Noble Blood - The Secret History of Emperor Justinian

Episode Date: November 22, 2022

Procopius is considered the preeminent historian of the Byzantine age, writer of works that extolled the virtue and power of Emperor Justinian. But in the 17th century, a work discovered in the Vatican library revealed that Procopius also wrote another book—a secret book, that threatened to undo all of the good will he once built for the Emperor he served. Support Noble Blood: — Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon — Merch! — Order Dana's book, 'Anatomy: A Love Story' and pre-order its sequel 'Immortality: A Love Story'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. What's up, everyone? I'm Ago Vodam. My next guest, it's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. He goes, just give it a shot.

But if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, The cat, just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of IHeart Radio and grim and mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. Hey, this is Dana Schwartz, host of Noble Blood. You are probably very tired of this little pre-podcast announcement, but just a reminder that if you want to support the show, you can join us on Patreon, where I release monthly bonus episodes, have episode scripts, and just more fun things. There's like quarterly stickers and some exclusive merch. There's also official merch for sale with the link in the episode description. And if you are at all interested in my writing, I have a novel out called Anatomy, a love story, and its sequel,

Immortality is available for pre-order. They are a great book for anyone who's interested in Dark. slightly macabre history. It takes place in the 1800s in Edinburgh. If you have a teenager, they're YAA novels, but anyone can read them. You know, my dad and husband both claim to have read them and enjoyed them. Make of that what you will. But if you have young people in your life, I think it would make a great holiday present. Yeah, that link is also in the episode description. But as always, the best support is just listening to the show. Thank you so much for allowing me to have made 100 episodes of the show and beyond. So I'm just thrilled that I get to do this and learn with all of you about so many new things as I work on each episode. On April 1st, the year 527, a new

Byzantine emperor was crowned. A short, curly-haired, ambitious man, Justinian served as emperor for nearly 40 years. Under his rule, the Byzantine Empire, grew to wrap around almost the entire Mediterranean, controlling lands from Constantinople in the east to Cordova in the west. Justinian supervised the building of architectural wonders, some of which still stand today, including the awe-inspiring Hyas Sophia, and he oversaw the complete overhaul of the Byzantine legal system, resulting in the Code of Justinian, a highly influential work that is the foundation of modern European law. With all those achievements and more, Justinian cemented his place in history. Though few texts from the time survive, his accomplishments were well documented by several

contemporary histories, the most well known of which are the history of wars and on buildings. both by a man named Procopius. Justinian is recognized as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church, depicted in heaven in Dante's Divine Comedy, and called the Great by many historians. For centuries after his death in 565, Justinian represented an imperial ideal, though sometimes intolerant and authoritarian,

he nonetheless seemed to have ruled, wisely, tirelessly, and justly, bringing his empire to new heights of glory. But this image of perfection was shattered by a discovery in the depths of the Vatican's library. Sometime in the early 1620s, a librarian named Niccolo Alamani came across a strange manuscript written in Greek. The document was dated to the 1300s, but it was only a copy of the original work said to have been written in the mid-6th century. It was called Anecdota, or unpublished writings, in Greek. Alamani translated the work into Latin and published it in 1623 under the Latin title it is best known by today. Historia Arcana, or or in English, the secret history.

The contents of the secret history were a bombshell. Inside these ancient pages were hundreds of accusations of demonic possession, sexual perversion, theft, conspiracy, and many other sins. And those accused of such monstrous acts, none other than the Emperor Justinian and his wife, the Emperor, Theodora. And what made the secret history even more shocking was the identity of its author.

This hate-filled, scandalous document had been written by Procopius, the very same historian whose more well-known works, history of the wars and on buildings, were the root of so much of Justinian's posthumous good reputation. The equivalent today would be, like discovering an acclaimed science journalist had, while producing important reports on the nation's forests, also written stories about Bigfoot dating Hillary Clinton for the National Enquirer. The revelation of Procopius's authorship raised a number of questions, many of which historians are still grappling with today. How could one man write from two such different perspectives? Why had he written, such a vulgar work filled with graphic details so risque that the librarian had removed them

from his translation, and which work, at the end of the day, was a more accurate depiction of Justinian's rule. We may never have definitive answers to these questions, but we can know one thing for sure. In Procopius' case, the pen was indeed mightier than the sword. using only words, Procopius, built up the myth of Justinian, and then sent it tumbling down, forever changing the way we view the early Byzantine world. I'm Dana Schwartz, and this is Noble Blood. Before we get into the scandalous secret history, we have to tackle the, well, somewhat Byzantine history of the Byzantine Empire. In 395, the Roman emperor Theodosius I died and split his empire into eastern and western halves, each to be ruled by one of his sons.

By the mid-fifth century, the western portion of the empire was in shambles, weakened by frequent attacks by the Huns, Vandals, and Visigoths. The final blow came in 476, when a group of rebellious Roman soldiers of Germanic origin deposed the emperor and took control of Italy. So all that remained of Theodosius' once-mighty Roman Empire was its eastern territories, including parts of present-day Greece, Turkey, and the Arabian Peninsula, and North Africa. The seat of this empire was present-day Istanbul, though, as you might know, from the They Might Be Giant Song, it was known then as Constantinople. Byzantine, the name we know the civilization by today, comes from an even earlier name for that city. Byzantium, a settlement built by the Greeks in the 7th century B.C.E. Though those living within this empire at the time would have simply called themselves Romans or Eastern Romans, we'll stick with Byzantine for now, just to keep things clear.

It was into this empire that a boy named Petrus Sabatius was born in 483, to a peasant family in a town in present-day Macedonia. Petrus might have lived an unremarkable life. Had it not been for one auspicious family connection, His uncle, Justin, commanded Emperor Anastasius's Imperial Palace Guards. Yes, I know, his uncle's name was Justin. Anyway, having worked his way through the ranks from impoverished migrant to high-ranking commander and political operator, Justin wished to provide opportunities for his family.

And so he brought many relatives to Constantinople to get their education. One of these relatives was Petrus. At some point, Petrus traveled to Constantinople and quickly became close with his uncle. Eventually, Justin, who was childless, adopted his nephew. In gratitude, Petrus changed his name to Justinian. Justinian, now well-educated and immersed in the upper echelons of Byzantine society, was an invaluable aid to his uncle. In July 518, when Emperor Anastasius died, Justinian helped Justin navigate the complex political waters and beat out his rivals to become emperor. Over the course of Justin's reign, Justinian's power would only grow. In April, 527, Justin named Justinian as his co-emperor and successor. Four months later, Justin died.

making Justinian the sole emperor of the Byzantines. Crowned alongside Justinian was his wife, Theodora. Like her husband, Theodora came from humble beginnings, although the details are relatively sketchy. Born around 497, Theodora's mother was a dancer, and her father was a bearkeeper at the hippodrome in Constantinople, responsible for the wild animal.

that sometimes performed between chariot races. After her father's early death, Theodora and her sister worked as actresses and possibly sex workers to support their family. A charming, highly intelligent, and well-traveled woman, Theodora eventually caught the eye of Justinian, who made her his mistress. He was infatuated and hoped to marry her.

Byzantine law at the time, however, prohibited marriage between men of the senior class and actresses, due to the salacious connotations of acting. Fortunately for Justinian, he was the adopted son of the emperor at this time, and his uncle could change the law, which Justin promptly did, allowing the pair to wed in 525. Two years later, the couple ascended the throne. As empress, Theodora was enormously powerful. and wielded her power shrewdly, helping shape policy, law, and foreign relations. Another key advisor was Belisarius, the most prominent of Justinian's generals.

Even less is known about his early life than about Theodora's, but we do know that he joined the army at a young age and eventually wound up serving in Justinian's bodyguard corps, sometime in the 520s. His quick-thinking and Marshall Prowse won him Justinian detention, and he was appointed to his first major command sometime in 527, right after Justinian became emperor. A few years later, Belisarius cemented his favorable position by marrying a woman named Antonina, a former actress and close friend of Theodora's. He reached the peak of his career shortly after, when Justinian appointed Belisarius to lead his campaign to reconquer the Western Roman territories. Between 533 and 540, armies under Belisarius' command won a series of incredible victories, taking back territories in Italy, Spain, and North Africa. It was through Belisarius that Procopius came.

onto the scene. In 527, Procopius joined Belisarius's staff as an advisor. What exactly Procopius was doing before then, no one knows. Perhaps the only uncontested fact about his early life is his place of birth. He was born in Cicaria. From what he has written, we can infer more. He was likely from an upper class background, well-educated, and widely traveled. Beyond, that the famous historian's life is a mystery. We're only certain that Procopius served with Belisarius often on between 527 and 540, at the time of the general's campaign to regain the lost Roman territories. Through this advisor position, Procopius gained the insight he needed for his most well-known work, History of the Wars. In eight volumes, History of the War, History of the War,

covers the Imperial Army's engagements from the time of Justin through to the 1550s. It is a sweeping, visceral account that has served as an excellent source for generations of historians. Procopius' other prominent work on Buildings is a similarly invaluable historical document. Written in six volumes on Buildings reports on the public works of Justinian's government through 560. including churches, bridges, fortresses, and roads. It's from History of the Wars and On Buildings that many of the stories of Justinian's greatness arose. On Buildings portrays the Emperor as a public-minded, detail-oriented constructor, while History of the Wars reveals a tireless, passionate, and determined man.

They are two of the few surviving sources from the 6th century Byzantium. and for centuries, the picture they drew of that world was the only picture we had, and it was a glorious picture. But this picture would eventually change, with the revelations of the secret history. For such a shocking document, the secret history begins simply enough. In the preface, Procopius explains his mission to reveal the, quote, event Hithro passed over in silence and the causes for the events already described,

unquote. He had been unable, he claims, to reveal the truth of these events in history of the wars due to fear of consequences. Further, he discusses his fear of not being believed by future readers,

but he felt it to be his duty to reveal what he saw as the true nature of the imperial court, that it was a wicked place, rife with evil deeds. And what was the cause of all these evil deeds? In Procopius' own words, quote, The Tyranny of Women, unquote.

That's the title of the first chapter of the secret history, and, friends, it is only downhill from here. Procopius' main targets are the Empress Theodora and her friend Antonina, who was married to Procopius's long-time boss, the General Belisarius. The two women are portrayed as sexually voracious, murderous, and cunning. Procopius includes a number of shocking anecdotes to illuminate his claims, such as a hilarious scene, where Antonina allegedly convinces Belisarius that she was innocently, quote, burying treasure, unquote, in their basement along

a young man who just happened to be naked, and another scene, perhaps the most notorious in the entire book, in which, and apologies for the graphic sexual content I'm about to describe, in which a young Theodora performs a sex show in which geese eat grains from Hervolva, in an homage to the story of Lita and the Swan. Powerful women, in Procopius' view, gained their power through. how else their sexual appeal, and then used that power for their own sexual satisfaction. In the process, they murdered, tortured, or exiled anyone who got in their way. But Procopius isn't much more generous towards the men in his story.

Belisarius, the dashing war hero of History of the Wars, transforms in the secret history into a henpecked, cuckolded husband, completely controlled by his domineering wife. His personal corruption by Antonina spills over into his professional life, where he becomes increasingly cowardly and wishy-washy in battles. But the harsh treatment Procopius gives Belisarius is nothing compared to that which the historian gives Justinian. The Emperor's first sin, of course, was marrying Theodora, an act which, Procopius claims, quote, reveals only too clearly his moral sickness, unquote. If Justinian was willing to marry such an infamous woman, what else was he willing to do?

In fairness to Theodora, though, Procopius at least allows that Justinian was wicked to begin with, so wicked, in fact, that he must be a demon. Yes, Percopius says that Justinian is literally a demon. He was not the son of two humans, Procopius alleges, but of a demon and a human woman. For proof, he cites a number of bizarre stories, including one where Justinian, pacing the throne room, seems to lose his head and walk around with only a body. Literally lose his head. There's another story where his face, quote, suddenly transformed to a shapeless lump of flesh, unquote.

obviously that's something that would only happen to a demon. And secretly being a demon is the only way, Procopius argues, to explain Justinian's famous lack of appetite, endless energy, and low need for sleep. Fortunately for the demon king, he found the perfect demon queen in Theodora. Summing up his position on the imperial couple, Procopius writes, quote,

to me and to most of us, these two persons never seem to be human beings, but rather a pair of bloodthirsty demons of some sort, and as the poets say, plagers of moral men. For they plotted together to find the easiest and swiftest means of destroying all races of men and all their works and assuming human form became man demons. And in this way convulsed the whole world. quote. Again, this isn't hyperbole on the historian's part. He isn't saying that Justinian and Theodora seemed or acted like demons. He's saying wholeheartedly, they were demons. Whether or not he truly believed it is another matter, but the words are uncontestable. It's a claim that sounds a little absurd to our modern ears. More familiar to us might be this devastating description he gives of Justinian's more human failings.

Quote, this emperor was dissembling, treacherous, false, secret in his anger, two-faced, a clever man, well able to feign his opinions, one who wept not from joy or from sorrow, but deliberately, at the right moment when needed. He was an unreliable friend, an enemy who would not observe a truce, a passionate lover of murder and of money. He was constantly stirring up trouble and change. He was easily led to evil, but never for any reasons did he turn to good. Unquote.

And, ouch. I mentioned before that the secret history changed the historical view of the Justinian era, and despite the outlandishness of many of its claims, there's a reason for that. many of Procopius's more grounded complaints about Justinian policy have been corroborated by historians. Justinian's autocratic tendencies, Theodora's vindictiveness, the imperial couple's greed, there are many recorded instances demonstrating these qualities in other contemporary works. For example, historian Clive Foss discovered numerous records from independent sources that confirm some of the stories that Procopius recorded about Theodora's deeds, both good and bad.

Procopius, Fos concludes, quote, seems to have distorted and magnified far more than he has invented or merely slandered, unquote. It's a conclusion shared by many other Byzantine historians. Though Procopius' judgments are often harsh, merciless and extreme, the examples on which he based those judgments, are nonetheless more often than not accurate. Despite what we can discover about the truth of the secret history, there's a lot we still don't know. We don't know exactly when the secret history was written.

We don't know why it was written. We don't know if Procopius planned to publish it himself had he survived Justinian. The historian's death date is unknown, but based on the timing of his other works, he almost certainly died before the emperor in 565. We don't know if Procopius really believed some of his more outlandish claims. At the base of all those questions is a simple one. How do we understand a historical account as vulgar, shocking, and vitriolic as the secret history? Since the document's discovery in the 17th century, scholars have seen,

struggle to answer that question. Theories have been advanced and debated, but few conclusive answers have arisen. In the late 19th century, some historians argued that Procopius could not have been the real author of the text. If the author had been some hateful nobody and not a preeminent historian, the text would be easier to dismiss. But textual analysis proved that the writing style of the secret history was a veryman. very similar to that of history of wars and on buildings.

Later debates focused on which document Procopius was more honest in. Did he stand by the complementary statements in his two published works, or were his true feelings better represented in the secret history? Procopius probably believed a little bit of everything, with his views of the emperor and the court changing over time. The historian Averill Cameron puts it like this, quote, The three works of Procopius, therefore, represent different sides of the reality of Justinian and of Procopian's perception of it. Procopius had to write three, apparently very different works, to find his full expression, unquote.

Writers and historians of all ages have used exaggeration, metaphor, and symbolism to capture the world around them. often resulting in portraits that are more about feeling than fact. As for Justinian, which image is more accurate? The inspiring, tireless expander of empire or the avaricious vengeful demon? As with most people, he likely fell somewhere in between. Like any emperor, he ruled an institution predicated on the subjugation of people and the centralization of power. His behavior in that role was probably neither saintly nor satanic.

By painting him as all good or all bad, we're likely to miss out on the complexities and nuances of both the man and his time. For all of its extremes, its shocking claims, and its rigid divisions between good and evil, the secret history ultimately reminds us, that the truth is multifaceted and that the past is just as complicated as the present. So were the people who wrote about it.

That's the story of the secret history, but keep listening after a brief sponsor break to hear a little bit more about one of the more modern ways its influenced culture. What's up, everyone? I'm Ego Wode. My next guest, you know from Stepbrothers, Anchorman,

Saturday Night Live, and The Big Money Playwrights, network. It's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with him one day, and I was like, and dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place

that come look for up and coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat.

Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks Dad on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, everyone? I'm Ego Wadam. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live,

and The Big Money Players Network. It's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with them one day, and I was like, and Dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place they come look for up-and-coming talent.

He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there.

Yeah. It would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Of all the writers who have used Procopius's writing to support their historical arguments, you might be surprised that you know the name of one of them, Herman Melville. Yes, that's right, everyone's favorite whale enthusiast,

used everyone's favorite sixth-century Byzantine historian to help prop up the existence of a vengeful sperm whale in his 1851 novel, Moby Dick. In Chapter 45, entitled The Affidavit, the narrator provides examples of a number of violent and vindictive sperm whales so as to convince the reader of the truth of his own encounter with the white whale. After discussing many stories from the recent past, such as the attacks on the whaling ships, Essex, and the Union, the narrator looks even further back.

His final example, he says, will prove that, quote, not only is the most marvelous event in this book corroborated by plain facts of the present day, but that these marvels, like all marvels, are mere repetitions of the ages, end quote. This example comes from the works of who else? Procopius, who, the narrator says,

quote, has always been considered a most trustworthy and unexaggerating historian, except in some one or two particulars, not at all affecting the matter presently to be mentioned." Yes, one or two particulars. Maybe the demon thing, who knows. But in any case, the narrator of Moby Dick continues on to discuss a strange story, not from the secret history, but from history of the wars. In that book, Procopius told the story of a sea-monauty.

who haunted the Bosporus Strait near Constantinople, destroying ships for nearly half a century. It caused so much trouble that Justinian issued orders for it to be caught and destroyed, but the sea monster evaded capture until one day it beached itself and was hacked to pieces by beachgoers out of revenge for the people it had killed. Why does the narrator of Moby Dick concern himself with this story? because, he claims, the sea monster of Procopius, the vindictive beast that made it its mission to hunt men, was, like one Moby Dick, a sperm whale. Noble Blood is a production of IHeart Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Manky. Noble Blood is hosted by me, Dana Schwartz.

Additional writing and researching done by Hannah Johnston, Hannah Zwick, Mira Hayward, Courtney Sender, and Lori Goody. Goodman. The show is produced by Rima Il Kiali with supervising producer Josh Thane and executive producers Aaron Manky, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from IHeartRadio, visit the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. What's up, everyone? I'm Ago Vodom. My next guest, it's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. He goes, just give it a shot. If you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there.

Yeah. It would not be. Right. It wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks Dad on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human