Procopius's Secret History: Byzantine Political Critique from the 6th Century CE

Procopius's 'Secret History' is a text providing a critical account of the 6th-century CE Byzantine emperor Justinian and empress Theodora. The author, the Byzantine historian Procopius, wrote in the late fifth century to after 558 CE. The work alleges the rulers' ruinous effect on the Roman empire and portrays Theodora's character in sharp detail.

Use Cases

• Analyze historical bias and political critique based on the described sharp portrayal of rulers.
• Study classical historiography and narrative techniques based on the detailed character allegations.
• Examine themes of power, morality, and empire in ancient texts based on the described ruinous effects.
• Train NLP models on historical text classification or sentiment based on the polemical nature described.

Strengths

• Primary source authored by a known Byzantine historian, Procopius.
• Text provides a specific critical perspective on 6th-century CE rulers Justinian and Theodora.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• License is closed, which restricts redistribution and commercial use.

Provenance

Source

Procopius

Collection Method

Historical text authored by Procopius.

Time Range

Covers events of the 6th century CE, written in the late fifth century to after 558 CE.

Freshness

Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Geography

Likely focuses on the Byzantine (Roman) Empire.