Stratagems and Deception in the Early Byzantine Classicising Historians

Stratagems have always been integral to warfare: from Sun Tzu’s Art of War to modern military practice, ruses involving manipulation of information and deception of the senses have remained a strategic constant. Byzantium – and in particular the works of the so-called early Byzantine classicising historians – is no exception. This paper examines the representation of stratagems and deception in the histories of Procopius, Agathias, and Theophylact Simocatta, with particular emphasis on Agathias. Through episodes involving false messengers, mock executions, and other forms of ruse, it shows how the study of stratagems raises far more questions than those concerned solely with the veracity of the events narrated – long the main focus of scholarly attention. By tracing continuities with classical precedents and identifying contemporary parallels, the paper investigates the interplay between narration and battlefield practice, between literature and warfare. It also situates this material with recent scholarship on Byzantine stratagems, which has thus far concentrated mainly on the middle Byzantine period. Re-reading the early Byzantine historians in this light – beyond the question of plausibility and within a broader framework of literary tradition and modern historiography – reveals stratagems as a valuable lens for understanding the complexity and diversity of this literary production.