On Buildings
On Buildings is a work by the Byzantine historian Procopius, dedicated to the Emperor Justinian I's construction activities. Due to its subject matter and the wealth of information it contains, this treatise holds a unique place in Byzantine literature. On Buildings is a valuable compilation of information about construction activity around the Mediterranean region in the 6th century. Some cities mentioned in the work are known only from this text, and no other document has survived. It is believed that the work was commissioned or ordered by the reigning emperor to glorify his achievements.
Alongside Procopius' two other works, The ''History of the Wars and the The Secret History, On Buildings forms part of a unique triptych comprising history, pamphlet, and panegyric, all centered on the same figure. The relationship between the historian's personal worldview and the necessity of presenting reality in a manner favorable to Justinian is one of the most debated issues in Byzantine historiography of this period. The absolute and relative dating of Procopius' works and their interconnections spark significant scholarly discussion. The genre of On Buildings'' and its place in the literary tradition are also subjects of study. As far as Procopius' texts are often the only surviving sources for Justinian's reign, the historian's attitude toward the emperor's personality and activities.
The work is divided into six books of different length, each dedicated to Justinian's achievements across different parts of his vast Byzantine Empire. After a brief introduction, the text describes the capital, Constantinople, with the first book focusing primarily on its ecclesiastical architecture. The second book covers fortifications in Mesopotamia, while the third addresses those in Byzantine Armenia. The fourth book lists fortresses and other military structures on the Balkan Peninsula. The fifth book details buildings constructed or restored in Asia Minor and Palestine. The sixth book is devoted to Byzantine Egypt, Cyrenaica, Tripolitania, and other provinces of Byzantine North Africa.
Procopius and His Works
The second half of the 6th century is considered one of the most significant periods in the history of the Byzantine Empire, preceding the 7the century's Dark Ages, and the Iconoclastic period of the 8th–9th centuries. This era marked important transformations in Byzantine society, the culmination of the fusion of classical and Christian cultures, and the transition from the ancient polis to the medieval city. The details of this process remain somewhat unclear. In many cases, the works of Procopius are the primary or even sole source for this period. The question of the authorship and dating of Procopius' works is crucial for evaluating events during the final years of the reign of Emperor Justinian I. Many classical studies of Byzantine history concerning Justinian's reign, if not largely paraphrasing Procopius' History of the Wars, rely on it as the primary source of factual material.Little is known about Procopius' life beyond what he revealed in his works. By his own account, he was born in Caesarea in Palestine. In the 4th century, this city was a major center of Christian theology, home to an extensive library founded by Pamphilus. By the 6th century, Caesarea likely retained its cultural significance. It was a cosmopolitan city inhabited by Christians, Jews, and Samaritans, and Procopius may have been well-acquainted with the turbulent history of the region. This familiarity may explain his apparent disapproval of aimed at suppressing religious minorities. According to Averil Cameron, few Christians of the time shared Procopius' view that investigating the nature of God was "folly and madness" or his condemnation of the persecution of theological opponents. This stance led some scholars, notably Felix Dahn, to suggest Procopius may have been of Jewish origin. Similarly, historian Kate Adshead, based on Procopius' tone regarding the Samaritans, proposed a Samaritan background. The prevailing view today is that Procopius belonged to the upper echelons of Caesarea's Christian society. He likely received a legal education. Based on his adoption of the historical style of Thucydides, some scholars infer that he studied in Gaza, known for its 6th-century scholarship on this ancient Greek historian, though no direct evidence supports this theory. Since 527, Procopius was a secretary and legal advisor of the Belisarius general, accompanying him in all the wars conducted during Justinian's reign. His observations formed the basis for Books I–VII of History of the Wars, completed in 550, with the eighth book finished later, likely in 554. Belisarius' dismissal in 548 was a blow to Procopius. Around the same time as completing the initial books of History of the Wars, Procopius wrote his famous pamphlet, Secret History, exposing the vices and misdeeds of Justinian and his wife Theodora. Sometime in the 550s or early 560s, he produced a work of a markedly different tone, the panegyric On Buildings. With these three works, Procopius is the only author to have written a history, an invective, and a panegyric dedicated to the same individual.
The diversity of Procopius' works, presenting contrasting perspectives on Justinian's rule, has prompted extensive analysis. In 1865, German historian Felix Dahn proposed the first comprehensive theory, suggesting that a disillusioned patriot, Procopius wrote On Buildings under imperial orders, against his convictions, fearing reprisals. His true opinions, Dahn argued, were expressed later in the Secret History. Thus, the historian's worldview became closely tied to the dating of his works. In contrast, in 1985, British scholar Averil Cameron proposed viewing Procopius' triptych as a cohesive whole with shared themes and stylistic elements. Cameron's book Procopius and the Sixth Century spurred significant research in this area, resolving many questions. In 2004, the most recent major study on Procopius, by Anthony Kaldellis, revisited the question of how someone who risked writing the Secret History could portray Justinian as an exemplary Christian monarch. Kaldellis argued that On Buildings was insincere, written to avoid danger or for personal gain. The view of Procopius as primarily a dissident and a representative of Neoplatonic circles opposed to Justinian has been deemed unconvincing by most modern Byzantinists.
Dating problems
Main Theories
Although it is generally accepted that the work was commissioned by the emperor, the specific circumstances are still unknown. The text does not explicitly indicate its creations' date, so historians attempt to date it by correlating statements in the treatise with events known from other sources. In 19th-century historiography, the prevailing view was that Procopius wrote On Buildings to regain the emperor's favor, which he had lost for unspecified reasons. This perspective was held by German historians Felix Dahn and Jacob Haury. Haury suggested that Procopius was rewarded with the position of city prefect for his work, a claim now considered erroneous. English historian J. B. Bury also attributed the work's creation to Procopius' personal motives.In the late 19th century, Jacob Haury proposed that On Buildings was conceived by Procopius in 545 and completed in 560. This theory was later adopted by the renowned French Byzantinist Charles Diehl. American historian Glannville Downey argued that the work was unfinished in 559/560, when the bridge over the Sangarius River was under construction. During this period, in the final years of Justinian I's reign, the empire faced a challenging phase. In 558, the Kutrigurs reached the walls of Constantinople, and in September 560, rumors of Justinian's death sparked unrest. In 562, a failed conspiracy against the emperor led to the dismissal of the general Belisarius, Procopius' patron. Earthquakes in August 553 and December 557 partially destroyed the empire's main cathedral, Hagia Sophia. Repairs began, but further damage from an earthquake in May 558 delayed restoration, which was completed only by late 562. In this context, Procopius' work, as a panegyric, aimed to highlight the architectural achievements of Justinian's waning reign. It was fitting that this task was entrusted to the foremost historian of the time, who had previously chronicled Justinian's victorious conquests in his History of the Wars. In 1949, German historian Ernst Stein argued against dating On Buildings after the Sangarius Bridge's construction, noting that Procopius did not mention the 558 collapse of Hagia Sophia's dome; described the Sanni tribe as a people submissive to the empire, despite their rebellion in 557; and stated that Justinian converted most Samaritans to the true faith and made them Christians, without referencing their revolt in July 555. Historian J. A. S. Evans countered that the latter two points are irrelevant, as they do not align with the work's genre or theme. However, Evans argued that the dome's collapse should have been included in the first book, and its absence suggests a date before May 7, 558. In 1983, Croke and Crow, without providing new arguments, dated the work to 554. Averil Cameron suggested that work on the treatise was interrupted around 554 due to the author's death. Michael Whitby rejects the idea that Procopius' death caused the work's incompletion, noting that publishing unfinished works was typical for Procopius. He ceased work on the Secret History in 551, three years before his presumed death, and published the History of the Wars in the same year, while conflicts in Lazica and Italy were ongoing. Regarding Italian constructions, whose absence is a key argument for the work's incompletion, Whitby notes that Justinian's building projects in Italy were limited, with famous basilicas in Ravenna funded by private individuals.
English historian Michael Whitby provided a thorough analysis of the dating debate as of 1985. He dismisses Stein's argument about Sanni tribe, as their 557 rebellion was not universal, with some remaining loyal to the empire, and it was suppressed the following year by troops led by a Tzani commander, Theodore. The Tzani lived peacefully within the empire for the next two decades, making the event unworthy of mention in a panegyric composed in 560 or 561. Similarly, Whitby views the 555 Samaritan revolt as a brief outburst of violence, triggered by an unexpected reconciliation with Jews. The unrest, confined to Caesarea, resembled a typical 6th-century hippodrome riot more than a full-scale national uprising. The disturbances likely subsided quickly without new legislative restrictions on Samaritans. As a native of Caesarea, Procopius was likely aware of the local context and the limited scale of the issue, unlike the events of 529. Thus, Whitby argues, the Samaritan revolt does not preclude a 560/561 dating. To address the Hagia Sophia dome collapse, Whitby proposes two solutions. One, suggested by Haury, is that the work was written over several years, with Book I completed before the 558 collapse and not revised afterward, while the remaining books were written two or three years later. Whitby considers Glannville Downey's theory of two editions of the work unlikely, suggesting it was not fully edited instead. Alternatively, Whitby posits that Procopius deliberately omitted the dome's collapse as inconsistent with the work's celebratory tone. He may have described the pre-collapse dome, which was more impressive than the restored version, or written in 560/561 when major repairs were complete, and the original lavish decorations were still in use. Whitby's own theory emphasizes Book V's statement that the emperor was currently building, and would soon complete, the bridge over the Sangarius River. Based on the poem by Paul the Silentiary and the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor, the bridge's completion is dated to 562 or 563, leading Whitby to place the completion of On Buildings in 560/561. This dating, he argues, offers a more consistent view of Procopius' evolving worldview after the Secret History and Book VIII of the History of the Wars.
Nevertheless, Whitby's arguments did not shift the scholarly consensus, which favors a dating of On Buildings around 554. Canadian historian Geoffrey Greatrex, in a 1994 analysis of the dating issues surrounding Procopius' works, found no compelling evidence for a later date. Greatrex highlighted the significance of Procopius' references to the Anastasian Wall in Thrace. This defensive structure, built under Emperor Anastasius I, failed to repel barbarian invasions in 540 and 559. Greatrex noted that Procopius' tone suggests no such failures occurred recently, which is incompatible with a later dating of On Buildings. He also corroborated Ernst Stein's view that Theophanes the Confessor's information about the Sangarius Bridge is unreliable. However, in 1996, J. A. S. Evans, after reviewing all existing theories, found no reason to abandon his earlier support for a later dating. Additional arguments for a later dating were provided by Denis Roques, the author of a French translation, in 2011. A detailed comparison of two editions of On Buildings was conducted by F. Montinaro, who suggested that the first was written in 550/551 and the second around 554. Consequently, in 2013, Greatrex, after another review of the arguments, concluded that the dating of On Buildings remains far from resolved.