The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire · Character
Cosmas Indicopleustes
Also known as Cosmas the Indian Navigator
- Supporting
- First seen · Book 1 · Ch. 175
There's something both practical and visionary about his presence, like a man who has seen enough of the world to question what others take for granted. His bearing suggests the combination of merchant's pragmatism and scholar's curiosity.
- Gender
- male
- Age
- Middle-aged during travels
- First appears
- Book 1 · Ch. 175
- Books
- 1
Cosmas Indicopleustes was a Nestorian Christian merchant whose voyages took him across the known world. His Christian Topography argued against the classical view of a spherical earth, proposing instead a flat, oblong table based on his understanding of scripture and his travels among Bactrians, Huns, Persians, and Indians.
Description
Cosmas Indicopleustes has the weathered features of a sixth-century merchant-traveler, with skin marked by sea voyages and foreign suns. He carries writing materials and the practical gear of someone who documents distant lands, wearing simple traveler's clothing with the bearing of someone whose faith shapes his understanding of geography.
Story so far
BOOK 1The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire / Table of Contents with links in the HTML file to the two Project Gutenberg editions (12 volumes)
Appearances
Meet Cosmas Indicopleustes in Bookworm
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