Procopius of Caesarea: biography, contribution to science, works

The writer Procopius of Caesarea is a man thanks to which the modern reader can learn in detail about the history of Byzantium of the VI century. Until now, no one has succeeded better than him, to describe and give an assessment to that era.

Origin

Syriac Procopius of Caesarea was born at the end of the 5th century. The exact date of his birth is unknown because of the lack of sources. However, his native city is known - this is Caesarea, who was in Palestine. Among other things, it was also a research center with many schools. Therefore Procopius of Caesarea received a fine classical education, which allowed him to advance in his service. Not the least role played and the personal qualities of this man. He was noted for his lively intelligence and ingenuity.

Most likely, Procopius of Caesarea was from an aristocratic family of senators. First, it also allowed him to easily enter the state administrative system of Byzantium. Secondly, in his writings he talked in detail about the bureaucracy of the Empire and compared it with the Roman system. These parallels are not accidental. In 376, the united Roman Empire split into two parts. The eastern half became Byzantium. The western one soon died under the onslaught of the barbarians. Soon in the east, Greek culture and language triumphed. It also changed the state system. Roman laws and models have been reformatted to new realities. Procopius was a supporter of the old samples, which appeared in the Eternal City.

Public service

Anyway, he managed to quickly advance in the service. In 527, Emperor Justinian (one of the most successful and famous rulers of Constantinople) appointed him an adviser and secretary to Flavius Belisarius. It was the main general of the state and the right hand of the ruler. Of course, no one could appoint someone for such a position. The historian Procopius of Caesarea already at that time enjoyed an indisputable reputation in his environment.

Participation in important events of the era

Thanks to his position, the Secretary of Belisarius was able to witness the most significant and major events of that era. In the late 1920s he visited Persia, with whom Byzantium had a war. A few years later, in the capital of the empire of Constantinople, Nika's unprecedented uprising broke out. He saw Procopius of Caesarea with his own eyes. The works of the historian were devoted to events that he faced on his life's path.

Such, for example, was the Byzantine campaign against the kingdom of vandals in North Africa. While Belisarius was leading the army to storm the cities of the enemy, his secretary carefully recorded all that was happening, then to use this material in his profound and interesting books.

Vandals were barbarians who destroyed the Western Roman Empire. Besides them, other peoples settled on its wreckage. Such were the Goths who settled in Italy. With them, Belisarius conducted two wars, on which there was also Procopius of Caesarea. The biography of the historian was full of amazing events, coupled with dangers. In 540, he again found himself at war with the Persians, who invaded Syria. And after this campaign in Constantinople, a deadly epidemic of plague began.

The key advantage of Prokopy before other researchers of that era was his high-ranking status. He had access to secret documents and correspondence of Belisarius with Justinian. The historian also established himself as a diplomat, as he was present at every meeting with foreign rulers, with whom wars were waged and armistice was concluded.

Wide horizons of the writer

Procopius of Caesarea died in Constantinople in 565. His last years he spent on processing a huge amount of material that he had accumulated during his service. Thanks to his education, he possessed all the skills of an excellent writer. This helped him write many books, most of which were translated into Russian.

In Prokopy's works, references to ancient authors constantly slip. There is no doubt that he was a well-read man and knew Thucydides, Homer, Xenophon and Herodotus. Also, the writer was well versed in Greek history, which helped him in describing the provinces of the Byzantine Empire. He was strong in ancient mythology, which by that time had already become a rudiment of the past (in the state the official religion was Christianity). This was a great success, since for the greater part of the empire the study of paganism had already not been punished, if not punished. At home, they continued to explore the legacy of the past, as did Procopius of Caesarea. Photo of the ruins of his city says that it was a flourishing place, where there were all conditions for obtaining versatile knowledge - from philosophy to history.

"History of Wars"

Most of all, Procopius is known for his eight-volume work under the general title "The History of Wars." Each part describes a specific conflict of the Byzantine era of Justinian. This living chronicle, which led the writer, concludes with the events of 552.

In general, eight volumes can be divided into a trilogy, which describes the war with the Persians, Vandals and Goths. At the same time, the world publishing practice has a tradition of printing each section separately. This does not in any way violate the logical order of the narrative, since on the whole these works were written separately, although they described an epoch.

The writer's style of writing was scale. He told each war with detailed descriptions of the region where it was held. In addition to geographical features, Procopius explored the history and ethnic composition of each region. During his life, the "History of Wars" and "On the Buildings" was published. Thanks to these books, the author became a patriarch of Byzantine history. Contemporaries deservedly compared him with Herodotus.

The Secret History

There are two other well-known works of Procopius: "On the Buildings" and "The Secret History". After the publication, it caused a lot of scandals.

What did Procopius of Caesarea want to say in his Secret History? In it he described all the same events of his era, but this time he viewed them from a completely different angle. If the reader studies "History of Wars" and "Secret History", then he may have a feeling of cognitive dissonance. In the first book the author writes according to the official point of view on events. But in The Secret History he did not shy away from criticizing the first faces of the empire.

Duality of Procopy

Due to the lack of known facts of biography, Procopius may seem inconsistent, as if he does not have his own position. Nevertheless, most of the researchers of his works agree on the opinion that the writer did not like the regime of Justinian, and wrote his "official" books in order not to conflict with the authorities. But even this does not negate the fact that this is a literature of the highest quality with detailed descriptions that no one in any source of this time already has.

Political engagement did not damage the quality of the material, which was authored by Procopius of Caesarea. A brief biography of the author can make it clear that he was well versed in what he wrote about. Especially bright and interesting, he described the life and life of the barbarian tribes - the Germans and Slavs who were in contact with Byzantium. This material is especially valuable, since there is nothing left of those customs and norms, and they can be restored only by similar sources.

Description of the life of barbarians

What prompted Procopius of Caesarea to take up this issue in such detail? First, it's about his origin. He was a Syrian and Hellenized only with time, accepting Greek norms and language as a loyal subject of the empire. That is, from early childhood, he grew up in the midst of different cultures, neighbors with each other.

Secondly, Procopius studied the languages and customs of foreign peoples for practical purposes. Since he worked at the headquarters of the acting army, he needed to know about the enemy as much as possible. This can explain the fact that he describes the history of the barbarians or Persians in such detail. Thanks to excursions into the past, the author showed the reader how an incomprehensible and alien society lives and interacts, where the Byzantine order prevails. For example, this is very well traced on the example of the Gothic nobility, which Procopius described in detail.

He himself became a witness of their relations and visited the settlements of the Slavs and Germans. In this way he is favorably different from, for example, Tacitus, who wrote his historical works without leaving the office (although their high quality is also difficult to challenge). And yet only the Byzantine secretary can be met with his corporate style, which animated pictures of everyday life and the lives of distant peoples, which was not the case with other authors.

«About the buildings»

This book is a unique composition. Despite the specificity and dryness of the language, the work remains a unique source for historians, archaeologists and people just interested in the past. In the book Procopius describes the entire construction activity of the era of Justinian.
With this emperor, Byzantium experienced its brightest flourishing. The wealth and security of the treasury allowed the ruler to invest in the most grandiose projects of his time.

Procopius describes them. Most of his attention is given, of course, to the capital of the empire - Constantinople, where the "construction of the century" unfolded. Also, the author succeeded, on the background of his textural material, to speculate about the domestic and foreign policies of the state.