Justinian I

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"Justinian" redirects here. For the later emperor also called Justinian, see Justinian II. For his uncle and adoptive father, see Justin I.

Justinian I
Byzantine emperor
Reign1 April 527 – 14 November 565
Coronation1 April 527
PredecessorJustin I
SuccessorJustin II
Co-emperorJustin I (until 1 August 527)
BornPetrus Sabbatius
482
Tauresium, Dardania, Eastern Roman Empire[1]
Died14 November 565 (aged 83)
Constantinople, Eastern Roman Empire
Burial
Church of the Holy Apostles
SpouseTheodora (m. 525; d. 548)
Names
Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus
Regnal name
Imperator Caesar Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus Augustus[a]
DynastyJustinian dynasty
FatherSabbatius (biological)
Justin I (adoptive)
MotherVigilantia
ReligionChalcedonian Christianity
Justinian dynasty
Chronology
Succession
Preceded by
Leonid dynasty 		Followed by
Heraclian dynasty

Justinian I (

Medieval Greek: [i.us.ti.ni.aˈnos]; 482 – 14 November 565),[b] also known as Justinian the Great,[c] was the Eastern Roman emperor
from 527 to 565.

His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized

Tzani, a people on the east coast of the Black Sea that had never been under Roman rule before.[8] He engaged the Sasanian Empire in the east during Kavad I's reign, and later again during Khosrow I
's reign; this second conflict was partially initiated due to his ambitions in the west.

A still more resonant aspect of his legacy was the uniform rewriting of Roman law, the

Eastern Roman (Byzantine) culture, and his building program yielded works such as the Hagia Sophia
.

Life

Justinian was born in Tauresium,[10] Dardania,[11] probably in 482.[12] A native speaker of Latin (possibly the last Roman emperor to be one),[13] he came from a peasant family thought to have been of either of Illyro-Roman[14][15][16] or Thraco-Roman[17][18][19] origin. The name Iustinianus, which he took later, is indicative of adoption by his uncle Justin. During his reign, he founded Justiniana Prima not far from his birthplace.[20][21][22] His mother was Vigilantia, the sister of Justin. Justin, who was commander of one of the imperial guard units (the Excubitors) before he became emperor,[23] adopted Justinian, brought him to Constantinople, and ensured the boy's education.[23] As a result, Justinian was well educated in jurisprudence, theology, and Roman history.[23] Justinian served as a candidatus, one of 40 men selected from the scholae palatinae to serve as the emperor's personal bodyguard.[2] The chronicler John Malalas, who lived during the reign of Justinian, describes his appearance as short, fair-skinned, curly-haired, round-faced, and handsome. Another contemporary historian, Procopius, compares Justinian's appearance to that of tyrannical Emperor Domitian, although this is probably slander.[24]

The ancient town of Tauresium, the birthplace of Justinian I, located in today's North Macedonia. Parts of the town had been destroyed during Justinian's life.
Mosaic of Theodora, Justinian's wife

When Emperor

Anastasius died in 518, Justin was proclaimed the new emperor with significant help from Justinian.[23] Justinian showed a lot of ambition, and several sources claim that he was functioning as virtual regent long before Justin made him associate emperor,[2] although there is no conclusive evidence of this.[25] As Justin became senile near the end of his reign, Justinian became the de facto ruler.[23] Following the general Vitalian's assassination in 520 (orchestrated by Justinian and Justin), Justinian was appointed consul and commander of the army of the east.[23][26] Justinian remained Justin's close confidant, and in 525 was granted the titles of nobilissimus and caesar (heir-apparent).[27][2] He was crowned co-emperor on 1 April 527,[28][d] and became sole ruler after Justin's death on 1 August 527.[28]

As a ruler, Justinian showed great energy. He was known as "the emperor who never sleeps" for his work habits. Nevertheless, he seems to have been amiable and easy to approach.[30] Around 525, he married his mistress, Theodora, in Constantinople. She was by profession an actress and some twenty years his junior. In earlier times, Justinian could not have married her owing to her class, but his uncle, Emperor Justin I, had passed a law lifting restrictions on marriages with ex-actresses.[31][32] Though the marriage caused a scandal, Theodora would become very influential in the politics of the Empire. Other talented individuals included Tribonian, his legal adviser; Peter the Patrician, the diplomat and long-time head of the palace bureaucracy; Justinian's finance ministers John the Cappadocian and Peter Barsymes, who managed to collect taxes more efficiently than any before, thereby funding Justinian's wars; and finally, his prodigiously talented generals, Belisarius and Narses.

Justinian's rule was not universally popular; early in his reign he nearly lost his throne during the

pillage of the city in 1204 by the Latin States of the Fourth Crusade.[37]

Reign

Legislative activities

Main article: Corpus Juris Civilis
The Carmagnola, an imperial porphyry head in Venice thought to represent Justinian[38]
A 6th-century head of an emperor at the Getty Villa, thought to represent Justinian

Justinian achieved lasting fame through his judicial reforms, particularly through the complete revision of all

Institutiones, and the Novellae
.

Early in his reign, Justinian had appointed the

Institutiones, a textbook explaining the principles of law. The Novellae, a collection of new laws issued during Justinian's reign, supplements the Corpus. As opposed to the rest of the corpus, the Novellae appeared in Greek, the common language of the Eastern Empire.[40]

The Corpus forms the basis of Latin jurisprudence (including ecclesiastical

senatorial consults (senatusconsulta), imperial decrees, case law
, and jurists' opinions and interpretations (responsa prudentium). Tribonian's code ensured the survival of Roman law. It formed the basis of later Byzantine law, as expressed in the
Pragmatic Sanction of 554),[41] from where it was to pass to Western Europe in the 12th century and become the basis of much Continental European law code, which was eventually spread by European empires to the Americas and beyond in the Age of Discovery. It eventually passed to Eastern Europe where it appeared in Slavic editions, and it also passed on to Russia.[42]
It remains influential to this day.

He passed laws to protect prostitutes from exploitation and women from being forced into prostitution. Rapists were treated severely. Further, by his policies: women charged with major crimes should be guarded by other women to prevent sexual abuse; if a woman was widowed, her dowry should be returned; and a husband could not take on a major debt without his wife giving her consent twice.[43]

Family legislation also revealed a greater concern for the interests of children. This was particularly so with respect to children born out of wedlock. The law under Justinian also reveals a striking interest in child neglect issues. Justinian protected the rights of children whose parents remarried and produced more offspring, or who simply separated and abandoned their offspring, forcing them to beg.[44]

Justinian discontinued the regular appointment of Consuls in 541.[45]

In Constantinople, under Justinian, hospitals were built and free medical care provided to the many poor residents of the city. In addition, public baths were free for all residents and 20 state bakeries provided free bread to those who needed it. According to one study, “The empire’s social welfare programs ensured that no one went hungry.”[46]

Nika riots

Main article: Nika riots
Anastasius I

Justinian's habit of choosing efficient but unpopular advisers nearly cost him his throne early in his reign. In January 532, partisans of the

Mundus. Procopius relates that 30,000[47] unarmed civilians were killed in the Hippodrome. On Theodora's insistence, and apparently against his own judgment,[48] Justinian had Anastasius' nephews executed.[49]

The destruction that took place during the revolt provided Justinian with an opportunity to tie his name to a series of splendid new buildings, most notably the architectural innovation of the domed Hagia Sophia.

Military activities

Augustaeum
in Constantinople in 543 in honour of his military victories.

One of the most spectacular features of Justinian's reign was the recovery of large stretches of land around the Western Mediterranean basin that had slipped out of Imperial control in the 5th century.[50] As a Christian Roman emperor, Justinian considered it his divine duty to restore the Roman Empire to its ancient boundaries. Although he never personally took part in military campaigns, he boasted of his successes in the prefaces to his laws and had them commemorated in art.[51] The re-conquests were in large part carried out by his general Belisarius.[e]

War with the Sassanid Empire, 527–532

Main article: Iberian War

From his uncle, Justinian inherited ongoing hostilities with the

Khosrau I (532). Having thus secured his eastern frontier, Justinian turned his attention to the West, where Germanic kingdoms had been established in the territories of the former Western Roman Empire
.

Conquest of North Africa, 533–534

Main article: Vandalic War

The first of the western kingdoms Justinian attacked was that of the

Sassanian Empire and prepared an expedition against the Vandals in 533.[55]

In 533, Belisarius sailed to Africa with a fleet of 92

Mons Calpe (later named Gibraltar) were recovered in the same campaign.[56]

A golden medallion celebrating the reconquest of Africa, AD 534

In this war, the contemporary Procopius remarks that Africa was so entirely depopulated that a person might travel several days without meeting a human being, and he adds, "it is no exaggeration to say, that in the course of the war 5,000,000 perished by the sword, and famine, and pestilence."[57]

An African prefecture, centered in Carthage, was established in April 534,[58] but it would teeter on the brink of collapse during the next 15 years, amidst warfare with the Moors and military mutinies. The area was not completely pacified until 548,[59] but remained peaceful thereafter and enjoyed a measure of prosperity. The recovery of Africa cost the empire about 100,000 pounds of gold.[60]

War in Italy, first phase, 535–540

Main article: Gothic War (535–554)
Justinian's conquests

As in Africa, dynastic struggles in

Vitigis
as their new king. He gathered a large army and besieged Rome from February 537 to March 538 without being able to retake the city.

Justinian sent another general,

Matasuntha
with him.

War with the Sassanid Empire, 540–562

Main article: Lazic War
Map showing Roman-Persian frontier in 565 AD
Map of the Byzantine–Sasanian frontier in 565. In 541, the small but strategic region of Lazica on the eastern shore of the Black Sea became the new battlefield of the Roman–Persian Wars.

Belisarius had been recalled in the face of renewed hostilities by the

Daras, and then went on to attack the Byzantine base in the small but strategically significant satellite kingdom of Lazica near the Black Sea as requested by its discontented king Gubazes, exacting tribute from the towns he passed along his way. He forced Justinian I to pay him 5,000 pounds of gold, plus 500 pounds of gold more each year.[64]

Belisarius arrived in the East in 541, but after some success, was again recalled to Constantinople in 542. The reasons for his withdrawal are not known, but it may have been instigated by rumours of his disloyalty reaching the court.[65] The outbreak of the plague coupled with a rebellion in Persia brought Khosrow I's offensives to a halt. Exploiting this, Justinian ordered all the forces in the East to invade Persian Armenia, but the 30,000-strong Byzantine force was defeated by a small force at

Edessa. Both parties made little headway, and in 545 a truce was agreed upon for the southern part of the Roman-Persian frontier. After that, the Lazic War in the North continued for several years: the Lazic king switched to the Byzantine side, and in 549 Justinian sent Dagisthaeus to recapture Petra, but he faced heavy resistance and the siege was relieved by Sasanian reinforcements. Justinian replaced him with Bessas, who was under a cloud after the loss of Rome in 546, but he managed to capture and dismantle Petra in 551. The war continued for several years until a second truce in 557, followed by a fifty years' peace in 562. Under its terms, the Persians agreed to abandon Lazica in exchange for an annual tribute of 400 or 500 pounds of gold (30,000 solidi) to be paid by the Romans.[67]

War in Italy, second phase, 541–554

Spanish Visigothic gold Tremissis in the name of emperor Justinian I, 7th century. The Christian cross on the breast defines the Visigothic attribution. British Museum.

While military efforts were directed to the East, the situation in Italy took a turn for the worse. Under their respective kings Ildibad and Eraric (both murdered in 541) and especially Totila, the Ostrogoths made quick gains. After a victory at Faenza in 542, they reconquered the major cities of Southern Italy and soon held almost the entire Italian Peninsula. Belisarius was sent back to Italy late in 544 but lacked sufficient troops and supplies. Making no headway, he was relieved of his command in 548. Belisarius succeeded in defeating a Gothic fleet of 200 ships.[68] During this period the city of Rome changed hands three more times, first taken and depopulated by the Ostrogoths in December 546, then reconquered by the Byzantines in 547, and then again by the Goths in January 550. Totila also plundered Sicily and attacked Greek coastlines.

Finally, Justinian dispatched a force of approximately 35,000 men (2,000 men were detached and sent to invade southern Visigothic Hispania) under the command of Narses.

Casilinum, and Italy was secured for the Empire, though it would take Narses several years to reduce the remaining Gothic strongholds. At the end of the war, Italy was garrisoned with an army of 16,000 men.[70] The recovery of Italy cost the empire about 300,000 pounds of gold.[60] Procopius estimated 15,000,000 Goths died.[71]

Other campaigns

Emperor Justinian reconquered many former territories of the Western Roman Empire, including Italia, Dalmatia, Africa, and southern Hispania.

In addition to the other conquests, the Empire established a presence in

Visigothic Hispania, when the usurper Athanagild requested assistance in his rebellion against King Agila I. In 552, Justinian dispatched a force of 2,000 men; according to the historian Jordanes, this army was led by the octogenarian Liberius.[72] The Byzantines took Cartagena and other cities on the southeastern coast and founded the new province of Spania before being checked by their former ally Athanagild, who had by now become king. This campaign marked the apogee of Byzantine expansion.[citation needed
]

During Justinian's reign, the

Sklavinoi and Kutrigurs under their khan Zabergan threatened Constantinople, but they were repulsed by the aged general Belisarius.[73]

Results

Justinian's ambition to restore the Roman Empire to its former glory was only partly realized, with only noteworthy sustainable conquests in Africa. In the West, the brilliant early military successes of the 530s were followed by years of stagnation. The dragging war with the Goths was a disaster for Italy, even though its long-lasting effects may have been less severe than is sometimes thought.[74] The heavy taxes that the administration imposed upon Italian population were deeply resented.

The final victory in Italy and the conquest of Africa and the coast of southern Hispania significantly enlarged the area of Byzantine influence and eliminated all naval threats to the empire, which in 555 reached its territorial zenith. Despite losing much of Italy soon after Justinian's death, the empire retained several important cities, including Rome, Naples, and Ravenna, leaving the Lombards as a regional threat. The newly founded province of Spania kept the Visigoths as a threat to Hispania alone and not to the western Mediterranean and Africa.[citation needed]

Events of the later years of his reign showed that Constantinople itself was not safe from barbarian incursions from the north, and even the relatively benevolent historian Menander Protector felt the need to attribute the Emperor's failure to protect the capital to the weakness of his body in his old age.[75] In his efforts to renew the Roman Empire, Justinian dangerously stretched its resources while failing to take into account the changed realities of 6th-century Europe.[76]

Religious activities

Justinian with the bishop of Ravenna (Italy), bodyguards, and courtiers[77]

Justinian saw the orthodoxy of his empire threatened by diverging religious currents, especially

Anastasius I had been a source of tension in the relationship with the bishops of Rome.[78]

Justin reversed this trend and confirmed the Chalcedonian doctrine, openly condemning the Monophysites. Justinian, who continued this policy, tried to impose religious unity on his subjects by forcing them to accept doctrinal compromises that might appeal to all parties, a policy that proved unsuccessful as he satisfied none of them.[78]

Near the end of his life, Justinian became ever more inclined towards the Monophysite doctrine, especially in the form of Aphthartodocetism, but he died before being able to issue any legislation. The empress Theodora sympathized with the Monophysites and is said to have been a constant source of pro-Monophysite intrigues at the court in Constantinople in the earlier years. In the course of his reign, Justinian, who had a genuine interest in matters of theology, authored a small number of theological treatises.[79]

Religious policy

Our Lady of Saidnaya Monastery, in present-day Syria, is traditionally held to have been founded by Justinian.

As in his secular administration,

Imperial treasury or from the taxes of certain provinces and he prohibited lay confiscation of monastic estates.[citation needed
]

Mosaic from Our Lady of Saidnaya Monastery depicting the Virgin Mary holding the Child Christ on her lap. On her right side stands Justinian. On her left side stands Theodora. After the Muslim conquest of the Levant, the gold background was replaced with a plain white one and the Greek text was modified into Arabic.

Although the despotic character of his measures is contrary to modern sensibilities, he was a "nursing father" of the Church. Both the Codex and the Novellae contain many enactments regarding donations, foundations, and the administration of ecclesiastical property; election and rights of bishops, priests and abbots; monastic life, residential obligations of the clergy, conduct of divine service, episcopal jurisdiction, etc. Justinian also rebuilt the Church of Hagia Sophia (which cost 20,000 pounds of gold),[86] the original site having been destroyed during the Nika riots. The new Hagia Sophia, with its numerous chapels and shrines, gilded octagonal dome, and mosaics, became the centre and most visible monument of Eastern Orthodoxy in Constantinople.[87]

Religious relations with Rome

Saint Justinian the Great
Illustration of an angel showing Justinian a model of Hagia Sophia in a vision, by Herbert Cole (1912)
Emperor
Venerated in
Major shrineChurch of the Holy Apostles, Constantinople
Feast14 November
AttributesImperial Vestment

From the middle of the 5th century onward, increasingly arduous tasks confronted the emperors of the East in ecclesiastical matters. Justinian entered the arena of ecclesiastical statecraft shortly after his uncle's accession in 518, and put an end to the Acacian schism. Previous Emperors had tried to alleviate theological conflicts by declarations that deemphasized the Council of Chalcedon, which had condemned monophysitism, which had strongholds in Egypt and Syria, and by tolerating the appointment of Monophysites to church offices. The Popes reacted by severing ties with the Patriarch of Constantinople who supported these policies. Emperors Justin I (and later Justinian himself) rescinded these policies and reestablished the union between Constantinople and Rome.[88] After this, Justinian also felt entitled to settle disputes in papal elections, as he did when he favored Vigilius and had his rival Silverius deported.[citation needed]

Constantine I
presents a model of Constantinople.

This new-found unity between East and West did not, however, solve the ongoing disputes in the east. Justinian's policies switched between attempts to force Monophysites and Miaphysites (who were mistaken to be adherers of Monophysitism) to accept the Chalcedonian creed by persecuting their bishops and monks – thereby embittering their sympathizers in Egypt and other provinces – and attempts at a compromise that would win over the Monophysites without surrendering the Chalcedonian faith. Such an approach was supported by the Empress Theodora, who favoured the Miaphysites unreservedly. In the condemnation of the

Fifth Ecumenical Council, most of the Eastern church yielded to the Emperor's demands, and Pope Vigilius, who was forcibly brought to Constantinople and besieged at a chapel, finally also gave his assent. However, the condemnation was received unfavourably in the west, where it led to new (albeit temporal) schism, and failed to reach its goal in the east, as the Monophysites remained unsatisfied – all the more bitter for him because during his last years he took an even greater interest in theological matters.[citation needed
]

Authoritarian rule

Justinian's religious policy reflected the Imperial conviction that the unity of the Empire presupposed unity of faith, and it appeared to him obvious that this faith could only be the orthodoxy (Chalcedonian). Those of a different belief were subjected to persecution, which imperial legislation had effected from the time of Constantius II and which would now vigorously continue. The Codex contained two statutes[89] that decreed the total destruction of paganism, even in private life; these provisions were zealously enforced. Contemporary sources (John Malalas, Theophanes, and John of Ephesus) tell of severe persecutions, even of men in high position.[dubious – discuss]

The original

Neoplatonic Academy was established that had no institutional continuity with Plato's Academy, and which served as a center for Neoplatonism and mysticism. It persisted until 529 AD when it was finally closed by Justinian I. Other schools in Constantinople, Antioch, and Alexandria, which were the centers of Justinian's empire, continued.[90]

In

Tzanni in Caucasia.[95]

The worship of

Nabataeans, and Justinian attempted to strengthen Christianity in Yemen by dispatching a bishop from Egypt.[100]

The civil rights of Jews were restricted[101] and their religious privileges threatened.[102] Justinian also interfered in the internal affairs of the synagogue[103] and encouraged the Jews to use the Greek Septuagint in their synagogues in Constantinople.[104]

The Emperor faced significant opposition from the

Manicheans too suffered persecution, experiencing both exile and threat of capital punishment.[105] At Constantinople, on one occasion, not a few Manicheans, after strict inquisition, were executed in the emperor's very presence: some by burning, others by drowning.[106]

Architecture, learning, art and literature

Consular diptych displaying Justinian's full name (Constantinople 521)

Justinian was a prolific builder; the historian Procopius bears witness to his activities in this area.[107] Under Justinian's reign, the San Vitale in Ravenna, which features two famous mosaics representing Justinian and Theodora, was completed under the sponsorship of Julius Argentarius.[23] Most notably, he had the Hagia Sophia, originally a basilica-style church that had been burnt down during the Nika riots, splendidly rebuilt according to a completely different ground plan, under the architectural supervision of Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. On 26 December 537, according to Pseudo-Codinus, Justinian stated at the completion of this edifice: "Solomon, I have outdone thee" (in reference to the first Jewish temple). The church had a second inauguration on 24 December 562, after several reworks made by Isidore the Younger. This new cathedral, with its magnificent dome filled with mosaics, remained the centre of eastern Christianity for centuries.[108]

The present Basilica of Saint Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria, is believed to be the fifth structure to be constructed on the site and was built during the reign of Emperor Justinian I.

Another prominent church in the capital, the

Augustaeum in Constantinople in 543.[111] Rivalry with other, more established patrons from the Constantinopolitan and exiled Roman aristocracy might have enforced Justinian's building activities in the capital as a means of strengthening his dynasty's prestige.[112]

Justinian also strengthened the borders of the Empire from Africa to the East through the construction of fortifications and ensured Constantinople of its water supply through construction of underground

Thessalonica as the political and religious centre of Illyricum.[citation needed
]

In Justinian's reign, and partly under his patronage, Byzantine culture produced noteworthy historians, including Procopius and

Law School of Berytus[113] lost their importance during his reign.[citation needed
]

Economy and administration

Further information: Byzantine silk
Indo-Roman trade
during the period

As was the case under Justinian's predecessors, the Empire's economic health rested primarily on agriculture. In addition, long-distance trade flourished, reaching as far north as

Tenedos for storage and further transport to Constantinople.[115]
Justinian also tried to find new routes for the eastern trade, which was suffering badly from the wars with the Persians.

One important luxury product was silk, which was imported and then processed in the Empire. In order to protect the manufacture of silk products, Justinian granted a monopoly to the imperial factories in 541.

smuggling eggs of silk worms from Central Asia back to Constantinople,[118]
and silk became an indigenous product.

Gold and silver were mined in the Balkans, Anatolia, Armenia, Cyprus, Egypt and Nubia.[119]

Scene from daily life on a mosaic from the Great Palace of Constantinople, early 6th century

At the start of Justinian I's reign he had inherited a surplus 28,800,000 solidi (400,000 pounds of gold) in the imperial treasury from Anastasius I and

dioceses, of which a number were abolished. The overall trend was towards a simplification of administrative infrastructure.[120] According to Brown (1971), the increased professionalization of tax collection did much to destroy the traditional structures of provincial life, as it weakened the autonomy of the town councils in the Greek towns.[121] It has been estimated that before Justinian I's reconquests the state had an annual revenue of 5,000,000 solidi in AD 530, but after his reconquests, the annual revenue was increased to 6,000,000 solidi in AD 550.[60]

Throughout Justinian's reign, the cities and villages of the East thrived, although Antioch was struck by two earthquakes (526, 528) and sacked and evacuated by the Persians (540). Justinian had the city rebuilt, but on a slightly smaller scale.[122]

Despite all these measures, the Empire suffered several major setbacks in the course of the 6th century. The first one was the plague, which lasted from 541 to 543 and, by decimating the Empire's population, probably created a scarcity of labor and a rising of wages.[123] The lack of manpower also led to a significant increase in the number of "barbarians" in the Byzantine armies after the early 540s.[124] The protracted war in Italy and the wars with the Persians themselves laid a heavy burden on the Empire's resources, and Justinian was criticized for curtailing the government-run post service, which he limited to only one eastern route of military importance.[125]

Natural disasters

Main articles:
Extreme weather events of 535–536, and Plague of Justinian
An older Justinian; mosaic in Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna (possibly a modified portrait of Theodoric)

During the 530s, it seemed to many that God had abandoned the Christian Roman Empire. There were noxious fumes in the air and the Sun, while still providing daylight, refused to give much heat. The

extreme weather events of 535–536 led to a famine such as had not been recorded before, affecting both Europe and the Middle East.[126] These events may have been caused by an atmospheric dust veil resulting from a large volcanic eruption.[127][128]

The historian Procopius recorded in 536 in his work on the Vandalic War "during this year a most dread portent took place. For the sun gave forth its light without brightness … and it seemed exceedingly like the sun in eclipse, for the beams it shed were not clear".[129][130]

The causes of these disasters are not precisely known, but volcanoes at the Rabaul caldera, Lake Ilopango, Krakatoa, or, according to a recent finding, in Iceland are suspected.[126]

Seven years later in 542, a devastating outbreak of

Bubonic Plague, known as the Plague of Justinian and second only to Black Death of the 14th century, killed tens of millions. Justinian and members of his court, physically unaffected by the previous 535–536 famine, were afflicted, with Justinian himself contracting and surviving the pestilence. The impact of this outbreak of plague has recently been disputed, since evidence for tens of millions dying is uncertain.[131][132]

In July 551, the eastern Mediterranean was rocked by the 551 Beirut earthquake, which triggered a tsunami. The combined fatalities of both events likely exceeded 30,000, with tremors felt from Antioch to Alexandria.[133]

Cultural depictions

Justinian was one of the first Roman Emperors to be depicted holding the cross-surmounted orb on the obverse of a coin.
Emperor Justinian in Council (1886), by Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant, prior to restoration in 2020.

In the Paradiso section of the Divine Comedy, Canto (chapter) VI, by Dante Alighieri, Justinian I is prominently featured as a spirit residing on the sphere of Mercury. The latter holds in Heaven the souls of those whose acts were righteous, yet meant to achieve fame and honor. Justinian's legacy is elaborated on, and he is portrayed as a defender of the Christian faith and the restorer of Rome to the Empire. Justinian confesses that he was partially motivated by fame rather than duty to God, which tainted the justice of his rule in spite of his proud accomplishments. In his introduction, "Cesare fui e son Iustinïano" ("Caesar I was, and am Justinian"[134]), his mortal title is contrasted with his immortal soul, to emphasize that "glory in life is ephemeral, while contributing to God's glory is eternal", according to Dorothy L. Sayers.[135] Dante also uses Justinian to criticize the factious politics of his 14th-century Italy, divided between Ghibellines and Guelphs, in contrast to the unified Italy of the Roman Empire.

Justinian is a major character in the 1938 novel Count Belisarius, by Robert Graves. He is depicted as a jealous and conniving Emperor obsessed with creating and maintaining his own historical legacy.[136]

Justinian appears as a character in the 1939 time-travel novel Lest Darkness Fall, by L. Sprague de Camp.[137]

The Glittering Horn: Secret Memoirs of the Court of Justinian was a novel written by Pierson Dixon in 1958 about the court of Justinian.[citation needed]

Justinian is a chief protagonist of Belisarius in "Empire in Apocalypse" by Robert Bruton (Legend Books 2023). The emperor's jealousy and envy of Belisarius eventually prompt him to undermine his best general.

Justinian occasionally appears in the comic strip Prince Valiant, usually as a nemesis of the title character.[citation needed]

Justinian is played by Innokenty Smoktunovsky in the 1985 Soviet film Primary Russia.

Justinian's Crown is a historical artifact claimed by the

Crusader Kings 3, by Paradox Development Studio.[138]

Historical sources

Procopius provides the primary source for the history of Justinian's reign, but his opinion is tainted by a feeling of betrayal when Justinian became more pragmatic and less idealistic (Justinian and the Later Roman Empire by John W. Barker). He became very bitter towards Justinian and his empress, Theodora.

Lutheran Church–Canada
also remember Justinian on 14 November.

See also

Notes

  1. Germans, Antes, Alans, Vandals, Africans; pious, fortunate, renowned, victorious and triumphant, ever augustus)[4]
  2. Byzantine Greek: [ˈfla.vi.os ˈpe.tros savˈva.ti.os i.us.ti.ni.aˈnos]
  3. Byzantine Greek: [i.us.ti.ni.aˈnos o ˈme.ɣas]
  4. ^ Constantine VII's De Ceremoniiss dates Justinian's coronation to 4 April,[29] probably a confusion between α (1) and δ (4).
  5. ^ Justinian himself took the field only once, during a campaign against the Huns in 559, when he was already an old man. This enterprise was largely symbolic and although no battle was fought, the emperor held a triumphal entry in the capital afterwards. (See Browning, R. Justinian and Theodora. London 1971, 193.)
  6. Paschal Chronicle, Evagrius Scholasticus, Pseudo-Zacharias Rhetor, Jordanes, the chronicles of Marcellinus Comes and Victor of Tunnuna. Justinian is widely regarded as a saint by Orthodox Christians, and is also commemorated by some Lutheran
    churches on 14 November.

References

  1. ISBN 1605204056
    , p. 7.
  2. ^ a b c d PLRE.
  3. JSTOR 41540754
    .
  4. ^ Abdy, John Thomas (1876). The Institutes of Justinian. Cambridge University Press. p. 21.
  5. ^ J. F. Haldon, Byzantium in the seventh century (Cambridge, 2003), 17–19.
  6. ^ On the western Roman Empire, see now H. Börm, Westrom (Stuttgart 2013).
  7. ^ "History 303: Finances under Justinian". Tulane.edu. Archived from the original on 9 March 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  8. ^ Evans, J. A. S., The Age of Justinian: the circumstances of imperial power. pp. 93–94
  9. ^ John Henry Merryman and Rogelio Pérez-Perdomo, The Civil Law Tradition: An Introduction to the Legal Systems of Europe and Latin America, 3rd ed. (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2007), pp. 9–11.
  10. ^ near Skopje, North Macedonia
  11. ISBN 1593394926, p. 1007.
  12. ^ Joannes Zonaras (c. 1140) Epitome XIV, 5. He was crowned at the age of 45.
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    (p. 90). Justinian referred to Latin as his native tongue in several of his laws. See Moorhead (1994), p. 18.
  14. ISBN 978-1139826877
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  16. ISBN 978-0-299-03944-8
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  18. ISBN 1472443500, p. 259.
  19. ISBN 1317754255, p. 350.
  20. ISBN 978-0631204718
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  21. ^ Justiniana Prima Site of an early Byzantine city located 30 km south-west of Leskovci in Kosovo. Grove's Dictionaries. 2006.
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  23. ^ a b c d e f g Robert Browning. "Justinian I" in Dictionary of the Middle Ages, volume VII (1986).
  24. ^ Cambridge Ancient History p. 65
  25. ^ Moorhead (1994), pp. 21–22, with a reference to Procopius, Secret History 8.3.
  26. titular
    ; there is no evidence that Justinian had any military experience. See A.D. Lee, "The Empire at War", in Michael Maas (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Justinian (Cambridge 2005), pp. 113–133 (pp. 113–114).
  27. ^ Victor of Tunnuna (c. 570), Chronica s.a. 525.
  28. ^
    Theophanes Confessor AM 6019
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  29. ^ Constantine VII (c. 956), De Ceremoniis, I 95.
  30. ^ See Procopius, Secret history, ch. 13.
  31. ^ M. Meier, Justinian, p. 57.
  32. ^ P. N. Ure, Justinian and his age, p. 200.
  33. ^ "DIR Justinian". Roman Emperors. 25 July 1998. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  34. ^ Robert Browning, Justinian and Theodora (1987), 129; James Allan Evans, The Empress Theodora: Partner of Justinian (2002), 104
  35. ^ Theological treatises authored by Justinian can be found in Migne's Patrologia Graeca, Vol. 86.
  36. Theophanes Confessor AM 6058; John Malalas 18.1
    .
  37. ISBN 978-0-571-24595-6
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  38. ^ Yuri Marano (2012). "Discussion: Porphyry head of emperor ('Justinian'). From Constantinople (now in Venice). Early sixth century". Last Statues of Antiquity (LSA Database), University of Oxford.
  39. ^ "S. P. Scott: The Civil Law". Constitution.org. 19 June 2002. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
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  41. ^ Kunkel, W. (translated by J. M. Kelly) An introduction to Roman legal and constitutional history. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1966; 168
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  43. ^ Garland (1999), pp. 16–17
  44. ^ Sarris, P. (2017). Emperor Justinian. In J. Witte, Jr & G. Hauk (Eds.), Christianity and Family Law: An Introduction (Law and Christianity, pp. 85-99). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108233255.008
  45. ^ Vasiliev (1952), p. I 192.
  46. ^ Daily Life in Ancient and Modern Istanbul By Robert Bator, 2000, P.15
  47. ^ J. Norwich, Byzantium: The Early Centuries, 200
  48. ^ Diehl, Charles. Theodora, Empress of Byzantium ((c) 1972 by Frederick Ungar Publishing, Inc., transl. by S.R. Rosenbaum from the original French Theodora, Imperatice de Byzance), 89.
  49. ^ Vasiliev (1958), p. 157.
  50. ^ For an account of Justinian's wars, see Moorhead (1994), pp. 22–24, 63–98, and 101–109.
  51. ^ See A. D. Lee, "The Empire at War", in Michael Maas (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Justinian (Cambridge 2005), pp. 113–33 (pp. 113–114). For Justinian's own views, see the texts of Codex Iustinianus 1.27.1 and Novellae 8.10.2 and 30.11.2.
  52. ^ See Geoffrey Greatrex, "Byzantium and the East in the Sixth Century" in Michael Maas (ed.). Age of Justinian (2005), pp. 477–509.
  53. ^ a b J. Norwich, Byzantium: The Early Centuries, p. 195.
  54. S2CID 163004552
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  55. ^ Procopius, De Bellus III.9.5. Translated by H.B. Dewing, Procopius (Cambridge: Loeb Classical Library, 1979), vol. 2 p. 85
  56. ^ Moorhead (1994), p. 68.
  57. ^ Mavor, William Fordyce (1802). Universal History, Ancient and Modern: From the Earliest Records of Time, to the General Peace of 1801. R. Phillips. p. 81.
  58. ^ Moorhead (1994), p. 70.
  59. ^ Procopius. "II.XXVIII". De Bello Vandalico.
  60. ^ a b c d "Early Medieval and Byzantine Civilization: Constantine to Crusades". Tulane. Archived from the original on 9 March 2008.
  61. ^ J. Norwich, Byzantium: The Early Centuries, 215
  62. ^ Moorhead (1994), pp. 84–86.
  63. ^ See for this section Moorhead (1994), pp. 89 ff., Greatrex (2005), p. 488 ff., and especially H. Börm, "Der Perserkönig im Imperium Romanum", in Chiron 36, 2006, pp. 299 ff.
  64. ^ a b J. Norwich, Byzantium: The Early Centuries, 229
  65. ^ Procopius mentions this event both in the Wars and in the Secret History, but gives two entirely different explanations for it. The evidence is briefly discussed in Moorhead (1994), pp. 97–98.
  66. ^ J. Norwich, Byzantium: The Early Centuries, 235
  67. ^ Moorhead ((1994), p. 164) gives the lower, Greatrex ((2005), p. 489) the higher figure.
  68. ISBN 978-1-4728-1827-0
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  69. ^ J. Norwich, Byzantium: The Early Centuries, 251
  70. ^ J. Norwich, Byzantium: The Early Centuries, 233
  71. ^ Mavor, William Fordyce (1 March 1802). "Universal history, ancient and modern" – via Google Books.
  72. ^ Getica, 303
  73. OCLC 843198707
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  74. ^ See Lee (2005), pp. 125 ff.
  75. ^ W. Pohl, "Justinian and the Barbarian Kingdoms", in Maas (2005), pp. 448–476; 472
  76. ^ See Haldon (2003), pp. 17–19.
  77. ^ Adams History of Western Art pp. 158–159
  78. ^ a b Meyendorff 1989, pp. 207–250.
  79. ^ Treatises written by Justinian can be found in Migne's Patrologia Graeca, Vol. 86.
  80. ^ Cod., I., i. 5.
  81. ^ MPG, lxxxvi. 1, p. 993.
  82. ^ Cod., I., i. 7.
  83. ^ Novellae, cxxxi.
  84. ^ Mansi, Concilia, viii. 970B.
  85. ^ Novellae, xlii.
  86. ^ P. Heather, The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians, 283
  87. ^ "Religion and politics at the Golden Horn?". www.uni-muenster.de. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  88. ^ cf. Novellae, cxxxi.
  89. ^ Cod., I., xi. 9 and 10.
  90. ^ Lindberg, David C. "The Beginnings of Western Science", p. 70
  91. ^ François Nau, in Revue de l'orient chretien, ii., 1897, 482.
  92. ^ Procopius, Bellum Gothicum, ii. 14; Evagrius, Hist. eccl., iv. 20
  93. ^ Procopius, iv. 4; Evagrius, iv. 23.
  94. ^ Procopius, iv. 3; Evagrius, iv. 22.
  95. ^ Procopius, Bellum Persicum, i. 15.
  96. ^ Procopius, De Aedificiis, vi. 2.
  97. ^ Procopius, Bellum Persicum, i. 19.
  98. ^ DCB, iii. 482
  99. ^ John of Ephesus, Hist. eccl., iv. 5 sqq.
  100. ^ Procopius, Bellum Persicum, i. 20; Malalas, ed. Niebuhr, Bonn, 1831, pp. 433 sqq.
  101. ^ Cod., I., v. 12
  102. ^ Procopius, Historia Arcana, 28;
  103. ^ Nov., cxlvi., 8 February 553
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  105. ^ Cod., I., v. 12.
  106. ^ F. Nau, in Revue de l'orient, ii., 1897, p. 481.
  107. ^ See Procopius, Buildings.
  108. ISBN 9780299039448
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  109. ^ Vasiliev (1952), p. 189
  110. ISSN 1942-1273
    .
  111. ^ Brian Croke, "Justinian's Constantinople", in Michael Maas (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Justinian (Cambridge 2005), pp. 60–86 (p. 66)
  112. ^ See Croke (2005), pp. 364 ff., and Moorhead (1994).
  113. ^ Following a terrible earthquake in 551, the school at Berytus was transferred to Sidon and had no further significance after that date. (Vasiliev (1952), p. 147)
  114. ^ John F. Haldon, "Economy and Administration", in Michael Maas (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Justinian (Cambridge 2005), pp. 28–59 (p. 35)
  115. ^ John Moorhead, Justinian (London/New York 1994), p. 57
  116. ^ Peter Brown, The World of Late Antiquity (London 1971), pp. 157–158
  117. ^ Vasiliev (1952), p. 167
  118. ^ See Moorhead (1994), p. 167; Procopius, Wars, 8.17.1–8
  119. ^ "Justinian's Gold Mines – Mining Technology | TechnoMine". Technology.infomine.com. 3 December 2008. Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  120. ^ Haldon (2005), p. 50
  121. ^ Brown (1971), p. 157
  122. ^ Kenneth G. Holum, "The Classical City in the Sixth Century", in Michael Maas (ed.), Age of Justinian (2005), pp. 99–100
  123. ^ Moorhead (1994), pp. 100–101
  124. ^ John L. Teall, "The Barbarians in Justinian's Armies", in Speculum, vol. 40, No. 2, 1965, 294–322. The total strength of the Byzantine army under Justinian is estimated at 150,000 men (J. Norwich, Byzantium: The Early Centuries, 259).
  125. ^ Brown (1971), p. 158; Moorhead (1994), p. 101
  126. ^
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  128. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(09)60069-5
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  129. ISBN 978-0-674-99054-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  130. ISBN 978-1-59486-288-5
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  131. PMID 31792176
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  132. ISSN 0031-2746
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  133. ISSN 2037-416X
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  134. ^ Paradiso, Canto VI verse 10
  135. ^ Dorothy L. Sayers, Paradiso, notes on Canto VI.
  136. ^ Cournos, John (20 November 1938) [November 20, 1938]. "A Rich Novel by Robert Graves: In "Count Belisarius" He Offers Another Vivid Picture of Ancient Times, Here the Period of Justinian". The New York Times. p. 92. Retrieved 2 July 2023. ..."petty, envious masters. For such was the Emperor Justinian, in the full-length portrait of him in this book; his reputation for greatness is perhaps due to his wife..."[permanent dead link]
  137. ^ Dean, Charlotte (23 February 1941). "Fiction in Lighter Vein: LEST DARKNESS FALL. By L. Sprague de Camp". The New York Times Book Review. p. 21. Retrieved 2 July 2023.[permanent dead link]
  138. ^ Paradox Wiki's, Historical Artifacts https://ck3.paradoxwikis.com/Artifacts.

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Regnal titles
Preceded by Byzantine emperor
527–565
with Justin I (527) 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by
Rusticius
Vitalianus
 Roman consul
521
With: Valerius 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Roman consul
528 		Succeeded by
Vacant
Title last held by
Rufius Gennadius Probus Orestes
Lampadius 		Roman consul
533–534
with Decius Paulinus (534) 		Succeeded by
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