History of the Wars, Volume I: Books 1-2

by Procopius, Henry Bronson Dewing (Translator)

Procopius, born at Caesarea in Palestine late in the 5th century, became a lawyer. In 527 CE he was made legal adviser and secretary of Belisarius, commander against the Persians, and went with Belisarius again in 533 against the Vandals and in 535 against the Ostrogoths. Sometime after 540 he returned to Constantinople. He may have been that Procopius who was prefect of Constantinople in 562, but the date of his death (after 558) is unknown.

Procopius's History of the Wars in 8 books recounts the Persian Wars of emperors Justinus and Justinian down to 550 (2 books); the Vandalic War and after-events in Africa 532–546 (2 books); the Gothic War against the Ostrogoths in Sicily and Italy 536–552 (3 books); and a sketch of events to 554 (1 book). The whole consists largely of military history, with much information about peoples and places as well, and about special events. He was a diligent, careful, judicious narrator of facts and developments and shows good powers of description. He is just to the empire's enemies and boldly criticises emperor Justinian. Other works by Procopius are the Anecdota or Secret History —vehement attacks on Justinian, Theodora, and others; and The Buildings of Justinian (down to 558 CE) including roads and bridges as well as churches, forts, hospitals, and so on in various parts of the empire.

The Loeb Classical Library edition of Procopius is in seven volumes.

Genres: History, Classics, Nonfiction, Ancient History, War, Medieval, Greece

583 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 550

About the author

Procopius of Caesarea was born in the latter years of the fifth century at Caesarea in Palestine. He originated from the land-owning provincial upper class and, like Zosimus, became a civil servant. As early as A.D. 527, before the emperor Justin's death, Procopius became counsellor, assessor, and secretary to Belisarius, whose fortunes and campaigns he followed for the next twelve or fifteen years. Small wonder he became very knowledgeable of military affairs through this service. He has long been respected as a historian of the emperor Justinian’s wars, and is reckoned the greatest of the later Greek historians. Procopius was finally raised to the dignity of an illustrius, and died not earlier than A.D. 562.

Reviews

[Aroosha Dehghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

این نویسنده‌های مسیحی اواخر دوران باستان خیلی باحالن
کاملا ایدئولوژیک فکر و تحلیل می‌کنن.
مثلا از نظر پروکوپیوس خسرو انوشیروان خیلی آدم بد و خونخوار و بی‌ادب و وحشی‌ای بوده.
چرا؟
چون که با روم که پیروان دین راستین عیسی مسیح بودند جنگیده و پیمان صلحی باهاشون بسته که رسما روم رو بازنده‌ی نبرد می‌کنه. کلا نظرش اینه که چرا صبر نکرده تا امپراتور روم ایران رو شخم بزنه. مگه نمی‌دونه ما پیروان دین حق خیلی خفنیم و جهان کلش واس ماس؟

['Aussie Rick' · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased the first five volumes of Procopius's History of the Wars after reading a review somewhere, basically buying the volumes sight unseen, a stab in the dark. Well, how right was that decision!

I have only read the first volume, Books 1-2, which covers the Persian Wars and I had a great time. The book was so easy to read, full of interesting facts and stories of peoples and places long gone and lost to history.

What is so amazing about this book was that it was written sometime in the 540’s AD and translated in the early 1900’s. I was a bit worried that the narrative would be difficult to read and boring, how wrong could I be!

The story fairly raced along and I never got bored with the book. I can’t wait to read the next few volumes which cover Belisarius in his campaigns and wars against the Vandals in 533 and again in 535 against the Ostrogoths.

This is a great book, highly recommended to those who enjoy accounts of the ancients and those times and places from times long past.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note: I am giving all the "History of the Wars" books five stars because I loved them all, because I love Byzantine history, and because they were the main sources for my undergrad thesis. I spent literally days reading through the pages of these books.

If you are interested in the wonder that was Byzantium: you must read these -- all of them (even 'buildings')

If you just like history, you may enjoy them, as Procopius was one of the world's great historians. He told a good tale of war, politics, geography, mystery and gossip. You will learn about the great plague pre-dating the Black Death, the wars of the mighty general Belisarius, the nature of Emperor Justinian and his relations, and much more!

After you've read these, read his "The Secret History," which may or may not have truly been written by Procopius, and which may or may not divulge his true feelings, particularly concerning the Emperor and Empress. Scandalous gossip from late Antiquity/the early medieval period!

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great look at the Roman / Persia conflicts in the 500s. This volume is a fascinating peek at the Middle East shortly before the rise of Islam. The translation is easy to follow, I couldn't put it down.

[Eadweard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very engaging and fun to read, now onwards to the vandal and gothic campaigns.

[Ryan Denson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume contains the first two books of Procopius of Caesarea’s Wars (Ὑπὲρ τῶν πολέμων λόγοι) and, as with all Loeb editions, is a parallel text containing both the ancient Greek and English versions. These two books focus on the early Byzantine wars with the Persians (hence, sometimes being known as De Bello Persico) and conflicts with other groups, such as the Hepthalites and the Lazi. These books also contain Procopius’ famous accounts of the Nika Riots and the Justinianiac Plague.

The English translation, despite being somewhat outdated (1914), still holds up well for a genre like this, much of which is dry, technical details concerning geography and troop movements. Although it is not a critical edition, it is an excellent start for scholars interested in the reign of Justinian. Casual readers of military history may also find this work intriguing because it gives a general sense of how wars were conducted in the 6th century in terms of battles, but also the influence of logistics and diplomacy.

[Ariel Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very dark history, but a great read for studying the plague and how it catastrophically destroyed civilizations.

[Nick McDowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

EDIT: This particular translation of "History of the Wars" has an amazing index/pronunciation guide at the end of it and it is very useful as a cross reference!

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Hahaha so years ago I got Procopius and Corippus confused, and while writing a research paper about the Egyptio-Berber god Gurzil, I read this book up and down, not remembering that the Gurzil references I was thinking of were actually in Corripus' text! What a night that was.

All the same, I became more familiar with the East Roman Empires African campaign from this text, and there were many tidbits I enjoyed!

Now if only I can find a copy of that letter Belisarius' Hunnic mercenaries sent to the Alans living among the Vandals. (Which is why I have returned to Procopius once again!) I remember it being pretty majestic!

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're interested in Byzantine history, at some point, you have to read Procopius. He's the main primary source on the 6th Century, and since he was close to the center of power in the empire, he has a lot of insight to offer.

While Procopius' account of Justinians reign and Belisarius' campaigns are informative and entertaining, the translation in this edition leaves something to be desired. This is a free Kindle edition, and the original was published in the 19th Century. The language of the translation is really old fashioned and belabored. You still get the great account, but you sometimes have to untangle Byzantine sentences that would have been streamlined (but still convey the same thing) by a better translator/editor.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is books like this that make the discovery of the large Gobekli Tepi city-complex not that remarkable to me. In that region between the Roman (Byzantine) and Pesian empires rich and large cities, city-states and even nations rose and fell rapidly during the constant warring between the two empires. Procopius makes a lively telling of this Christian Age of the Roman Empire ("Romans" called John, George, etc.) and the restless, ambitious, violent Persians that sensed the weakening state of this aged imperial civilization.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting history. I read the public domain Kindle version. Procopius is more a politician than a tactician, so this is a high-level view of events; no sense of the fighting skills and techniques used in the era

[Nima · Rating 1 out of 5]

کتاب متن روانی دارد، اما پر از اشکال است. اولین اشکال کتاب آن است که پر از دیدگاه شخصی است، از آن جهت که نویسنده رمی است، رمی ها همیشه ادمانی نیک سیرت و ایرانی ها پست بودند(نه همیشه در کتاب ولی غالب این است) و اشکال بزرگ بعدی نبود نقشه در کتاب

[Morgoth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buenísimo

Recomendado para los amantes de la Historia Militar, de la mano del gran Procopio, este primer tomo aborda el conflicto entreclos Bizantinos y los Persas alrededor del año 549 DC