The chronicle of George Syncellus marked the revival of Byzantine historiography after Iconoclasm in the form of a chronicle. The work making use of sources now lost to us in abbreviated form recounts the history of the Roman emperor and the Christian world. We have translated here the purely political events for the most part and marked with [...] where ecclesiastical material has been omitted. Enjoy!

Anno Mundi 5731
Anno Domini 231
	Gordian was 22nd emperor of the Romans for 6 years.
	Going from Italy to Parthia, he made war on Shapur the son Artaxerxes the king of the Persians and was routed them subduing the cities of Nisibis and Carrae, which had been lost to the Persians under Maximinus the Mysian. Yet on reaching Ctesiphon, he was slain by his own soldiers with the knowledge of the prefect Phillip, who ruled after him 5 years, 7 years according to many.
Anno Mundi 5737
Anno Domini 237
	Phillip was 23rd emperor of the Romans for 7 years.
	Plotinus the philosopher was head of the Platonic method.
	Porphyry head him.
	Theopompus the philosopher was flourishing in Chaeronea.
	Nicator the wisest thrived in Athens.
	Phillip was so disposed towards the Christian faith that he was eager to confess his sins and join with the masses in the prayers of the church on the night of Easter. Henceforth the Holy Word was able to be spoken more freely.
	Then as well Origen that wretched man in his sixtieth year produced discourses for the masses created with short-hand writers. He sent them as well to Phillip and his wife the empress Severa.
	Then as well some in Arabia taught impiously that the soul perishes with the soul at the end and with the Resurrection with be brought to life with again for which a great synod was held against them
	[...]
	Phillip reigned over the Romans 7 years, after making peace with Shapur king of the Persians returning to Rome then making war on Decius proclaimed emperor by his soldiers and was slain.
	Decius succeeding to the throne ruled two years instigating a bitter persecution of Christians due to his enmity for Phillip, in which Favian the bishop of Rome received his martyr's crown, Babylas the bishop of Antioch as well, and Alexander, the priest of Jerusalem standing second beside the rulers' thrones died in prison.	
	[...]
Anno Mundi 5744
Anno Domini 244
	Decius was 24th emperor of the Romans for 2 years
	[...]
Anno Mundi 5746
Anno Domini 246
	Gallus was 25th emperor of the Romans along with Volusian.
	[...]
	Under Decius, a great number of Scythians called the Goths crossed the Ister River and plundered the Roman dominion. They surrounded the fleeing Mysians at Nicopolis, so then Decius attacked them, as Dexippus tells, killed three thousand getting the lesser hand in battle such that Phillipopolis was seized by them and destroyed and many Thracians were slain. As the Scythians were returning home, Decius himself attacked them and that opponent of God was slain very pitifully at Abrytus on the road called Thembinus, along with his son, the Scythians returning home with a great number of captives and plunder. In the imperial camp, the proclaimed a former consul along with Volusian, Decius's son, who reigned according to Dexippus 18 months, according to others 3 years, and still others 2 years doing nothing worthy of mention. They were slain when they were betrayed by their own force in the forum of Flamenius having been of the same foul manner as Decius as the blessed bishop of Alexandria Dionysius writing to Ermammon about Gallus, "But he did not recognize the evil of Decius or take to heart how he had erred, but tripped over the same rock in front of his eyes...he drove to our God. He repulsed along with them their prayers for him.
Anno Mundi 5748
Anno Domini 248
	Valerian was 26th emperor of the Romans along with Galienus for 15 years.
	[...]
	After Gallus and Volusian the son of Decius, according to the greater number of writers Valerian and Galienus his son succeeded to the throne. They were slain when they were betrayed too by their own force, as it has already been said, reigning 15 years, while according to some Aemilianus was at the head for a period of three years with the knowledge of Valerian who was then made Roman emperor.
	Under Valerian and Galienus, the Scythians again crossed the Ister River and ravaged Thrace laying siege to Thessalonica the Illyrian city doing nothing of value due to the bravery of the defenders. Consequently, the Greeks anxiously set a watch over Thermopylae, the Athenians rebuilt the wall destroyed in Sulla's time, and the Peloponnesians constructed the Isthmus from sea to sea, while the Scythians returned to their own land with a large amount of plunder.
	After this, Shapur, the king of the Persians, overran Syria coming to Antioch and plundering all of Cappadocia. As the Roman army was stricken by famine in Edessa, it consequently rebelled against Valerian, who terrified and making it look like he was going on to a second battle, surrendered himself up to the Persian king Shapur agreeing to as well the betrayal of his army, which the Romans perceiving scarcely escaped with a few being slain. In pursuit of them, the Persian king Shapur seized Antioch, Cilician Tarsus, and Cappadocian Caesarea. Then the Persians spread out in their greed with some wanting to seize Pompeiopolis by the sea, some plundering Lycaonia, and a great number being slain as Ballistus the Roman general, who the fleeing had set up over themselves, attacked them with a force by boat...where he killed three thousand Persians. Shapur having suffered heavily in this retreated in haste and fear, while Valerian stayed in Persia until the end of his life. Odenathus, Palmyrian general allied to the Romans killed many Persians as they were retreating over the land of the Euphrates, who was consequently honored as commander of the East by Galienus, killing as well some of the Romans who rose up against him in Phoenicia. Then again, the Scythians locally called the Goths came by the Pontic Sea to Bithynia advancing all over Asia and Lydia seizing the large city of Nicomedia in Bithynia and ravaging the city of Ionia seizing the ones without walls and those partially fortified, though they did not reach Phrygia sacking Troea, Cappadocia, and Galatia. Yet again Odenathus fight bravely against the Persians and captured Ctesiphon by siege and hearing of the calamities in Asia, hastily came until Pontic Heraclea through Cappadocia where he caught up with the Scythians with his forces. Here he was treacherously murdered by one Odenathus of the same name as him, while the Scythians before him had come returned to their own lands by the Pontus. His bodyguards murdered Odenathus, the murderer of Odenathus, and invested his wife Zenobia with control of the East.
	Then as well the Elurians sailed over the Pontus by the Maeotian Sea and reached Byzantium and Chrysopolis. There they fought a battle and returned a little to the temple at the mouth of the Euxine Sea sailing first down with the next favorable wind the strait putting to the great city of Cyzicus in Bithynia, then the islands plundering Lemnus and Scyrus reaching Attica where they set fire to Athens, Corinth, and Sparta overrunning Argus and all of Achaea until the Athenians attacked them in some narrow places and killed great numbers of them, the emperor Galienus joining them and killed three thousand near Nessus. Then Naulobatus the commander of the Elurians gave himself up to the emperor Galienus and was honored with the honor of consul by him. Auriolus a Celtic Roman emperor then treacherously killed Galienus. So much for the emperors Valerian and Galienus.
Anno Mundi 5763
Anno Domini 263
	Claudius was 27th emperor of the Romans for one year.
	Claudius held power for one year.
	Misfortunately under him the Elurians then attacked again with a large number of ships in divers places of Roman land and constrained by naval battles, the winter, and plague of which Claudius himself fell ill and died. After him, Quintillian held power for only 17 days and died.
Anno Mundi 5764
Anno Domini 264
	Aurelian was 28th emperor of the Romans for 6 years.
	Aurelian took hold of the Palmyrians and subdued Gaul. Under him they say Philostratus the Athenian historian and Longinus flourished.
	Then Zenobia rose up in revolt against the Romans raising a large force and took hold of Egypt killing Probus the general of the Romans then there. Unable to bear hearing this, Aurelian came with his army and destroyed the Palmyrians near Antioch in Syria at a place called Immae taking Zenobia captive and brining her to Rome where he showed her great kindness and married her off to a man prominent in the Senate.
	He won when the Gauls rebelled then.
	As he was heading off against the Scythians, he was killed by his own army in revolt between Byzantium and Heraclea in the place called Caenus Frurus in Thrace as he was about to institute a persecution of Christians.
	He also constructed the temple of Sun at Rome which was adorned with gold and precious stones.
	He also left the Dacia of Trajan to the barbarians putting the men and women up at the midpoint of both parts of Mysia naming it Middle Dacia.
Anno Mundi 5765
Anno Domini 265
	Aurelian previously recorded was the 29th emperor of the Romans for 6 years.
	 In the 6th year of his reign, as he was about to institute a persecution of Christians, Aurelian was halted by a bolt of divine lightning. As he was being attended to, he was treacherously murdered by his attendants in Caenus Frurus.
	After him, Tacitus reigned 6 months.
	When he was slain in the Pontus, Florianus reigned for 88 days.
	When he was slain in Tarsus, Probus reigned for 6 years and 4 months.
	Together it was 7 years.
Anno Mundi 5780
Anno Domini 280
	In the 3rd year of Probus's reign, Anatolius the bishop of Laodicea flourished in the study of philosophy.
	In the 4th year of Probus's reign, the ruinous destruction of the crazed Manicheans entered the world of men.
	In the 6th year of Probus's reign, the tribunus legionis Satorninus started to build New Antioch, who later rose up in revolt to seize rule and was slain by his own soldiers in Apamea. Probus was slain i Sermeion.
	Carus was 32nd emperor of the Romans with his sons Carinus and Numerianus for 2 years.
Anno Mundi 5785
Anno Domini 285
	In the 1st year of Carinus's reign, Numerianus came to Antioch where wanting to enter the church and witness the mysteries of Christ, Saint Babylas stopped him saying that, "You may not see the mysteries of Christ be polluted by sacrifices to idols." Numerianus became enraged and murdered him.
	[...]
Anno Mundi 5786
Anno Domini 286
	The remainder of the reign of the Roman emperor Carus.
	In his second year, Carus a brave Galatian man defeated the Sarmatians rebelling. He also made war on the Persians and seized Ctesiphon, though as he was encamped by the Tigris River, he was struck down in his tent by a bolt of lightning and died.
	After him, Numerianus his son reigned for only 30 days. As he was returning home, he fell ill with ophthalmia and was murdered by his father-in-law, called Aperus, who was prefect of the camp of the camp and eager to become emperor, but he was let down by chance, since the entire expeditionary force proclaimed Diocletian emperor, who had accompanied Carus on the expedition and made example of his great bravery being Dalmatian by birth and of senatorial rank being honored as counsel. At that time as well Carinus was in Rome, Carus's son who he had left behind when he went off on the expedition, where he proved. Diocletian on taking power killed the prefect Aperus as the murderer of Numerianus and on returning to Rome killed Carinus for making unjust use of his rule and proved himself noble to Romans throughout the entire empire ruling them for 20 years.