Был ли Симеон I Великий знатоком истории Древнего Рима? К вопросу о достоверности свидетельства патриарха Николая Мистика
Was Simeon the Great an Expert on Roman History? On the Value of Nikolaos Mystikos’ Evidence

Summary/Abstract: The article tries to access the value of patriarch of Constantinople Nikolaos Mystikos’ evidence on historical competence of Simeon I, ruler of Bulgaria.The patriarch was not an expert on the Roman past himself. As a man of letters, however, he possessed a certain amount of general knowledge in the field he profited from in his correspondence with Simeon and used the knowledge to talk the addressee into his point of view. Therefore one should accept only with extreme caution Nikolaos Mystikos’ opinion that Simeon was highly knowledgeable about late Roman history. The same caution is advisable in reading the sentence I am aware that you know this, and I am sorry to speak so to one who knows and has the capacity to teach virtues to others since it could equally be a mere complement paid by the patriarch, who thereby might have wanted to ingratiate with Simeon.

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