ZONARA, GIOVANNI. - Byzantine historian, born toward the end of the 11th century, died toward the middle of the 12th. He was first commander of the Imperial Guard and president of the Chancery; he renounced his political career and became a monk on one of the islands near Constantinople (Hagia Glykeria).
There he wrote his celebrated Επιτομή ιστοριών, a historical chronicle beginning with the creation of the world and continuing to the accession to the imperial throne of Giovanni Comneno in 1118. This book, reproduced in many manuscripts and translated into various languages, was highly esteemed. Indeed, it still deserves attention today, especially for its historical and philological sources, and also for its form. A number of sources now lost were largely preserved by Z. In addition to Sacred Scripture, he cites passages from ecclesiastical writers such as Eusebio, Niceforo patriarca, Teofane, but still more from secular writers such as Dione Cassio, Senofonte, Plutarco, Erodoto, Giuseppe Flavio, and from Byzantine writers such as Giorgio Monaco, Cedreno, Skylitze, Psello, Xiphilino, and other authors. Later historians such as Glyca, Manasse, and Ephraim made use of II. Besides his history, he also composed Commentaries on the Holy Fathers and the Canons, as well as poems, which, however, cannot be attributed to him with certainty.
The lexicon attributed to him is certainly apocryphal and must be ascribed to Antonio Monaco. An important Italian version of his history, made by Marco Emilio Fiorentino, was published in Venice in 1560.