The historical works of the fifth-century AD classicising historians originally covered the years from the death of Claudius II in 270 to the death of Zeno in 491, a period which saw the dismemberment of the western Roman Empire and the transformation of the eastern portion into the Byzantine Empire. These writers now survive only in fragmentary and indirect form. R.C. Blockley’s Fragmentary Classicising Historians has become an indispensable source and resource for students and scholars in this increasingly popular field of study, which offers an illuminating background to understanding current events in the near- and middle-eastern region. R.C. Blockley's reasoned arrangement of the fragments in this volume constitutes a work of absolutely fundamental importance for historians of the period. Part one analyzes the background, opinions and historiography of each of the four writers, with particular emphasis on recovering from the fragments the original structure of their works. Part two presents an annotated conspectus of the fragments, based on close study of all relevant writings, ancient and modern. Although this volume was originally conceived as a stand-alone monograph, it was obvious that the texts themselves in the Blockley order should be made available. Professor Blockley achieved this with Volume II, published separately in 1983, which contains the Greek texts, facing English translation, and historiographical notes.