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).