In the frame of the present research a universal history intitled the Chronicle of John of Nikiu is approached. The Chronicle was compiled in Egypt at the end of the 7<sup>th</sup> century AD by John, Bishop of the city of Nikiu, most probably in Greek. Later it was translated in Arabic and finally in the very beginning of the 17<sup>th</sup> century in Ge‘ez, the language of Christian Ethiopia. It reached our days exclusively in the Ethiopic revision. The text of the Chroniclein Geʻez bears a vast variety of textual features, unusual for this classical language of Ethiopian Church and historiography. Thus, it deserves a detailed consideration. The work was realized by two learned scribes, both Christians, one Ethiopian and one Egyptian Copt, whose names we know due to the colophone at the end of the compilation. The Ethiopic text has conserved traces of the history of its existence, external (the colophones, additions of the translators, chapter division etc.) and internal (on textual and content sides). In particular we are considering foreign in relation to Ethiopia loans in lexis of the Chronicle and some grammar constructions not intrinsic for traditional Ethiopian historiography. Such textual features of the translation are of great interest for the researchers of the Medieval Ethiopia historiography and Ethiopian literature in Geʻez in general. The loans shed light on the original Greek and then Arabic versions of the text of the Chronicle and the degree of familiarity of Medieval Ethiopian and Coptic scribes with foreign lexis.