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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 937
EAN num: 9780472087280
ISBN number: 0472087282
Label: University of Michigan Press
Manufacturer: University of Michigan Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 168
Printing Date: March 01, 1961
Publishing house: University of Michigan Press
Sale Popularity Level: 1676636
Studio: University of Michigan Press
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A scathing indictment of the emperor Justinian and his 6th-century Byzantine court by the greatest historian of the period
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Rated by buyers 
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Of the few primary sources on the early Byzantine Empire, Procopius' account of the reign of Justinian and Theodora is more "tell-all scandal sheet" than a document of reliable historical significance. Why Procopius was so venemous remains a mystery (for a time he enjoyed the good graces of the Imperial Court), but his version of the Royals is hardly reliable. For example, the sexual exploits attributed to Theodora are almost superhuman (if a bit humorous in their detail - "On the field of pleasure she was never defeated ...") Justinian is vilified in a similar vein (Justinian is described as "a fiend in human form.")
Procopius expects the reader has some knowledge of Byzantine society (referring, among other things, to the "Blues" and "Greens" of the Hippodrome for example), as well as some familiarity with the geography of the city and other important personalities (such as Belisarius.) For the non-expert or serious fan of the time period, there is little of interest here. Even for the historian, aside from the vehemence and gall of the author, the direct historial value is questionable. With this said, _The Secret History_ is a short and interesting (if somewhat bizarre) account of one man's vendetta against the Imperial household.
Rated by buyers -
In which an apparently loyal aide gets a mountain of bile off his chest and proves that no man is a hero to his private secretary ...
Procopius was the Byzantine equivalent of a White House staffer. Among other things he was secretary to the great general Belisarius. Throughout his life, and in the books which he published in his lifetime, he appeared to be totally loyal to Belisarius, and even more so to Emperor Justinian.
He wrote an eight-volume history of Belisarius's campaigns, usually referred to as "The Histories" which is one of the definitive historial sources. Later he wrote an an account of the great works of architecture construced under Justinian's regime. That book, known as "The Buildings," is so nauseatingly sycophantic to Emperor Justinian that it to describe is as toadying would risk a class action from toads.
But in "The secret history" which he wrote to be published after his death, Procopius got off his chest all the negative comments about Belisarius, Justinian, and their wives which he ruthlessly suppressed himself from making anywhere where they might get to hear about them. The book is pure undiluted poison, in a horribly fascinating way.
This book accuses Belisarius of being a trusting fool, but he gets off lightly. His wife Antonina is accused of fornication (including with her adopted son) and murder. Justinian is accused of being quite literally a demon in human form, and his Empress Theodosia of being a Messalina: both Justinian and Theodosia are represented as mass murderers.
Heaven only knows how much truth there is in this account. It seems unlikely that the people Procopius worked for could have been either as perfect as he presented them in the books he published openly or as demonic as he describes them in this book written behind their backs.
Personally I suspect the real Belisarius was much closer to the man presented in Graves' novel "Count Belisarius" than the figure in this book. Nevertheless "The Secret History" will continue to be read for two reasons.
First, it is probably the most devastating - and successful - exercise in character assassination ever written. And secondly if you should ever need a critical account of anything in the reign or life of Justinian, you are guaranteed to find it here.
Rated by buyers 
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I actually read partway through G.A. Williamson's translation of The Secret History, then read H.B. Dewing's translation cover to cover. In either case, it's amusing reading. Not all of it is as hilarious as the parts which describe Theodora's early years as a total whorebag, but certainly interesting how many people Justinian killed or just outright stole from. Though I do doubt Procopius's figures of one trillion victims of Justinian: that seems a little high even by today's standards. But I won't spoil it for you, it's simply too crazy to describe.
This is an important work from the ancient world that gives us a unique insight into the reign of Justinian and Theodora: not the glowing, offical, propagandist view that often emperors have written for them by official court historians, but what Procopius alleges is the "real" story behind all the propaganda. The odd thing was, that Procopius WAS the court historian responsible for that official propaganda...meanwhile he was secretly working on this book, which he insists was the "real" story, to be published after his death.
I highly recommend this as one of the great insights into the ancient world. It reads like a soap opera gone mad.
Rated by buyers -
The Secret History was a book written about the behind the scenes life of Emperor Justinian and his wife Empress Theodora. Procopius also documents the exploits of top general Belisarus and his quest to rebuild the Roman Empire (on a shoe string budget of course). If you want to
hear classical dirt, here it is!
Highly recommended.
Rated by buyers -
This is one of THE classic primary sources from the Byzantine empire. It was written by Procopius who was the emperor Justinian's offician chronicler. And indeed, in the official histories according to Procopius, Justinian is the holy and wise emperor who could do no wrong. Unable to give his real opinion (or at least the flip side of the coin to any of Justinian's achievements) in this state-sanctioned propaganda, Procopius went on to write a "Secret History" aimed for publication after Justinian's death.
The result is something that reads like an ancient tabloid (see his descriptions on the sexual perversions of Justinian's wife Theodora!), an endless tirade of hyperbole, rhetoric as Procopius claims Justinian to be literally the son of a demon, purposely intent on bringing havoc on Byzantium and as a vicious SOB. It is here that the reader can dismiss the whole thing as the rantings of a lunatic who had a personal grudge against Justinian (which is true). But this does not make it a worthless document.
Firstly, it's genuinely interesting. A quick read made more lively by the extreme rhetoric describing Justinian's viciousness and greed - which is different to many other more "methodical" Byzantine sources. Secondly as you read it, you really do get a good look at some parts of Byzantine life, from prostitution to constant legal disputes over wills in the aristocracy to the attempts to revive/keep up the notion of a Roman empire.
Thirdly and most importantly, I see Procopius in this book as more of a political commentator rather than a historian. The text does read like a modern day op-ed piece criticising a contemporary reader. I did not expect to find in the authoritarian and dogmatic world of Byzantium a voice like Procopius - who opposes torture (even of "heretics"), who thinks that women should marry who they love and who even opposed Justinian's persecutions of the Jews. All of these things make him a unique voice in his era and his work an important milestone in the history of human rights.
Yes, he certainly does exaggerate. But there's no question that a lot of it is due to Justinian really being a murdering SOB and Procopius having a totally different worldview. So, besides being an interesting read, the Secret History revealed to me much about our own world and the ideas of authority, dissent and human rights - not bad for a "historical" work!
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