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Count Belisarius

by Robert Graves

First published 1938

Amazon

4.4(624)

Count Belisarius tells the story of the Byzantine general Belisarius, whose campaigns under Justinian I briefly restored imperial control over parts of North Africa and Italy. The novel follows his military career through Persian frontier war, the suppression of the Nika riots, the Vandalic War and the long Gothic War against the Ostrogoths. Graves sets battlefield success against court suspicion in Constantinople, where Belisarius’s loyalty, his marriage to Antonina and his relationship with Justinian and Theodora shape his fate as much as his victories.

Historical Periods

Roman–Sasanian Wars224–628 CE Nika Riots532 CE Battle of Dara530 Battle of Callinicum531 Battle of Tricamarum533 Byzantine North Africa533–698 Siege of Rome537–538 Byzantine Siege of Ravenna539–540

Genres

Biographical Fiction Court & Political Fiction Historical Sagas War Fiction

Historical people

Justinian Ic. 483–565 Theodorac. 500–548 Antoninafl. 6th century; died after 565 Procopiusc. 5th century–565 Belisarius505–565

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