Patriarch Nektarios Sources
Ιnformation sources used by Nektarios were retrieved from the rich library maintained in Sinai
Monastery. In Particular, in Part B Nektarios used, among other sources, a document called Arabic
Chronographer, which according to Manousakas (1947) is the chronicle of the Arab historian Georgios
al-Makin. The full name of Georgios al-Makin was Girgis ibn Abi ΄l-Jâsir ibn Abi ΄l-Makârim al Makin
ibn al Amîd. Georgios was born in Cairo either in a.H. 605/AD 1208 or in a.H. 625/AD 1228 and
passed away in Damascus in AD 1273. The Arabic Chronographer was extensively used in Part Δ too.
In Part Γ of special interest is the description of an earthquake which according to Nektarios occurred
in Sinai in 1312. Information source is a document called Αραβικός Συναξαριστής (Arabic Synaxarium,
i.e. Legend Book) found in the Monastery’s library. The main source for Part E is the Italian historian
Paolo Giovio (AD 1483-1552), one of the most important historians of the Renaissance.
Regarding the style of the Greek language selected by Nektarios to use in Epitome, Manousakas (1947)
attracted the reader’s attention to a note that can be found in the Headline of Part A, where Nektarios
explained that Epitome is composed by a “common language” with the purpose to make Epitome
understandable “by every Greek human being”. For event dates Nektarios used either Greek or Arabic
characters but the chronology style varies in the several parts of Epitome. Nektarios used either Anno
Domini (AD) calendar or Hegira calendar (a.H.).