ABSTRACT
According to Malalas (17.10 [415.19-21], cf. Chr. Pasch. 616.6-8), Justin’s information concerning Zilgibis inspired Kavadh to enter negotiations with Justin; he therefore despatched an envoy called either Broeus or Labroeus to Constantinople. The priority of the Persian king, now over seventy, was to secure the succession of his son Khusro, whose position was threatened by rival brothers and the still strong Mazdakite sect. His proposed solution was that Justin adopt Khusro as his son, a proposal greeted with enthusiasm by the emperor and his nephew Justinian. The emperor’s quaestor Proculus, however, opposed the move, arguing that it would entitle Khusro to inherit the Roman empire (Proc. I.11.1-22, Theoph. A.M. 6013 [167-8]). Whether or not this would formally be the case under Roman law, it is highly unlikely that this was Kavadh’s intention; and de facto it is difficult to see how Khusro could press his claim in any case.55 Negotations proceeded nevertheless, although it was made clear to the Persians that Khusro could only be adopted ‘by arms’, a procedure already used by the Emperor Zeno for the Ostrogothic king Theoderic. The negotiations are reported in most detail by Procopius and must have taken place in 524 or 525. See Greatrex 1998a: 134-8.
