Priscus (left) with the Roman embassy at the court of Attila, holding his ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ (History, which the painter has incorrectly spelled ΙΣΤΩΡΙΑ). (Detail from Mór Than's Feast of Attila.)

Priscus, of Panium in Thrace, Greek sophist and historian, lived during the 5th century. He accompanied Maximin the ambassador of Theodosius II to the court of Attila in 448. During the reign of Marcian (450–457) he also took part in missions to Arabia and Egypt. Priscus was the author of a historical work in eight books (the Byzantine History), probably from the accession of Attila to that of Zeno (433–474). Only fragments of the work remain, largely preserved in Jordanes's Getica, but the description of Attila and his court and the account of the reception of the Roman ambassadors is a valuable piece of contemporary history. Priscus's style is pure, and his impartiality and trustworthiness entitle him to an honorable place among the writers of his time. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Mór Than was a Hungarian painter (1828–1899). ... Download high resolution version (999x680, 128 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Thrace is a historical and geographic area in south-east Europe spread over southern Bulgaria, north-eastern Greece, and European Turkey. ... Sophism was originally a term for the techniques taught by a highly respected group of philosophy and rhetoric teachers in ancient Greece. ... Generally speaking, a historian is a person who studies history. ... ( 4th century - 5th century - 6th century - other centuries) Events Rome sacked by Visigoths in 410. ... Theodosius II Flavius Theodosius II (April, 401 - July 28, 450 ). The eldest son of Eudoxia and Arcadius who at the age of 7 became the Roman Emperor of the East. ... The Huns, led by Attila (right, foreground), ride into Italy. ... Events Eutyches is accused of heresy at a council held in Constantinople. ... Imperator Caesar Flavius Marcianus Augustus or Marcian (c. ... Events August 25 - Marcian proclaimed Eastern Roman Emperor by Aspar and Pulcheria. ... Events February 7 - Leo I becomes East Roman emperor. ... The term the Middle East sometimes applies to the peninsula alone, but usually refers to the Arabian Peninsula plus the Levant, Mesopotamia, and Iran. ... Imperator Caesar Flavius Zeno Augustus or Tarasicodissa or Trascalissaeus (c. ... Events Petronius Maximus becomes Roman Consul John of Antioch and Cyril of Alexandria sign the Formula of Reunion, thus ending their conflict over the Nestorian controversy and the Council of Ephesus. ... Events January 18 - Leo II briefly becomes Byzantine emperor. ... The Origin and Deeds of the Goths (Latin: De origine actibusque Getarum), commonly referred to as Getica, was written by Jordanes, probably in Constantinople, and was published in AD 551. ...

Three collections of his remaining works are

• Ludwig Dindorf : Historici Graeci Minores (Leipzig, B.G. Teubner, 1870) (in Greek)
• C.D. Gordon : The Age of Attila: Fifth-century Byzantium and the Barbarians (Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 1960) (in English with commentary and annotation)
• Blockley, R.C.: The Fragmentary Classicising Historians of the Later Roman Empire, vol. II (ISBN 0905205154) (includes fragments from other historians, including Olympiodorus of Thebes)

Olympiodorus was an historical writer and notable astrologer (5th century AD), born at Thebes in Egypt, who was sent on a mission to the Huns on the Black Sea by emperor Honorius in 412, and later lived at the court of Theodosius. ...

External links

• Priscus at the court of Attila (http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/texts/priscus.html), translation by J.B. Bury

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. John Bagnell Bury (16 October 1861 – 1 June 1927) was an eminent British historian, classical scholar, and philologist. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica ( 1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...