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Introduction Introduction The historical work bearing the title On the Reigns (Bauudai) survives in a single manuscript of the eleventh century. A fourteenth-century hand has added the presumed author's name ("Genesios") in the rnargin 1 With the possible exception of John Skylitzes, whose testimony will be considered below, no Byzantine writer discusses this text or its author. Therefore, the date of its composition and the precise identity of its author must be de­ termined largely through internal criteria. The first two sections of this introduction are devoted to these two closely related problems, and are followed by discussions of Genesios' use of sources and his value as a historian. 1. Date and Circumstances of Composition The preface and dedicatory poem of the text clearly indicate that the work as we have it was dedicated to the autokratorConstantine VII Por­ phyrogennetos and therefore, according to scholarly consensus, it must have been written during the period of that Emperor's independent rule (945-959). This conclusion, however, is unwarranted, for the preface can be used to date only itself and there is evidence that most of the text was written considerably earlier. Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, the son of Leo VI ('The Wise,' ruled 886-912), was born in 905 and crowned as early as 908.2 When his uncle Alexander died in 913 after a year-long reign, the management of the Empire was · entrusted to a series of unstable regencies, and then passed into the hands of a self-made admiral, Romanos Lekapenos, who raised himself to the throne and ruled as Constantine's co-Emperor for twenty-four years (920-944). During that time Romanos was in effective control of the State, depriving his younger colleague of all real power. Constantine VII finally came into his inheritance when Romanos was 1 For extensive discussions of the manuscript, see H Waschke, 'Genesios,' pp. 256- 263, and the introduction to the CFHB edition of the text by A. Lesmilller-Wemer and I. Thum, pp. ix, xxii-xxvi. 2 P. Grierson and R. Jenkins, 'The Date of Constantine Vll's Coronation.' X Introduction deposed by his own sons, who were in turn deposed and exiled by the supporters of the legitimate dynasty one month later. 3 Constantine supervised the composition of many treatises on ceremonial, diplomatic, and administrative matters, and commissioned a series of Imperial biographies known as Theophanes Continuatus. 4 The first part of this work covers the years 813-867, thus deliberately continuing the Chronographiaof Theophanes the Confessor. Its author remains anonymous, though he probably worked under the direct super­ vision of Constantine himself. The second part, known as the Vita Basilii, is a biography of Basil I (ruled 867-886), who founded the so-called Macedonian dynasty. Constantine was personally involved in its compo­ sition. 5 Both parts of the text denigrate Basil's predecessors and present him as the savior of the Empire. Theophanes Continuatus clearly con­ stitutes historical propaganda in favor of the Macedonian dynasty. 6 Genesios (we may use that name for the sake of convenience) has also been cast as a spokesman for the propaganda created at the court of Constantine VII. His hostile treatment of Basil's predecessors reveals biases similar to those of Theophanes Continuatus, although the latter emphasizes the negative features of those Emperors more strongly.7 There are also many verbal similarities between the two texts, yet the work of Genesios is much shorter and less well written than the official product of Constantine's patronage. It is therefore important to understand the precise relationship between the two works. Did one borrow from the other, did they use the same sources, or both? A crucial piece of evidence comes from Genesios himself, who claims, in his preface, that he was the first to write a narrative of events after 813. According to F. Hirsch, the first scholar to investigate this problem, Genesios was the earlier writer and was thus used as a source 3 For Romanos I in general, see S. Runciman, The Emperor Romanus Lecapenus and his Reign. 4 For Constantine's works in general, see A. Toynbee, Constantine Porphyrogenitus and his World, part V, and the useful and corrective perspective of I. Sevcenko, 'Re-reading Constantine Porphyrogenitus.' 5 See, in general, HG. Nickels, 'The Continuatio Theophanis'; and R. Jenkins, 'The Classical Background of the Scriptores Post Theophanem.' The final section of Theophanes Continuatus (covering the years 886-961) is of no relevance to the problems that surround Genesios. 6 For a detailed analysis which reveals the essentially panegyrical nature of the Vita Basilii, see P.A. Agapetos, "H eh:6va 'tO\l a\l't01Cpa"tOpa Baa1A.£iou A' <HT\ qnAoµa- 1CtOov11CT\ypaµµa"tda 867-959.' 7 Cf. F. H Tinnefeld, Kategorien der Kaiserkritik in der byzantinischen Historio­ graphie, pp. 88, 91. .
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