In one of the episodes of hendrik willem van loons 1942 fantasy novel van loons lives. A historical novel by the author of i, claudius which features theodora as a character. What difficulties did she face as a woman in the mans world of roman politics. San vitale basilica, byzantine mosaic depicting empress theodora 6th century flanked by a chaplain and a court lady believed to be her confidante antonina, wife of general belisarius. According to the passage, why did the byzantines want belisarius to stake everything in a single battle against the goths.
Is it possible to reconcile procopius depiction with the political, intellectual, and military accomplishments of this emperors reign. In his histories, published during his lifetime, he praised justinian. Furthermore when theodoras father died at a young age, she had to work as an actress and courtesan, became mistress of governor of the pentapolis, followed him down to north africa. Mar 05, 2016 belisarius wound up doing the same thing when he refused justinian s orders to leave italy immediately. A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition.
On april 4, 527, justin crowned justinian and theodora emperor and empress. May 24, 2015 theodora came from even humbler roots than her future husband. The interplay of interests represented by justinian, theodora, john of lydia, john of cappadocia along with belisarius and his wife, antonia, and narses are never fully developed but all covered to some extent and never inaccurately. A scholarly, yet highly accessible account of the life and times of the empress theodora, who rose from actress in burlesque theater to coruler of byzantium. Under justinian s rule, the byzantine empire flourished and prospered. Justin, justinian, and theodora from a secret history by. Excerpt from secret history by procopius, books xiii and xv, translated. A number of years later, justinian, along with belisarius, marched toward italy and triumphed over rome.
Belisarius, the great contemporary general of the empire, is by far the most developed and discussed character within the book. So first lets have a survey of books using belisarius, and then my. The book explores the history of justiniana prima, a city built by emperor justinian i 527565 in his birthplace near ni in presentday serbia. The remarkable story of justinian and theodorachristendoms 6th century power couple begins in the most unusual place constantinoples most popular entertainment is the spectacle of the hippodromeeveryone is in attendance, even the priests. Justin, justinian, and theodora from a secret history by procopius. Chapter 40 of the decline and fall of the roman empire. His name is closely connected with the name of his royal wife, theodora, one of the very interesting and gifted women of the byzantine period. Which of the following is an accurate statement about justinian i. Its excellently written and gives a great overview of the situation belisarius was in, as well as his various campaigns, from battling the sassanids to africa to the messy italian campaigns. An archive of our own, a project of the organization for transformative works. Belisarius was born either in germane or germania, a fortified town of which some archaeological remains still exist, on the site of presentday sapareva banya in southwest bulgaria, within the borders of thrace and paeonia, or else in germen, a town in thrace near adrianople, in presentday greece.
E xtra credits have recently finished their 6th extra history series about the justinian and theodora. Factions of the circus, and sedition of constantinople trade and manufacture of silk finances and taxes edifices of justinian church of st. Nov 12, 2008 in his secret history, procopius portrays justinian as a demon emperor. Oct 01, 2003 a scholarly, yet highly accessible account of the life and times of the empress theodora, who rose from actress in burlesque theater to coruler of byzantium. As a teenage recruit in the byzantine army, he proved himself an able soldier and obviously made an impression on his superiors because he was elevated in rank during the reign of justin i and soon after commanded the emperors personal bodyguard. After the conquest of rome, justinian advanced further and conquered the southern part of spain.
Her parents were of the absolute lowest social caste in the empire, her mother being an actressperformer and her father a sort of circus performer he trained bears. Historian procopius was very bitter towards the empress theodora in his secret history. Theodora was one of the most influential and powerful of the byzantine empresses. Jan 01, 1971 a good basic book on the life of justinian. Her father was a bear keeper and she was a circus performer, but left the circus in her 20s. According to the passage why did the byzantines want.
This is a serious book but is not a biography of belisarius. He died when theodora was still very young only about 7 years old. The saga is published by baen books wherein an overarching theme ties each book together. Modern classics count belisarius penguin modern classics. To avoid this alliance, they delayed the ceremony until they could both be present at it, and then, when the empress summoned them to constantinople, pretended they were unable at the time to leave italy. The belisarius series is a fictional saga in the alternate history and military history subgenres of science fiction, written by american authors david drake and eric flint. And in the end, the arrival of the plague bubonic plague, the black death. Her mother remarried, and theodora and her older sister worked as performers actresses, entertainers, child prostitutes. The reign of justinian and theodora justins successor, his nephew justinian 52765, is the central figure of this entire period. The belisarius series is a fictional saga in the alternate history and military history subgenres of.
Belisarius native tongue was thracian with latin as his second language. Professor freedman opens by discussing why historians use the writings of procopius and gregory of tours, a sixth century bishop whose history of the merovingian kings is discussed the following week. The byzantine era was not one of makeup but it was heavily decorated with lots of jewelry. The two big focus areas of this book centered on justinians attempt to rebuild byzantium to the glory of the old roman empire with reconquests of north africa and italy, and dealing with the different view of christianitythe holy trinity or the monophysitics which was firmly in place in egypt. Theodoras early life gave her a prospective of what life was like for ordinary citizens. Born into a thracian family that spoke thracian as a mother tongue, he spoke. Procopius wrote and published other books in which he mentioned theodora this from hist 111 at american public university. Theodora helped create laws to aid women and children, and to end government corruption. Other than that, though, its a great source for information on not only justinian and theodora, but also other wellknown. Belisarius wound up doing the same thing when he refused justinians orders to leave italy immediately. Under justinians rule, the byzantine empire flourished and prospered. Belisarius, of the eastern roman army in the days of justinian and theodora, 6th century ad. Justinian was furious that belisarius had disobeyed his orders to return and wasted precious months solidifying control over the ostrogoths while persia threatened to overrun the heart of the empire.
From the historians we know that theodoras father was the bearkeeperor dancer of the hippodrome and for sure she was born into lowest rung of society. Justinian is known for his buildings and architecture. Elevation of justin the elder reign of justinian the empress theodora. Africa amalasuntha anastasius anthemius antioch antonina apollinare arian armenian athalaric avars balkans barbarian began belisarius bishops built byzantine capital captured carthage chalcedon chosroes christian. However, he had privately written down other impressions of. The stars of the book are justinian, theodora, and belisarius, along with various ministers and adjutants. Eventually theodora became the mistress of hecebolus, governor of the city of pentapolis, but later quarreled with him and left, working her way to constantinople by way of alexandria. An old roman law forbade government officials from marrying actresses. The secret history is a dense, detailed, atmospheric, and just an endlessly fascinating look at one of historys forgotten women.
Procopius, history of the wars on racing factions the population in every city has for a long been divided into two groups, the greens and the blues. Anyone have recommendations for books on flavius belisarius andor justinian i. The empress theodora, desiring to marry the daughter of belisarius to her nephew, worried the girls parents with frequent letters. Justin, justinian, and theodora from a secret history. Were the great men of the eastern empire ready to deal with a very strong theodora. Sophia fortifications and frontiers of the eastern empire abolition.
She had a child, a daughter, when she was but fourteen herself. Count belisarius penguin modern classics and over 8 million other books are. At first justinian was perfectly prepared to declare himself their enthusiastic supporter, but later on his sympathy for the poor fellows would dry up. Its protagonist is a real historical figure, the late roman general flavius belisarius 505565 ad the saga is published by baen books wherein an overarching theme ties each book together. So before he became emperor justinian got his uncle, who was emperor at the time, to have the law rescinded. She became empress upon justinians accession in 527 and was one of his chief advisers. Sophia fortifications and frontiers of the eastern empire abolition of the. Justinian falls helplessly in love with her but cant marry her because senators are not allowed to marry actresses. In his secret history, procopius portrays justinian as a demon emperor. The more wealthy you were, the more jewelry you wore on a daily basis. No two rulers had a greater impact on the byzantine empire than justinian c. The emperor who comes to the throne in527 restores the western empire to much of its former glory, reforms the legal and administrative system of his realm, and commissions churches and mosaics which emphasize the imperial dignity of christianity. It does not cover, in any detail, his beginnings and training nor does it tell us what made him the brilliant tactician he was.
With courage inspired by his wife, justinian devised a plan to end the riots once and for all. The author is particularly able when explaining the causes of the nika rebellion and this is a military historians book that focuses very much on justinians dream for reunifying the roman empire, but not a lot on the scandalous theodora. In his secret history, procopius portrays justinian as a. For the time being theodora was still too undeveloped to be capable of sharing a mans bed or having intercourse like a woman. It is a military history of belisarius involvement as a general during justinians reign. The two big focus areas of this book centered on justinian s attempt to rebuild byzantium to the glory of the old roman empire with reconquests of north africa and italy, and dealing with the different view of christianitythe holy trinity or the monophysitics which was firmly in place in egypt and growing in syria. Justin finally repealed this law the following year, and justinian and theodora were married in 525. Along with her spouse, theodora is a saint in the eastern orthodox church, commemorated on 14 november. When did theodora persuade justinian not to flee constantinople during riots. Theodora came from even humbler roots than her future husband.
The artwork the dinner party features a place setting for theodora. Yersinia pseudotuberculosis was a fairly benign bacterium, causing mild flulike symptoms, until it. As graves notes at the beginning of this book, the story of belisarius is well. The woman who would one day become empress of the roman empire was born as one of three daughters of the bearkeeper for the green faction, the company which produced the chariot races and the amusements in the theaters of constantinople. Dewing cambridge, mass harvard university press, 1935, volume 6. The secret history, which is from the pen of procopius, the historian. This of course reflects bakers reliance on the procopian eight volume war histories. Namecalling aside, what specifically, in procopius view, made justinian a poor emperor. See more ideas about byzantine, byzantine art and roman empire. Jun 04, 2015 with these words, empress theodora convinced an emperor and his council to remain, thereby preserving their nearlylost reign. When did justinian become emperor, and name theodora empress. Ive heard theodora, justinian is wife, was a bear dancer before marrying justinian. Jan 30, 2016 justinian was furious that belisarius had disobeyed his orders to return and wasted precious months solidifying control over the ostrogoths while persia threatened to overrun the heart of the empire.
I know theodora was probably a prostitute and had a wild sex life before being the heavy influence she was on justinian. Hist 210 lecture 9 the reign of justinian open yale. I personally think it should have more about justinians early life. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. List of books and articles about justinian i, emperor of. Hist 210 lecture 9 the reign of justinian open yale courses.
This series covers one of the most interesting periods in the byzantine empires year long history. Historical novel that focuses on the life of theodora, her relationship with justinian, and her many accomplishments as empress. Anyone have recommendations for books on flavius belisarius. Justinian and theodora is a good book with lots of information. Theodora was the daughter of a bearkeeper at the circus.
The first reading, titled buildings, is taken from these. Aug 15, 2015 e xtra credits have recently finished their 6th extra history series about the justinian and theodora. Justinian was born a peasant, but raised by an uncle in the imperial guard who. He sent his foremost general belisarius and his troops to meet the people of the city in the hippodrome where they were camped. H er charity was universal nadineelizabethkorte therearemanysourcesforthereignofjustinian527565ce. Her intelligence and political acumen made her justinians most trusted adviser and enabled her to use the power and influence of. He also contracts a marriage which makes him and his bride the most famous.
Discussionquestion these two figures and how they worked with each other astounds me, and id love to do some reading on them. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1, 2, or 3 months new customers receive 15% off your. And in the end, the arrival of the plague bubonic plague, the black death interfered. Procopius wrote and published other books in which he. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include previous owner inscriptions.
1470 838 401 1443 757 362 98 1029 1572 17 738 1374 976 15 463 1053 344 1010 1532 1644 621 881 1565 804 1093 677 88 879 953 1238 782 443 372 1352 1114 1202