Priscus

For the Roman king, see Lucius Tarquinius Priscus.

Priscus, of Panium in Thrace, Greek sophist and historian, lived during the 5th century. He accompanied Maximin the ambassador of Theodosius II to the court of Attila in 448. During the reign of Marcian (450–457) he also took part in missions to Arabia and Egypt. Priscus was the author of a historical work in eight books (the Byzantine History), probably from the accession of Attila to that of Zeno (433–474). Only fragments of the work remain, largely preserved in Jordanes's Getica, but the description of Attila and his court and the account of the reception of the Roman ambassadors is a valuable piece of contemporary history. Priscus's style is pure, and his impartiality and trustworthiness entitle him to an honorable place among the writers of his time.

Two collections of his remaining works are

• Ludwig Dindorf : Historici Graeci Minores (Leipzig, B.G. Teubner, 1870) (in Greek)
• C.D. Gordon : The Age of Attila: Fifth-century Byzantium and the Barbarians (Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 1960) (in English with commentary and annotation)

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.