Justinian The Great Censorship Quotes

Justinian used censorship to his advantage to make himself appear better in the public eye. Most reports of his actions were very whitewashed if not false at times. The main historian, Procopius, admitted that his accounts and others didn’t tell the whole story. He kept his true feelings in a separate secret document. As you might of heard on the news, similar situations are happening to many politicians today. The hidden document and the whitewashed one confirms that Justinian the Great was not worthy of his title because of his personality, ruthlessness, and reaction to the Nika riots. Firstly, Justinian the Great is not deserving of his “great” title because of his personality. In Procopius’ secret text, he depicts Justinian’s character explicitly; “For he was at once villainous and amenable… yet easily hoodwinked by any who wanted to deceive him… [Justinian] was …show more content…
Procopius’ secret text describes the very issue; “[Justinian] was too prone to listen to accusations; and too quick to punish. For he decided such cases without full examination, naming the punishment when he had heard only the accuser's side of the matter. Without hesitation he wrote decrees for the plundering of countries, ... I think it would be found that more men had been murdered by this single man than in all previous history.”(1). Ruthlessness may be considered as a good trait for an emperor. Many emperors successfully expanded their borders because of their ruthlessness. However, Justinian displayed the atrocious side of being ruthless. It was stated that he murdered many, however most of these murders were not justified, and in the many pictures illustrate these bloody killings. He would jump the gun on executions, and he would destroy a city for no viable reason. Even though the line that separates the good and bad of ruthlessness is blurred to some, it is completely plain to see that he leaped over