The Ecclesiastical History of John of Ephesus, composed in three parts, represents the greatest literary work of this author. The first part of this work is entirely lost, and the second survives in the Chronicle of Dionysius of Tell Mahre. The third part, from which these extracts are taken, was discovered in a monastery in Egypt and was brought to the British Museum in 1843. This part covers from 571 to 585 and contains descriptions of contemporary events witnessed by the author.

John of Ephesus was born in Amid early in the sixth century. He was ordained deacon in 529, and he went to Palestine in 534. The following year he went to Constantinople, where he was considered a representative of the Miaphysites. He is known for his Biographies of the Eastern Saints.