Malalas and the Representationof Justinian’s Reign: a Few Remarks

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work - there was a need to publish a reassessment of his reign from a positive critical
point of view with collected official notices, but not as an official version.23
At this point, if we accept those motives, we must consider that at least what has
been brilliantly shown and explained by R. Scott and Μ. Meier is to be remembe-
red especially: in the Chronographia (or Breviarium) only, one can find the main four
aspects of Justinian’s reign as discussed (conquests, codification, building of Hagia
Sophia, and the closing of Athens academy).24 Moreover, the emperor’s portrait is to
show his three non-dissociable features as a ruler: provoking fear (φόβος),25 showing
care, and giving relief. It has also been noted that in the so-called Fragmenta Tusculana,
Justinian has been characterized as the most pious emperor, a formula which is not
uncommon if one thinks of a very recent death (by comparison one can insist on the
fact that in Corippus,26 a panegyric, it is true, Justinian is described as a father, not a
ruler). My concern is to stress another element of the consistency of Justinian s image
in Malalas, which is his capacity to repent. In such a sense, he imitates not that much
Theodosius the Great. About him, Malalas’ tale does not clearly speak about imperial
penance but is more interested with the pressure put on him by bishop Ambrosius of
Milan.27 So, the model does not come from Roman history but from the Bible.28 Here
then, we would suppose a reference to David’s penitence after having coveted Baths-
heba. But nothing of this episode is written in the tale. And king of Judah Ezekias’s
penitence is more to be perceived as an act of piety than of repentance.29 So the per-
tinent example is to be found elsewhere. In fact, Malalas underlines the significance
of the king of Kings, Cyrus’ conduct, also styled as Χριστός following the Septuagint
version of prophet Isaiah. In the Chronographia (or Breviarium), the Persian king is
connected with the famous episode of Daniel in the lions’ den, in the context of the
coming fight with the Lydian Kroisos. His behavior is depicted in a ternary scheme
of anger, wrong doing, and penitence.30 The documentation about the realization of
23 Scott, “Malalas, the Secret History and Justinian’s Propaganda”, pp. 103-104.
24 Id. “Writing the Reign of Justinian. Malalas versus Theophanes”, p. 24.
25 Meier, “Natural Disasters”, p. 258.
26 Corippus, In laudem Justini, I, v. 167-168: “patrem res publica perdit et orbis, non dominum”.
27 Malalas, Chronographia XIII p. 42.
28 As it is known that Roman Christian basileia was built on the Old Testament, especially Davidic, refe-
rences: see Dagron, Empereur etpretre, pp. 73; 105; 116.
29 As the Assyrian king Sennacherib’s menaces threaten Jerusalem. See Malalas’ narration, completely
dependent on the 2nd book of Kings and Isaiah, in Malalas, Chronographia V, pp. 41-42.
30 Malalas, Chronographia VI 9: Ό δέ προφήτης Δανιήλ είσήλθε προς τον βασιλέα Περσών
Κύρον καί λέγει αύτω Κύρος- ‘είπέ μοι εί νικώ Κροΐσον τον βασιλέα Λυδών.’ καί
άνεβάλετο τού είπεΐν ό Δανιήλ- καί άγανακτήσας κατ’ αύτού ό βασιλεύς έβαλεν αύτόν
εις λάκκον λεόντων, καί μαθών, ότι ούδέν έπαθεν ύπό των θηρίων άνήνεγκεν αύτόν καί
προσέπεσεν ό Κύρος αύτω λέγων'ήμαρτον εις σε- άλλ’ εύξαι τω θεώ σου καί είπέ μοι, εί
δύναμαι άντιστήναι στήναι τω άρπαγι τούτω καί ύπερηφάνω Κροίσω, ότι πάσαν τήν γην
ύπέταξε καί ούκ έκορέσθη.’ καί ό Δανιήλ εύξάμενος είπεν αύτω, ότι ‘νικάς τον Κροΐσον
καί λαμβάνεις αύτόν αιχμάλωτον, περί σού γάρ είπεν ό θεός ό ποιήσας πάντα τά
όρώμενα ταύτα διά τού προφήτου Ήσαΐου- ούτως λέγει κύριος ό θεός τω χριστώ μου
Κύρω, ού έκράτησα τής δεξιάς αύτού τού έπακούσαι έμπροσθεν αύτού έθνη, καί ίσχύν
βασιλέων διαρρήξω ... αύτός οικοδομήσει τήν πόλιν μου καί τήν αιχμαλωσίαν τού λαού