receiving the submission of the
Sassanid king
Khosrau II – during Simocatta's times (plaque from a cross. Champlevé enamel over gilt copper, 1160–1170, Meuse Valley). Housed at the
Louvre. Simocatta is best known as the author of
History, a work split into eight books, about the reign of the emperor
Maurice (582–602), for which period he is the best and oldest authority. Though his work is of lesser stature than that of
Procopius and his self-consciously classicizing style is pompous, he is an important source of information concerning the seventh-century
Slavs, the
Avars and the
Persians, and the emperor's tragic end. He mentions the
war of
Heraclius against the Persians (610–628), but not
that against the Arabs (beginning 629), so it is likely that he was writing around 630. Among his sources he used the history of
John of Epiphania.
Edward Gibbon wrote: His want of judgement renders him diffuse in trifles and concise in the most interesting facts. This notwithstanding, Simocatta's general trustworthiness is admitted. The history contains an introduction in the form of a dialogue between
History and
Philosophy.
Nicolaus Copernicus translated Greek verses by Theophylact into
Latin prose and had his translation, dedicated to his uncle
Lucas Watzenrode, published in
Kraków in 1509 by
Johann Haller. It was the only book that Copernicus ever brought out on his own account. Simocatta was also the author of
Physical Problems, a work on
natural history, and of a collection of 85 essays in epistolary form. In regards to the Far East, Simocatta wrote a
generally accurate depiction of the
reunification of China by
Emperor Wen (r. 581–604 AD) of the
Sui dynasty, with the conquest of the rival
Chen dynasty in
southern China, correctly placing these events within the reign period of Byzantine ruler
Maurice. Simocatta also provided cursory information about the
geography of China along with its
customs and culture, deeming its people "idolatrous" but wise in governance. ==Works==