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The History of Leo the Deacon: Byzantine Military Expansion in the Tenth Century. Introduction, translation, and annotations by Alice-Mary Talbot and Denis F. Sullivan with the assistance of George T. Dennis and Stamatina Gradi. Dumbarton Oaks Studies, 41. Washington, D.C., 2005. ISBN 0-88402-306-0. Maps. Notes. Bibliography. Indexes. Pp. xix, 264. $45.00.
Leo the Deacon was an historian of the Byzantine world at the height of its power in the tenth century A.D. Born ca. 950, he died sometime after 992 or 994 A.D. Educated in the queen of cities, Constantinople, Leo became a palace deacon, hence the name. His history covers the period from 959 to 976, therein the reigns of the warrior emperors, Nikephoros II Phokas, John I Tzimiskes, and the early years of Basil II.
The publication history of this volume is complicated. The story begins in 1970-71 when the Byzantine scholar Nikolaos Panagiotakis was in residence at Dumbarton Oaks. He was working on a critical Greek edition of Leo's History for publication in the series Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae (CFHB). His edition was intended to replace the older Greek edition...