Appianos

Appian was born in Alexandria towards the end of the first century AD, likely around 100 AD. He held administrative positions in his hometown and later, after settling in Rome and becoming a Roman citizen, he served as an advocate in trials before the emperors, eventually rising to the position of imperial commissioner. The exact year of his death is unknown, but it is believed that he lived until around 165 AD. He authored the "Roman History," which chronicles the history of Rome from the city's founding up to the second century AD. Instead of a chronological order, he organized his material based on ethnographic criteria. Appian's History was divided into twenty-four books. Of these, eleven books, which narrate the stories of the peoples associated with the Romans, and the five books he wrote on the Civil Wars, have survived almost intact. Other parts are available in smaller fragments due to Byzantine epitomes. Appian provides a narrative of events rather than an in-depth analysis of historical developments. Generally reliable, he often presents the perspectives of all parties involved in an event, cross-references the same events from various sources, and compiles a wealth of valuable material on critical historical periods, especially concerning the Civil Wars.