The Gothic War

Procopius was born late in the 5th century in Caesarea, Palestine. His practice as a lawyer saw him appointed to the position of legal adviser and secretary of Belisarius in 527 CE. Procopius was also made commander against the Persians, a position that enabled him to fight against the Vandals in 533 CE and against the Ostrogoths in 535 CE. Procopius returned to Constantinople sometime after 540 CE. The date of his death remains a mystery.

Procopius’s History of the Wars recounts the Gothic Wars against the Ostrogoths in Italy and Sicily that took place between 535 and 554. The Romans had lost significant territories in the former Western Roman Empire due to ill-planed invasions of barbarian tribes during the migration period. The Gothic Wars were aimed at recovering these territories. The wars came after the reconquest of what was then deemed the province of Africa from the Vandals by the Eastern Roman Empire.

In this text, Procopius demonstrates his diligent, careful, and judicious skills as a narrator of developments and facts and exemplifies robust powers of description. He sides with the empire’s foes and blatantly criticizes Justinian, the emperor who led the Romans during the Gothic War.

Other works by Procopius include The Buildings of Justinian and The Secret History.