Sozomen: Ecclesiastical History

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Sozomen: Ecclesiastical History
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Abstract

Sozomen, also known as Salaminius Hermias Sozomen, was a fifth-century Christian historian. A Roman lawyer and historian of the Christian Church, Sozomen hailed from a wealthy Christian family in Palestine, then a province of the Roman Empire. As the son of a wealthy family, he received a thorough education in both secular and religious studies and practiced law in Constantinople, the eastern metropolis and economic hub of the Roman Empire. His work in this bustling city granted him access to various historical sources and ecclesiastical archives, which he utilized to write two different works on church history, although only one survives. His first work covered the early history of the church from the ascension of Jesus until 323 CE in twelve books. His surviving work, the Ecclesiastical History, is a nine-book series detailing the history of the Christian Church from Emperor Constantine’s conversion in 312 CE to the death of Emperor Theodosius II in 439 CE. Sozomen’s work is a testament to thorough research and careful scholarship, synthesizing earlier church histories by Eusebius of Caesarea, Rufinus, and Socrates Scholasticus, along with official documents and eyewitness accounts.

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