Justinian I

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…

Justinian I, Justinian the Great, ruled the Byzantine Empire from 527 A.D. to 565 A.D. Born a peasant, Justinian grew with the help of his uncle, Justin I and under his tutelage the Byzantine Empire flourished; establishing a legacy for Justinian and his people. After gaining the trust of his people, Justinian dedicated himself to fostering the cultural and economic growth of his empire. He created a code of conduct with a well-informed panel of citizens and although Justinian died in 565, his…

I hope that this letter finds you in good spirits. I am writing you to share the triumphant actions and accomplishments of Justinian to the Byzantine Empire and beyond. As you may very well remember Justinian decided to rebuild Constantinople. Already being known for great works of art he has since created laws to form what is called Justinian’s Code. These new laws set fourth rules of betrothal, marriage, divorce and punishment for adultery and has been vital to our community thus far. As…

What differences does Procopius see between the official and Secret History? Justinian during the reign of the Byzantium empire he had Procopius writing about him and about his government. Procopius had access to a lot of the fights that justinian fought therefore he had information from first hand and he was able to write about Justinian life. Procopius did a really good job during his life, he was the only historian who was able to write information about the Byzantium empire that it was…

Justinian contributions to the Byzantine empire were magnificent he is also known for a great failure. This failure was trying to reconquer the western Mediterranean provinces when a peace treaty with the Persian empire soon failed to live up to its name. Justinian build a chain of well-equipped fortresses throughout Syria and let his forces free on the central and western Mediterranean. The re-conquest started out well with the restoration of North Africa to the Byzantine Empire. From there…

Justinian and Theodora both started out in the lower class of society, and slowly worked their way up to emperor and empress. Justinian was a Macedonian boy who was adopted by Justin I, the emperor of the Byzantine Empire. Theodora was initially an actor, a profession held in low esteem by most upper class Byzantines. When Justin I died, Justinian came to power and married Theodora who became empress. They ruled the Byzantine empire from 527-565 A.D. Among most historians, Justinian is…

propaganda as shown in Stele of Naram-Sin. Trajan’s column shows a continuous frieze depicting a pictorial narrative of his Dacian campaigns. The story of Trajan’s victory is revealed as the relief bands spiral upwards. Thus, the potency of the political actor’s use of art to depict military campaigns lays in its ability to glorify the state. Furthermore, the state’s patronage in the arts has proven more influential than that of the individual. Rulers, regardless of their culture, undertook…

This work gives us an idea of what Justinian and Theodora might actually have been like, while giving us an insight to how Procopius could have been treated and his feelings towards the royal couple. Given that Procopius waited to write this piece until Justinian had died, we can assume that he was afraid of Justinian and what kind of backlash may occur if he wrote this piece at a time where Justinian could read it. The title in itself, ‘The Secret History” is representative how Procopius felt…

I thought it was extremely informative and the author did a great job at keeping me intrigued. There were parts where the story was boring but he did a good job at putting in something that interesting happened to allow the book to pick back up. Some of the points I thought were interesting was how the families acted towards each other. One spot in the book it talked about after Constantine died, he did not say who would rule next. His three sons then thought they should all be rulers. One of…

Justinian and Theodora, whom the majority of The Secret History’s plot revolves around, are wicked to say the least. Throughout the book, they have a massive number of murders committed for their own personal gain. Justinian, who is observed as taking a devilish form, amasses a huge fortune; but still desires more (Procopius 65). There is no question that their simple being on earth is revolting. However, Procopius particularly finds the dishonesty and cruelty aspects of their lives sickening.…