The Colour of Power
Marié Heese
Human & Rousseau
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the following people: Melanie and Fanie Cilliers, to whom this book is dedicated, for their interest and suggestions, and for bringing useful sources to my attention; my excellent literary agent, Daniel Lazar, who asked questions (via e-mail from New York) that prompted restructuring and several rewrites; Alida Potgieter, my editor at Human & Rousseau, for her belief in me and for insightful comments; Louis and Ann Hiemstra for sharing their medical knowledge with me (if there are errors, go ahead and blame them, what do I know?); Louise Steyn, for editing with precision and helping to improve several scenes; Mignon van Coller for technological support; and the team at Human & Rousseau for their contributions to making this book – still, I believe, an artefact that has soul, which is lacking in electronic versions, convenient though they are. E-books just won’t ever compete, in my opinion. They have no texture, no heft and no smell.
Thanks to my friend Amanda Botha who helps to promote my work in various ways.
As always, I would like to thank my husband, Chris. He offers criticism that doesn’t occur to other readers but can’t be ignored. This time, his contribution was far greater than usual: he pulled me out of a plot hole, pushed me into rewriting and took me to Istanbul. Despite occasional complaints, he is a singularly supportive and patient writer’s spouse on top of his own remarkable projects, which are time-consuming and numerous. Thank you, Chris, for all of that.
List of Characters
Fictitious characters are indicated with an asterisk (see Author’s Note on p. 361 for comments)
Acasius, Theodora’s father, bearkeeper, I suggest also former
Syrian priest
Alexia, daughter to Antonina (real person, father unknown,
invented name)
Amantius, Grand Chamberlain
Anastasia, Theodora’s mother, actress (real person, invented name)
Anastasia (Stasie), Theodora’s younger sister
Anastasius (“old Odd-eyes”), Emperor of Byzantium
Anastasius, grandson to Theodora, born to Juliana and Zeno
Antonina, actress and friend of Theodora, marries Belisarius
Asterius, Dancing Master of the Greens
Belisarius, general and later Commander in Chief of
the Byzantine army
Cappadocian John, Praetorian Prefect of the East, tax collecter
Celer, eunuch and Master of Offices
Chrysomallo, acrobat and dancer, friend to Theodora
Comito, Theodora’s elder sister, actress and courtesan
*Darius Pollo, Theodora’s first protector
*Denderis, a eunuch major-domo to Hecebolus
*Eric, spear-bearer to Vitalian
Eudaemon, Praetorian Prefect of Constantinople
Euphemia, formerly the slave Lupicina, Empress of Byzantium
*Fat Rosa, a washerwoman
Father Epiphanius, Patriarch of Constantinople
*Father Rufus, palace priest in Appollonia
Father Sabas, holy man
Father Samson, holy man and healer
Father Severus, deposed Patriarch of Antioch sheltering in Alexandria
Father Timothy, Patriarch of Alexandria
*Gaius Lepidus, champion charioteer
Hecebolus, becomes Governor of the Pentapolis in Africa,
Theodora’s lover
Hypatius, military man, nephew of Anastasius
Indaro, acrobat and dancer, friend to Theodora
Juliana, Theodora’s daughter by Hecebolus (real person,
invented name, father not identified)
Justin, a peasant and military man, follows Anastasius
as Emperor of Byzantium
Justinian, excubitor, Justin’s nephew, becomes Consul,
later Emperor of Byzantium
Lupicina, see Euphemia
Macedonia, dancing girl, spy
*Marcellina, friend to Theodora in Africa
*Marcus Anicius Longinus, senator, protector of Comito
Marius, Dancing Master of the Blues (real person, invented name)
*Mother Sophia, Mother Superior of convent in Alexandria
Mundus, general in Byzantine army
Narses, a eunuch, Commander of the Imperial Guard
Peter, bearkeeper, second husband of Anastasia (Theodora’s mother)
Photius, son of Antonina, father unknown
Pompeius, military man, nephew of Anastasius
Probus, military man, nephew of Anastasius, father to Zeno
who marries Juliana
Procopius, secretary and legal adviser to Belisarius, historian
*Ragu, assistant to Acasius
*Sister Agnes, nun and wool-spinner
*Sister Margaret, nun and gardener
Sittas, general in Byzantine army, marries Comito
Sophia, daughter born to Comito and General Sittas
Theocritus, claimant to the throne after Anastasius dies
Theodora, actress and courtesan, becomes Empress of Byzantium
Theodosius, mapmaker, adopted godson to Belisarius and Antonina
Tribonian, legal expert
Vitalian, soldier, Consul
Zeno, son of Probus, marries Juliana (real person, invented name)
Sundry other persons such as a mandator, slaves, soldiers, priests, housewives, dancing girls, etc.
Power is my mistress. I have worked too hard at her conquest to allow anyone to take her away from me.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Prologue: The Nika revolt begins, 10-13 January, AD 532
Narses the eunuch: his journal
In the year of Our Lord 532, January 13
There is insurrection in the air. I can smell it. Constantinople smells of many things, depending on who you are: incense and myrrh, floral perfume, spices, salt sea air, fresh bread, fried fish, dried dung, human excrement and piles of garbage left to rot. Right now, the bitter smell of smouldering fires, borne on a raging north wind, permeates the palace where we have sheltered for long hours. The New Rome, founded by Constantine on the Bosphorus when the Old Rome finally fell to the barbarians, is itself now the victim of barbaric acts; what, after all, is the difference between a Christian and a barbarian when either is capable of putting the Church of the Holy Wisdom to the torch? The monumental Walls of Theodosius are