Byzantium in the Time of Troubles is a welcome addition for Byzantinists who work on the eleventh century. It provides a full English translation of Continuation of the Chronicle of John Skylitzes with the Greek original en face.Footnote ¹ (The pagination of the edition by E. Tsolakes (1968) is provided for reference.)

For the events of the late eleventh century Byzantinists have generally relied on three key authors writing in Greek: Skylitzes, whose original chronicle, Synopsis, ends in 1057; John Zonaras’ Epitome of Histories, dating from the early twelfth century; and the History of Michael Attaleiates, who personally witnessed the many of the events in his account. The majority of scholars have relied on Attaleiates as the most reliable recorder of the events surrounding the doomed reign of Romanos IV (1068–1071) and the failure of the Doukas regime to shore up the fragile frontiers of the Empire in the 1060s and 1070s. McGeer's lucid introduction to the problems and potentialities of Skylitzes Continuatus, offers a limited amount of new information on this period. Although there is debate about whether the author of the Continuation was the same as that of the Synopsis, most scholars believe the two authors to be one and the same (p. 5, n. 19). Skylitzes, it is believed, felt compelled to produce a second edition of his original chronicle, and bring its conclusion closer to his own time in 1079/80, from the original end date of his first ‘edition’ in 1057. It is possible that he was motivated to do so when he became aware of two new sources of history that he could assimilate into his chronicle: the History of Attaleiates, the dominant source for the Continuation, and the Chron'ographia of Michael Psellos. While there are occasional inclusions of original material in Skylitzes Continuatus, such as information on the motivations and forces behind the policy decisions of the imperial court, or the author's forceful condemnation of Michael Psellos for his role in the tragic blinding of Diogenes in 1072, the vast majority of the information came from other writers.

The limited divergence from the original source does not, however, make the translation of Skylitzes Continuatus pointless, for readers of this chronicle will be able to detect the author's mind and hand in guiding the narrative through the tumultuous events of the late eleventh century, offering at times his thoughts and opinions on events and individuals. As noted by McGeer, ‘[Skylitzes] asserts that its value lies in his critical reading of earlier chronicles and histories, his selection and abridgement of their contents, and the distillation of his sources into essentials, “a history pure and simple” purged of the glorification, censure, or credulity that in his view distorted so many of the works he consulted’ (p. 4). This might explain why the Continuation is only a fifth of the length of Attaleiates’ History: Skylitzes saw it as his purpose to re-package and eliminate unnecessary sections of aggrandisement or harsh opinions on the part of the original authors.

One of the most welcome features of this new edition is the concordance (pp. 193–197) that cross-references the historical episodes recorded by Skylitzes Continutatus with Attaleiates and Zonaras: this is extremely useful for students and scholars wishing to undertake comparative analysis of these extraordinary times. Also of considerable value are the introduction and detailed accompanying notes, which illuminate and inform the reader with nuanced explanations and prosopographical information. In the introduction, McGeer offers a detailed summary of the events of the late eleventh century, highlighting areas that may have affected the interpretations of the primary authors themselves, especially the Doukoi- Komnenoi rivalry following the abdication of Isaac I Komnenos in 1057. The inclusion of images and a discussion of imperial seals draws attention to an often-overlooked form of evidence, sigillography; this, coupled with the prosopographical index (by John Nesbitt) for reference, helps the reader to contextualise the various characters by providing and explaining their ranks and titles.

The translation of Skylitzes Continuatus into English will greatly aid readers interested in the Byzantine world of the eleventh century but unable to read it in the original Greek. This work of McGeer and Nesbitt deserves high praise for stripping away the curtain of inaccessibility, allowing scholars of all levels the chance to study this formative time in Byzantine history.