Theophanes the Confessor

Theophanes the Confessor was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking up the religious life. Theophanes attended the Second Council of Nicaea in 787 and resisted the iconoclasm of Leo V the Armenian, for which he was imprisoned. He died shortly after his release. He is credited with many miracles that occurred after his death. He is venerated as a saint in both the Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholic churches. His main work is the Chronographia, a history of the Byzantine Empire from 284 to 813, which is a continuation of the chronicle of George Syncellus. The Chronographia is an important source for the history of the 7th and 8th centuries, especially the iconoclastic controversy. Theophanes also wrote hymns and poems in honor of the saints and the icons. He is regarded as one of the most influential Byzantine writers and historians.