Procopius, one of the most important historians of Byzantine History and the Justianic Period, wrote about the city of Kaiseria, founded by the Romans on the seashore of Palestine,
He is thought to have been born in or shortly before 500 AD. He would have studied in Constantinople or in Gaza, an important Hellenic cultural centre where the classical rhetorical tradition was established and where the school of philosophy reconciled neo-Platonism with Christianity. In 527 AD he became a private scribe and legal adviser (symboulos) to the commander Belisarius. He participated in campaigns in Iran, Africa and Italy with the commander Belisarius. He was in Istanbul during the great plague epidemic in 542 AD. After the death of Theodora, he established relations with Justianius and became illustres (distinguished and enlightened) in 560, and in 562 he became Byzantine city administrator or Praefectur in Latin. He is believed to have died in 565, the same year as Justianius.
WORKS
The historian has three important works. Wars, which consists of eight books, Structures and Secret History, which consists of six books.
Wars
In his book History of Wars; He describes the campaigns he participated in with Belisarius. The first three volumes are on the war with the Goths (De Bello Gothica), two volumes are on the war with the Persians (De Bello Persico), two volumes are on the war with the Vandals (De Bello Vandalico), and the eighth volume is a later addition.
Structures
It deals with the works built or repaired on the territory of the Empire during the reign of Justianius and consists of six books based on three main themes: church buildings, fortifications and waterworks. Book I covers the buildings in Constantinople and its outskirts, Book II covers the defences surrounding the farthest borders of the Empire. Book III deals with the defence structures on the borders with Persia, Book IV with those in Europe, Book V with those in the remaining parts of Asia, and Book VI with those in Africa. While Books I and II are dealt with in a certain completeness, from Book III onwards, he is contented with giving a list.
Secret History
Ostrogorsky, one of the important Byzantine historians, emphasised the importance of the work by calling the Secret History "the famous Secret History", and Procopius, in his introduction, said: "In the events discussed in my previous narrative, I was obliged to conceal the causes that led to their formation. Therefore, in this book, it is necessary not only to explain what has remained hidden until now, but also to explain the causes of the formations previously described". In 1623 a copy was found in the Vatican Library and in the same year it was partially published in Lyon by Alemannus, who found some parts of it objectionable. In 1663, a complete edition was published in Paris by Maltretus. The ancient Greeks called the Secret History Anecdota, in Latin it was called Historia Arcana, and English Historians translated it into English as Anecdotes.
In Chapter 1, Commander Belisarius and his wife Antonina, in Chapter 2, the emperor justinus period before Justianius and how Justianius ascended the throne, in Chapter 3, Justianius' mismanagement, in Chapter 4, Theodora's affairs, in Chapter 5. Chapter 5 declares that Justianius is the devil disguised as a human being, Chapter 6 describes how Theodora and Justianius oppressed various classes of society, Chapter 7 describes Justianius' fondness for money.
STYLE
We know that Procopius received a classical education for that period. In his time, the Byzantine Empire was under the influence of both ancient Rome and Greek civilisation. We see that Procopius followed the methods of Herodotus and Thucydides in his official histories inspired by the ancient historians. We can say that he was under the influence of classical writers and thinkers due to his quotations from the plays of Aristophanes. The difference in style and interpretation between the three works of the historian emerges in his attitude towards the Emperor and brings along the temporal problem. While criticising the Emperor in his work titled Wars, in Structures, we encounter praise for the Emperor in the Christian ideology, while in the Secret History, the Emperor is vilified and his cruelty and mismanagement are emphasised. Especially in the Secret History, we see that the actions against the aristocratic class are criticised by Procopius. This shows that he came from the upper strata, if not from the top, and that he had an elitist view. Av. Cameron, in his work on the temporal problem, Procopius and the Sixth Century (1985), argues that the books I-VII of the Wars were written in 550 A.D., Book VIII in 554 A.D., the Secret History in 550 A.D., and the Structures in 554 A.D., based on comments and styles.