to. So, for want of any hard evidence one way or the other, to the question of whether Theodora was bisexual or lesbian, probably the least unsatisfactory answer has to be that good old Scots Law verdict, ‘Not proven’. Which allows me, I think, sufficient artistic licence to portray Theodora and Macedonia as lovers.
addressed to a certain ‘Petrus Sabbatius. .’
Antony Bridge in his splendid Theodora states, ‘Before returning to Constantinople she went to Antioch for a time, where she made friends with a celebrated dancer named Macedonia’. He goes on to speculate, ‘that it may well have been through her [Macedonia’s] instrumentality that Theodora. . met the man who was destined so radically to change her fortunes’ [i.e. Justinian]. He confirms, as do other sources, including Gibbon, that on her return to the capital she earned a modest living spinning wool — an enterprise which I’ve had Macedonia take a hand in. The name ‘Petrus Sabbatius’ had now been changed officially to ‘Flavius Justinianus’, for as such he is listed in the consular Fasti for the year 521, the other consul being one Valerius. ‘Flavius’ indicates favoured status as part of the imperial family, perhaps a hint that he was already being groomed as Justin’s successor.
Chapter 7
John the Cappadocian
I have introduced him rather prematurely, as he seemed the ideal person to grasp the significance of ‘the Arabia Felix Question’, and to explain its complexities to others in a clear manner. In real life originally a clerk in the office of the local Cappadocian military commander, rather than in one of the imperial scrinia (as in the story), he was actually chosen by Justinian, not Justin. Coarse and offensively outspoken, he was also loyal, efficient and incorruptible. As praetorian prefect, he made himself indispensable to Justinian through his administrative reforms, cost-cutting exercises and tax-raising measures — the last two of which made him extremely unpopular with many citizens, and were largely the cause of the Nika Riots of 532 (of which more hereafter).
Dhu-Nuwas has invaded Arabia Felix
For convenience in plotting, I’ve had the invasion of Yemen start a little earlier than was actually the case, and telescoped the events of the subsequent counter-attack into a somewhat shorter time-span. Two historical facts enabled me conveniently to involve Justinian in the expedition. Firstly: as Robert Browning in his brilliant and most readable Justinian and Theodora suggests, Justinian may have personally contacted Ella Atsbeha (Elesboas) in response to his appeal. Secondly: we know that about this time Justin offered his nephew command of the Army of the East. Paucity of information concerning Justinian’s doings at this period therefore allowed me to speculate that he might have gone to Ethiopia in a military capacity. (We know that the Romans supplied a naval force to help the Ethiopians. Whether they also sent ground troops is uncertain, although considering the importance of ‘the Arabia Felix Question’, they must have been prepared to do so, if necessary — in which case, it would have fallen to the Army of the East to provide the required contingent.)
As for the expedition itself, beyond the fact that its outcome was successful, little is known about the actual campaigning — which allowed me to use my imagination to chart its progress. In hindsight, it seems a pity that the Romans neglected to exploit the Ethiopian victory over Dhu-Nuwas — a victory which surely offered them a golden opportunity to extend their influence in Arabia, Ethiopia, and the Horn of Africa, with perhaps in time the possibility of opening up a ‘Second Front’ in the struggle against Persia. Another, and most relevant consideration (one of those intriguing ‘what ifs’ of history) is this: had the Romans followed up the recapture of Yemen with an expansionist policy in the region, then Islam might never have come to pass.
Chapter 8
cut from a ‘living’ animal
James ‘the Abyssinian’ Bruce, Scottish ‘Renaissance Man’ and explorer (he discovered the source of the Blue Nile in 1770), published an account of his travels in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1790. Many of his claims in this work — e.g. his reference to a steak being cut from a living cow, seemed so extraordinary that they were generally disbelieved, although subsequently vindicated in toto.
crowned by the ramparts of a mighty fortress
Magdala was taken and destroyed by a British expedition under Sir Robert Napier in 1868. The campaign was mounted in response to a public outcry, after several British subjects were imprisoned in Magdala by the mad Abyssinian emperor, Theodore.
The great machines. . were duly being assembled
Some idea of the fearsome power and destructive capability of Roman catapults can be gained from the following passage in Josephus’ The Jewish Wars. ‘One of the men. . had his head carried away by a stone [and] shot. . to a distance of three furlongsv. . More alarming even than the engines was their whirring drone, more frightful than the missiles was the crash.’
N.B. In Chapters 7 and 8, I’ve relied mainly on imagination and evidence from later periods in depicting Ethiopian warriors, as there is a dearth of contemporary material regarding their appearance. In arming them with spears and rawhide shields (standard equipment for as far back as records show) I imagine I’m on pretty safe ground. But having some with swords? Nilotic warriors have used European-looking swords well into modern times (e.g. as brandished by the Khalifa’s army in that splendid film of 1939, The Four Feathers). But how far back did the practice go? Some have suggested that it stemmed from acquisition/copying of Crusaders’ swords. If so, I can see no reason why the date should not be extended even further back — to the long, cutting spatha of late Roman times.
Chapter 9
a cruel surprise awaits the poor, duped girls
Sadly, a problem which — thanks to ‘people trafficking’ from Eastern Europe and Asia — the West is only too familiar with today.
Justinian was visibly impressed
In his Justinian and Theodora, Robert Browning states that, ‘she quoted the orator Isocrates [to Justinian] with electrifying effect’. I’ve used this incident to suggest that it marked a turning point in their relationship: the moment when he fell in love with her — for her mind.
a Seneca to my Nero
Lucius Annaeus Seneca (c. 4 BC-65 AD), philosopher, man of letters, and a noble, upright character, was entrusted with the education of the young Nero. For a time Seneca was able to exert a salutary effect on the boy; when Nero became emperor however, his essential viciousness of character came to the fore, and he degenerated into the monstrous tyrant he is remembered as today. Disillusioned, Seneca allowed himself to become involved in a plot to murder Nero. But, on the plot failing and his part in it being discovered, he committed suicide.
compensation for brothel-owners
The amount eventually settled on was five nomismata — about thirty pounds in present value.
I love you. . in the sense that Plato means
Despite Procopius’ attempt (in his Secret History) to portray Theodora as a raging nymphomaniac, I remain strongly of the opinion that the love between her and Justinian was — as I’ve suggested in the Notes for Chapter 3 — more about a meeting of minds than anything physical, while their wedded state remained strictly monogamous. Even Procopius can find no evidence that she was anything but faithful to Justinian after their marriage. There is some evidence that they may have produced a daughter, who died young. If so, she was their only offspring — although there doesn’t appear to have been any physical reason why they should not have had more children. All of which suggests that sex may well have been a low priority for both of them. Justinian comes over as an ascetic intellectual for whom sex may even have been mildly repugnant. (Again, see Notes for Chapter 3.) As for Theodora, occasional prostitution dictated by economic necessity, combined with her experience as the mistress of Hecebolus may well (as has been recorded concerning many women with similar experience*) have put her off sex — at least with men. (See Notes for Chapter 6.) Her total commitment to the causes she espoused on behalf of prostitutes, women in general, and the Monophysites, suggests that her sex drive may have been sublimated into, or replaced by, the energy she devoted to these all-consuming passions.
I’ll pay you back for that
Procopius of Caesarea (c. 500 to after 562), a lawyer by training, was military secretary to Justinian. As such, he was an eye-witness to many of the events which he describes, with commendable objectivity, in his
