Editing Narses (section)

==Origins==
Narses was born in [[Persarmenia]], the eastern region of Armenia ceded to the [[Sasanian Empire]] under the [[Peace of Acilisene]] around AD 387.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fauber|first=L.H.|title=Narses: Hammer of the Goths|publisher=St. Martin's Press|year=1990|page=4}}</ref> He was of [[Armenians|Armenian]] heritage, part of a substantial Armenian population that played a prominent role within the [[Byzantine Empire]].<ref>John H. Rosser. ''Historical Dictionary of Byzantium''. Scarecrow Press, 2011, p. 199: "Armenians were a significant minority within the empire. In the sixth century, Justinian I's General Narses was Armenian. The emperor Maurice (582–602) may have been Armenian. In the ninth and 10th centuries there were several Armenian emperors, including Leo V, Basil I, Romanos I Lekapenos, and John I Tzimiskes. Theodora, the wife of Theophilos, was Armenian."</ref><ref>''The Cambridge Ancient History'', Vol. 14: ''Late Antiquity'', Cambridge University Press, 2007, p. 534: "The new Byzantine commander there [Italy], the Armenian eunuch Narses, proved a match for the daring Totila..."</ref>

Some sources,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kamsarakan|title=Kamsarakan|website=Encyclopaedia Iranica}}</ref>{{sfn|Kaldellis|2019|p=59}} have mistakenly conflated Narses the eunuch with his namesake, Narses of the [[Kamsarakan]] family, a noble Armenian lineage.<ref>Mentioned in: Procopius of Caesarea, ''History of the Wars'', Book I, XII, 20 et seq.</ref> However, scholarly consensus now holds that the general had no verifiable ties to this princely house. His first appearance in historical records is by [[Procopius]] around AD 530, in connection with the Byzantine–Sasanian conflicts.<ref>Procopius, ''History of the Wars'', I.xv.31, in The Loeb Classical Library, trans. H.B. Dewing. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1954, Vol. I, p. 139.</ref>{{better source needed|date=April 2016}}

The exact year of Narses' birth is uncertain, with dates typically cited as 478, 479, or 480.<ref>{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}</ref> His death date is also debated, estimated between 566 and 574, suggesting he lived to an age of between eighty-six and ninety-six years. Details of his family background, early life, and the circumstances of his castration remain obscure, often shrouded in speculation and legend.

The historian [[Agathias]] Scholasticus of Myrina offered a vivid description of Narses: "He was a man of sound mind, and clever at adapting himself to the times. He was not versed in literature nor practiced in oratory, [but] made up for it by the fertility of his wits." Physically, Agathias noted he was "small and of a lean habit, but stronger and more high-spirited than would have been believed."<ref>Agathias Scholasticus, cited in Fauber, L.H. ''Narses: Hammer of the Goths'', St. Martin's Press, 1990, p. 15.</ref>