procopius of caesarea the secret history

500–548), and others in the imperial court.

Privately, however, Procopius held deep grudges against Justinian, Justinian's wife Theodora (c. He also wrote On Buildings, a six-volume work concerning buildings erected under the reign of Justinian-and again, the book was full of nothing but kind words for the man whom historians consider the greatest of Byzantine emperors. In it, he lavished praise on Justinian (ruled 527–65), the emperor who had ordered Belisarius's conquests. Out of this experience came History in Eight Books, a highly acclaimed book. During this time, the Byzantines waged war with the Persians in what is now Iran with the Goths in Italy and with the Vandals-who, like the Goths, were a barbarian tribe that had helped bring down the Western Roman Empire-in North Africa. 505–565), serving alongside him in a series of military expeditions from 527 to 531, and again from 536 to 540. He spent his early career as advisor to one of the empire's greatest generals, Belisarius (bel-i-SAHR-ee-us c. One of the most noted historians of the Byzantine Empire, Procopius came from the region of Caesarea (se-suh-REE-uh) in what is now Israel. Their portrayal in Secret History, however, was quite different.

Procopius, who served as Belisarius's advisor, wrote an account of these wars in his History in Eight Books, which presented Justinian and Belisarius as great leaders. Justinian, often considered the greatest Byzantine emperor, set out to reconquer lands that had once belonged to the Western Roman Empire, and in this undertaking he relied on his brilliant general Belisarius (c. In Procopius's time, the Byzantine (BIZ-un-teen) Empire, which grew out of the Eastern Roman Empire in Greece, was ruled by the emperor Justinian (483–565 ruled 527–565). Chock-full of tall tales, and so slanted with the writer's own opinions that it barely qualifies as a serious historical work, Secret History is nonetheless more intriguing than the hottest soap opera on television.

Yet these works, respectable as they are, are not nearly as entertaining-nor do they receive as much attention today-as a gossipy, scandalous book called Secret History, which Procopius never intended to publish. 565), including History in Eight Books and On Buildings, have certainly inspired much admiration from scholars of the medieval world. T he writings of the Greek historian Procopius (proh-KOH-pee-us died c. 'To me, and many others of us, these two seemed not to be human beings, but veritable demons, and what the poets call vampires: who laid their heads together to see how they could most easily and quickly destroy the race and deeds of men.'

Procopius of caesarea the secret history