Iōannē tou Prodromou "en tois Stoudiou"), often shortened to Stoudios, Studion, or Stoudion, (Latin: Studium), was historically the most important monastery of Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), the capital of the Byzantine Empire. The residents of the monastery were referred to as Stoudites (or Studites). Although the monastery has been derelict for half a millennium, the laws and customs of the Stoudion were taken as models by the monks of Mount Athos and of many other monasteries of the Orthodox world; even today they have influence. The ruins of the monastery are situated not far from the Propontis (Marmara Sea) in the section of Istanbul called Psamathia, today's Koca Mustafa Paşa. It was founded in 462 by the consul Flavius Studius, a Roman patrician who had settled in Constantinople, and was consecrated to Saint John the Baptist. Its first monks came from the monastery of Acoemetae.

Ostrovo (Όστροβον). Today, Arnissa (Greek: Άρνισσα, before 1926: Όστροβον) is a town in the Pella regional unit of Macedonia, Greece. It is located near the Lake Vegoritida and Mount Kaimakchalan and is the seat of the Vegoritida Municipality. It has a population of 1,557 (as of 2011).

Proconnesus. (Προκόννησος). Isla de Mármara.

 

 

Vocabularium

(útil para los traductores)

accouchement. parto.

allelengyon (ἀλληλέγγυον). impuesto establecido en 1002 por el emperador bizantino Basilio II, que requería que los terratenientes más ricos pagaran las deudas tributarias de sus vecinos más pobres. Se basó en un concepto existente en la ley romana y bizantina, pero fue abolido por Romanos III Argyros en 1028.

aparktias. (απαρκτίας). septentrión.

«at all events». in any event, en todo caso.

bedew. rociar.

«beetling brow». cejas prominentes.

blithe. des. ledo; descuidado, despreocupado.

boon. des. bueno.

burthen. burden, cargar, molestar.

«by main force». por la fuerza.

«byzantinus est, non legitur». Es bizantino, no se [debe] leer. (Propiamente dicho, «graecum est, non legitur», y más probablemente sea tomada de Shakespeare, de su obra Julio César). No hay huellas de esta frase en textos medievales. Seguramente se trata de una frase espuria. El término bizantino fue una invención académica que vino después de 1453.

bruit. des. rumorear, chusmear.

(to care) not a straw. no importarse un bledo.

callow. inexperto, inmaduro.

«to cast aspersions on s.». maldecir a alguien, lanzar calumnias.

chicanery. artimañas, argucias.

chide. reñir, reprender.

compass. des. maquinar, urdir.

cow. (Old Norse kúga (“to oppress”). amedrentar.

cowl. (Del lat. cuculla). cogulla.

«to curry favour with». congraciarse con, ganarse el favor de. cf. conrear.

daric. (δαρεικός). dárico, moneda de oro de la Persia antigua.

dárico del siglo V a. C.

defile. desfiladero.

discomfiture. frustración, decepción.

δόλος. engaño, dolo.

«dowager empress». emperatriz viuda.

earthworks. terraplenaje.

equerry. caballerizo.

erístico. (Del gr. ἐριστικός; literalmente 'discutidor', der. de ἐρίζειν 'reñir', 'discutir'. 1. adj. Fil. Dicho de una escuela filosófica: Socrática, establecida en Mégara, ciudad griega situada al oeste de Atenas, y caracterizada por su inclinación al procedimiento dialéctico y a la controversia. 2. adj. Fil. Perteneciente o relativo a la escuela erística. 3. adj. Que abusa del procedimiento dialéctico hasta el punto de convertirlo en vana disputa.

evince. evidenciar, mostrar.

exaction. exacción.

expatiate. espaciarse, to speak at length.

forsooth. des. verdaderamente, decir la verdad.

gaucherie. torpeza.

girding. ceñimiento.

«glib of tongue». de habla engañadora.

guttersnipe. pillo, lacra.

hellebore. (Del lat. [h]ellebŏrum, y este del gr. ἑλλέβορος). eléboro.

Helleborus sterni

 

hemilochites. filas militares, oficiales subalternos (Del libro).

insouciance. indiferencia.

«kith and kin». amigos y familiares.

kouropalates (también couropalates). (en griego, κουροπαλάτης; latinizado como curopalates o curopalata, del latín, cura palatii, lit., '[el primero en la] guarda del palacio' ​) fue primero una función o cargo de la corte bizantina imperial antes de convertirse en uno de sus más prestigiosos títulos entre los siglos VI y XII. Reservado a los miembros de la familia imperial y a varios reyes y príncipes del Cáucaso, con el tiempo se depreció y fue relegado al final de las listas de prioridad antes de caer en desuso bajo los Paleólogos. La esposa de un curopalate llevaba el título de curopalatisa. A veces, el territorio bajo el gobierno o administración de un curopalate se considera como un curopalatinado.

«κύκλῳ τὸν λόγον περιβαλὼν». perifraseando mediante un hilo de palabras. o mediante una manta de perífrasis (frase del traductor).

largess. largueza, generosidad.

logothete. (λογοθέτης). logoteta, título administrativo originario de la zona oriental del Imperio romano. En el Imperio bizantino medio y tardío, llegó a convertirse en un título administrativo superior, equivalente a un ministro o secretario de Estado. El título se extendió a otros estados influenciados por la cultura bizantina, como Bulgaria, Sicilia, Serbia y los principados danubianos.

mail. (Del ingl. med. maille (“mail armor”), este del fr. ant. maille, “lazo”, “puntada”, y este del lat. vulg. *macla, “mácula”. armadura (cota de malla).

«mete out». poner en efecto (un castigo).  

mooring-(cables). jarcia de amarre.

nomophylax. (νομοφύλαξ, de νόμος, “ley” y φύλαξ, “guardia”. Oficio bizantino judicial y señorial, activo durante los siglos XI-XV.

«non legendi». de no leer.

«no respecter of». falta respeto a.

«one jot». one iota, one bit.

Orphanotrophos. (Greek: ὀρφανοτρόφος) was a Byzantine title for the curator of an orphanage (ὀρφανοτροφεῖον, orphanotropheion). The director of the most important orphanage, the imperial orphanage in Constantinople, established in the 4th century and lasting until the 13th century, eventually rose to become an office of particular significance and ranked among the senior ministers of the Byzantine state.

pall. perder fuerza o vigor.

paramour. amante ilícito.

«pattern of piety». ejemplo o modelo de piedad.

palisade. empalizada.

pell-mell. (Del fr. pêle-mêle). apurado.

polity. estado.

prescience. (Del lat. tardío praescientia). presciencia.

proedrus. oficio de la corte bizantina.

Propontis. Mar de Mármara.

protospatharios (Greek: πρωτοσπαθάριος). Jefe —o sea, el primero— de la guardia personal llamada espatharia. También enn el Imperio de Trebisonda, se utilizó un título equivalente de origen turco αμυτζαντάριοι (amytzantarios).

protosyncellos. (πρωτοσύγκελλος). Deputado principal del obispo de una eparquía, para el ejercicio de la autoridad administrativa en la iglesia ortodoxa. El puesto equivalente en la iglesia occidental es el de vicario general.

protovestiarios. (πρωτοβεστιάριος, “primer vestiarios”). Alta posición en la corte bizantina, originalmente reservado para los eunucos. Representó el puesto financiero más alto del imperio, y también fue adoptado por los estados serbos medievales.

ptochotropheum (πτωχοτροφεῖον). hospicio para pobres.

«πῦρ μὲν ὑπὸ σποδιᾷ (κρῠ́πτειν)». (esconder) el fuego bajo la ceniza. Es decir, la ira o mala voluntad latente o escondida.

purport. purpose, propósito.

raillery. bromas, generalmente inofensivas.

ridge. caballete, caballón cresta.

sally. (Del fr. saillie, de sailli, part. pas. del verb. saillir, “saltar”).salida, escapada, sortie.

satrap. sátrapa, gobernador de una provincia de la antigua Persia.

scandalmonger. chismoso.

secede. escindir, retirar.

skiff. esquife.

slew. asesinado, matado.

specious. especioso.

stentorian. estentóreo.

stripling. mozalbete.

suzerainty. (Del fr. ant. suserenete). soberanía, suzeranía.

«τὰ πρὸ Εὐκλείδου». antes de[l tiempo de] Euclides, id est, “volver a lo primitivo”.

ten feet in height. muy alto.

«the fire beneath the ashes». v. πῦρ μὲν ὑπὸ σποδιᾷ.

thither. des. hacia allá.

«τὴν ἀτθίδα φωνὴν ἀκριβοῦσα». el habla atenea exacta, en griego ático puro.

«the moderate element (pl.)». las facciones neutrales.

Tornician. Perteneciente o relativo a la familia Tornikes.

totter. tambalearse.

«woe betide». ¡Ay de ti!