Procopius

The Romans had lost their way in favour of the Christian religion. As a result, they found that threats were coming at them from all directions. Disaster both in Rome and from outside of Rome were having an impact on the Roman Empire. While this was the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire, it finally began to collapse around 476 AD. The Empire was once ruled by powerful rulers, who were able to conquer many lands, and later it was ruled by Emperors who were weak in nature. Instability…

among men or to assert herself boldly among those who are holding back from fear, I consider that the present crisis does not permit us to discuss whether the matter should be regarded in this or in some other way” (Envisioning World Civilization “Procopius, Theodora and the Nika Riots” 285). This quote talks about how a person should not be scared of asserting their self because of fear, and how now that they are in such a crisis if it would be a bad thing for people to try and assert their…

The plague epidemics of the 6th, 14th, and 17th century are commonly known as Justinian’s Plague, the Black Death, and the Plague of 1665, respectively. Yersinia pestis was the major source of the plague in all three epidemics. Modern DNA analysis studies showed that Y. pestis has a strong correlation with victims of the Black Death in the 14th century. However, although these modern studies show biologically that Yersinia pestis was the cause of the Black Death, many scientists are skeptical…

Christianity prospered in Jerusalem during the Byzantine era because the rulers of the empire had adopted it as their religion, from Constantine to Heraclius (Parker 136). The people who were once persecuted for their faith were now expressing it with the support of their emperors who were building basilicas, monasteries, and other religious buildings throughout the Byzantine Empire. Some of the buildings in the Holy City survived intact to this day, notably the Church of the Holy Sepulchre;…

The Roman/Byzantine Empire implemented questionable economic policies to enter new markets and continue the monopolies they had. According to Procopius, one of Justinian’s main advisors, the Roman Empire smuggled in Silk Worms from China to be able to enter the Silk market to be able to lower the price for themselves. The Empire also enforced dress codes of who could dress in Silk and what color they could wear. They did this to separate the classes from one another. Justinian’s may have been a…

with a fiery speech.” Because of this example and quote, it is evident that Theodora was passionate and stood her ground during such a troubling time. Despite Theodora’s accomplishments, some thought poorly of Theodora such as John Norwich and Procopius, who in reading their texts on Theodora and Justinian portray Theodora as an unfit leader, someone who was not an ideal match for Justinian, a woman who demanded unfair things, someone who was overly self-indulgent, and someone with the…

The destruction of Constantinople finally happened in 1453 (p. 293). The Ottoman Empire rained cannonballs on the city and brought its walls down. On the last Monday of May in the same year, people began to gather the Hagia Sophia. A sermon was given in both Latin and Greek; the divisions that had separated the two churches of the East and West forgotten. But it was to no avail. In the end, Ottoman flags were hoisted up to celebrate their victory. At last the wheel comes full circle, from the…

The collapse of the Roman Empire marked the beginning of what is known as the Medieval Kingdoms. Before the complete demise of Rome, the Empire was first split into two. From this split, emerged two separate empires, the east and west. The major political, social, and cultural impacts of the transition from the Roman Empire to the medieval kingdom is due to one Emperor in particular, Justinian. The Western and Eastern Empire experienced different fates upon their separation. The Western Empire…

tendency to believe nearly everything we see has led to a pandemic of fake news. *Pause* Fake news is not a new concept. It's almost as old as the media itself, and there is evidence of its existence from as early as the sixth century AD in Israel. Procopius, a Byzantine historian churned out dubious information, known as Anecdota, which he kept secret until his death to taint the reputation of Emperor Justinian. He…

The Frankish armies was very diverse, its army had franks, Saxons, Alaman, Allans, Burgundian and gallon-roman (Bachrach, Bernard S. "Procopius, Agathias and the Frankish Military." Speculum 45, no. 3 (1970): 435-41). The Frankish were warriors, they acted like and dressed like the fierce warriors they were. Clovis was a go getter and he’d always go after what he wanted, Siagruis the king of Roman had a seat in the city of Soissons, so Clovis challenged him for it. (Gregory of Tours, History of…