The Secret History: Procopius

A trusted member of the Byzantine establishment, Procopius was the Empire`s official chronicler, and his History of the Wars of Justinian proclaimed the strength and wisdom of the Emperor`s reign. Yet all the while the dutiful scribe was working on a very different - and dangerous - history to be published only once its author was safely in his grave. The Secret History portrays the `great lawgiver` Justinian as a rampant king of corruption and tyranny, the Empress Theodora as a sorceress and whore, and the brilliant general Belisarius as the pliable dupe of his scheming wife Antonina. Magnificently hyperbolic and highly opinionated, The Secret History is a work of explosive energy, depicting holy Byzantium as a hell of murder and misrule.