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Ansichten eines Zivilisierten über die unzivilisierte Welt: Das Sāsāniden-Bild des Georgios Pisides und sein historischer Wert für den spätantiken Iran
Abstract
Zusammenfassung
Georgios Pisides, Hofpanegyrist des Kaisers Herakleios, überliefert in seinen angeblich auf Autopsie beruhenden Carmina Details über die byzantinischen Perserfeldzüge in den zwanziger Jahren des siebten Jahrhunderts. Der Aufsatz untersucht, welches Bild der Sāsāniden in den Gedichten vermittelt wird und welche Intentionen des Dichters sich dahinter verbergen. Weiter werden die Anspielungen auf Ereignisse der iranischen Geschichte vorgestellt. Dabei wird deutlich, daß der Dichter im Dienste der Kaiserideologie steht und von zeitgenössischer Kriegspropaganda beeinflußt ist. Zudem sind weitere Faktoren wie die Unterhaltung seines Publikums sowie der Rekurs auf die klassische Literatur bestimmend. Im gesamten zeigt Pisides indes mehr Interesse, sein religiös fundiertes Kaiserbild zu bestärken als historische Informationen über den Kriegsgegner zu liefern.
The poems of George of Pisidia – the court poet of the Emperor Heraclius – are not only an important historical source for the reign of this Byzantine ruler, but also an expression of the extraordinary erudition and talent of their author. The subject of this article is an analysis concerning a fragment of one of them – Heraclias. In this epic, which is a praise of the emperor’s reign, the poet with true virtuosity weaves references to the traditions and culture of pagan and Christian antiquity into the historical narrative. Based on rhetorical recommendations, he gives his poem a laudatory character. Pisides creates an extraordinary, surprisingly coherent work. The poet’s erudition is revealed not only by the content but also by the compositional devices of his works.
The paper argues that Heraclius was forced to demonstrate the legitimacy of his rule in a particular manner, because his usurpation in 610 was structurally very similar to that of his predecessor Phocas (in 602), and the condition of the Eastern Roman Empire deteriorated rapidly during the first years of his rule. Considering the fact that not only Phocas but also Heraclius destroyed the well-established order in the view of contemporaries, one gets a notion of what can be meant by 'legitimacy' in the early 7th century. Given this situation Heraclius had to distance himself from Phocas as far as possible. The article discusses the most important rhetorical strategies the emperor used to achieve this aim: (1) the damnatio memoriae, (2) the identification of Phocas as an illegitimate usurper (in abundantly describing him as tyrannos), (3) his de-humanization and (4) the characterization of Phocas as a destroyer of the well-established order and Heraclius' self-representation as its restorer.
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