active 4th century Eutropius

Eutropius was a Roman historian and government official who was active in the second half of the 4th century CE. He served in the imperial world during a turbulent period and is known to have accompanied Emperor Julian on the Persian campaign of 363. Later, he wrote a concise history of Rome and dedicated it to the emperor Valens.

His surviving work, usually called the Breviarium Historiae Romanae, compresses Roman history from the city's legendary beginnings down to his own era. What makes it last is its direct style: instead of sprawling detail, it offers a clean, fast-moving account that helped generations of readers get their bearings in Roman history.

Although many details of his personal life remain uncertain, his book became one of the most widely read summaries of Roman history in late antiquity and the medieval world. For modern listeners, he is appealing for the same reason: he tells a vast story simply, clearly, and with the confidence of someone who lived close to imperial power.