Prokopios and Ibn Shaddad: The Tale of Two Leaders

Even though the Roman emperor Justinian and the Islamic sultan Saladin were alive
roughly 600 years apart from one another, their lives were immortalized through conquests,
building, and possibly most importantly the men that transcribed their stories. Prokopios was one
of the only historians of his time to write something derogatory of their leader while that person
was still alive (Prokopios X). Prokopios wrote The Secret History mainly because of his disdain
for how Justinian was ruling the Roman Empire. He tried to provoke change through his stories,
and along with that, Prokopios tarnished what may have otherwise been seen as a pristine legacy
of Justinian (Prokopios IX). Ibn Shaddad, on the other hand, had nothing but respect and
adornment for his leader, Saladin. In his account of Saladins life, Ibn Shaddad almost never
writes of a negative characteristic that Saladin shows. The difference of views of their leaders
stems from the internal conflicts that Justinian faces in his empire as opposed to the external
conquests of Saladin which leads Prokopios and Ibn Shaddad to use anecdotal and hyperbolic
evidence to express their opposite views of their leaders as it relates to the authors wish to
portray their rulers legacy.
Prokopios was upset about how the government was running the Roman Empire. He
thought that Justinian was destroying Rome from the inside by killing Roman citizens,
unlawfully taxing, and many other despising means. Prokopios worked to tarnish Justinians
legacy by revealing these acts. One of the most profound ways that he did this was by exposing
his dealings with his own people. The most notable of these is the events that transpired to what
is known as the Nika riots. This event occurred because of an uprising that happened in Rome in
the year 532, towards the beginning of Justinians reign (Prokopios 136). The rioters proclaimed
that Hypotios, the nephew of a previous emperor Anastosios, was the new emperor of Rome
(Prokopios 140). This is one of the defining points of Justinians reign, and, of course, it was in
how he dealt with a domestic dispute. As the riots grew, Justinian had to make the choice
whether to flee or to fight. As Prokopios writes, it was a speech from his empress Theodora that
led him to fight. She was quoted as saying, for [a man] who has reigned, it is intolerable to
become a fugitive and May I never live to see the day when I will not be addressed as
Mistress by all in my presence (Prokopios 142)! This is coming from a women who was raised
as an actress from a very young age (Prokopios 41). Prokopios uses this example to show how
Theodora exacerbated the rioting and thus exacerbating the internal conflict of the empire.
Justinian then decides to fight and ends up slaughtering over 30,000 Roman citizens that day
(Prokopios 144). Prokopios views this as a selfish act to better themselves over the empire that
they control.
While Prokopios focuses on every negative aspect of Justinians character and ruling
capacity, Ibn Shaddad doesnt leave out a detail that would somehow boost the image of Saladin.
Ibn Shaddad revered Saladin because of his qualities as a leader and a friend along with what he
accomplished on the battlefield. He writes of him as a humble person that is brave, reverent,
holy, and everything else that fits into the mold of the perfect ruler. In the introduction, translator
D.S. Richards explains, Ibn Shaddad himself says at the very end of this work, it was written
out of a pious wish to record the moral excellencies of its main subject, the Sultan Saladin, and to
keep his memory alive amongst Muslims (Ibn Shaddad 4). In Ibn Shaddads recordings, Saladin
could do no wrong because his legacy was of the utmost importance to the future of Islam. He
uses several anecdotes to describe the chivalrous and generous qualities that he possessed,
including the story of his giving away of over 10,000 horses on the plains of Acre alone (Ibn
Shaddad 26). Ibn Shaddad wanted these qualities of Saladin shown to the future Muslims so that
Saladins legacy would live on and the morale of the Muslim forces would remain high in hopes
that the crusaders would not prevail because of his death.
It is easy to see why Ibn Shaddad took the stance that he did. He was good friends with
the sultan and firmly believed in everything that Saladin stood for. He believed that Saladins
conquests were for the good of the empire, and almost all of these were external in fashion. This
provided an excellent example of what Ibn Shaddad believed should constitute a leader. Ibn
Shaddad did not have to handle the turmoil of domestic conflict that Prokopios was forced to
face. Prokopios, while still close to the emperor, didnt agree with Justinians views on the most
important aspects of his rule. One of these features was how they viewed their god. Ibn Shaddad
writes of many accounts of Saladins love of his god and his enjoyment of religious activities.
On one particular occasion, Saladin puts complete trust in God to protect his people from the
invading Franks. The Franks were besieging Jerusalem, so Saladin and Ibn Shaddad prayed extra
and performed many religious acts to ask for the help of God. Saladin says, There is nothing
left but to trust in You, hold fast to Your rope and rely on Your goodness... The Franks ended
up retreating giving the sultans faith in God a new light (Ibn Shaddad 21-22). Ibn Shaddad sees
this happening and it even further strengthens his faith in the leader that Saladin is.
Justinian, on the other hand, used religion as a way of making money and ruining the
empire. He proclaimed that many Christian doctrines were heresies and made all the people
under these documents denounce their traditional religions. It just so happens that these churches
were the richest entity in Rome at the time. Justinian used this to confiscate all of the assets of
these churches taking the livelihoods of many Roman citizens (Prokopios 53). This is another
conflict that Prokopios viewed as a destruction of the Roman Empire. Justinians relentless
assault on the citizens of Rome fueled Prokopios with increasing angst that drove him to produce
this slanderous document. Justinian also used religion as a guise to tax his citizens thus proving
Prokopios idea that part of Justinians ultimate goal was to steal as much money as possible
(Prokopios 52).
Ibn Shaddad and Prokopios both want one thing: their empires to prosper. Prokopios
receives a great deal of turmoil based on how Justinian handles his ruling, while Ibn Shaddad
could not feel more blessed to have Saladin as his leader. Prokopios writes to express the
mistakes of Justinian so that future rulers dont make the same ones while also tarnishing
Justinians pristine legacy. Ibn Shaddad writes to boost Saladins legacy especially in the eyes of
the Muslims that are fighting against the crusaders. Saladins conquests led to a struggle that
helped unite Saladin with his citizens, especially Ibn Shaddad. Many of Justinians conquests
were over his own citizens leading Prokopios to call out against Justinian and his rule.