Herodian or Herodianus (Greek: Ἡρωδιανός) of Syria,[1] sometimes referred to as "Herodian of Antioch" (c. 170 – c. 240), was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history in Greek titled History of the Empire from the Death of Marcus[2] (τῆς μετὰ Μάρκον βασιλείας ἱστορία) in eight books covering the years 180 to 238.
[3] Herodian himself may have been a Syrian[4][5][6][7] (perhaps from Antioch), though he appears to have lived for a considerable period of time in Rome, possibly without holding any public office.
From his extant work, it seems that he was still living at an advanced age during the reign of Gordianus III, who ascended the throne in 238.
Photius (Codex 99) gives an outline of the contents of this work and passes a flattering encomium on the style of Herodian, which he describes as clear, vigorous, agreeable, and preserving a happy medium between an utter disregard of art and elegance and a profuse employment of the artifices and prettinesses which were known under the name of Atticism, as well as between boldness and bombast.
He appears to have used Thucydides as a model to some extent, both for style and for the general composition of his work, often introducing speeches wholly or in part imaginary.
One can assume that he must have reached the age of ten by the year 180 due to the attentive detail in his descriptions of the events of that time.
Herodian's descriptions of Gordian III are less than flattering, and it is doubtful that he released such a negative review of a current emperor.
He was not from Italy, for he says the Alps were bigger than anything “in our part of the world.” (2.11.8) It has been suggested that Herodian was from Alexandria since he placed such a large emphasis on Caracalla's massacre of this city and its inhabitants.
[citation needed] Herodian does refer to Alexandria as the second city of the empire; however, this may be disregarded since he also applies the same title to Antioch and Carthage.
This would be suiting, for he would have had access to senatorial documents, traveled extensively, and been knowledgeable in the field of fiscal affairs, which Herodian repetitively stressed in his history.
[8] Herodian's Roman History is a collection of eight books covering the period from the death of Marcus Aurelius in 180 AD to the beginning of Gordian III's reign in 238.
Photius wrote of Herodian: "he neither exaggerates with hyperbole nor omits anything essential; in short, in all the virtues of historiography there are few men who are his superior.” Zosimus used him as a source as did John of Antioch when writing his World Chronicle.