| Nektarios of Jerusalem’s Epitome hierokosmikes historias is an overview of the history of the Monastery on Mt. Sinai and its wider environs, from the time of Moses to the Turkish conquest of Egypt. This paper looks at the textual tradition in printed and manuscript form, starting from the first edition in 1677. In addition to the Old Testament, the following sources are argued for: certain hagiographic texts and pilgrimage works from Mt. Sinai, the Arab chronicle of al-Makin, the historical works of Herodotus and the Italian Paolo Giovio, the description of Mt. Sinai by Paisios Agiapostolites and a series of similar texts. The value of the Epitome as a historical source is appraised and stress is placed on its religious and vernacular nature. |