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. Sep 20, 2019 justinian i took her counsel and ordered belisarius to deal with the riot. 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. The book continues describing the rise to prominence of belisarius, his wars against the persians, vandals and goths and his relationship with antonina. Its marketed as a book about the outbreak of justinians plague that put a halter on his plans of reconquering the western roman empire. Whoever it was that wrote the secret history, i imagine that their intention was to ensure that their view of justinian, theodora, belisarius and antonina would be known and remembered. Belisarius project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. The progressive rock band big big train sings of theodora herself, and the mosaics of theodora and justinian in ravenna, in the song theodora in green and gold on their 2019 album grand tour. John of cappadocia justin justinian justinian and theodora.
Justinian and wife theodora jointly helmed the roman empire in its waning days. A native speaker of latin possibly the last roman emperor to be one, he came from a peasant family believed to have been of illyroroman or thracoroman origins. He was instrumental to emperor justinian s ambitious project of reconquering much of the mediterranean territory of the former western roman empire, which had been lost less than a century previously one of the defining features of belisarius career was his success despite. Belisarius owned the estate of rufinianae on the asiatic side of the constantinople suburbs. He is often regarded as one of the greatest generals of the byzantine empire. Flavius petrus sabbatius justinianus augustus, greek. Count belisarius project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Belisarius bishops built byzantine capital captured carthage chalcedon chosroes christian church citizens command commanderinchief condemnation constantine constantinople danube death defeat east eastern egypt emperor empress favour fleet force frontier garrison gaul gelimer germanus gold gothic goths greek hands. From its descriptions of empress theodora s sexual escapades to the description of justinian s transformation into a devil, it reads more like a lurid tabloid than a historical monograph.
Belisarius, the great contemporary general of the empire, is by far the most developed and discussed character within the book. May 16, 2018 flavius belisarius 500 565 ad personified the perfect example of what a general of a powerful empire ought to have been. Robert browning, justinian and theodora 1971, is a lively narrative, richly illustrated. The story follows flavius belisarius, a real historical figure. The cognomen iustinianus, which he took later, is indicative of adoption by his uncle justin. Count belisarius is a historical novel by robert graves, first published in 1938, recounting the life of the byzantine general belisarius ad 500565 just as gravess claudius novels i, claudius and claudius the god and his wife messalina were based on the twelve caesars of suetonius and other roman sources, count belisarius is largely based on procopiuss history of justinians wars.
In his palace in constantinople, the emperor justinian, dominated by his wife theodora, plots the great generals downfall. Glanville downey, constantinople in the age of justinian 1960, gives a lively picture of the period, while the same authors paperback, the late roman empire 1969, is a concise digest that includes a discussion of justinian s era. The wife of belisarius, whom i have spoken of in my previous writings, was the daughter and granddaughter of chariotdrivers, men who had practised their art in the circus at byzantium and at thessalonica. Robert browning 19141997 was professor of classics and ancient history at birkbeck college, london, from 1965 until he retired in 1981. Belisarius, antonina, justinian, theodora, sittas, narses, john of cappadocia, kaleb of axum, khusrau, and baresmanas were all real people.
A vigorous tale, lacking the completely distinctive qualities of a hero that made claudius so exceptional, belisarius retains the same meticulously arranged background and skilful recapturing of a period the byzantine empire of the 6th century. The first third of the book gives a lot of background to justinian s political problems in maybe a bit too much detail, but the story of belisarius as a byzantine general is well done indeed. Fords world fantasy award winning the dragon waiting, 1983 belisarius won justinian and theodora become vampires, and are still alive. Emperor justinian and empress theodora, and leading general belisarius and his wife, antonina. This text flays justinian and theodora as corrupt, immoral, and just plain evil.
She is also a saint among the miaphysite or oriental orthodox. Belisarius, of the eastern roman army in the days of justinian and theodora, 6th century. Count belisarius was the last general of the roman empire to be given a triumph. Sep 17, 2015 flavius belisarius was a byzantine general who lived during the 6th century ad. He might have been a great general, perhaps byzantiums greatest, but his success only aroused the suspicions of the empress, who may well have coloured her husbands dealings with his foremost commander, which resulted in a lack of material support in the field of battle. The secret history of the court of justinian by procopius. Fords world fantasy award winning the dragon waiting, 1983 belisarius wonjustinian and theodora become vampires, and are still alive. The novel covers the entire life of belisarius, with the bulk of the text being devoted to accounts of his life while on campaign in north africa and italy. The secret history is a dense, detailed, atmospheric, and just an endlessly fascinating look at one of historys forgotten women. Ah, good ol procopius and his secret history, right. After the conquest of rome, justinian advanced further and conquered the southern part of spain. From 527 to 531 he was adviser consilarius to the military commander belisarius on his first persian campaign. One of the defining features of belisarius career was his success despite varying.
Belisarius is primarily science fiction though some might describe it more accurately as alternative history. Because of her intelligence and political savvy, she was justinians most trusted adviser and used her influence to promote religious and social policies in line with her interests. Try emperor justinian, belisarius was a general and a commander. Set in constantinople in 528 in the reign of the emperor justinian with his empress theodora, the crystal, it appears, has been seeking general belisarius, a soldier who is not a warrior. Belisarius, byzantine general, the leading military figure in the age of the byzantine emperor justinian i 527565. Did antonina use witchcraft to enslave the mighty byzantine.
During his reign, he founded justiniana prima not far from his. Procopius, born probably between 490 and 507, caesarea, palestine now in israeldied c. In the early 500s, justina highranking military commander in constantinople now istanbultook justinian under his wing. Ruthlessly criticized and reviled by her contemporaries, theodora, the beautiful wife of emperor justinian, began her life as the daughter of a bearkeeper and rose to be justinian s partner in politics as well as in life, ruling from 527 to 548. For the matter of that the nika revolt was a real historical event, though under very different circumstances, and not manipulated by agents of a timetraveling monster robot as. An oblique approach in the heart of darkness destinys shield fortunes stroke the tide of victory the. The titular count belisarius is a devout orthodox christian general of the eastern roman empire during the reign of justinian. His book justinian and theodora is a classic biography about the life and times of the emperor justinian, who lived ca.
Belisarius is a series of science fiction novels written by david drake and eric flint. In 533 and 534 he took part in an expedition against the vandals. Additionally, he is one of the candidates for the title last of the romans, i. A riddle that has troubled scholars and laymen alike. May 23, 2017 its just part of the background, but in to john m. Much ink have been spent on the matter, so lets put things in some order. And there it was yesterday, in the bargain section of a secondhand bookshop in tunbridge wells. Who was belisarius and why is he called last of the romans. Belisarius was a roman general who served justinian in the sixth century. Theodora 6th century project gutenberg selfpublishing.
Baker also describes the battles of justinians famous general belisarius, who waged successful. Belisarius was a brilliant military leader, and a great ally to emperor justinian. None of these books do anything much with the religious schism. The saga is published by baen books wherein an overarching theme ties each book together.
During his reign, justinian sought to revive the empires greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the. Although not quite the masterpiece that both of the claudius novels are, count belisarius is a great read, and brings the period, the 6th century c. While being emperor justinian s official chronicler, and writing tons of paper on his masters heroic military feats, master buildings and law codings, procopius got some remorse and wrote the real secret history of the emperor, his wife theodora and her friend antonina, the wife of his main general belisarius. Justinian, theodora, and belisarius all figure into procopius secret history, a book which gives a much different view of them than the traditional one. Balkans barbarian began belisarius bishops built byzantine. With this book robert graves again demonstrates his command of a vast. Yersinia pseudotuberculosis was a fairly benign bacterium, causing mild flulike symptoms, until it. Justinian turned to his old friend belisarius, calling him out of retirement for one final campaign. When justin i died, in spite of belisarius defeats, justinian i promoted him to. The interplay of interests represented by justinian, theodora, john of lydia, john of cappadocia along with belisarius and his wife, antonia, and.
He was instrumental to emperor justinians ambitious project of reconquering much of the mediterranean territory of the former western roman empire, which had been lost less than a century previously. Both justinian and theodora were of very humble origin. Feb 01, 2012 this book is a gripping, longoverdue biography of one of the most intriguing and powerful female figures of western history. The secret history claims to provide explanations and additions that the author could not insert into his work on the wars for fear of retribution from justinian and theodora. 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. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. His wife was an intimate of the empress theodora, and he shows well in history, having also defended the empire from invasions by the persians and the huns. He was almost invincible in battle as he restored the influence of the byzantine empire in north africa and italy during the reign of the 6th century emperor justinian i. Under justinian s rule, the byzantine empire flourished and prospered.
Even though the account sounds fantastic, it is considered genuine by modern historians but not necessarily accurate. Like her husband, she is a saint in the eastern orthodox church, commemorated on 14 november. Belisarius, after gaining entrance to the hippodrome, crushed the rebellion, killing between 20,000 and 30,000 citizens modernday scholars set the number considerably higher. It chronicles the war between two competing societies.
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. Along with her spouse, theodora is a saint in the eastern orthodox church, commemorated on 14 november. As a youth he served in the bodyguard ofjustinian, who appointed him commander of the eastern army. Belisarius was a successful and brilliant tactician but even though the battles were won, the wars were lost. However, its a broader book than that, as most of the book is spent esta. Justinian i took her counsel and ordered belisarius to deal with the riot. Count belisarius is a historical novel by robert graves, first published in 1938, recounting the life of the byzantine general belisarius ad 500565 just as gravess claudius novels i, claudius and claudius the god and his wife messalina were based on the twelve caesars of suetonius and other roman sources, count belisarius is largely based on procopiuss history of justinian. List of books and articles about justinian i, emperor of. Profile for theodora i from count belisarius page 1. The historian paolo cesaretti mentions her as a controversial figure and the right arm of the empress theodora in the exercise of power. As always, belisarius succeeded against the odds, but it would be his last fight. His reconquests of north africa, and sicily in the 530s ce were the high mark of the reign of justinian i.
Its marketed as a book about the outbreak of justinian s plague that put a halter on his plans of reconquering the western roman empire. Partner of justinian ebook written by james allan evans. During his reign, justinian oversaw the construction of the hagia sophia, one of the wonders of the ancient world, and he strove to maintain romes territories. He took the roman name justinianus from his uncle, justin. Of most importance to belisarius was a man named justinian, who was only a few years older than belisarius. Belisarius, and afterwards i shall describe the misdeeds of justinian and theodora.
Theodora and justinian receive more attention at the beginning of the book and certainly less as the story is told but the book is about belisarius and the focus is his career. Count belisarius purports to be a biography written by eugenius, a eunuch who is a servant of belisarius wife antonina. With his help, justinian reclaimed many lost provinces, expanding the byzantine empires borders significantly. A number of years later, justinian, along with belisarius, marched toward italy and triumphed over rome. Count belisarius book by robert graves thriftbooks.
Justinian was born in tauresium, dardania, around 482. Its protagonist is a real historical figure, the late roman general flavius belisarius 505565 ad. Anyone with tips on links and books, please post here. Procopius of cesareas secret history of the sixth century reign of byzantine emperor justinian is problematic for the modern historian. Flavius belisarius was a byzantine general who lived during the 6th century ad. Not long after inheriting the throne in 527, justinian found himself able to launch a series of campaigns aimed at retaking territories in the west from the barbarians, especially carthage and africa from the vandals, and rome and italy. Somewhat paranormal as the entire story revolves around a live crystal which shows the future to anyone who holds it. The belisarius series is a fictional saga in the alternate history and military history subgenres of. Justinian is known for his buildings and architecture. Procopius secret history and historical consciousness. Belisarius and justinian, whose partnership had increased the size of the empire by 45 percent, died within a few months of each other in 565.
Belisarius was surprised and informed justinian, who ordered him to enter from another direction. As belisarius triumphs in battles from the east to north africa, his success causes him to become regarded with increasing jealousy and suspicion. Of course, the eastern orthodox church considers justinian a saint, so youll either love or hate this book. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the empress theodora. As one of the last important figures in the roman military tradition, he led imperial armies against the sasanian empire persia and the vandal kingdom of north africa, among others. Theodora gives missions to belisarius, the main character in the last roman dlc for total war. With his accustomed skill in lending drama to remote history without seeming to embellish it unduly, harold lamb has traced through tenuous sources the record of peter babbatius, a mountain lad who became an emperor, who from his study welded remote. 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. He twice defeated the persians and reconquered north africa from the vandals in a single year at the age of 29, before going on to regain spain and italy, including rome briefly, from the barbarians. Since both before and afterward, procopius wrote approvingly of the emperor, it was suggested in the past that he was not the author of the work, but it is now generally. A military history of the campaigns of belisarius, the greatest general of the eastern roman byzantine emperor justinian. She became empress upon justinian s accession in 527 and was one of his chief advisers.
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