阿庇安

亚历山大的阿庇安（古希腊语：Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς Appianòs Alexandreús；拉丁语：Appianus Alexandrinus，95年-165年），古罗马历史学家。代表作为《罗马史》，该书原24卷，约有一半的文字存世。他的风格简洁生动，是后世研究罗马史的主要依据，比如其中有古代历史著作仅有的对斯巴达克个人的详细记述。

生平

阿庇安曾写过自传，但已佚失，研究者只能从他自己的作品和他与友人马库斯·考尼利乌斯·弗龙托的通信中了解其生平。阿庇安约于公元95年生于亚历山大港。近年所发现他的作品的一个片断说到在埃及，他曾冒险参加了一次对犹太人的战争。这可能就是公元116年图拉真皇帝在埃及镇压犹太人起义所进行的那次战争。约120年时，他离开埃及，前往罗马。他曾当过律师。约147年他在弗龙托的推荐下，被任命为总督。由于总督这个职位只能由骑士阶层的人担任，这让我们知道了阿庇安的家庭背景。

阿庇安在序言的第十四节中所说，他在自己的二十四卷《罗马史》中采用的不是年代顺序，而是按种族顺序，依照罗马人跟其他民族以及他们自己内部所进行的战争，分散在各部分叙述的。今日《罗马史》中的十一卷完整地、或者几乎完整地留传至今，即在西班牙的战争（第6卷）、汉尼拔战争史（第7卷）、布匿战争史（第8卷）、伊利里亚战争（第10卷）、叙利亚战争（第11卷）、米特拉达梯战争史（第12卷）和内战史（第13到17卷），除此外还有一些其它卷的片断存留。现代研究者认为阿庇安的著作风格简洁，不采用优美的词藻，但却生动有力，缺点是在事件细节的描述上不够准确，但这在当时的史学家中是很常见的情况。

Appian of Alexandria (Ancient Greek: Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς, romanized: Appianòs Alexandreús; Latin: Appianus Alexandrinus; c. 95 – c. AD 165) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who prospered during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius.

He was born c. 95 in Alexandria. After holding the senior offices in the province of Aegyptus (Egypt), he went to Rome c. 120, where he practiced as an advocate, pleading cases before the emperors (probably as advocatus fisci, an important official of the imperial treasury). It was in 147 at the earliest that he was appointed to the office of procurator, probably in Egypt, on the recommendation of his friend Marcus Cornelius Fronto, an influential rhetorician and advocate. Because the position of procurator was open only to members of the equestrian order (the "knightly" class), his possession of this office tells us about Appian's family background.

His principal surviving work (Ρωμαϊκά Romaiká, known in Latin as Historia Romana and in English as Roman History) was written in Greek in 24 books, before 165. This work more closely resembles a series of monographs than a connected history. It gives an account of various peoples and countries from the earliest times down to their incorporation into the Roman Empire, and survives in complete books and considerable fragments. The work is very valuable, especially for the period of the civil wars.

The Civil Wars, books 13–17 of the Roman History, concern mainly the end of the Roman Republic and take a conflict-based view and approach to history. Despite the lack of cited sources for his works, these books of the Roman History are the only extant comprehensive description of these momentous decades of Roman history. The other extant work of Appian is his "The Foreign Wars", which includes an ethnographic style history recounting the various military conflicts against a foreign enemy in Roman history, until the time of Appian.

Life

Little is known of the life of Appian of Alexandria. He wrote an autobiography that has been almost completely lost. Information about Appian is distilled from his own writings and a letter by his friend Cornelius Fronto. However, it is certain that Appian was born around the year AD 95 in Alexandria, the capital of Roman Egypt. Since his parents were Roman citizens capable of paying for their son's education, it can be inferred that Appian belonged to the wealthy upper classes.

It is believed that Appian moved to Rome in 120, where he became a lawyer. In the introduction to his Roman History, he boasts "that he pleaded cases in Rome before the emperors." The emperors he claims to have addressed must have been either Hadrian or Marcus Aurelius and definitely Antoninus Pius, for Appian remained in Egypt at least until the end of the reign of Trajan (117). In the letter of Cornelius Fronto, it is revealed that a request on behalf of Appian to receive the rank of procurator occurred during the co-regency of Marcus Aurelius and his brother Lucius Verus between 147 and 161. Although Appian won this office, it is unclear whether it was a real job or an honorific title. The only other certain biographical datum is that Appian's Roman History appeared sometime before 162. This is one of the few primary historical sources for the period.

Works

Appian's Roman History and The Civil Wars

Appian began writing his history around the middle of the second century AD.