Michael Attaliates
Encyclopedia
Michael Attaleiates or Attaliates (fl. 11th century) was a Greek public servant and historian at Constantinople.
Michael was probably a native of Attalia (now Antalya
, in Turkey). He seems to have gone to Constantinople
between 1030 and 1040, where he became rich and was advanced by successive emperors to the highest civil offices (patrician and proconsul
), becoming a member of the two supreme courts of the Empire, those of the Hippodrome
and the velum
.
In 1072 he compiled for the Emperor Michael Parapinakes a compendium of law, which supplements the Libri Basilici.
In addition he drew up an Ordinance for the Poor House and Monastery which he founded at Constantinople in 1077. This work is also of value for the history of life and manners at Constantinople in the eleventh century. It includes a catalogue of the library of his monastery.
About 1079 or 1080 Michael published an account of the Eastern Roman Empire from 1034 to 1079, a vivid and reliable presentation of the palace revolutions and female domination that characterize this period of transition from the great Macedonian dynasty to the Comneni.
Michael was probably a native of Attalia (now Antalya
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
, in Turkey). He seems to have gone to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
between 1030 and 1040, where he became rich and was advanced by successive emperors to the highest civil offices (patrician and proconsul
Proconsul
A proconsul was a governor of a province in the Roman Republic appointed for one year by the senate. In modern usage, the title has been used for a person from one country ruling another country or bluntly interfering in another country's internal affairs.-Ancient Rome:In the Roman Republic, a...
), becoming a member of the two supreme courts of the Empire, those of the Hippodrome
Covered Hippodrome
The Covered Hippodrome was a covered courtyard that served as an antechamber to the Great Palace of Constantinople. The French scholar Rodolphe Guilland also equated it with the emperors' private hippodrome...
and the velum
Velum
Velum may refer to:* Superior medullary velum, part of the nervous system that stretches between parts of the brain* Veil , the veil-like membrane of immature mushrooms extending from the margin of the cap to the stem and torn by growth...
.
In 1072 he compiled for the Emperor Michael Parapinakes a compendium of law, which supplements the Libri Basilici.
In addition he drew up an Ordinance for the Poor House and Monastery which he founded at Constantinople in 1077. This work is also of value for the history of life and manners at Constantinople in the eleventh century. It includes a catalogue of the library of his monastery.
About 1079 or 1080 Michael published an account of the Eastern Roman Empire from 1034 to 1079, a vivid and reliable presentation of the palace revolutions and female domination that characterize this period of transition from the great Macedonian dynasty to the Comneni.