Read the _Byzantine History_ of Malchus the sophist[378] in seven
books. It begins with the final illness and death of the emperor Leo
in the seventeenth year of his reign. The author gives an account of
the proclamation and accession of Zeno, his expulsion from the throne
and life as a private individual, the accession and abdication of the
usurper Basiliscus. The restoration of Zeno to the throne and the
murder of Basiliscus, his wife and children being unjustly put to
death at the same time. Harmatius, who had restored Zeno, met with a
similar recompense, being put to death by Onulphus. The author also
gives an account of the rebellion of Theodoric the son of Triarius;
the friendship of Theodoric the son of Malamir,[379] and his war with
Theodoric the son of Triarius; the second revolt against Zeno, the
rebellion of Marcian, the conspiracy[380] of Zeno’s mother-in-law,
and the banishment of Marcian for life. Verina’s plot against Illus,
the treacherous seizure of Epidamnus by Theodoric the son of Malamir.
Having described these events the author then touches upon Roman
affairs. The seventh book ends with the death of Nepos, who, having
driven out Glycerius, assumed the imperial power, ordered Glycerius’s
hair to be cut like a cleric’s and made him chief priest instead of
emperor. Nepos himself was subsequently slain at the instigation of
Glycerius. These seven books show that the author had already written
an account of preceding events, as also appears from the beginning
of the first book of the seven. The end of the seventh book further
shows that he had intended to continue the history, if his life had
been spared.
Malchus, a native of Philadelphia, is a most admirable historian. His
style is pure, free from redundancies and easy to understand; the
language is ornate and explicit, if somewhat pompous; he does not
hesitate to employ unfamiliar expressions characterized by emphasis,
euphony, and sublimity. Speaking generally, his language is a model
for the historian. A sophist by profession, and one of the greatest
of rhetoricians, he appears to have been a member of the Christian
Church.