Book
The Secret History
Procopius’s Secret History is a hostile account of Justinian, Theodora, Belisarius and the sixth-century Byzantine court. It is not a straightforward campaign narrative, but it is important background for the world of the Vandalic War, Gothic War and Justinian’s imperial programme because it gives the bitter private version of the same regime Procopius described more formally elsewhere.
Its value lies partly in the contrast with Procopius’s more formal histories of Justinian’s wars. Here the emperor and empress appear through accusation, gossip and personal hostility, forcing readers to judge both the information and the author’s motives. The work is therefore evidence not only for the sixth-century court but also for the bitterness that could exist beneath official narratives of imperial success.
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