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141-678: According to the 6th-century historian Procopius , Helena's son Emperor Constantine the Great renamed the city "Helenopolis" to honor her birthplace; but the name may simply have honored her without marking her birthplace. Constantine also built there a church in honour of the martyr Saint Lucian ; it soon grew in importance, and Constantine lived there very often towards the end of his life. Near it were some famous mineral springs. These mineral springs might be those of Termal near Yalova . Emperor Justinian built there an aqueduct, baths and other monuments. It does not seem ever to have grown, and it

282-543: A captured sea monster as evidence of the narrative's feasibility. Belisarius Belisarius ( Latin pronunciation: [bɛ.lɪˈsaː.ri.ʊs] ; Greek : Βελισάριος ; c.  500  – March 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under Emperor Justinian I . Belisarius was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean territory belonging to

423-508: A "temple" or "shrine"), since monasticism was unknown to the ancient Athenians and their ekklesía had been a popular assembly . The secular historians eschewed the history of the Christian church. Ecclesiastical history was left to a separate genre after Eusebius . However, Cameron has argued convincingly that Procopius's works reflect the tensions between the classical and Christian models of history in 6th-century Constantinople. This

564-802: A backdrop to Byzantine military activities, such as a mutiny in and around Carthage . He rejoined Belisarius for his campaign against the Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy and experienced the Gothic siege of Rome that lasted a year and nine days, ending in mid-March 538. He witnessed Belisarius's entry into the Gothic capital, Ravenna , in 540. Both the Wars and the Secret History suggest that his relationship with Belisarius cooled thereafter. When Belisarius

705-607: A causeway through the marshes, accompanied by a comitatus of bucellarii , his personal household regiment (guards). He also prepared a grain shipment to enter the city when it surrendered. Soon afterward, he proclaimed the capture of Ravenna in the name of the Emperor Justinian. The Goths' offer raised suspicions in Justinian's mind and Belisarius was recalled. He returned home with the Gothic treasure, king and warriors. For his next assignment, Belisarius went to

846-454: A conspiracy and was brought before this urban prefect. In fact, some scholars have argued that Procopius died at least a few years after 565 as he unequivocally states in the beginning of his Secret History that he planned to publish it after the death of Justinian for fear he would be tortured and killed by the emperor (or even by general Belisarius) if the emperor (or the general) learned about what Procopius wrote (his scathing criticism of

987-505: A contingent of foederati of unknown size led by Dorotheus, Magister Militum per Armeniam, and Solomon, Belisarius' domesticus . As praetorian prefect, in charge of the logistics of the army, Belisarius got Archelaus, an extremely experienced officer, in order to lighten the burden of command. In total the force is estimated to have been around 17,000 strong, while 500 transport ships and 92 warships crewed by 30,000 sailors and 2,000 marines were also put under Belisarius' command. While it

1128-480: A conventional upper class education in the Greek classics and rhetoric , perhaps at the famous school at Gaza . He may have attended law school, possibly at Berytus (present-day Beirut ) or Constantinople (now Istanbul ), and became a lawyer ( rhetor ). He evidently knew Latin , as was natural for a man with legal training. In 527, the first year of the reign of the emperor Justinian   I , he became

1269-465: A decrease in funding for the civil service; Justinian's low birth; extremely high taxes; cruel methods of tax collection; the curbing of the power of the chariot racing factions; and the execution of rioters led to great anger among the population, culminating in the Nika riots of 532. The riots were led by the chariot racing factions—the blues and the greens. At the time the riots broke out, Belisarius

1410-544: A fortified town of which some archaeological remains still exist, on the site of present-day Sapareva Banya in south-west Bulgaria , within the borders of Thrace and Paeonia , or in Germen , a town in Thrace near Orestiada , in present-day Greece . Born into an Illyro-Roman , Thraco-Roman , or Greek family, he became a Roman soldier as a young man, serving in the bodyguard of Emperor Justin I . After coming to

1551-450: A garrison to Rome, the city was left undefended as the troops fled after noticing the pro-Byzantine attitude of the population. Much of Tuscany submitted willingly to Belisarius' troops at this point. Belisarius garrisoned towns on the supply lines from the Gothic heartland in the north to Rome, forcing Vitiges to besiege these towns before he could march on Rome. From March 537 to March 538 Belisarius successfully defended Rome against

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1692-452: A girdle about the groin: not that she was abashed at revealing that, too, to the audience, but because there was a law against appearing altogether naked on the stage, without at least this much of a fig-leaf. Covered thus with a ribbon, she would sink down to the stage floor and recline on her back. Slaves to whom the duty was entrusted would then scatter grains of barley from above into the calyx of this passion flower, whence geese, trained for

1833-421: A leading role again. He fled with his troops after his colleagues were lured into a trap. His army was then defeated at Mindouos , but he was promoted shortly afterward, meaning he was not likely held responsible for the defeat. At first, he was likely a junior partner to some higher placed commander like Sittas, while at Thanurin there was no overall commander. Mindouos was probably the first battle in which he led

1974-641: A location in Yalova Province , Turkey is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Procopius Procopius of Caesarea ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς Prokópios ho Kaisareús ; Latin : Procopius Caesariensis ; c.  500 –565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima . Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Emperor Justinian 's wars, Procopius became

2115-533: A major Christian church dedicated to the Virgin Mary was built on the site of the Temple Mount . It is not certain when Procopius died. Many historians—including Howard-Johnson , Cameron , and Geoffrey Greatrex—date his death to 554, but there was an urban prefect of Constantinople ( praefectus urbi Constantinopolitanae ) who was called Procopius in 562. In that year, Belisarius was implicated in

2256-685: A massacre in the Hippodrome there. In 533, he accompanied Belisarius on his victorious expedition against the Vandal kingdom in North Africa , took part in the capture of Carthage , and remained in Africa with Belisarius's successor Solomon the Eunuch when Belisarius returned east to the capital. Procopius recorded a few of the extreme weather events of 535–536 , although these were presented as

2397-528: A part of his forces near Auximus to secure his rear. The arrival of a Byzantine relief force under Belisarius and Narses compelled the Ostrogoths to give up the siege and retreat to their capital of Ravenna . The force had been too small to actually challenge the Goths, but through deception, Belisarius had managed to convince the Goths otherwise. Belisarius had approached from multiple sides including over

2538-695: A pier and lighthouse were found, which were visited by Evliya Çelebi and are known to have been used from the Byzantine period right up until the demise of the Ottoman Empire. The see of Helenopolis in Bithynia was a suffragan of the Metropolis of Nicomedia . Michel Le Quien mentions nine of its bishops. Macrinus, the first, is said to have been at the Council of Nicaea (325), but his name

2679-409: A portrayal of Justinian and Theodora as caricatural villains. The Buildings ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Περὶ Κτισμάτων , Perì Ktismáton ; Latin : De Aedificiis , "On Buildings") is a panegyric on Justinian's public works projects throughout the empire. The first book may date to before the collapse of the first dome of Hagia Sophia in 557, but some scholars think that it is possible that

2820-518: A punishment. An armistice had been signed shortly before, but with both the Goths and the Byzantines openly breaking it, the war continued. By then Byzantine forces had captured Ariminum (Rimini) and approached Ravenna, so Vitiges was forced to retreat. The siege had lasted from March 537 to March 538. Belisarius sent 1,000 men to support the population of Mediolanum (Milan) against the Goths. These forces captured much of Liguria , garrisoning

2961-466: A route they had never taken before. Belisarius was taken by surprise and was unsure whether this was a feint or a real attack, so at first, he did not move. He called upon Roman-allied Arab tribes for help and received 5,000 troops. He forced the Persians to retreat with a successful strategic maneuver but he kept pursuing the fleeing Persians, reportedly because his soldiers threatened mutiny if no battle

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3102-542: A set. They were, however, updated to mid-century before publication, with the latest mentioned event occurring in early 551. The eighth and final book brought the history to 553. The first two books—often known as The Persian War ( Latin : De Bello Persico )—deal with the conflict between the Romans and Sassanid Persia in Mesopotamia , Syria , Armenia , Lazica , and Iberia (present-day Georgia ). It details

3243-442: A sharply different attitude towards Justinian. He is presented as an idealised Christian emperor who built churches for the glory of God and defenses for the safety of his subjects. He is depicted showing particular concern for the water supply, building new aqueducts and restoring those that had fallen into disuse. Theodora, who was dead when this panegyric was written, is mentioned only briefly, but Procopius's praise of her beauty

3384-422: A ship ready for evacuation to Visigothic Iberia if necessary, and began gathering his troops. He had already made a plan to ambush and encircle the Byzantines at Ad Decimum. Gelimer had instantly recognized that the Byzantines would move to Carthage via the coastal road, but still sent garrisons to guard other roads. At the same time that Gelimer was preparing his ambush, Belisarius was gathering information on

3525-411: A sign of his repentance. He also built two hospices for pilgrims and a monastery, which have since disappeared. Belisarius ordered the cavalry garrison of Ariminum to be replaced by infantry. In this way the cavalry could join with other cavalry forces and use their mobility outside of the city, while the infantry under some obscure commander guarding the city would draw less attention to the city than

3666-410: A strong Gothic garrison resisted the Byzantines using its strong fortifications. Belisarius could not operate safely at Rome with such a strong garrison in his rear. He could neither storm the strong fortifications nor conduct a lengthy siege which could be interrupted by Gothic reinforcements, while bribery and negotiation attempts also failed. He couldn't use his fleet either as there was artillery on

3807-405: A strong cavalry force under John . Vitiges sent a large army to retake Mediolanum while he moved to besiege Ariminum himself. Vitiges tried to hinder the Byzantine movement by garrisoning an important tunnel on the road to Ancona . This garrison was defeated, while Vitiges had to maneuver himself around a number of Byzantine garrisons to avoid losing time in fighting useless engagements. Ultimately,

3948-577: A successful attack against them, which caused the entire rebel army to panic and flee. The rebels' power was broken and Belisarius left for Italy. In 535, Justinian commissioned Belisarius to attack the Ostrogothic Kingdom in Italy. The Ostrogothic king Theodahad had gained the throne by marriage. Power had been held, however, by the pro-Byzantine queen Amalasuintha , until Theodahad had her imprisoned and then killed. Seeing internal division similar to that in Africa, Justinian expected

4089-532: A triumph but also made consul . Sometime after Belisarius left, a mutiny broke out in Africa . Soldiers angry about religious persecution by the Byzantines, and the inability of the empire to pay them, rose up en masse and nearly broke Byzantine rule in the area. Belisarius would return for a short while, just before the Gothic War, to help fight the revolt. When the rebels heard of his arrival, they lifted

4230-445: A victory. As such, this seems likely to have been his minimal demand. If successful, the Byzantines could use this region as a springboard to conquer the entire country later on, giving an extra reason to make it the minimal demand of the campaign. As such, it is Belisarius' decision at Sicily that initiated Justinian's reconquest. With Gelimer being four days inland and his troops scattered, Belisarius could have taken Carthage before

4371-413: Is fulsome. Due to the panegyrical nature of Procopius's Buildings , historians have discovered several discrepancies between claims made by Procopius and accounts in other primary sources. A prime example is Procopius's starting the reign of Justinian in 518, which was actually the start of the reign of his uncle and predecessor Justin I . By treating the uncle's reign as part of his nephew's, Procopius

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4512-502: Is included in the Catholic Church 's list of titular sees . [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). " Helenopolis ". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company. This article about a location in ancient Bithynia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This geographical article about

4653-567: Is not given in the authentic lists of the members of the council. About 400, the church of Helenopolis was governed by Palladius of Galatia , the friend and defender of John Chrysostom , and author of the Historia Lausiaca . The last known bishop assisted at the Council of Constantinople (879-880). Helenopolis occurs in the Notitiae Episcopatuum until the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Helenopolis in Bithynia

4794-422: Is supported by Whitby 's analysis of Procopius's depiction of the capital and its cathedral in comparison to contemporary pagan panegyrics. Procopius can be seen as depicting Justinian as essentially God's vicegerent , making the case for buildings being a primarily religious panegyric. Procopius indicates that he planned to write an ecclesiastical history himself and, if he had, he would probably have followed

4935-475: Is the view of many that Belisarius set sail for North Africa with "only" 15,000 soldiers to conquer the region, his force included more troops and many sailors. It was a well balanced force with quite possibly a larger percentage of high-quality troops than the armies facing Persia. Gelimer probably had only 20,000 men at his disposal at this time and his force had no horse archers or units fit to fight them, and he had fewer and lower-quality officers. In June 533,

5076-541: The Lakhmids free to raid the eastern provinces. Belisarius pointed out that the Lakhmids would be filling the next months with religious celebrations and that he would be back within two months. With the same reasoning he used in Italy for the siege of Auximus and other sieges and the marching column in Africa, he determined that Nisibis had to be taken first to secure his rear if he moved further into Persia. Meanwhile,

5217-476: The Secret History would not be proof that Procopius hated Justinian or Theodora. Researcher Anthony Kaldellis suggests that the Secret History is a tale of the dangers of "the rule of women". Procopius's perspective was that women's vices vanquished men's virtuous leadership. For Procopius, it was not that women could not lead an empire, but only women demonstrating masculine virtues were suitable as leaders. Rather than Theodora's true possession of strength, it

5358-574: The Vandal Kingdom in North Africa. The Byzantines had political, religious, and strategic reasons for such a campaign. The Vandals, being Arians , persecuted Nicene Christians , refused to mint coins with depictions of the emperor on them, and had banished the Roman nobility, replacing them with a Germanic elite. The recent Byzantine emperors had spent much effort on reunifying pro- Chalcedonian and anti-Chalcedonian Christians and uniting

5499-463: The Vandal kingdom that had occupied Rome's provinces in northwest Africa for the last century. The final four books—known as The Gothic War ( Latin : De Bello Gothico )—cover the Italian campaigns by Belisarius and others against the Ostrogoths . Procopius includes accounts of the 1st and 2nd sieges of Naples and the 1st , 2nd , and 3rd sieges of Rome . He also includes an account of

5640-576: The Vandalic War in nine months and conquered much of Italy during the Gothic War . He also defeated the Vandal armies in the battle of Ad Decimum and played an important role at Tricamarum , compelling the Vandal king, Gelimer , to surrender. During the Gothic War, despite being significantly outnumbered, he and his troops recaptured the city of Rome and then held out against great odds during

5781-529: The siege of Rome . After a setback at Thannurin , he won a battle against the Persians at Dara but was defeated at Callinicum . He successfully repulsed a Hunnic incursion at Melantias . He was also known for military deception; he repulsed a Persian invasion by deceiving their commander and lifted the siege of Ariminum without a fight. Belisarius was born around the year 500, probably in Germania,

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5922-523: The Byzantines could cross over to Gothic Sicily , where they were allowed to stop on their way to Africa by the pro-Byzantine, anti-Vandal queen Amalasuntha , they had to cross the Adriatic Sea . Despite acquiring fresh water, the weather caused the water supply to spoil before arrival, and only Belisarius and a select few others had access to unspoiled water. In Sicily Procopius was sent to acquire supplies from Syracuse and gather intelligence about

6063-410: The Byzantines were successful in reinforcing Ariminum, however, John refused to leave the city. John managed to prevent the siege tower used by the Goths from reaching the walls which caused Vitiges to withdraw. John wanted to prevent this withdrawal and sallied out but was, like Belisarius at Rome, defeated, which caused Vitiges to keep besieging the now weakened garrison. Needing fewer men, as no assault

6204-483: The Emperor suddenly rose from his throne and walked about, and indeed he was never wont to remain sitting for long, and immediately Justinian's head vanished, while the rest of his body seemed to ebb and flow; whereat the beholder stood aghast and fearful, wondering if his eyes were deceiving him. But presently he perceived the vanished head filling out and joining the body again as strangely as it had left it. Similarly,

6345-425: The Gothic numbers, they requested aid from John and other troops under Narses. John and the other commanders refused to follow Belisarius' order to assist, stating that Narses was their commander. Narses repeated the order but John fell ill and they paused for him to recover. Meanwhile, the revolt at Mediolanum was bloodily suppressed by the Goths. The desperate garrison had been promised safety in return for abandoning

6486-437: The Gothic officers proved unable to counter this. Eighteen days into the siege, the Goths launched an all-out assault, and Belisarius ordered a number of archers to shoot at the oxen pulling the siege equipment. As a result, the assault failed with heavy casualties. When the Goths retreated from a certain section of the wall, Belisarius launched an attack on their rear, inflicting extra casualties. However, when he tried to end

6627-416: The Goths couldn't concentrate against the intruders. Despite having taken the city by force, he showed leniency to the city and garrison, so as to entice as many other Goths to join his side or surrender later on; this way he would avoid costly action as much as possible and preserve his small force. The failure to reinforce the city caused Theodahad to be deposed. While the new Gothic king, Vitiges , had sent

6768-589: The Goths to be weak. Belisarius assembled 4,000 troops, which included regular troops and possibly foederati, 3,000 Isaurians, 300 Berbers and 200 Huns. In total, including his personal guards, his force numbered roughly 8,000. Belisarius landed in Sicily and took the island in order to use it as a base against Italy, while Mundus recovered Dalmatia . Justinian wanted to pressure Theodahad into relinquishing his throne and to then annex his kingdom through diplomacy and limited military action. This worked at first, but

6909-534: The Goths. This Pope was the former subdeacon Silverius , the son of Pope Hormisdas . Belisarius was to replace him with the Deacon Vigilius , Apocrisarius of Pope John II in Constantinople. Vigilius had in fact been chosen in 531 by Pope Boniface II to be his successor, but this choice was strongly criticised by the Roman clergy and Boniface eventually reversed his decision. In 537, at

7050-477: The Huns guarding the flank had routed the numerically superior forces opposing them. Before Belisarius arrived at the field of battle, he encountered some units routed by Gelimer's army, who informed him of the situation in the third stage, when Gelimer himself arrived. As Belisarius arrived, Gelimer saw his brother Ammatus killed in combat. Mourning, he remained idle and allowed Belisarius to attack his force while it

7191-451: The Huns in the north while instead, the Huns assisted Khosrow. When Belisarius arrived in the east he sent spies to gather information. He was told that the Persians were moving north to fight the Huns. Meanwhile, Belisarius had trained and organized his troops who had been terrified of the Persians before his arrival. He decided he could attack Persia in relative safety. Some of Belisarius' officers protested, as staging an offensive would leave

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7332-562: The Ostrogothic capital of Ravenna in late 539. The grain shipment to the city hadn't been able to proceed to the city, so when the Byzantines advanced on Ravenna, the grain was captured. Ravenna was cut off from help on its seaward side by the Byzantine navy patrolling the Adriatic Sea . When Belisarius besieged Ravenna, the Gothic nobles, including Vitiges, had offered the throne of the "western empire" to him. Belisarius feigned acceptance and entered Ravenna via its sole point of entry,

7473-515: The Theodora of the Secret History is a garish portrait of vulgarity and insatiable lust juxtaposed with cold-blooded self-interest, shrewishness, and envious and fearful mean-spiritedness. Among the more titillating (and dubious) revelations in the Secret History is Procopius's account of Theodora's thespian accomplishments: Often, even in the theatre, in the sight of all the people, she removed her costume and stood nude in their midst, except for

7614-624: The Turks ended the People's Crusade. In 2019, an academic survey identified the remains of Kibatos/Civetot 3.5 meters underwater in Hersek Lagoon. The remains of the castle span approximately 4,200 square meters and were identified based on architectural similarities to contemporary descriptions. In addition to the discovery of the castle - believed to have been abandoned due to earthquakes at an indeterminate time - among other structures, remains of

7755-459: The Vandal forces in the north and the south. Gelimer needed a victory at Ad Decimum to unite his forces. Numbering about 10,000–12,000, the Vandals were outnumbered. The valley in which the ambush was to take place was narrow, and as two of the three roads to Carthage became one in the valley, it seemed like a great spot for an ambush to Gelimer. Ammatus , with 6,000–7,000 men, was ordered to block

7896-402: The Vandals and Goths were by then perceived as weak, while he had been relatively unsuccessful against the Persians. Narses' supporters tried to turn Narses against Belisarius, claiming that a close confidant of the emperor should not take orders from a "mere general". Belisarius, in turn, warned Narses that his followers were underestimating the Goths. He pointed out that their current position

8037-538: The Vandals even knew he was coming and certainly before they were in a position to react. Archelaus argued in favor of this approach, pointing out that Carthage was the only place in the Vandal Kingdom which had a fortified harbor. Belisarius considered potentially being cornered in Carthage, with the Vandals holding a superior naval position, his forces vulnerable to attack when landing, and no information on

8178-409: The Vandals whom he suspected were nearby. This way he left his infantry, baggage, and wife in a secure position. Unlike the large infantry force, he would easily be able to control this small force of cavalry, which was the main strength of the Byzantine army. When Belisarius arrived at the battlefield, the first three stages of the battle had already taken place. The Byzantines sent ahead to scout and

8319-493: The Vandals' recent activities. There he found out that the Vandals had taken no measures to defend against a Byzantine invasion, and in fact were unaware one was coming. Procopius also found out that most of the Vandal fleet was occupied around Sardinia . At this point Dorotheus died and Belisarius and his troops were demoralized, but when they heard Procopius' discovery they quickly left for Africa. In total, unfavorable winds had protracted their journey to 80 days. Despite

8460-471: The Wars and appears to have been written after they were published. Current consensus generally dates it to 550, or less commonly 558. In the eyes of many scholars, the Secret History reveals an author who had become deeply disillusioned with Emperor Justinian, his wife Theodora , the general Belisarius , and his wife Antonina . The work claims to expose the secret springs of their public actions, as well as

8601-514: The antithesis of "good" rulers, with each representing the opposite side of emotional spectrum. Justinian was of "approachable and kindly" temperament, even while ordering property confiscations or people's destruction. Conversely, Theodora was described as irrational and driven by her anger, often by minor affronts. Procopius is believed to be aligned with many of the senatorial ranks that disagreed with Justinian and Theodora's tax policies and property confiscations ( Secret History 12.12-14). On

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8742-473: The army and fleet, so that this invasion would not be a repeat of the Battle of Cape Bon where the Byzantines were defeated by fire ships . During the construction of the base, a spring was found, which Procopius called a good omen from God. When he heard of the Byzantine landing, Gelimer rapidly moved to consolidate his position. He had Hilderic and other captives executed, ordered his treasury to be put on

8883-476: The army embarked from Constantinople. On the expedition alcohol was forbidden. When on the way two drunken Huns killed another soldier, Belisarius had them executed to reinforce discipline. Such a cruel measure might have undermined his authority and given him the reputation of a cruel leader, but he prevented negative repercussions with a speech. Belisarius had the staff-ships marked and lanterns put up so that they would always be visible. The use of signals kept

9024-585: The army entirely on his own. Following Justin's death in 527, the new emperor, Justinian I , appointed Belisarius to command a Roman army in the east, despite earlier defeats. In June/July 530, during the Iberian War , he led the Romans to a stunning victory over the Sassanids in the Battle of Dara . This victory caused the Persian king Kavad I to open peace negotiations with the Byzantines. At

9165-648: The army in the Balkans retreated. and the war continued. Belisarius pushed on in Sicily. The only Ostrogothic resistance came at Panormus , which fell after a quick siege . Here Belisarius used archer fire from the top of the masts of his ships to subdue the garrison. He made a triumphal entry to Syracuse on 31 December 535. The preparations for the invasion of the Italian mainland were interrupted in Easter 536 when Belisarius sailed to Africa to counter an uprising of

9306-439: The attention of Justin and Justinian as an innovative officer, he was given permission by the emperor to form a bodyguard regiment . It consisted of elite heavy cavalry that he later expanded into a personal household regiment, 7,000 strong. Belisarius' guards formed the nucleus of all the armies he would later command. Armed with lances, (possibly Hunnish style) composite bows, and spatha (long sword), they were fully armored to

9447-477: The battle Belisarius had dug trenches in order to direct the more mobile Sassanian force to a location where he could attack them from the rear, this was adopted from the Sasanians at Tanurin two years earlier. On other fronts, the Byzantine forces were also winning. The Persians and their Arab allies, with a mobile force of 15,000 high-quality cavalries, invaded Byzantine lands again, now via Euphratensis ,

9588-411: The campaign that he was only there to restore the rightful king. When Belisarius advanced again, he positioned his troops in such a way that he and his guards could rapidly reinforce any position that could be attacked, especially the flank, as the last known Vandal position was to the south and the army moved north. He also sent 300 guards ahead to scout while the 600 Huns guarded his left flank, and

9729-587: The campaigns of the Sassanid shah Kavadh   I , the 532 'Nika' revolt , the war by Kavadh's successor Khosrau   I in 540, his destruction of Antioch and deportation of its inhabitants to Mesopotamia, and the great plague that devastated the empire from 542. The Persian War also covers the early career of Procopius's patron Belisarius in some detail. The Wars ’ next two books—known as The Vandal War or Vandalic War ( Latin : De Bello Vandalico )—cover Belisarius's successful campaign against

9870-463: The captured territory and had sent Cyril on a mission to capture Sardinia which would capture that island, and later also Corsica . The effort to locate and gather Vandal soldiers was still going on; in this way, the class on which the entire Vandal military and political systems were based could be wholly deported to the east and Vandal power forever broken. Jealous subordinates now contacted Justinian and claimed Belisarius wanted to rebel. Belisarius

10011-512: The city stopped working. Narses reacted by sending John to take Caesena . While that attack failed miserably, John quickly moved to surprise the garrison at Forocornelius ( Imola ), and so secured Aemilia for the Byzantines. Shortly after Belisarius' arrival, the Urviventus garrison ran out of supplies and surrendered. In late December, shortly after the siege of Urbinus and Urviventus, Belisarius sent troops to reinforce Mediolanum. Unsure of

10152-475: The city, he tried to cut the water supply but this failed. When the captured leaders from the Faesulae garrison were paraded in front of the city, its garrison too surrendered. If he moved on Ravenna his rear would now be secure. Vitiges hadn't been able to reinforce these places, as there was a food shortage throughout Italy and he couldn't gather enough supplies for the march. Belisarius stationed his army around

10293-496: The city, which they subsequently did. As the population had revolted, they were considered traitors and many were slaughtered. Subsequently, the other cities in Liguria surrendered to avoid the same fate. Narses was subsequently recalled. In 539, Belisarius set up siege forces around Auximum and sent troops to Faesulae , starving both cities to submission by late 539. He led the siege of Auximum himself; knowing he couldn't storm

10434-484: The defeats at Thannuris and Callinicum, but after an investigation, he was cleared of the charges against him. In Constantinople, Justinian had been carrying out reforms of the empire. In this, he had been assisted by John the Cappadocian and Tribunianus, who were corrupt. The corruption of John and Tribunianus; the curbing of corruption of other influential figures; loss of influence and employment because of

10575-402: The east to fight the Persians. Unlike during the Gothic and Vandalic wars, he wasn't accompanied by his wife. The Byzantines expected that Khosrow, like in the previous year, would move through Mesopotamia, but instead, Khosrow attacked Lazica , where the population was treated poorly by the Byzantines. The Lazicans had invited Khosrow, who concealed his movement by claiming he was going to fight

10716-445: The eastern and western parts of the church, so the prosecution of "good" Christians by Arian heretics was an especially big issue. The persecution had started after the popular and successful Vandal military leader Gelimer had overthrown his cousin, the king, Hilderic , a childhood friend of Justinian, in the year 530. In a recent war against the native Berbers , the Vandals had lost 5,000 men in two decisive defeats; only when Gelimer

10857-438: The emperor, of his wife, of Belisarius, of the general's wife, Antonina: calling the former "demons in human form" and the latter incompetent and treacherous) in this later history. However, most scholars believe that the Secret History was written in 550 and remained unpublished during Procopius' lifetime. The writings of Procopius are the primary source of information for the rule of the emperor Justinian   I . Procopius

10998-420: The envoy Gelimer had sent earlier. Due to Belisarius' benevolence, many cities of Africa changed sides, so it became impossible for Gelimer to fight a protracted campaign. Before making his next move, Gelimer had received reinforcements under Tzazo and tried to convince some of Belisarius' forces to desert. Belisarius prevented their desertion, but for example, the Huns would not take part in the battle until after

11139-411: The fact that Gelimer had defied him, and the pleas of African Catholics as justification, Justinian sent an invasion force. There were multiple reasons to choose Belisarius to lead such an expedition. He had shown military competence at Dara, been cleared of incompetence in his other battles by an inquiry, and was a friend to the emperor and thus obviously loyal to him. As an inhabitant of Germana, which

11280-404: The first battle where he held an independent command (together with Sittas , most likely a dual command) he suffered a clear defeat, but he and Sittas were noted as successful raiders, plundering Persian territory , for example, during the first invasion of Persarmenia of the war, taking place shortly before. The next battle was fought at Tanurin (south of Nisbis ), where Belisarius played

11421-487: The fleet his right flank. When the army arrived in Syllectus, their civilized behavior caused the city to give their full support to the Byzantines. This positive reputation of the Byzantine army began immediately spreading, causing much of the population to support the Byzantines. Marching at the speed of around 7 miles (11 km) to 9 miles (14 km) a day, the Byzantines advanced on Carthage, their speed dictated by

11562-399: The fleet organized and sailing close together, even at night, and was praised heavily by Procopius. By the time they arrived at Sicily, 500 men had died after eating improperly prepared bread. Belisarius quickly acquired fresh bread from the locals. He would make several extra stops during his journey to acquire extra bread during the voyage. In Methone he also organized his forces. Before

11703-431: The former Western Roman Empire , which had been lost less than a century prior. He is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history and the greatest of all Byzantine generals. One of the defining features of Belisarius' career was his success despite varying levels of available resources. He is frequently cited as being among the " Last of the Romans ". He conquered the Vandal Kingdom of North Africa in

11844-443: The full conquest of Africa is often portrayed as the original objective of the campaign, it is unlikely this was actually the case. Belisarius had the full authority to act in any way he saw fit. Only when Belisarius was already in Sicily was the choice made to sail straight for the Vandal heartland. If the Vandal fleet had been ready, such an operation would have been unlikely to succeed. When information arrived in Constantinople it

11985-614: The height of the siege, Silverius was accused of conspiring with the Gothic king and several Roman senators to secretly open the gates of the city. Belisarius had him stripped of his vestments and exiled to Patara in Lycia in Asia Minor. Following the advocacy of his innocence by the bishop of Patara, he was ordered to return to Italy at the command of the Emperor Justinian, and if cleared by investigation, reinstated. However, Vigilius had already been installed in his place. Silverius

12126-577: The knowledge that at least some Vandal troops were behind his own force. His journey now became increasingly dangerous as the fleet had to sail around Cape Bon and the road curved inland so it became impossible to rapidly evacuate, which he could have done at any time he wanted until this point. Belisarius ordered Archelaus and the naval commander Calonymus remain at a distance of at least 22 miles (35 km) from Carthage. He advanced on land with about 18,000 men himself. Soon he would encounter Gelimer at Ad Decimum . The Byzantines were located in between

12267-470: The legal adviser ( adsessor ) for Belisarius , a general whom Justinian made his chief military commander in a great attempt to restore control over the lost western provinces of the empire. Procopius was with Belisarius on the eastern front until the latter was defeated at the Battle of Callinicum in 531 and recalled to Constantinople. Procopius witnessed the Nika riots of January, 532, which Belisarius and his fellow general Mundus repressed with

12408-552: The local army (as described above). His reputation made the rebels abandon the siege of Carthage, and Belisarius pursued and defeated them at Membresa. Afterwards he returned to Sicily and then crossed into mainland Italy , where he captured Naples in November and Rome in December 536. Before reaching Naples, he had met no resistance as the troops in southern Italy were disgusted by Theodahad and switched sides. At Naples

12549-429: The local inhabitants and preparing to move to Carthage via the coastal road, as Gelimer expected. During the first night on African soil, some Byzantine soldiers had picked some fruit without asking the locals for permission, and Belisarius had them put to death. Only after he had already ordered the soldiers to be executed did Belisarius gather his men and tell them how to behave. He warned his men that if they didn't have

12690-420: The long duration, the journey went better than that of any other Roman invasion of Vandal Africa; all three others ended before reaching the coast. During and before the journey to Africa, Belisarius had no chance to personally train his units, which would make his campaign in Africa more difficult. This was in contrast to his campaign in the east; unit cohesion was especially lacking during this invasion. While

12831-411: The major towns in the region. Belisarius captured Urbinum (Urbino) in December 538, when the Gothic garrison ran out of water after a three-day siege. During the siege of Rome, an incident occurred for which the general would be long condemned: Belisarius, a Byzantine Rite Christian, was commanded by the monophysite Christian Empress Theodora to depose the reigning Pope, who had been installed by

12972-516: The much larger army of Vitiges. He inflicted heavy casualties by launching many successful sorties. While the range of the horse archers Belisarius used has often been credited with the success of these raids in the terrain around Rome, this wouldn't make sense. Instead, it was the Gothic unpreparedness and the command expertise of Byzantine officers which made sure the Goths were unable to respond. When Vitiges tried to post units to prevent these raids, Belisarius sent out bigger units that encircled them;

13113-404: The need to build a fortified camp every day. When Belisarius was 40 miles (64 km) away from Carthage, he knew the Vandals would be near at this point and that they would act before he could reach Carthage, but he was not aware of the location and wanted to gather information of his situation first. Part of the rearguard encountered a Vandal force sent ahead by Gelimer, which gave Belisarius

13254-435: The northern exit and attack the Byzantines head-on, then drive them further back into the valley and cause disorder. Meanwhile, 5,000–6,000 Vandals under Gelimer were already advancing towards Belisarius from the south as the earlier clash showed; these would be in the near vicinity when Belisarius entered the valley and would attack them from behind, after all the Byzantines had moved into the valley. Brogna states that this plan

13395-546: The other hand, Justinian had lost almost all of his prestige and much of his power through defeat by Persia, the Nika riots, the slow progress of the current legal reforms and the failure of his quest for reconciliation in the church. He would need some kind of victory to repair his prestige. Capturing the undefended region of Tripolitania, which lacked Vandal settlement almost entirely, was currently rebelling, and whose vulnerability could be detected from Constantinople, would be such

13536-436: The other hand, it has been argued that Procopius prepared the Secret History as an exaggerated document out of fear that a conspiracy might overthrow Justinian's regime, which—as a kind of court historian—might be reckoned to include him. The unpublished manuscript would then have been a kind of insurance, which could be offered to the new ruler as a way to avoid execution or exile after the coup. If this hypothesis were correct,

13677-446: The other rebels. Belisarius tried to enter the hippodrome , where the rioters were gathered, through the emperor's box but was blocked by its guards. Belisarius was surprised and informed Justinian, who ordered him to enter from another direction. Entering the hippodrome, he wanted to arrest Hypatius , who was declared emperor by the rioters. Hypatius was defended by guards whom Belisarius would first need to eliminate, but if he attacked,

13818-432: The position of the Vandals to be too dangerous. There also was the risk of unfavorable winds which had led to disaster in 468; they might be trapped in an unfavorable situation before even reaching Carthage. Instead the Byzantines landed at Caput Vada , 162 miles (261 km) away from Carthage. Belisarius ordered fortification to be constructed, guards to be posted and a screen of lightships to be deployed to defend

13959-572: The principal Roman historian of the 6th century, writing the History of the Wars , the Buildings , and the Secret History . Apart from his own writings, the main source for Procopius's life is an entry in the Suda , a Byzantine Greek encyclopaedia written sometime after 975 which discusses his early life. He was a native of Caesarea in the province of Palaestina Prima . He would have received

14100-407: The private lives of the emperor and his entourage. Justinian is portrayed as cruel, venal, prodigal, and incompetent. In one passage, it is even claimed that he was possessed by demonic spirits or was himself a demon: And some of those who have been with Justinian at the palace late at night, men who were pure of spirit, have thought they saw a strange demoniac form taking his place. One man said that

14241-485: The purpose, would next pick the grains one by one with their bills and eat. Furthermore, Secret History portrays Belisarius as a weak man completely emasculated by his wife, Antonina, who is portrayed in very similar terms to Theodora. They are both said to be former actresses and close friends. Procopius claimed Antonina worked as an agent for Theodora against Belisarius, and had an ongoing affair with Belisarius' godson, Theodosius. Justinian and Theodora are portrayed as

14382-598: The rank of a "visible man" ( vir spectabilis ). He thus belonged to the mid-ranking group of the senatorial order ( ordo senatorius ). However, the Suda , which is usually well-informed in such matters, also describes Procopius himself as one of the illustres . Should this information be correct, Procopius would have had a seat in Constantinople's senate , which was restricted to the illustres under Justinian. He also wrote that under Justinian's reign in 560,

14523-408: The rear of the troops besieging Auximus would be open to attack. Belisarius ultimately decided against this, as he was afraid this would spread his troops too thin. He showed a letter from Justinian that said that he had absolute authority in Italy to act "in the best interests of the state" to force Narses into accepting the decision. Narses replied that Belisarius wasn't acting in the best interests of

14664-415: The rioters would be at his rear. Belisarius decided to deal with the rioters and, bypassing the door to Hypatius' location, charged into the crowd. Mundus, hearing the sound of battle, also charged while Narses blocked the other exits in order to trap the rioters. The revolt thus ended in a massacre. At least 30,000 and up to 60,000 died, mostly unarmed civilians. In 533, Belisarius began a campaign against

14805-609: The rise of the Franks (see Arborychoi ). The last book describes the eunuch Narses 's successful conclusion of the Italian campaign and includes some coverage of campaigns along the empire's eastern borders as well. The Wars proved influential on later Byzantine historiography. In the 570s Agathias wrote Histories , a continuation of Procopius's work in a similar style. Procopius's now famous Anecdota , also known as Secret History ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Ἀπόκρυφη Ἱστορία , Apókryphe Historía ; Latin : Historia Arcana ),

14946-465: The rules of that genre. As far as known, however, such an ecclesiastical history was never written. Some historians have criticized Propocius's description of some barbarians, for example, he dehumanized the unfamiliar Moors as "not even properly human". This was however, inline with Byzantine ethnographic practice in late antiquity. A number of historical novels based on Procopius's works (along with other sources) have been written. Count Belisarius

15087-590: The school of late antique historians who continued the traditions of the Second Sophistic . They wrote in Attic Greek . Their models were Herodotus , Polybius and in particular Thucydides . Their subject matter was secular history. They avoided vocabulary unknown to Attic Greek and inserted an explanation when they had to use contemporary words. Thus Procopius includes glosses of monks ("the most temperate of Christians") and churches (as equivalent to

15228-611: The sea, which convinced the Goths they faced a huge force. The troops were also ordered by Belisarius to light more campfires than necessary to strengthen the deception. John made it a point to thank Narses for his rescue instead of Belisarius or Ildiger , the first officer to reach the city. This might have been to insult Belisarius or to avoid being indebted according to the Roman patronage tradition of which some remnants were probably still part of Byzantine culture. John (and Narses) might not have been convinced of Belisarius' competence, as

15369-481: The siege by sallying out with a large force, Vitiges used his numbers to absorb the attack and then to counter-attack, winning the battle. Regardless, Vitiges was losing the siege, so he decided to make one last attempt on the wall which ran along the Tiber , where the wall was much less formidable. He bribed men to give the guards drugged wine, but the plot was revealed and Belisarius had a traitor tortured and mutilated as

15510-478: The siege of Carthage, which at the beginning of the siege had numbered 9,000 plus many slaves. Belisarius attacked them with just 2,000 troops, winning a victory in the Battle of the River Bagradas . During the battle, Stotzas , the rebel leader, tried to move his army into a new position in front of the Byzantine force. When the units moved, Belisarius took advantage of their temporary disarray and launched

15651-409: The social order of men standing over women. In Averil Cameron's view, Procopius is more aptly described as a reporter rather than a historian, providing a black-and-white description of events, rather than a deeper analysis of the causes and motives. Cameron argues that his intense political focus and exaggeration of the imperial couple's vices prevent a balanced and holistic perspective, resulting in

15792-502: The standard of heavy cavalry of the day . A multi-purpose unit, the Bucellarii (biscuit-eaters) were capable of shooting at a distance with bows, like the Huns, or could act as heavy shock cavalry, charging an enemy with lance and sword. In essence, they combined the best and most dangerous aspects of both of Rome's greatest enemies, the Huns and the Goths. In his early career, Belisarius participated in multiple Byzantine defeats. In

15933-422: The state. From the later part of the siege of Rome onwards, reinforcements had arrived in Italy; during the siege of Ariminum, another 5,000 reinforcements landed in Italy, close to the siege where they were needed, clearly by design. The last group of reinforcements was 7,000 strong and led by Narses. After these arrived, the Byzantines had around 20,000 troops in Italy in total. John claimed that about half of

16074-399: The support from the locals, the expedition would end in defeat. Next, he sent a unit of his personal guards under Boriades to the town of Syllectus ( Salakta ) to test the willingness of the locals to join his side. Boriades was denied entry to the town, but after three days eventually gained entry by joining a group of wagons entering the town. When the locals found out the Byzantines were in

16215-457: The surrounding area were gathered in Carthage by Belisarius, who guaranteed their safety. When Tzazo , the Vandal commander fighting the rebellion on Sardinia, sent a message of his victory to Carthage, the messenger was captured, providing Belisarius with intelligence on the strategic situation. Belisarius also had Carthage's wall repaired. The news of the capture of Carthage had reached Iberia by then, and its king refused to make an alliance with

16356-470: The town, they submitted without a fight. The Byzantines also captured a Vandal messenger whom Belisarius decided to release. The messenger was paid to spread the message that Justinian was only waging war on the man who had imprisoned their rightful king, and not against the Vandal people. The messenger was too afraid of the possible repercussions to tell it to anyone but close friends. Even though this early attempt failed, Belisarius made it well known throughout

16497-405: The troops were loyal to Narses instead of Belisarius. Belisarius gave up his original plan and instead of sending forces to besiege Urviventus ( Orvieto ) and himself besieging Urbinus. Narses refused to share a camp with Belisarius and he and John claimed the city could not be taken by force and abandoned the siege. As Belisarius sent the assault forwards, the garrison surrendered, as the well in

16638-414: The wall. Then Belisarius cut the aqueduct, but the city had enough wells, so he resorted to making many costly, failed assaults. After their failure, Belisarius planned on abandoning the siege and marching on Rome. By chance, however, an entrance to the city via an aqueduct was found and a small Byzantine force entered the city. When this force had entered the city, Belisarius launched an all-out assault so

16779-424: The war effort. While the war went on after Dara and Callinicum, the death of the Persian shah, Kavad I, soon led to a peace treaty. The new shah, Khosrow , saw Justinian was anxious to sign for peace and thought he could quickly reach a favorable peace, such as the so-called eternal peace which heavily favored the Persians. Belisarius was recalled to Constantinople and charged with incompetence and responsibility for

16920-459: The winner had been practically decided. When a Carthaginian civilian was caught working for the Vandals, Belisarius had him publicly executed. Later a second battle was fought at Tricamarum . In this battle, Belisarius played only an advisory role to John the Armenian as he arrived at the battlefield later on. After winning that battle, Belisarius sent John the Armenian to chase Gelimer. John

17061-463: The work postdates the building of the bridge over the Sangarius in the late 550s. Historians consider Buildings to be an incomplete work due to evidence of the surviving version being a draft with two possible redactions. Buildings was likely written at Justinian's behest, and it is doubtful that its sentiments expressed are sincere. It tells us nothing further about Belisarius, and it takes

17202-436: Was Justinian's lack of it that created the impression of strength in her. According to researcher Averil Cameron, the definition of "feminine" behavior in the sixth century would be described as "intriguing" and "interfering". She argues Procopius's intent in including her speech during the Nika riots in the Wars may be to demonstrate that Theodora does not stay in her appropriate role. At his core, Procopius wanted to preserve

17343-530: Was able to credit Justinian with buildings erected or begun under Justin's administration. Such works include renovation of the walls of Edessa after its 525 flood and consecration of several churches in the region. Similarly, Procopius falsely credits Justinian for the extensive refortification of the cities of Tomis and Histria in Scythia Minor . This had actually been carried out under Anastasius I , who reigned before Justin. Procopius belongs to

17484-425: Was already weeks, if not months, old, so it seems unlikely that Justinian in Constantinople would have made the decision on whether to move on the area at all. Only at Sicily would one be in any kind of position to decide on how to proceed. Since Justinian had been reluctant to launch a campaign in the first place and Hilderic was still alive at this point, conquest seems not to have been the absolute intention. On

17625-531: Was appointed commander did the tide shift. As king, Gelimer acquired a reputation for greed and cruelty and became unpopular with the people and nobility. Two revolts broke out at nearly exactly the same time, probably orchestrated by Justinian. With a large number of Vandals killed by the Berbers, and the Ostrogoths still angry because of the actions of Hilderic, the Vandals were perceived to be weak. Using

17766-423: Was delayed until all of them were dead to avoid retaliation. Procopius's Wars or History of the Wars ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Ὑπὲρ τῶν Πολέμων Λόγοι , Hypèr tōn Polémon Lógoi , "Words on the Wars"; Latin : De Bellis , "On the Wars") is his most important work, although less well known than the Secret History . The first seven books seem to have been largely completed by 545 and may have been published as

17907-571: Was discovered centuries later at the Vatican Library in Rome and published in Lyon by Niccolò Alamanni in 1623. Its existence was already known from the Suda , which referred to it as Procopius's "unpublished works" containing "comedy" and "invective" of Justinian, Theodora, Belisarius and Antonina. The Secret History covers roughly the same years as the first seven books of The History of

18048-442: Was doomed to fail, as coordination over dozens of miles was needed, however, Hughes disagrees and calls the plan "elegant and simple", but does state that the plan relied too much on hard-to-pull-off timing and synchronization. The battle consisted of four separate stages. Four miles (6.5 km) from Ad Decimum, Belisarius found an ideal spot to camp. Leaving the infantry behind to build a camp, he rode out with his cavalry to meet

18189-422: Was fought. With 20,000 Byzantines and 5,000 Arabs he moved against the Persians, but he was defeated by Callinicum (modern Raqqa ) despite heavy numerical superiority, as the opposing commander, Azarethes , was a tactician as good as himself. Belisarius fled the field probably long before the fighting was over. This setback cost Justinian a chance to sign an early peace treaty as the shah regained confidence in

18330-478: Was in Constantinople. Belisarius, Mundus —the magister militum per Illyricum —renowned as a great commander, and Narses , a eunuch and confidant of Justinian who would later also be known as a great commander, were called upon to suppress the revolt. At this point, much of the city had been burned by the rioters, but the blue faction began to calm down, and after Narses distributed gifts to them, many returned home while others began spreading moderate views among

18471-531: Was in a disorganized state in the fourth and last stage of the battle. After this victory, Belisarius marched on Carthage. He arrived at nightfall. He then camped outside the city as he was afraid of a Vandal ambush in its streets and of his troops sacking the city under the cover of darkness. When Calonymus heard of the victory, he used part of his fleet to rob a number of merchants. Belisarius ordered him to give everything back, even though Calonymus secretly managed to keep it. The Vandals hiding in Carthage and

18612-643: Was in or near Illyricum and west-oriented, and a "native" speaker of Latin, he wasn't considered an untrustworthy Greek by the natives. Belisarius was reappointed Magister Militum per Orientem and given command of the expedition. This time Belisarius would be free from dual command for the duration of the war. The expedition consisted of 5,000 high quality Byzantine cavalry under multiple commanders, 10,000 infantry under overall command of John of Epidamnus , Belisarius' guard, mercenaries (including 400 Heruls led by Pharas , noted by Procopius for their excellence, and 600 Huns under multiple commanders) and finally

18753-467: Was intercepted before he could reach Rome and exiled once more, this time on the island of Palmarola ( Ponza ), where by one account he is said to have starved to death, while others say he left for Constantinople. However that may be, he remains the patron saint of Ponza today. Belisarius, for his part, built a small oratory on the site of the present church of Santa Maria in Trivio in Rome as

18894-480: Was killed by accident and Gelimer managed to escape to Medeus, a town on Mount Papua (probably part of Mount Aurasius) The 400 Heruls under Pharis were to besiege it. Gelimer's treasure failed to depart and was captured and the king of the Visigoths, Theudis , refused an alliance with Gelimer. After a failed assault in which Pharis lost 110 men, Gelimer surrendered. Meanwhile, Belisarius himself had been reorganizing

19035-403: Was presented with a choice by Justinian: he could either continue governing the new territory as its official governor or return to Constantinople and get a triumph. If he wanted to rebel he was sure to choose the governorship, but instead he chose the triumph, convincing Justinian of his loyalty once again. The entire war was over before the end of 534. While east, Belisarius was not only awarded

19176-399: Was sent back to Italy in 544 to cope with a renewal of the war with the Goths , now led by the able king Totila , Procopius appears to have no longer been on Belisarius's staff. As magister militum , Belisarius was an "illustrious man" ( Latin : vir illustris ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : ἰλλούστριος , illoústrios ); being his adsessor , Procopius must therefore have had at least

19317-673: Was slightingly called (a pun on its name) Eleinou Polis , "the wretched town". Nearby, in the late 11th century, Alexios I Komnenos built a castle called Kibatos or Civetot for Anglo-Saxon mercenaries who had opted to flee England after the Norman Conquest and serve the Byzantine Emperor. On 21 October 1096, the forces of the People's Crusade confronted the Seljuk Turks in the battle of Civetot . The victory of

19458-412: Was surrounded by Gothic garrisons, and proposed to relieve Mediolanum and besiege Auximus simultaneously. Narses accepted the plan, with the provision that he and his troops would move into the region of Aemilia . This would pin down the Goths at Ravenna, and as such put Belisarius' forces in a secure position, as well as preventing the Goths from reclaiming Aemilia. Narses claimed that if this wasn't done,

19599-406: Was the author of a history in eight books on the wars prosecuted by Justinian, a panegyric on the emperor's public works projects throughout the empire, and a book known as the Secret History that claims to report the scandals that Procopius could not include in his officially sanctioned history for fear of angering the emperor, his wife, Belisarius, and the general's wife. Consequently publication

19740-514: Was to be made, Vitiges sent troops against Ancona and reinforced Auximus . Belisarius could either take Auximus and move on Ariminum with a secure rear, or bypass Auximus to save time. If it took too long to get there, Ariminum might fall. The Byzantines were divided into two groups; one led by Narses who wanted to move on Ariminum immediately, while the other wanted to first take Auximus. A message from John eventually convinced Belisarius to move to Ariminum. During this operation Belisarius would station

19881-626: Was written by poet and novelist Robert Graves in 1938. Procopius himself appears as a minor character in Felix Dahn 's A Struggle for Rome and in L. Sprague de Camp 's alternate history novel Lest Darkness Fall . The novel's main character, archaeologist Martin Padway, derives most of his knowledge of historical events from the Secret History . The narrator in Herman Melville 's novel Moby-Dick cites Procopius's description of

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