David Parnell Profile picture
Apr 14, 2023 13 tweets 5 min read Read on X
Justinian and Belisarius: how was their relationship? Typically, historians emphasize animosity and conflict between the two elite Romans. I think this approaches their relationship from the wrong angle. Read on if interested. ⬇️ #Roman #Byzantine #History Justinian, detail from the ...Sixth-century man, probably...
For centuries, modern historians have argued that Justinian was jealous of Belisarius' successes and sought to undermine him whenever possible to limit his achievement. We can trace this argument at least back to Gibbon, but it is still present in a book as recent as 2021. Portrait of Edward Gibbon. ...
On what basis might modern historians be making this claim? On multiple occasions, Procopius and Agathias note that other military officers or government officials were jealous of Belisarius' success, and so they slandered him to Justinian. The historian Procopius as ...
It seems that there is an assumption among modern historians that Justinian himself was therefore also jealous of Belisarius and his successes, even though this is not made explicit by ancient sources.
Modern historians also assume jealousy from the two disgraces of Belisarius at the order of Justinian. In 542, B was fired from his position as General of the East and held in disgrace for months. 20 years later, in 562, B was deprived of his honors and disgraced for months. Belisarius in retirement as...
There is no doubt that these were instances where the relationship between Belisarius and Justinian was at a low ebb. Clearly, to give orders like this Justinian must have been angry and distrusted Belisarius at the moment, and Belisarius might have resented the punishment.
But these two occasions stand out precisely because they were out of the norm. Over the long run of their lives, the relationship of Belisarius and Justinian was cordial and productive! Let's talk for a minute about just how long this relationship lasted.
Belisarius first appears in the service of Justinian as a guardsman in 526, but given his relative seniority in the guards, it is likely he had already been in service with Justinian before this date. We cannot be sure for how long. Soldiers, detail from the i...
On the other end, Belisarius and Justinian both died in 565. This means that their professional relationship lasted about 40 years!
Now, we cannot be sure the two men were close for all of those 40 years. Belisarius last served Justinian in a military capacity in 559, and there is no mention in any source of Belisarius and the emperor interacting after the former's restoration from disgrace in July 563. Justinian, Theodora, and a ...
But even if we take as a smaller bounds the time between Belisarius' first mention in Justinian's service (526) and his last (559), 33 years is still an exceptionally long time for a professional relationship between two powerful, elite Roman men.
And it is worth emphasizing that unlike the endings of some long-term relationships between other powerful Romans (Aetius and Valentinian III come to mind), both Belisarius and Justinian died peacefully in their beds. This relationship did not end in violence. Gold solidus of Valentinian...
That Belisarius and Justinian worked together for so long, through stress, triumph, and despair (both professional and personal) is nothing short of remarkable. When considered this way, it is the stability of their relationship that stands out, not their brief disagreements. Fin

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More from @byzantineprof

Jul 4
To celebrate my book's first birthday (released July 4 last year), I offer up a meditation on a curious little episode: the Vandal King Gelimer quoting the great refrain of Ecclesiastes: "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." #Roman #Byzantine 🧵
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Some background: At the command of Justinian (r. 527-565), the general Belisarius led a Roman army to crush the Vandals and restore North Africa and most of its surrounding islands to Roman control in a lightning campaign that lasted just six months (September 533-March 534). Image
(This is probably underselling the shocking rapidity of this victory, because all major combat operations were complete by December 533 [3 months], and everything after that was claiming far-flung outposts and forcing the besieged Vandal King Gelimer into submission.)
Read 19 tweets
Jan 24
The Count of the Stable (Comes Stabuli, from which we derive "constable") was a late antique officer of the Roman imperial court responsible for levying horses and pack animals for government use. Although it sounds like a humble post, it was held by a number of famous Romans. 🧵 Artist's rendition of Roman stables as imagined by english-heritage.org.uk.
I have been writing on the Comes Stabuli recently and was astonished to learn that occupants of the office included the future emperor Valens (r. 364-378) and the famous generals Stilicho (d. 408) and Aetius (d. 454). Diptych showing either Stilicho or Aetius, image from Wikipedia.
This is of particular interest to me since in the sixth century Belisarius held the title of ἄρχον τῶν βασιλικῶν ἱπποκόμων (Commander of the Imperial Grooms), which was presumably a variant form of the same office. Sixth-century man, probably Belisarius, detail from the imperial panel in San Vitale. Photo by Steven Zucker.
Read 4 tweets
Nov 17, 2023
Over the past few months I engaged in a variety of media (podcasts, blogs, book sites, etc) to get word out about my new book. This thread summarizes all that activity, both to keep it in one place and to give ideas to other academics with new books! Image
I started with places that would let me write a few words about my book to catch the interest of other bibliophiles. The first was on a humble blog called "The Page 99 Test":
A natural place to write a piece promoting your book is on the publisher's own blog, so I wrote this for the Oxford University Press blog:
Read 12 tweets
Aug 29, 2023
Just how large was the Roman army during the reign of Justinian in the sixth century? Direct contemporary evidence is scarce. Modern estimates range from 150,000 to 326,000. Let's dive into the controversy. 🧵 #Roman #Byzantine #History Soldiers on the imperial mosaic panel of Justinian in San Vitale. Photo by Steven Zucker.
Let's start with the number all modern historians must reckon with. The Roman historian Agathias complains about the army during Justinian's reign: "there should have been a total effective fighting force of 645,000 men, but the number dropped to barely 150,000." Emperor Justinian on his mosaic panel in San Vitale. Photo by Steven Zucker.
First thing to note is that this total (150,000) is meant to make Justinian's army look small. In other words, it is offered in a polemical spirit, not simply as a factual report. Nevertheless, it's the evidence we have, so we try to do something with it.
Read 23 tweets
Aug 23, 2023
I recently listened to @byzantiumcast's interview with Adrian Goldsworthy (episode 273). In the discussion, Dr. Goldsworthy repeats the old canard that Justinian's armies in the West were "tiny." This is not accurate. 🧵 #Roman #Byzantine #History A depiction of sixth-century Roman soldiers marching, footage from Attila Total War, as shown in an EpicHistoryTV episode.
First, let's establish a baseline for typical campaign army sizes in the reign of Justinian in the East. For the Battle of Dara in 530, Belisarius commanded 25,000 soldiers. At Satala in 530, Sittas had 15,000. At Callinicum in 531, Belisarius had 20,000. A map of the Roman/Persian frontier highlighting Callinicum and Dara, from Greatrex 1998.
We don't have firm numbers of soldiers for the eastern campaign of Belisarius in 541, or the defense of the East against the great invasion of Khusro in 540. But the earlier data points we have suggest a typical campaign army averaged around 20,000. The Persian King Khusro I, as envisioned by artist Milek Jakubiec for EpicHistoryTV.
Read 19 tweets
Aug 18, 2023
Yesterday we looked at evidence that Belisarius loved Antonina. Today, the reverse side of the coin. Do we have evidence that Antonina loved Belisarius? It’s less substantial and obvious than the evidence for Belisarius’ love, but yes, we have some! 🧵 #Roman #Byzantine #History Image
While in the Secret History Procopius is very direct about Belisarius’ infatuation with Antonina, he is more reticent about her feelings toward him. Instead, he focuses on Antonina’s supposed power to control Belisarius with spells, suggesting she ensorcelled him into loving her.
In the History of the Wars, however, Procopius lets slip an anecdote that might demonstrate the care Antonina had for Belisarius. After a long and dangerous day for the general during the siege of Rome, his wife came to him and compelled him to “taste a little bread.” Belisarius with Antonina behind to his right, in front of the Pantheon, as imagined by artist Milek Jakubiec for EpicHistoryTV.
Read 9 tweets

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