Belisarius
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Flavius Belisarius (ca. 500 – 565) was one of the greatest generals of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire. He was instrumental to Emperor Justinian's ambitious project of reconquering much of the Mediterranean territory of the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century previously.
One of the defining features of Belisarius' career was his success despite the little or no support he received from Justinian. He is also among a select group of men considered to be the "Last of the Romans".
In art and popular culture
Belisarius was featured in several works of art before the 20th century. The oldest of them is the historical treatise by his very own secretary, Procopius. The Anecdota, commonly referred to as the Arcana Historia or Secret History, is an extended attack on Belisarius and Antonina, and on Justinian and Theodora, indicting Belisarius as a love-blind fool and his wife as unfaithful and duplicitous. Other works include:
- Drama
- Belasarius – a play by Jakob Bidermann (1607)
- The life and history of Belisarius, who conquer'd Africa and Italy, with an account of his disgrace, the ingratitude of the Romans, and a parallel between him and a modern hero – a drama by John Oldmixon (1713)
- Belasarius– a drama by William Philips (1724)
- Literature
- Bélisaire – a novel by Jean-François Marmontel (1767)
- Beliar – 18th century poem by Friedrich de la Motte Fouque.
- Mardi – novel by Herman Melville (1849); Melville playfully assigns the moniker "my Belisarius" to the Samoan Islander first encountered aboard the abandoned vessel "Parki".
- Ein Kampf um Rom – an historical novel by Felix Dahn (1867)
- Belisarius, 19th century poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
- Count Belisarius – a novel by Robert Graves (1938); Ostensibly written from the viewpoint of the eunuch Eugenius, servant to Belisarius' wife, but actually based on Procopius's history, the book portrays Belisarius as a solitary honorable man in a corrupt world, and paints a vivid picture of not only his startling military feats but also the colorful characters and events of his day, such as the savage Hippodrome politics of the Constantinople chariot races, which regularly escalated to open street battles between fans of opposing factions, and the intrigue between the emperor Justinian and the empress Theodora.
- Lest Darkness Fall – an alternate history novel by L. Sprague de Camp (1939). Belisarius appears first as the Byzantine opponent of the time traveler Martin Padway who tries to spread modern science and inventions in Gothic Italy. Eventually Belisarius becomes a general in Padway's army and secures Italy for him.
- Jorge Luis Borges mentioned the legend of Belisario as a blind beggar in some of his poetic works, for example, "A quien ya no es joven," the first verse of which reads: "Ya puedes ver el tragico escenario y cada cosa en lugar debido; la espada y la ceniza para Dido y la moneda para Belisario."<ref>El Otro, El Mismo (1964) in Jorge Luis Borges, Obra Poética p.218</ref>
- Foundation and Empire – a science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, second novel in the Foundation Series (1952). The character Bel Riose, based on Belisarius, is the last great general of the first Galactic Empire, which was modelled on the late Roman Empire.
- The General – a series of military science fiction novels by S.M. Stirling and David Drake. The plot draws much from the life and campaigns of Belisarius; the main character, Raj Whitehall, sets out to reunite the planet of Bellevue after the fall of galactic civilization.
- A Flame in Byzantium – an historical horror fiction novel by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (1987)
- The Belisarius series – six science fiction novels by Eric Flint and David Drake. Alternate history exploring what might have happened if Belisarius and a rival were granted knowledge of future events and technologies. The first four books are available as free ebooks from the Baen Free Library, or all six at The Fifth Imperium] website.<ref>http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/15-WhentheTideRisesCD/</ref>
- Belisarius: The First Shall Be Last – a novel by Paolo Belzoni (2006)<ref>http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Belisarius.html</ref>
- Opera
- Belisario – a 19th century opera, by Gaetano Donizetti
- Comics
- Destiny: A Chronicle of Deaths Foretold – comic book miniseries authored by Alisa Kwitney with art by Kent Williams, Michael Zulli, Scott Hampton, and Rebecca Guay (1997). Belisarius briefly appears as a jealous husband, imprisoning his wife in their quarters due to rumors of her affairs, instead of fighting in Italy.
- Games
- Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings – a video game by Ensemble Studios (1999). Belisarius is a "Hero" that is featured in one of the campaigns as the leader of the Byzantine Army. He has the appearance of a Cataphract, the Byzantine unique unit.
- Civilization IV – a video game by Take Two (2005). Belisarius is a "Great Person". specifically, one of many Great Generals that arise through gameplay via successful warfare with other civilizations but not barbarians.
- Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb – a video game by LucasArts (2005). During his quest to find the tomb of the first emperor of China, Indiana Jones learns that the Nazis have discovered Belisarius' "sunken temple" beneath a mosque in Constantinople.
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion – a video game by Bethesda Softworks (2006). Belisarius is found in the Cloud Ruler Temple as a non-player character.
- Freespace 2 – A video game by Volition Inc. The ship NTCv Belisarius is destroyed after emerging from subspace, heavily damaged and defiant of all calls to surrender, despite facing a superior enemy.