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Causes of electric motor failure. Malfunctions of asynchronous electric motors. It's all in the rotor

Byzantine Greek historian con. V - beginning VI century, pagan, author of “New History” (Νέα ἱστορία). Little is known about his life; in the text of the history of k.-l. There is no specific information about the author. Z.'s work was known in Byzantium; he is mentioned in con. VI century Evagrius Scholasticus (Evagr. Schol. Hist. eccl. V. 24) and in the middle. 9th century Patriarch Photius (Phot. Bibl. 98), who calls Z. a comite and former. lawyer of the fiscal department (κόμης ἀπὸ φισκοσυνηγόρου) in the empire. Thus, Z. spent at least part of his life in the K-field. About Z.’s connections with Byzantium. the capital also speaks of his optimistic idea of life. the fate of the K-field - “New Rome”, predicted by the Sibylline oracles (Zosim. Hist. II 36). Suggestions have been made about the identity of Z. and a certain sophist Zosimus from Gaza or Ascalon (Palestine), who is mentioned in the lexicon of the “Judgment” (X century), as well as Zosimus from Ascalon, who is mentioned in the treatise “Excerpta de legationibus” (X century, translation) fragments of Z.'s history are attributed; however, it is impossible to confidently identify these people. Rhetors 1st half. VI century Procopius of Gaza and Aeneas of Gaza mention their teacher in Gaza in their letters, who can also be compared with Z.

Z.'s “New History” is preserved in several manuscripts; the most important is Vat. gr. 156 (X-XIV centuries), where the text has several. large gaps. Exact time Z.’s writing of “New History” is unknown. The text (Zosim. Hist. II 38) mentions the abolition of the chrysargir (tax) imp. Anastasius I in 498, i.e. the work was completed by Z. after this date. The work consists of 6 books. Z. pays main attention to events since the end. III century (the reign of Emperor Diocletian) until the capture of Rome by Alaric in 410. The first book is an introduction to the main text of the work. It contains references to the most significant, according to the historian, events of antiquity: the Trojan War, the Greco-Persians. wars, about the conquests of the kings of Macedonia Philip and Alexander, about the foundation and formation of the Roman state before the era of Julius Caesar, about the founding of the Roman Empire by Augustus, about the emperors of the 1st - 2nd centuries. according to R.H. A more detailed account of events begins with the era of the Severus (beginning of the 3rd century); the end of the 1st book, dedicated to events between 282 and 305, has not survived. In the 2nd book. Z. describes the struggle for power and the reign of the emperor. Constantine, who is critical of Roma as a ruler who violated the ancient traditions of the relationship between the empire and its patron gods. Z. shows Constantine's lust for power, his desire to unleash internecine wars in the empire, which ultimately led him to sole power, his cruelty in dealing with his wife Fausta and his son Crispus. Constantine is also accused of weakening the defense of the empire's borders due to the reduction in the number of border troops and the strengthening of the empire. mobile army. Third book. mainly devoted to the reign of Julian the Apostate in Gaul and the East (355-363) and his Persians. hike. In the 4th book. The reign of the emperor is described. Theodosius I is also assessed negatively. In the 5th book. Chapters 1-25 are devoted to events in the East during the reign of the emperor. Arcadia until 404; chapters 26-51 - events in the West in 406-409. (the fall of the government of Stilicho, the beginning of the campaign of the Goths of Alaric against Rome). From the 6th book. 13 chapters have been preserved, dedicated to the rebellion of Constantine, who captured Britain and Gaul, and the continuation of Alaric’s campaign in Italy (events 407-409); the description of the sack of Rome by the Goths in 410, which completed the history of Z., has not survived.

Patriarch Photius in “Myriobiblion” defined Z.’s work as a compilation from earlier historical works; modern researchers largely agree. Z. borrowed large fragments of texts from various sources, but at the same time showed independence in his ideological assessment of events. To describe most of the events of the 4th century. (Ibid. I 47 - V 25) its main source was the historical work of Eunapius of Sardis (early 5th century), which has come down to us only in small fragments. The last section describing the events in Zap. empire early V century (Ibid. V 26 - VI 13) Z. created on the basis of the story of Olympiodor (c. 425), which was preserved in a brief retelling of Patriarch Photius. At the same time, Z.’s text contains many independent parts and author’s digressions, the sources of which are impossible to determine. The history of Z. contains inaccuracies and anachronisms in the description of the realities of the 4th century, in the names of state. titles, in the details of the military organization of the empire, etc. Despite this, as well as the pronounced religion. and Z.’s political engagement, his work is replete with unique information; his assessments of historical characters and events, contrary to the views of most historians and Christian chroniclers, allow modern. researchers to cover the events of this era in a variety of ways.

Z. is the earliest historian who sees the decline of the Roman Empire in the 4th-5th centuries. and consciously tries to look for explanations for this phenomenon. The leading role in the perception of the history of Z. is played by its religions. beliefs. According to Z., main reason the decline of Rome and the capture of its west. lands by barbarians consists in “apostasy”, in the Romans’ oblivion of their traditions. pagan faith, in the destruction of ancient temples and in the conversion to Christianity. Z.'s work contains indications of the author's sympathy for paganism in its extremely conservative forms. The historian repeatedly confirms his belief in the actual existence of traditions. pagan gods and the authority of their oracles. Thus, the victories of Constantine over Maxentius, the foundation of the K-field, Z. interprets as the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Sibyl (Ibid. II 16, 36); during the invasion of Alaric's Goths into Greece in 395, Athens was not sacked thanks to the intercession of Athena and Achilles (Ibid. V 6); the commander Fravitta attributes his victory over the Goths of Gaina in 400 to the help of the ancient gods (Ibid. V 21). The ambivalence of Z.'s attitude towards paganism is manifested in the fact that he systematically remains silent about the numerous attempts of the state. power in the empire of the 3rd-4th centuries. rely to one degree or another on paganism. He doesn't say anything about religion. reforms of Aurelian, Maximin Daia, does not mention Julian’s program in relation to the development of paganism, does not reveal the struggle of the imp. Theodosius I against the usurpation of Eugene in the West as a religion. clash between Christians and pagans. Perhaps the failures of the pagan emperors of the 4th century. were for Z. an indication of the falsity of their religious and political views and the need to find new ways for the development of pagan ideology. As a conservative, Z. probably did not share the desire to reform traditions. rules and rituals bequeathed by ancestors who saw the times of glory and prosperity of the Roman Empire. It is difficult to judge whether Z.’s commitment to paganism was only a “speculative” opinion of an intellectual, or whether it meant his actual participation in the rituals of pagan communities. Nevertheless, Z.’s work is important evidence of the long-term preservation of traditions. ancient forms of worldview in Christianized Byzantium. society, the presence of oppositional sentiments towards the policies of the renewed Christian. empire, as well as a certain “fashion” for paganism among the Byzantines. intellectuals and high society in the V - early. VI century

Ed.: Zosimi comitis et exadvocati fisci Historia nova / Ed. L. Mendelssohn. Lipsiae, 1887; Zosime.

Lit.: Rosenstein J. Kritische Untersuchungen über das Verchältnis zwischen Olympiodor, Zosimus und Sozomenus // FzDG. 1862. Bd. 1. S. 165-204; Höfler C., von. Vol. 3. P. 2231; Lendle O. Einführung in die griechische Geschichtsschreibung: Von Hekataios bis Zosimos. Darmstadt, 1992. S. 259-261; Smirnova O. V. Evnapiy and Zosimus in Excerpta de sententiis and Excerpta de legationibus of Constantine Porphyrogenitus // VV. 2005. T. 64(89). pp. 61-76.

Histoire nouvelle / Ed. F. Paschoud. P., 1971-1989. 3 vol. (Zosim Zosima

He lived in Constantinople in the 2nd half of the 5th century, occupying, according to Photius, the position of “comite and lawyer of the fiscus,” a fairly high position in the financial administration of the Byzantine Empire. This is all that is known about him.

After his retirement, he wrote the New History in 6 books, a work on the history of the Roman Empire from Emperor Augustus to the conquest of Rome by Alaric in 410. The end of the 1st and the beginning of the 2nd book has reached us in the form of short passages translated into Latin.

This work compares favorably with most other historical compilations both in its brevity and purity of language, knowledge of the matter (although there are quite a few inaccuracies and errors in his work), accuracy of judgments and subordination of the material to one philosophical idea - the desire to reveal the causes of the decline of the Roman Empire. Zosimus considers one of these reasons to be the spread of Christianity, to which he is hostile (hence the sharp criticism of the activities of Constantine the Great and Theodosius I). The Patriarch of Constantinople and book lover Photius, in his review of the work of Zosimus, noted that he almost completely took the material from the “History” of Eunapius of Sardis, from which “it differs only in its brevity and less offensive description of Stilicho.”

Editions: Cellaria (1679, 3rd ed. Jena 1729), Reitemeyer (Lpts., 1784), the best - Becker (Bonn, 1837, in “Corp. Script. Hist. Byzant.”), Ludov. Mendelssohn (Lpc. 1889, ed. Teibner).

Translations

In the “Collection Bud” series, the book was published with a French translation in 3 volumes, in 5 books (dition et traduction Franois Paschoud).
Zosim. New story:
- Book I / trans. and comment. N. N. Bolgova // Antique world: scientific materials. Conf., Belgorod, October 15. 1999 / BelSU, Ross. assoc. antiquists; resp. ed. N. N. Bolgov. - Belgorod, 1999. - pp. 154-186.
- Book II. 1-7 // Iresion. The ancient world and its heritage: materials of the III international. scientific seminar for the 130th anniversary of Belgor. state university and for the 20th anniversary of the department. universal history of BelSU / BelSU; edited by N. N. Bolgova. - Belgorod, 2006. - Issue. 3. - pp. 136-141.
- About Constantine and the founding of Constantinople (II. 8-39) // World of Byzantium: materials of the international. scientific seminar, Belgorod, October 27-28. 2006: Sat. / BelSU; resp. ed.-comp. N. N. Bolgov. - Belgorod, 2007. - pp. 215-238.
- Book III // Problems of history, philology, culture. - M. - Magnitogorsk - Novosibirsk: Institute of Archeology RAS, 2007. - No. 17. - P. 526-570.
- Book IV // Historical almanac. 2015 (Scientific notes of the Faculty of History and Philology of the National Research University "BelSU". Issue 7). - Belgorod: BelSU, 2015. - P. 63-108.
- Book V // Problems of historiography of world history: materials of international. scientific seminar, Belgorod, October 16. 2000 / BelSU; resp. ed. N. N. Bolgov. - Belgorod, 2000. - P. 86-115.
- Book VI // Questions of general history and political science (to the twentieth anniversary of the Faculty of History of BelSU): collection. Art. / BelSU; Editorial Board: V. E. Mikhailov [and others]. - Belgorod, 1997. - pp. 49-56.
- Zosim. New story; edited by N.N. Bolgova. - Belgorod: Belgorod State University Publishing House, 2010. - 344 p.

Literature

Zosima, Byzantine historian // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
Kozlov A. S. Social sympathies and antipathies of Zosima // Antiquity and the Middle Ages. 1978. Vol. 15. pp. 23-42.
Kozlov A. S. Some aspects of the “problem of barbarians” in Zosima’s “New History” // Antiquity and the Middle Ages. 1977. Vol. 14. - pp. 52-59.
Bolgov N.N. Zosim - the last ancient historian // Questions of history. No. 8. 2006. – P. 157-166.
Zhukov K.V. The Fall of the Roman Empire (Zosim and his North American interpreters). Cand. diss. Veliky Novgorod, 2000.
Zhukov K.V. Zosim: problems of crisis and decline of the Western Roman Empire. Novgorod, 1999. Manuscript deposit. in INION RAS No. 54316 dated 02/16/1999 (2 pp).
Rosenthal N.N. Religious and political ideology of Zosima // Ancient World. M., 1962. - P. 611-617.
Paschoud F. Cinq etudes sur Zosime. Paris, 1975.
Cameron A. The date of Zosimus" New History // Philologus. 113. 1969. - P. 106-110.
Cichocka H. La prose historique de Zosime // From Late Antiquity to Early Byzantium. Praha, 1985. - P. 253-256.
Cichocka H. Zosimus" Account of Christianity // Paganism in Late Roman Empire and in Byzantium. Cracow, 1991. - P. 89-104.
Goffart W. Zosimus, the First Historian of Rome's Fall // AHR. 76. 1971. - P. 412-441.
Martin R. C. De fontibus Zosimi. Berlin, 1866.
Ridley R. T. Zosimus the Historian // Byz. Zeit. 65. 1972. - P. 277-302.
Ridley R. T. Eunapius and Zosimus // Helikon. 9-10. 1969-1970. - P. 574-592.
Scavone D. C. Zosimus, Greek Historian of the Fall of the Roman Empire. Chicago, 1969.
Treadgold W. The Early Byzantine Historians. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.

", a fairly high position in the financial administration of the Byzantine Empire. This is all that is known about him.

After his retirement, he wrote “New History” in 6 books, a work on the history of the Roman Empire from Emperor Augustus to the conquest of Rome by Alaric in 410. The end of the 1st and the beginning of the 2nd book has reached us in the form of short passages translated into Latin.

This work compares favorably with most other historical compilations both in its brevity and purity of language, knowledge of the matter (although there are quite a few inaccuracies and errors in his work), accuracy of judgments and subordination of the material to one philosophical idea - the desire to reveal the causes of the decline of the Roman Empire. Zosimus considers one of these reasons to be the spread of Christianity, to which he is hostile (hence the sharp criticism of the activities of Constantine the Great and Theodosius I). The Patriarch of Constantinople and book lover Photius, in his review of the work of Zosimus, noted that he almost completely took the material from the “History” of Eunapius of Sardis, from “ which differs only in its brevity and less offensive description of Stilicho».

Editions: Cellaria (, 3rd ed. Jena), Reitemeyer (Lpts.,), the best - Becker (Bonn, in “Corp. Script. Hist. Byzant.”), Ludov. Mendelssohn (Lpc., ed. Teibner).

Translations

In the “Collection Budé” series, the book was published with a French translation in 3 volumes, in 5 books (édition et traduction François Paschoud).
Histoire nouvelle / Ed. F. Paschoud. P., 1971-1989. 3 vol.. New story:
- Book I / trans. and comment. N. N. Bolgova // Antique world: scientific materials. Conf., Belgorod, October 15. 1999 / BelSU, Ross. assoc. antiquists; resp. ed. N. N. Bolgov. - Belgorod, 1999. - pp. 154-186.
- Book II. 1-7 // Iresion. The ancient world and its heritage: materials of the III international. scientific seminar for the 130th anniversary of Belgor. state university and for the 20th anniversary of the department. universal history of BelSU / BelSU; edited by N. N. Bolgova. - Belgorod, 2006. - Issue. 3. - pp. 136-141.
- About Constantine and the founding of Constantinople (II. 8-39) // World of Byzantium: materials of the international. scientific seminar, Belgorod, October 27-28. 2006: Sat. / BelSU; resp. ed.-comp. N. N. Bolgov. - Belgorod, 2007. - pp. 215-238.
- Book III // Problems of history, philology, culture. - M. - Magnitogorsk - Novosibirsk: Institute of Archeology RAS, 2007. - No. 17. - P. 526-570.
- Book IV // Historical almanac. 2015 (Scientific notes of the Faculty of History and Philology of the National Research University "BelSU". Issue 7). - Belgorod: BelSU, 2015. - P. 63-108.
- Book V // Problems of historiography of world history: materials of international. scientific seminar, Belgorod, October 16. 2000 / BelSU; resp. ed. N. N. Bolgov. - Belgorod, 2000. - P. 86-115.
- Book VI // Questions of general history and political science (to the twentieth anniversary of the Faculty of History of BelSU): collection. Art. / BelSU; Editorial Board: V. E. Mikhailov [and others]. - Belgorod, 1997. - pp. 49-56.
- Zosim. New story; edited by N.N. Bolgova. - Belgorod: Belgorod State University Publishing House, 2010. - 344 p.

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Literature

Zosima, Byzantine historian // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
Kozlov A. S. Some aspects of the “problem of barbarians” in Zosima’s “New History” // Antiquity and the Middle Ages. 1977. Vol. 14. - pp. 52-59.
Bolgov N.N. Zosim - the last ancient historian // Questions of history. No. 8. 2006. – P. 157-166.
Zhukov K.V. The Fall of the Roman Empire (Zosim and his North American interpreters). Cand. diss. Veliky Novgorod, 2000.
Zhukov K.V. Zosim: problems of crisis and decline of the Western Roman Empire. Novgorod, 1999. Manuscript deposit. in INION RAS No. 54316 dated 02/16/1999 (2 pp).
Rosenthal N.N. Religious and political ideology of Zosima // Ancient World. M., 1962. - P. 611-617.
Paschoud F. Cinq etudes sur Zosime. Paris, 1975.
Cameron A. The date of Zosimus" New History // Philologus. 113. 1969. - P. 106-110.
Cichocka H. La prose historique de Zosime // From Late Antiquity to Early Byzantium. Praha, 1985. - P. 253-256.
Cichocka H. Zosimus" Account of Christianity // Paganism in Late Roman Empire and in Byzantium. Cracow, 1991. - P. 89-104.
Goffart W. Zosimus, the First Historian of Rome's Fall // AHR. 76. 1971. - P. 412-441.
Martin R. C. De fontibus Zosimi. Berlin, 1866.
Ridley R. T. Zosimus the Historian // Byz. Zeit. 65. 1972. - P. 277-302.
Ridley R. T. Eunapius and Zosimus // Helikon. 9-10. 1969-1970. - P. 574-592.
Scavone D. C. Zosimus, Greek Historian of the Fall of the Roman Empire. Chicago, 1969.
Treadgold W. The Early Byzantine Historians. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.

Excerpt characterizing Zosimus (historian)

Svetodar lived and learned about his surroundings in the family of a Spanish nobleman, who was a faithful follower of the teachings of Radomir and Magdalene. To their great sadness, they did not have their own children, so the “new family” received the boy very cordially, trying to create for him as comfortable and warm a home environment as possible. They called him Amori (which meant dear, beloved), since it was dangerous for Svyatodar to be called by his real name. It sounded too unusual for someone else’s ears, and it was more than unreasonable to risk Svetodar’s life because of this. So Svetodar became Amory’s boy for everyone else, and only his friends and his family called him by his real name. And then, only when there were no strangers nearby...
Remembering very well the death of his beloved father, and still suffering cruelly, Svetodar vowed in his childish heart to “remake” this cruel and ungrateful world. He vowed to devote his future life to others to show how ardently and selflessly he loved Life, and how fiercely his deceased father fought for Good and Light...
Together with Svetodar, his uncle, Radan, remained in Spain, who did not leave the boy night or day, and was endlessly worried about his fragile, still unformed life.
Radan doted on his wonderful nephew! And he was endlessly frightened by the fact that one day someone would definitely track them down and end the valuable life of little Svetodar, who, even then, from the very first years of his existence, was destined by a harsh fate to carry the torch of Light and Knowledge to our merciless, but so dear and the familiar, Earthly world.
Eight intense years have passed. Svetodar turned into a wonderful young man, now much more like his courageous father, Jesus-Radomir. He matured and became stronger, and in his clear blue eyes the familiar steel tint that had once flashed so brightly in the eyes of his father began to appear more and more often.
Svetodar lived and studied very diligently, hoping with all his heart to someday become like Radomir. The Magus Isten, who came there, taught him Wisdom and Knowledge. Yes, yes, Isidora! – Noticing my surprise, Seever smiled. - the same Isten you met in Meteor. Isten, together with Radan, tried in every possible way to develop Svetodar’s living thinking, trying to open the mysterious World of Knowledge for him as widely as possible, so that (in case of trouble) the boy would not remain helpless and would be able to stand up for himself, coming face to face with an enemy or losses.
Having once said goodbye to his wonderful sister and Magdalena, Svetodar never saw them alive again... And although almost every month someone brought him fresh news from them, his lonely heart deeply missed his mother and sister - his the only real family, not counting Uncle Radan. But, despite his early age, Svetodar even then learned not to show his feelings, which he considered the unforgivable weakness of a real man. He aspired to grow up to be a Warrior like his father, and did not want to show his vulnerability to others. This is how Uncle Radan taught him... and this is what his mother... distant and beloved Golden Maria asked in her messages.
After the senseless and terrible death of Magdalene, Svetodar’s entire inner world turned into pure pain... His wounded soul did not want to come to terms with such an unfair loss. And although Uncle Radan had been preparing him for such an opportunity for a long time, the misfortune that came hit the young man with a hurricane of unbearable torment, from which there was no salvation... His soul suffered, writhing in impotent anger, because nothing could be changed... nothing could be returned back. His wonderful, gentle mother left for a distant and unfamiliar world, taking his sweet little sister with her...
He was now left completely alone in this cruel, cold reality, not even having time to become a real adult man, and not being able to properly understand how to stay alive in all this hatred and hostility...
But the blood of Radomir and Magdalena, apparently, did not flow in vain in their only son - having suffered his pain and remaining just as persistent, Svetodar surprised even Radan, who (like no one else!) knew how deeply vulnerable the soul can be, and how hard it is sometimes given returning back, where those you loved and for whom you so sincerely and deeply missed are no longer there...
Svetodar did not want to surrender to the mercy of grief and pain... The more mercilessly his life “beat”, the more fiercely he tried to fight, learning the ways to the Light, to Good, and to the salvation of human souls lost in the darkness... People came to him in a stream , begging for help. Some longed to get rid of the disease, some longed to cure their hearts, and some simply strove for the Light that Svetodar so generously shared.
Radan's anxiety grew. The fame of the “miracles” performed by his careless nephew exceeded the Pyrenees Mountains... More and more sufferers wanted to turn to the newly-minted “miracle worker.” And he, as if not noticing the impending danger, continued to refuse no one, confidently walking in the footsteps of the deceased Radomir...

Answer from YomekAlina Alina[guru]
Zosima (Zosim, Greek Ζώσιμος) - Byzantine historian of the late 5th century.
He lived in Constantinople in the 2nd half of the 5th century, holding the position of “comite and lawyer of the fiscus,” a fairly high position in the financial administration of the Byzantine Empire. This is all that is known about him.
After his retirement, he wrote the New History (Ἱστορία νὲα) in 6 books, a work on the history of the Roman Empire from Emperor Augustus to the conquest of Rome by Alaric in 410. The end of the 1st and the beginning of the 2nd book has reached us in the form of short passages translated into Latin. The ending of the 6th book is lost.
This work compares favorably with most other historical compilations, both in its brevity and purity of language, as well as in its knowledge of the matter, accuracy of judgment and subordination of the material to one philosophical idea - the desire to reveal the causes of the decline of the Roman Empire. Zosima considers one of these reasons to be the spread of Christianity, to which he is hostile (hence the sharp criticism of the activities of Constantine the Great and Theodosius I).
Editions: Cellaria (1679, 3rd ed. Jena 1729), Reitemeyer (Lpts., 1784), the best - Becker (Bonn, 1837, in “Corp. Script. Hist. Byzant.”), Ludov. Mendelssohn (Lpc. 1889, ed. Teibner).
The figure of an outstanding historian of the early 5th century. n. e. Zosima worthily completes a rather long series of his literary predecessors and like-minded people - Libanius, Themistius, Ammianus Marcellinus, Aurelius Victor, Eunapius and other brilliant representatives of the late Roman intelligentsia.
The only work of Zosimus that has come down to us, “New History” (“Ἱστορία νὲα”), is undoubtedly a remarkable attempt to understand the main trends in the historical development of that time.
Zosimus himself consciously considered his work as a kind of continuation of the famous “World History” of Polybius. The latter, who lived almost 600 years ago, described the rise of the Roman Empire; Zosimus had to be a witness and chronicler of its decline.
From the biography of Zosimus, we only know that he, as stated in the title of his work, was “a committee and lawyer of the fiscus,” that is, he occupied a relatively high public position. But the career he had made did not in the least affect Zosima’s freedom of judgment, especially since he wrote “History” while already a retired dignitary (ex-advocati fisci) and, apparently, voluntarily renouncing any further career successes.
Zosimus's official position, which did not prevent him from openly expressing his views, greatly enriched him with practical experience and helped him more thoroughly understand issues of an administrative, in particular fiscal, nature that were important for a historian. Of course, many of Zosimus’s arguments seem to us to be quite naive and even absurd. His thought was cruelly constrained by traditional ancient religious ideas. But if you compare the “History” of the pagan Zosimus with the edifying and false messages of contemporary Christian historians, some Hermias Sozomen, Socrates Scholasticus or the “blessed” Theodoret of Cyrus, then Zosimus will certainly surpass any of them both in the versatility of the material presented and in the bold truth of the image .
Like Polybius, whom Zosimus considered a model, his main goal was to explain the great changes that were taking place in the lives of peoples. And following the example of Polybius, Zosimus reduced these changes not to objectively existing patterns, but to the allegedly dominant will of the gods, or fate (ῃ τύχη) in the world. However, this fate was specifically manifested in Zosimus in the activities of people; therefore, the mystical-teleological point of view did not at all prevent him from being keenly interested in real historical facts.
Our author begins his work with the assertion that fate transferred into the hands of the Romans the inheritance of the ancient Macedonian state, where the successors of the great Alexander weakened themselves permanently [p. 612] internal wars
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