Procopius’s "Secret History"

E554677

Procopius’s "Secret History" is a scandal-filled, behind-the-scenes account of Emperor Justinian’s court that viciously attacks the character and private lives of Justinian, Empress Theodora, and their associates.

All labels observed (5)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Byzantine literature ⓘ
historical work ⓘ
prose narrative ⓘ
approximateDateWritten c. 550 CE ⓘ
author Procopius of Caesarea ⓘ
linked to: Procopius
circulation not published in Procopius’s lifetime ⓘ
contains accusations of political repression ⓘ
accusations of sexual immorality ⓘ
vicious attacks on Justinian’s character ⓘ
vicious attacks on Theodora’s character ⓘ
countryOfOrigin Byzantine Empire ⓘ
criticizes Theodora’s influence at court ⓘ
administrative corruption ⓘ
imperial taxation ⓘ
legal reforms of Justinian ⓘ
military leadership under Justinian ⓘ
religious policies of Justinian ⓘ
dateWritten 6th century ⓘ
focusesOn behind-the-scenes events in Constantinople ⓘ
corruption at Justinian’s court ⓘ
private lives of Justinian and Theodora ⓘ
genre court scandal narrative ⓘ
historical writing ⓘ
political invective ⓘ
historicalSignificance important example of Byzantine court literature ⓘ
major source for the darker image of Justinian’s reign ⓘ
intendedAudience private or restricted readership ⓘ
language Ancient Greek ⓘ
modernTitle Secret History ⓘ
originalTitle Anekdota ⓘ
linked to: Anecdota

Historia Arcana ⓘ
partOfCorpus Procopius’s historical works ⓘ
portrays Belisarius in a critical light ⓘ
Justinian I as cruel and demonic ⓘ
Theodora as immoral and ruthless ⓘ
preservedIn medieval manuscripts ⓘ
relatedWork Buildings ⓘ
Wars ⓘ
setting Constantinople ⓘ
settingPeriod reign of Justinian I (527–565) ⓘ
subject Byzantine court politics ⓘ
Emperor Justinian I ⓘ
linked to: Justinian I

Empress Theodora ⓘ
reign of Justinian I ⓘ
linked to: Justinian dynasty
tone hostile ⓘ
satirical ⓘ
scandal-focused ⓘ
workType behind-the-scenes account of imperial court ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Theodora → portrayedInWork → Procopius’s "Secret History" ⓘ
Belisarius → portrayedIn → Procopius' "Secret History" ⓘ
linked to: Procopius’s "Secret History"
John the Cappadocian → knownFrom → Procopius’ Secret History ⓘ
linked to: Procopius’s "Secret History"
Antonina → portrayedIn → "Secret History" by Procopius ⓘ
linked to: Procopius’s "Secret History"
Secret History → partOf → Procopius’ works on Justinian ⓘ
linked to: Procopius’s "Secret History"