Niketas Choniates

Historical background behind Eco's character:
Niketas Choniates (Νικήτας Χωνιάτης) was a Byzantine Greek historian and politician who lived in the second half of the XII and the first two decades of the XIII century. His main historical work, called simply "History", describes the political and social life in the Eastern Roman Empire and its neighbours from 1118 to 1207. As a political figure Niketas Choniates served as Megas Logothetes in the time of the last Angelid dynasty emperors, and as a governor of theme Philippopolis. He had witnessed the sack of Constantinople by the crusaders and fled to Nicaea.
Niketas Choniates died during the reign of emperor Theodore I Lascaris in Nicaea where Niketas spent the last years of his life. …more