Kratka istorija patrijarha Nikifora : istorijska analiza dela

Abstract

Kratka istorija patrijarha Nikifora (806 – 815) oduvek je u vizantijskim studijama predstavljala nezaobilazan izvor u proučavanjima istorije Carstva 7. i 8. veka. Ovo delo uglednog carigradskog svetovnog dostojanstvenika, a potom i patrijarha, pokriva vremenski period od 602. do 769. godine istorije carstva Romeja. Obzirom da je Kratka istorija jedan od samo dva istorijska dela koja se bave mračnim vekovima vizantijske civilizacije, dakle okrenuta je prošlosti iz perspektive jedne sasvim drugačije epohe u kojoj se Carstvo našlo krajem 8. i početkom 9. veka, ona je već u povoju vizantijskih studija, o čemu svedoče prva izdanja već iz 17. veka, bila predmet naučne pažnje svih koji su se bavili istorijom naznačenog perioda. Cilj ove disertacije jeste da izuči unutrašnji karakter i osobine dela koje je obzirom na vreme svog nastanka, kraj 8. i prva decenija 9. veka, stajalo na samom početku obnove vizantijske kulture i učenosti, na taj način prekidajući jedan prilično dugotrajan period vizantijske istorije koji je pre svega obeležen odsustvom literarnih dela iz domena svetovne književnosti. Istorijski značaj i mesto samog autora Kratke istorije, njegova značajna svetovna karijera koja se odvijala u blizini, ili čak pri samoj carskoj palati, a potom njegovo upravljanje Carigradskom crkvom u burnom vremenu između dva talasa ikonoborstva, postavlja pred istraživača njegovog najpoznatijeg svetovnog dela mnoštvo pitanja, koja se nameću ukoliko se samo delo posmatra u kontekstu vremena u kojem je nastalo i položaja koji je njegov pisac u takvom vremenu zauzimao. U vezi sa takvim poimanjem Kratke istorije, uzimajući u obzir i ličnu istoriju samog Nikifora, mi smo se posvetili istraživanju dva važna aspekta ovog dela koja se pojavljuju kao dominantne teme na njegovim stranicama - slici careva i patrijaraha koja se projavljuje iz karakterističnog načina naracije, odabira teme i njenog preciznog razmeštanja unutar strukture dela. Pišući istoriju Carstva 7. i 8. veka, Nikifor je ostavio utisak apsolutne lične objektivnosti i nepristrasnosti spram događaja i ličnosti koje je opisivao. Iz naše analize dela promalja se jedno sasvim drugačije viđenje slike careva i patrijaraha, koje je on predstavio u svojoj Kratkoj istoriji. Ovaj postupak bio je izazvan sasvim konkretnim problemima i pitanjima koja su obeležila njegovu sopstvenu epohu. U tom smislu, carevi i patrijarsi koji se pominju na stranicama njegovog dela, iako udaljene istorijske ličnosti iz perspektive samog autora, u svojim uzajamnim odnosima, zapravo predstavljaju i odražavaju osnovnu ideju obnovljene u pravoslavlju Carigradske crkve nakon 787. godine. Ideja slobode i nezavisnosti Crkve u odnosu na Carstvo koje je po prirodi svoje vlasti prebivalo uvek u potencijalnoj opasnosti - iz perspektive Crkve, da ugrozi njenu slobodu, prisutna je kroz odgovarajući narativ o carevima u Kratkoj istoriji. S tim u vezi, proučavanje slike careva u Kratkoj istoriji, nametnulo se kao druga dominantna tema ovog rad, u pokušaju da rekonstruišemo Nikiforov lični stav po pitanju položaja, mesta i uloge carske vlasti u vizantijskoj državi, a kroz kompleksne prikaze ličnosti careva koji su upravljali Carstvom u periodu između godina 602. i 769.

In the studies of the 7th and 8th centuries of Byzantium, Short history of the patriarch Nikephoros is an irreplaceable source. This work of Nikephoros, who was a highly prominent Constantinopolitan, a lay official of the imperial palace, later to become a patriarch of the Church of Constantinople, covers the time period between the years 602. – 769. Since the Short history is one of the two only extant sources dealing with the so called dark centuries of Byzantium, having its attention towards the past directed from and within a different period and the specific perspective of the Empire from the end of the 8th and the beginning of the 9th centuries, it was attracting scholarly attention from the very beginnings of Byzantine studies. First editions of the source, appearing already in the 17th century, illustrate this point. The aim of this dissertation is to study the internal character and features of the work which, standing on the outsets of the Byzantine cultural and state revival in the end of the 8th and beginning of the 9th centuries, influenced the renewal of historical writing in Byzantium after the great barren period of the 7th and 8th centuries which was particularly sparse in the production of secular literature. Influential secular career of its author, in the domain of Byzantine court policy, who was later to become patriarch of the Church of Constantinople in the turbulent times between two iconoclastic persecutions, raises several issues, especially if judged in the historical context of the time from which Short history actually originates. Having this in mind, and also considering Nikephoros’ personal history, we have focused our attention on two important aspects of his work, which both appear as dominant themes in the course of his narration, namely, the manners of representation of both patriarchs and emperors of Byzantium, independently and in their mutual relationships, as they are depicted in Short history. While writing his history of the Empire in the 7th and 8th centuries, Nikephoros maintained features of a highly objective and unbiased author, both in regard to events and to personalities he mentions. However, on the basis of our analysis, we are inclined to offer a different view point concerning the issue of emperor/patriarch images in the Short history. Nikephoros’ treatment of this theme was caused by specific and particular problems of his own epoch which certainly had its own effects and shaped him as a personality totally, but also as a writer in particular. In this respect, emperors and patriarchs appearing in the narrative of Nikephoros’ work transmit, although they themselves are individuals from a remote and distant time period – from the writers own perspective, in their mutual relations, as expressed and described in the Short history, transmit the ideas of the Church of Constantinople after the reestablishment of her orthodoxy in 787. In other words, the ideal of ecclesiastical freedom and independence in regard to the imperial power – the basileia, which was by its essence almost determined to insult these two main ideals of the Church, is in fact emphasized in a specific literary treatment of the image of Byzantine emperors of the 7th and 8th centuries. In this connection, a study of the image and character of representations of emperors, as present in the Short history, imposed itself as a second dominant theme of this thesis. Thus our other aim was to attempt a reconstruction of Nikephoros’ personal attitudes towards the issue of the imperial office and power, its place and significance in the Byzantine state, by examining the complex images of the emperors who reigned in Byzantium in the 7th and 8th century.