Procopius
（
Προκόπιος). A Greek historian of Caesarea in Palestine, a
rhetorician and advocate by profession. In and after A.D. 526 he attended the general
Belisarius as private secretary and adviser in nearly all his campaigns. He was afterwards
made a senator, and in 562, when prefect of Constantinople, was deposed
from his office by a conspiracy, and shortly afterwards died suddenly, more than seventy years
old. He has left us a history of his own times down to 554 in eight books
Ἱστορίαι), dealing with the wars of Justinian against the Persians,
Vandals, and East Goths; a book on the buildings of Justinian (
Κτίσματα); and the
Anecdota (
Ἀνέκδοτα), or secret history, supplementing the first-mentioned work. It
discloses the scandals of the court of the day, and, on account of its contents, was not
published until after the death of the author. His information is partly derived from the oral
testimony of others, but he prefers to record his own experiences. This, and his fresh
treatment of his subject, together with his pure and, on the whole, simple style, make him one
of the most eminent authors of his age. The collected works of Procopius, including orations,
are edited by Dindorf in 3 vols.
(Bonn, 1833-38). There is an old translation of
Procopius into English by Henry Holcroft
(London, 1653). See Renan,
Essais de Morale et de Critique (3d ed. Paris, 1867).
