Editing Procopius (section)

===''History of the Wars''===
Procopius's ''Wars'' or ''History of the Wars'' ({{langx|grc|Ὑπὲρ τῶν Πολέμων Λόγοι}}, ''Hypèr tōn Polémon Lógoi'', "Words on the Wars"; {{langx|la|De Bellis}}, "On the Wars") is his most important work, although less well known than the ''Secret History''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg4029.tlg001.perseus-grc1:1.1
 |title=Procopius, de Bellis. H.B. (Henry Bronson) Dewing, Ed. [First section:] Procop. Pers. 1.1 |last=Procopius |date=1914 |website=Perseus Digital Library |access-date=18 October 2023 |quote=[Opening line in Greek] Προκόπιος Καισαρεὺς τοὺς πολέμους ξυνέγραψεν οὓς Ἰουστινιανὸς ὁ Ῥωμαίων βασιλεὺς πρὸς βαρβάρους διήνεγκε τούς τε ἑῴους καὶ ἑσπερίους,... Translation: Procopius from Caesarea wrote the history of the wars of Roman Emperor Justinianus against the barbarians of the East and of the West..}}. Greek text edition by Henry Bronson Dewing, 1914.</ref> The first seven books seem to have been largely completed by 545 and may have been published as a set. They were, however, updated to mid-century before publication, with the latest mentioned event occurring in early 551. The eighth and final book brought the history to 553.

{{anchor|Persian War|De Bello Persico}}
The first two books{{mdash}}often known as ''The Persian War'' ({{langx|la|De Bello Persico}}){{mdash}}deal with the conflict between the Romans and [[Sassanid Persia]] in [[Mesopotamia]], [[Syria (region)|Syria]], [[Armenia (region)|Armenia]], [[Lazica]], and  [[Kingdom of Iberia (antiquity)|Iberia]] (present-day [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]).{{sfn|Börm|2007}} It details the campaigns of the Sassanid shah [[Kavadh I|Kavadh{{nbsp}}I]], the 532  [[Nika riots|'Nika' revolt]], the war by Kavadh's successor [[Khosrau I|Khosrau{{nbsp}}I]] in 540, his destruction of [[Antioch on the Orontes|Antioch]] and deportation of its inhabitants to Mesopotamia, and the [[Plague of Justinian|great plague]] that devastated the empire from 542. The ''Persian War'' also covers the early career of Procopius's patron [[Belisarius]] in some detail.

{{anchor|Vandal War|Vandalic War|De Bello Vandalico}}
The ''Wars''’ next two books{{mdash}}known as ''The Vandal War'' or ''Vandalic War'' ({{langx|la| De Bello Vandalico}}){{mdash}}cover Belisarius's [[Vandalic War|successful campaign]] against the [[Vandal Kingdom|Vandal kingdom]] that had occupied Rome's provinces in [[northwest Africa]] for the last century.

{{anchor|Gothic War|De Bello Gothico}}
The final four books{{mdash}}known as ''The Gothic War'' ({{langx |la|De Bello Gothico}}){{mdash}}cover the [[Gothic War (535–554)|Italian campaigns]] by Belisarius and others against [[Ostrogothic Kingdom|the Ostrogoths]]. Procopius includes accounts of the [[Siege of Naples (536)|1st]] and [[Siege of Naples (542–43)|2nd sieges of Naples]] and the [[Siege of Rome (537–538)|1st]], [[Sack of Rome (546)|2nd]], and [[Siege of Rome (549–550)|3rd sieges of Rome]]. He also includes an account of the rise of the [[Franks]] (see ''[[Arborychoi]]''). The last book describes the [[Eunuch (court official)|eunuch]] [[Narses]]'s successful conclusion of the Italian campaign and includes some coverage of campaigns along the empire's eastern borders as well.

The War histories contain various longer excursions on different topics. These serve both literary and thematic purposes by providing the necessary background information as well as contextualising the acts of war described on different levels.{{sfn|Riemenschneider|2024}}{{sfn|Ziebuhr|2024}} The ''Wars'' proved influential on later Byzantine historiography.{{sfn|Cresci|2001}} In the 570s  [[Agathias of Myrina|Agathias]] wrote ''Histories'', a continuation of Procopius's work in a similar style.
{{anchor|Secret History|Historia Arcana|Anecdota| Anecdotes}}