Battles and Generals: Combat, Culture, and Didacticism in Procopius’ Wars

Conor Whately, Ph.D. (2009, Warwick), is an assistant professor of Classics at the University of Winnipeg. He has published widely on Roman military history and late antique historiography, including a monograph (forthcoming) on the Roman army in Moesia.

''The book is clearly written and structured and based on detailed knowledge of classical Greek military historiography and modern literature on this literary genre. Its focus on battle description is to be commended [...] Whately does not believe that Procopius had one overriding narrative aim but that he set out to convey numerous messages.Whately is to be praised for demonstrating that the literary nature of such texts does not detract from their historicity. [...] the book should be essential reading for anyone interested in Procopius, late antiquity warfare, and the Justinianic era." - Alexander Sarantis, in: Speculum 94/4 (October 2019)

• ContentsPrologue: The Battle of Callinicum ixAcknowledgements xiiNote on Translation and Transliteration xivIntroduction 11 Premise 12 A Cultural Approach to Procopian Combat 63 History as Literature 84 Rhetoric and Truth in Procopius’ Wars 135 Methodology 206 Three Facets of Ancient Combat 22a Describing Combat in Antiquity 22b Explaining Combat in Antiquity 25c Great Man History and Generalship 317 Chapter Organization 348 The Wider Applicability of Procopian Combat 361 The Life of Procopius 381 Procopius’ Life, Family, and Social Background 382 Religious Views 433 The Breadth of Procopius’ Reading 454 Procopius the Rhetor 565 Procopius the Philosopher and Engineer 586 Procopius’ Literary Career 617 Procopius’ Service in the Military and His Sources 648 Concluding Thoughts 662 How to Defeat the Persians in Combat 681 The Persian Wars 692 Describing Combat 70a Programmatic Combat 70b Foreshadowing and the Exhortations of Generals 75c The Excitement of Battle 843 Explaining Combat 89a Tactics, Morale, and the Stratagem 89b Procopius, God and Morality 1014 Generalship: Belisarius vs. the Shahanshah 105a Enter Belisarius 107b Enter Khusro 109c Belisarius vs. Khusro 1115 Concluding Thoughts 1133 How to Defeat the Vandals in Combat 1151 The Vandal Wars 1162 Describing Combat 117a Narrative Order 117b The Role of the Narrator 122c Numbers and Names 125d Textual Unity and Internal Referencing 1313 Explaining Combat 134a Exhortations and Morale 134b Guerrilla Warfare and the Absence of Fighting 139c The Desire for Plunder 141d Procopius and Ancient Military Maxims 1454 Generalship: Belisarius, the Lucky and Prepared General 1525 Concluding Thoughts 1574 How to Defeat the Goths in Combat 1581 The Gothic Wars 1592 Describing Combat 160a Graphic Battle Scenes 161b Single Combat 169c Myriads, Romans and Barbarians 1713 Explaining Combat 177a Arete 177b Horse-Archery 1814 Generalship: Belisarius and Heroic Leadership 188a Leading From the Front: Heroic Leadership 188b The Achilles Ethos vs. the Odysseus Ethos 1905 Concluding Thoughts 1965 Book Eight 1971 Battles 199a River Hippis 199b Senogallia 201c Busta Gallorum 2032 Sieges 210a Archaeopolis 210b Petra 2143 Concluding Thoughts 2186 Procopius’ Worldview and the Wider Intellectual Context 2191 Procopius’ Audience 2192 Didacticism, Combat and Culture 2243 The “Face of Procopian Combat” 2314 Conclusion 232Map: The World of Justinian 236Appendix 1: Glossary of Procopian Battles and Sieges 237Appendix 2: Win/Loss Records of the Persian and Roman Armies in thePersian Wars 244Select Bibliography 247Index 272