Information AboutProcopius |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT PROCOPIUS | |
| 500 births | |
| 565 deaths | |
| byzantine historians | |
| late antique writers | |
| justinian dynasty | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
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LIFE Other than his own writings, the main source for Procopius' life is an entry in the '' Suda '', a 10th Century Byzantine Encyclopedia that tells nothing about his early life. His birthplace is traditionally assigned to Caesarea (modern Palestine ). We know, however, that he received an education in the Greek Classics , attended law school, possibly at Berytus (modern Beirut ), and became a ''rhetor'' ( Barrister ). In 527 , the first year of Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I 's reign, he became the ''assessor'' (legal adviser) for Belisarius , Justinian's chief military commander who was then beginning a brilliant career. Procopius was with Belisarius on the eastern front until the latter was defeated at the Battle Of Callinicum in 531 and recalled to Constantinople . Procopius witnessed the Nika Riots of January, 532 , which Belisarius and his fellow general Mundo repressed with a massacre in the Hippodrome . In 533 , he accompanied Belisarius on his victorious expedition against the Vandal kingdom in North Africa , took part in the capture of Carthage , and remained in Africa with Belisarius' successor Solomon when Belisarius returned to Constantinople. But he rejoined Belisarius for his campaign against the Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy and experienced the Gothic siege of Rome that lasted a year and nine days, ending in mid-March, 538 . He witnessed Belisarius' entry into the Gothic capital, Ravenna , in 540 . Book eight of the wars, and the ''Secret History'', suggest that his relationship with Belisarius seems to have cooled thereafter. When Belisarius was sent back to Italy in 544 to cope with a renewal of the war with the Goths, now led by the able king Totila , Procopius appears to have no longer been on Belisarius' staff. We do not know when Procopius himself died, and the pre-eminent historian James Howard-Johnson dates his death to 554 , but in 562 there was an urban Prefect of Constantinople who happened to be called Procopius. In that year, Belisarius was implicated in a conspiracy and was brought before this urban prefect. WRITINGS The writings of Procopius are the primary source of information for the rule of the emperor Justinian . Procopius was the author of a history in eight books of the wars fought by Justinian I , a Panegyric on Justinian's Public Works throughout the empire, and a book known as the '' Secret History '' (Greek: ''Anekdota'') that claims to report the scandals that Procopius could not include in his published history. Justinian Wars The first seven books of his ''History of Justinian's Wars'', which were published as a unit, seem to have been largely completed by 545 , but were updated to mid-century before publication, for the latest event mentioned belongs to early 551 . Later, Procopius added an eighth book which brings the history to 552 , when a Byzantine army led by the Eunuch Narses finally destroyed the Ostrogothic kingdom. The first book of Procopius' ''De Aedificiis'' ("On Buildings") a Panegyric of Justinian's building activity in the empire, may date to before the collapse of the first dome of Hagia Sophia in 557 , but it is possible that the work postdates the building of the bridge over the Sangarius in the late 550s . ''Secret History'' The ''Secret History'' was discovered centuries later in the Vatican Library and published in 1623 , but its existence was already known from the ''Suda'', which referred to it as the ''Anekdota'' ("the unpublished composition"). The ''Secret History'' covers the same years as the seven books of the ''History of Justinian's Wars'' and appears to have been written after they were published. Current consensus generally dates it to 550 , or maybe as late as 562 . The '' Secret History '', a work of the most unabashed venom, reveals an author who had become deeply disillusioned with the emperor Justinian and his wife, Theodora , as well as Belisarius, his old commander, and Antonina, Belisarius' wife, although it may reflect Procopius' adoption of the genre of Invective . The anecdotes claim to expose the secret springs of their public actions, as well as the private lives of the Emperor, his wife, and their entourage. Justinian is raked over the coals as cruel, venal, prodigal and incompetent; as for Theodora, the reader is treated to the most detailed and titillating portrayals of vulgarity and insatiable lust combined with shrewish and calculating mean-spiritedness. This portrayal of the imperial couple is so sharply drawn that it has overshot its mark, and though vastly entertaining, is usually felt to reveal more the vindictiveness of its author than the characters of the principals. ''De Aedificiis'' The ''De Aedificiis'' tells us nothing further about Belisarius but it takes a sharply different attitude towards Justinian. He is presented as an idealised Christian emperor who built churches for the glory of God and defenses for the safety of his subjects and who showed particular concern for the water supply. Theodora, who was dead when this panegyric was written, is mentioned only briefly but Procopius' praise of her beauty is fulsome. The panegyric was likely written at Justinian's behest, however, and we may doubt if its sentiments are sincere. CONTEXT Procopius belongs to the school of late antique secular historians who continued the traditions of the Second Sophistic ; they wrote in Attic Greek , their models were Herodotus and especially Thucydides , and their subject matter was secular history. They avoided vocabulary unknown to Attic Greek and would insert an explanation when they had to use contemporary words. Thus Procopius explains to his readers that ''ekklesia,'' meaning a Christian Church , is the equivalent of a Temple or Shrine and that Monk s are "the most temperate of Christians...whom men are accustomed to call monks." (''Wars'' 2.9.14; 1.7.22) In classical Athens , monks were unknown and an ''ekklesia'' was the assembly of Athenian citizens which passed the laws. The secular historians eschewed the history of the Christian church, which they left to ecclesiastical history—a genre that was founded by Eusebius Of Caesarea . However, Averil Cameron has argued convincingly that Procopius' works reflect the tensions between the classical and Christian models of history in 6th century Byzantium . Procopius indicated (''Secret History'' 26.18) that he planned to write an ecclesiastical history himself and, if he had, he would probably have followed the rules of that genre. But, as far as we know, the ecclesiastical history remained unwritten. A Historical Novel based on Procopius' works (along with other sources), '' Count Belisarius '', was written by noted classical scholar Robert Graves in 1938 . FURTHER READING
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''This article is based on an earlier version by James Allan Evans, originally posted at Nupedia .'' |