Procopius of Caesarea, Secret History 11.24-11.30
created: This entry is taken from Secret History 11.24-11.30 written by Procopius of Caes
edition published: 2023-06-30-05:00
language: grc; grc
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https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/53

Καισαρείᾳ

, and

Caesarea

are directly attested at Procopius of Caesarea, Secret History 11.24-11.30. This passage was written ca. 550-560 C.E. possibly in Constantinople. Procopius, a native of Caesarea Maritima who excelled in his classical education and legal training, was the preeminent historian of the reign of Justinian. As a field advisor to the general Belisarius and a ranking member of the governing class in Constantinople, he could write with firsthand knowledge and personal authority on policy and society in the late Empire. Among his influential writings was the unusual “secret” or “unpublished history” (ἀπόκρυφη/ἀνεκδοτή ἱστορία), a collection of vignettes often with a polemical or satirical flavor that portrayed the vices and failures of the emperor, the empress, and their entourage. In this passage, Procopius recounts the bloody Samaritan uprising in 529-531 C.E. under Julian ben Sabar in Palestine, in response to Justinian’s religious legislation. At Caesarea and other cities, Samaritans began to call themselves Christians to avoid persecution.

(24) νόμου δὲ τοῦ τοιούτου καὶ ἀμφὶ τοῖς Σαμαρείταις αὐτίκα τεθέντος ταραχὴ ἄκριτος τὴν Παλαιστίνην κατέλαβεν. (25) ὅσοι μὲν οὖν ἔν τε Καισαρείᾳ τῇ ἐμῇ κὰν ταῖς ἄλλαις πόλεσιν ᾤκουν, παρὰ φαῦλον ἡγησάμενοι κακοπάθειάν τινα ὑπὲρ ἀνοήτου φέρεσθαι δόγματος, ὄνομα Χριστιανῶν τοῦ σφίσι παρόντος ἀνταλλαξάμενοι τῷ προσχήματι τούτῳ τὸν ἐκ τοῦ νόμου ἀποσείσασθαι κίνδυνον ἴσχυσαν. (26) καὶ αὐτῶν ὅσοις μέν τι λογισμοῦ καὶ ἐπιεικείας μετῆν πιστοὶ εἶναι τὰ ἐς δόξαν τήνδε οὐδαμῆ ἀπηξίουν, οἱ μέντοι πλεῖστοι ὥσπερ ἀγανακτοῦντες, ὅτι δὴ οὐχ ἑκούσιοι, ἀλλὰ τῷ νόμῳ ἠναγκασμένοι δόγμα τὸ πάτριον μετεβάλοντο, αὐτίκα δὴ μάλα ἐπί ε Μανιχαίους καὶ τοὺς καλουμένους Πολυθέους ἀπέκλιναν. (27) οἱ δὲ γεωργοὶ ξύμπαντες ἀθρόοι γεγενημένοι ὅπλα ἀνταίρειν βασιλεῖ ἔγνωσαν βασιλέα σφίσι τῶν τινα λῃστῶν προβεβλημένοι Ἰουλιανὸν ὄνομα Σαβάρου υἱόν. (28) καὶ χρόνον μέν τινα τοῖς στρατιώταις ἐς χεῖρας ἐλθόντες ἀντεῖχον, ἔπειτα δὲ ἡττηθέντες τῇ μάχῇ διεφθάρησαν ξὺν τῷ ἡγεμόνι. (29) καὶ λέγονται μυριάδες ἀνθρώπων δέκα ἐν τῷ πόνῳ τούτῳ ἀπολωλέναι, καὶ χώρα ἡ πάσης γῆς ἀγαθὴ μάλιστα ἔρημος γεωργῶν ἀπ̓ αὐτοῦ γέγονε. (30) τοῖς τε τῶν χωρίων κυρίοις Χριστιανοῖς οὖσι τὸ πρᾶγμα τοῦτο ἐς μέγα κακὸν ἐτελεύτησεν, ἀναγκαῖον γὰρ γέγονε σφίσιν οὐδὲν ἐνθένδε μετακομιζομένοις φόρον τὸν ἐπέτειον ἁδρόν τινα ὄντα ἐς τὸν ἅπαντα αἰῶνα βασιλεῖ φέρειν, ἐπεὶ οὐδεμιᾷ φειδοῖ ἡ τοῦ ἔργου τούτου ἐντροπὴ γέγονεν.

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg4029.tlg002.perseus-grc1:11.24-11.30 [Ed. Wirth 1963 [cited by chapter-section]]

(24) And when a similar law was passed suddenly with respect to the Samaritans, indiscriminate tumult descended upon Palestine. (25) All the residents of my home Caesarea and the other cities, considering it foolish to bear any suffering in defense of a nonsensical teaching, replaced their old name with the name of the Christians, and by this pretense they managed to shake off the imminent danger of this law. (26) Those among them who were at all prudent and reasonable were quite agreeable to adhering to this faith. But the majority, apparently feeling resentment that, against their wishes but compelled by law, they were abandoning the beliefs they had inherited, very soon defected to the Manicheans and the co-called Polytheists. (27) And all the farmers gathered together decided to take up arms against the Emperor, putting forward as their own Emperor a bandit named Julian, son of Sabaros. (28) They joined in battle with the soldiers and held out for some time, but in the end they were defeated in battle and perished, all together with their leader. (29) They say that 100,000 men died in this conflict, and the land, which is the best in the world, became as a result destitute of farmers. (30) This situation had disastrous consequences for the owners of these farms who were Christians. For, even though the land was yielding them no profit at all, they were compelled to pay to the emperor in perpetuity annual taxes on a crippling scale, as these demands were pressed relentlessly.

[Adapted from Dewing 1935 and Williamson 1966]

Works Cited

[...] 11.35-11.30
[...] 136-139

Additional Bibliography

[...] 11.24-11.30
[...] 97-98

[Choricius of Gaza, Orations 3.10-3.19

Cyril of Scythopolis

Cyril of Scythopolis, Life of St. Sabas 70]

[Palestine]

[Julian ben Sabar

Julianus ben Sabar

Justinian I, emperor]

[Byzantine History

Christianity

Economy and Commerce

Government and Law

Hellenism (paganism)

Late Roman History

Military

Natural Environment

Society and Culture]