Timotheus of Gaza (Greek: Τιμόθεος ὁ Γαζαῖος), sometimes referred to as Timothy of Gaza, was a Greek Christian grammarian active during the reign of Anastasius, i.e. 491–518.
[1] Timotheus was likely linked to the rhetorical school of Gaza, an academy that combined classical Hellenistic tradition with Christian thought.
[3] He was the author of a book on animals[4] which may have been one of the sources of the Arabic Nu'ut al-Hayawan.
[5] He also wrote a work in four volumes titled Indian Animals or Quadrupeds and Their Innately Wonderful Qualities or Stories about Animals that survives only in an 11th-century prose summary.
This prose summary was a very popular school text, and includes accounts of the giraffe, tiger, and other animals.