Justinian in the mid 550s pays the…

Justinian in the mid 550s pays the westward-migrating Avars, a tribe of northeast Asian origin—and reputedly an amalgamation of Huns and Mongols—to subjugate those Huns and Slavs who continue to raid the Balkan provinces.

Procopius of Caesarea probably retires to Constantinople in 548 after Belisarius’ disgrace.

In the “Wars,” he narrates Justinian's achievements to 553.

In “The Buildings” completed in 555, Procopius writes a further paean to Justinian for his public works.

In the posthumously published and highly scurrilous “Secret History,” Procopius claims to reveal information about the emperor's personality and policy that he could not present in the earlier books because he feared the emperor’s wrath.

He alleges that the emperor’s late wife, Theodora, was formerly and actress and a prostitute.