Constantinople and Alexandria in a Lost Miaphysite History from Egypt

This paper presents a hitherto unrecognised miaphysite history embedded in the Chronicle of the Egyptian bishop John of Nikiu (d. 700). The identification of other sources within the Chronicle, as well as the recognition of thematic coherence across different sections, has allowed for the delineation of this source across sections ranging from the late fourth to late sixth centuries (although the source itself might have been composed after the Arab-Muslim conquests). The source is of consistent high quality and contains various precise details which are unique or which only otherwise appear in likewise high-quality miaphysite sources (for example, Rufus’ Life of Peter the Iberian or the History of Ps.-Zachariah Rhetor). It also exhibits a persistent concern with the relationship of Alexandria and Constantinople, and the ecclesiastical pre-eminence of the former over the latter. Its incorporation by John of Nikiu points us to the ongoing efforts of miaphysite (Theodosian) elites in Egypt to reckon with the Constantinopolitan and Chalcedonian past; but also suggests that the production of ecclesiastical history in late antique and early Islamicate Egypt was much more diverse than has otherwise been appreciated.