Procopius on justinian

Procopius history of the wars
Procopius works
Procopius history of the wars pdf

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Procopius of Caesarea

The Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea (ca. 500-ca. 565), the last of the great classical Greek historians, was an eyewitness to, and prime reporter of, events in the reign of Emperor Justinian I.

Born in Palestinian Caesarea between 490 and 507, Procopius was thoroughly educated and probably trained in law. In 527 he was made advisor and secretary to the young general Belisarius, then imperial commander in Mesopotamia against the Persians. In this capacity Procopius accompanied Belisarius on many of his campaigns, witnessing not only the Persian hostilities but also the suppression of the Nika Riots (532), the conquest of the Vandal kingdom of North Africa (533-534), and—after a term of service in North Africa (534-536)—the first war against the Ostrogoths in Italy (535-540). Procopius was in Constantinople in 542, where he observed the beginnings of the terrible plague that struck the empire. Presumably, Procopius did not join Belisarius on his second Italian campaign. He seems to have held government posts in the capital for the remainder of

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Procopius, The Anecdota or Secret History

Procopius, born at Caesarea in Palestine late in the 5th century, became a lawyer. In 527 CE he was made legal adviser and secretary of Belisarius, commander against the Persians, and went with Belisarius again in 533 against the Vandals and in 535 against the Ostrogoths. Sometime after 540 he returned to Constantinople. He may have been that Procopius who was prefect of Constantinople in 562, but the date of his death (after 558) is unknown.

Procopius's History of the Wars in 8 books recounts the Persian Wars of emperors Justinus and Justinian down to 550 (2 books); the Vandalic War and after-events in Africa 532–546 (2 books); the Gothic War against the Ostrogoths in Sicily and Italy 536–552 (3 books); and a sketch of events to 554 (1 book). The whole consists largely of military history, with much information about peoples and places as well, and about special events. He was a diligent, careful, judicious narrator of facts and developments and shows good powers of description. He is just to the empire's en

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Procopius

Byzantine historian (c. 500 – 565)

This article is about the historian and author of the Secret History. For other persons with the given name, see Procopius (given name). For the spider genus, see Procopius (spider).

Procopius of Caesarea (Ancient Greek: Προκόπιος ὁ ΚαισαρεύςProkópios ho Kaisareús; Latin: Procopius Caesariensis; c. 500 – 565) was a prominent late antiqueGreek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima.^[1]^[2] Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Emperor Justinian's wars, Procopius became the principal Roman historian of the 6th century, writing the History of the Wars, the Buildings, and the Secret History.

Early life

Apart from his own writings, the main source for Procopius's life is an entry in the Suda,^[3] a Byzantine Greek encyclopaedia written sometime after 975 which discusses his early life. He was a native of Caesarea in the province of Palaestina Prima.^[4] He would have received a conventional upper class education in the Greek classics and rhetoric,^[