ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the Procopius' coverage of barbarian groups in the Balkans and the northern world during the reign of Justinian. It considers what Procopius tells us about ethnic and political identities, what he has to say about the character of barbarians, how far he presents their political behaviour as being motivated by feelings of ethnic or cultural belonging, and what this all tells us about the man and his work. The chapter argues that, while Procopius deployed literary devices and narrative discourses to comment on individuals and events or because he was constrained to do so by the classicising genre in which he wrote, he was also concerned with presenting a sophisticated view of "what happened" based on oral and written sources. It provides a brief overview of the Justinianic Balkans before discussing Procopius' coverage of affairs in the region.
