John of Epiphania (Ἰωάννης ὁ Ἐπιφανεύς) was a late 6th-century Byzantine historian from Epiphania in Syria. He served as the legal assessor to Gregory, Patriarch of Antioch, a high office that involved him directly in major political events [1][2]. In 589 CE, he accompanied Gregory to Constantinople and was later entrusted with a mission to escort the fleeing Persian shah, Khosrow II, to the Byzantine capital, giving him eyewitness knowledge of critical diplomatic affairs [1][2].

His sole known work is a History (Ἱστορία), which covered the aftermath of the Roman-Persian war of 572–591 CE and the early reign of Emperor Maurice. This text is now lost except for a substantial fragment preserved in the Bibliotheca of the 9th-century patriarch Photius [1][2][3].

John is a significant, though fragmentary, source for late 6th-century Byzantine-Persian relations. His work was used by later historians like Theophylact Simocatta, and Photius praised his clear and dignified classical style [1][2][3]. As an involved official, his history is valued for its eyewitness authority on the diplomacy between the Byzantine and Sassanian Empires [1][2].

Sources 1. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics: https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-3442 2. Encyclopædia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-of-Epiphania 3. Perseus Digital Library, Photius, Bibliotheca, Cod. 180: https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0625%3Achapter%3D180