ABSTRACT
With the works of Procopius of Caesarea we encounter in an acute form the problem of the dominance of a single author for the history of an important period. The Wars, Secret History and Buildings of Procopius not only represent the main historical source for the reign of Justinian (AD 527-65), but frequently constitute the only source. As Thucydides does for the Peloponnesian War, or Tacitus for the early Empire, so Procopius provides the filter through which we must view the reign of Justinian. He is the major Greek historian of Late Antiquity, perhaps even of Byzantium as a whole, and the proper understanding of his works is crucial to many issues, not least that of the transition from the ancient to the medieval world. He is both a traditional writer and a product of his age. But his works have usually been considered so sharply different that the problem of finding an explanation for these differences has preoccupied the secondary literature. Most often it has been resolved by the simple means of taking the more obviously classicising Wars as basic (and preferable), and then somehow explaining away the notorious Secret History and the unpalatable Buildings. Such an approach has been a too familiar one in the field of Byzantine literature.1 In Procopius’ case, there have been two main strategies-either to deny him authorship of the Secret History altogether (the most extreme, and now discredited view) or more commonly to explain the differences in terms of his psychology, his responses to changing personal and political circumstances. The trouble with the latter approach, however, is that the dating of the Buildings, and on some views also the Secret History, is not absolutely secure, so that the argument can only be circular. The object of this book is to find a way round this difficulty and to approach the ‘classicism’ of Procopius by placing his work firmly in a contemporary context. As he is by far the most important author for
history of the sixth century and for Late Antiquity in general.
