Belisarius

side to many different, well know rulers in Byzantine. Procopius portrays Antonina to be a very scandalous person with very little morals who would cheat on her husband every chance she got. Procopius also portrayed Belisarius as not the smartest person, who was constantly falling for his wives lies. He also portrays Justinian and Theodora in a much different light than what was common. He called both of them demons because of how horrible…

Caesarea notes the unorthodox behavior of Empress Theodora and Antonina (General Belisarius’ wife) in his “Secret History” from the mid-sixth century. Theodora is depicted as a power-hungry whore without a moral compass beyond self-interest. Antonina receives much of the same abuse, accompanied with the tacit acknowledgement of her devotion to Belisarius’ political fortunes. Both women have extramarital affairs, are descendants of “actors” (often a catch-all term for strippers, prostitutes,…

Nika Revolt in 532 AD. The Blue and Green Factions joined together to overthrow the government, including Justinian, and elect a new emperor. They set fire to many buildings, which burned for days. Justinian was ready to flee and had his council gather at a meeting. The council also thought it was best for him to flee, but Theodora thought otherwise. She told him he was a coward for wanting to flee, and asked if he would rather die as a ruler or die hiding and lose his significance. At the end…

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…

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.…

in a Christian victory. Byzantium was not a separate empire, but instead, the new era of Rome. Continuing on in the history of this lost empire, the author address Justinian. Justinian created the first comprehensible law code, the Codex, which is still the basis for many European courts and the state of Louisiana. The Codex helps prove the author’s point of Byzantine being a major influence on the modern world. Justinian, in addition, employed a brilliant general by the name of Belisarius, to…

When Eastern and Western Rome were united, Rome completely surrounded the Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, it was called the “Roman Lake” because the sea paled in comparison to the mighty empire. When the empire split and Western Rome fell, barbarians poured across the border and took over all the land that used to belong to the great empire. Justinian’s greatest desire was to restore Rome to its former glory, and reclaim the land he thought belonged to the Byzantine Empire. He sent his generals,…

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…

Byzantine Empire but also for promoting Christianity and was the first emperor to die a Christian. This emperor made it advantageous to be a Christian and therefor society found it to be more acceptable to practice. The emperor promoted and favored Christians in government jobs and he restored Christian property that had been lost during the prosecutions of Christians. Emperor Theodosius I held the Second Ecumenical Council of the Church in 381which fought Arianism, a religious doctrine that…

nuns affiliated with the Church taught reading and writing and ran hospitals for the needy. Pope Gregory I used Benedictine monks as diplomats/missionaries. He sent them to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons. The Byzantine Empire had a very strong military. He used his military and his best commander Belisarius to reconquer Northern Africa circa 533 CE. Most of Belisarius’ success was because of his superior tactics in battle. The Byzantines used the kantos, an overhand thrusting spear, before…