The Main Arguments Of Procopius: The Secret History
Rhonda Caton
History 362
The Main Argument of Procopius
The Secret History Procopius is considered to be a historian, who lived in the 6th century. From his works we are able to visit back into the Byzantine Empire, when Emperor Justinian reigned. Through the three books he created: “History of the Wars”, “The Buildings of Justinian”, and “The Secret History”, he is our primary source of information about the reign of Emperor Justinian. After reading “The Secret History”, I found the tone of the book to be different than that of a classical historian’s book. Procopius tells us that he wants the true events of this time to be recorded, for all to know the misdeeds of the tyrants, so that “those who in the future, if it so happens, …show more content…
He tells his audience that Justinian is a ruthless leader, “who was far too ready to listen to false accusations and quick to inflict punishment”. Through Procopius’ biased opinion of Justinian, we see not the great Emperor, but an almost demonic character, one that comes from peasant parents of barbarian descent. However, Procopius describes Justinian as “extremely simple with no more sense than a donkey, ready to follow anyone who pulls its rein, waving its ears all the time”. Definitely not the kind of character you would expect to find as an elite of the Byzantine Empire, let alone it’s Emperor. He continues on to tell his audience that if you added up all the calamities which had happened to the Romans for all time, and you weighed them against those with which Justinian was responsible, you would find that “a greater slaughter of human beings was brought about by this one man than took place in all the preceding centuries”. Procopius wanted his audience to know that Justinian was a corrupt tyrant. He committed many horrible evil deeds against humankind, from sweeping away established customs, looting households of wealthy people, to the murder of “thousands of thousands of
History 362
The Main Argument of Procopius
The Secret History Procopius is considered to be a historian, who lived in the 6th century. From his works we are able to visit back into the Byzantine Empire, when Emperor Justinian reigned. Through the three books he created: “History of the Wars”, “The Buildings of Justinian”, and “The Secret History”, he is our primary source of information about the reign of Emperor Justinian. After reading “The Secret History”, I found the tone of the book to be different than that of a classical historian’s book. Procopius tells us that he wants the true events of this time to be recorded, for all to know the misdeeds of the tyrants, so that “those who in the future, if it so happens, …show more content…
He tells his audience that Justinian is a ruthless leader, “who was far too ready to listen to false accusations and quick to inflict punishment”. Through Procopius’ biased opinion of Justinian, we see not the great Emperor, but an almost demonic character, one that comes from peasant parents of barbarian descent. However, Procopius describes Justinian as “extremely simple with no more sense than a donkey, ready to follow anyone who pulls its rein, waving its ears all the time”. Definitely not the kind of character you would expect to find as an elite of the Byzantine Empire, let alone it’s Emperor. He continues on to tell his audience that if you added up all the calamities which had happened to the Romans for all time, and you weighed them against those with which Justinian was responsible, you would find that “a greater slaughter of human beings was brought about by this one man than took place in all the preceding centuries”. Procopius wanted his audience to know that Justinian was a corrupt tyrant. He committed many horrible evil deeds against humankind, from sweeping away established customs, looting households of wealthy people, to the murder of “thousands of thousands of