Justin II inherited a greatly enlarged but overextended empire, with far fewer resources at his disposal compared to Justinian I. He ended the payment of tributes and adopted a hardline stance against the empire's neighbors, which resulted in rekindling of war with theSassanid Empire, and in aLombard invasion which cost the Romans much of their territory inItaly.[2] His later reign was marked by severe mental illness.
He was a son ofVigilantia and Dulcidio (sometimes rendered as Dulcissimus),[3] respectively the sister and brother-in-law of Justinian. His siblings includedMarcellus andPraejecta. With Sophia he had a daughterArabia and possibly a son, Justus, who died young. He also had a niece namedHelena.[4]
Justin's early years are largely obscure. A thirteenth-century chronicle suggests 511 as Justin's birth date, but its reliability is not known with certainty. Historian Ernst Stein assumes he was born by 520 at the latest, as his contemporaryCorippus compliments his "excellent" age at his accession in 565. At some point, he married Sophia, possibly in the 540s.[5]
During Justinian's reign, he served in the position ofcuropalates at the court. He is first attested in the contemporary sources from 552 and 553 as being part of the embassy toPope Vigilius during theThree-Chapter Controversy.[6]
In 559, he was sent by Justinian to escort theKutrigur raiders retreating across theDanube. In 562 and 563, he was in charge of dissipating the urban riots caused by theBlues and Greens inConstantinople.[7]
Over time, he built a network of supporters in the court. In the early 560s, his wife Sophia and his supporters were said to have pleaded with Justinian to name himcaesar, albeit unsuccessfully.[8] Historian Sihong Lin writes that early on, Justin was seen as an "energetic, even well-liked individual."[9]
Justinian I died childless on 14 November 565.Callinicus [pl], thepraepositus sacri cubiculi, seems to have been the only witness to his dying moments, and claimed that Justinian had designated Justin, his nephew, as his heir in a deathbed decision.[10] This sidelined another relative and candidate for the throne, also namedJustin, who was son ofGermanus, cousin of Justinian. Modern historians suspect Callinicus may have fabricated the last words of Justinian to secure the succession for his political ally.[11] As historianRobert Browning observed: "Did Justinian really bring himself in the end to make a choice, or did Callinicus make it for him? Only Callinicus knew."[12]
In any case, Callinicus started alerting those most interested in the succession, originally various members of theSenate. Then they jointly informed Justin and Sophia, offering the throne. Justin accepted after the traditional token show of reluctance, and with his wife Sophia, he was escorted to theGreat Palace of Constantinople.[13] TheExcubitors blocked the palace entrances during the night, and early in the morning,John Scholasticus,Patriarch of Constantinople, crowned the newAugustus. Only then was the death of Justinian and the succession of Justin publicly announced in theHippodrome of Constantinople.[14] Justin'scoronation was written in detail byCorippus in his panegyricIn laudem lustini Augusti minoris (In praise of Justin the Younger).[15]
Both the Patriarch andTiberius,commander of the Excubitors, had been recently appointed, with Justin having played a part in their respective appointments, in his role as Justinian'scuropalates. It is thus seen that they were willing to elevate their patron and ally to the throne.[14]
Justin's first address to the senate contained criticisms of Justinian: "Let the world rejoice that whatever was not done or put into practice because of our father's old age has been corrected in the time of Justin." In the speech, he vowed to repay debts, restore the emptied treasury and promised not to confiscate senatorial properties.[16]
In the early days of his reign, Justin took a sharp about-turn from his uncle's policies.[9] He repaid the treasury's debts and took a more reconciliatory stance toward thesenatorial class. On 1 January 566, he became aconsul, thereby reviving a post Justinian had discontinued since 541. Justin and Sophia initially promised to make peace with Justin's cousin and rival to the throne,Justin (son ofGermanus), but had him assassinated in Alexandria not long after. According to a hostile source, the imperial couple kicked his severed head.[17]
In 566 he reversed Justinian's ban on divorce by mutual consent, declaring that it resulted in spouses hating each other.[18] Under the pretext of not understanding the fragile human nature:
Mankind has nothing more admirable than marriage: from it stem children and successive generations, the peopling of villages and cities, and society's best bond. Hence, it is our prayer that marriage should be so successful for those contracting it as never to be the work of an unlucky daemon, and that married couples should not split up without just cause for their marriage to be dissolved. But as it is difficult for this to be maintained for all mankind – in such a large population, it is outside the realms of possibility that some unreasonable enmities should not supervene – we have thought it appropriate to devise some remedy for this, in particular where the consequences of pettiness have escalated so far as to engender real, irreconcilable hatred between the partners.[19]
After Justin paid off the debts, he burned the bonds of the treasury. He additionally remitted his subjects' tax arrears back to 560.[20] The contemporaryJohn of Ephesus notes a rumour that his successorTiberius II discovered piles of money Justin and Sophia gathered, possibly meaning that his reign generated a surplus.[21][22]
He conceded greater control to the provincial elites. In 569, he allowed them to nominate their owngovernors, and if the nominees pleased the court, eliminated their appointment fees, resulting in decreased imperial oversight of the provinces.[23]
He discontinued Justinian's practice of buying off potential enemies. Immediately after his accession, Justin halted the payment of subsidies to theAvars, ending a truce that had existed since 558. This move upset the delicate balance of power in thePannonian Basin, since the Avar elites were forced to seek new sources of wealth to maintain their position and client networks. At first, this was agreeable for the Romans, since the Avars decided to raid theFranks instead of going into the Roman territory.[9] But after the Avars and the neighbouring tribe of theLombards had combined todestroy theGepids, from whom Justin had obtained the Danube fortress ofSirmium and the Gepid treasury, Avar pressure caused the Lombards to migrate West, and in 568 they invadedItaly under their kingAlboin. They quickly overran thePo Valley, and within a few years acquired a vast share of theItalian peninsula.[24] The Avars themselves crossed the Danube in 573 or 574, when the Empire's attention was distracted by troubles on the Persian frontier. They were only placated by the payment of a subsidy of 80,000solidi by Justin's successor Tiberius.[25][26]
The North and East frontiers were the main focus of Justin's attention. Justin began to cement an alliance with theTurks, the newCentral Asian power that threatened both the Avars andPersia from the mid 6th century. In line with his policies against subsidies, he rejectedArab demands of payments.[27] In 572 his refusal to pay tribute to the Persians in combination with overtures to the Turks led toa war with the Sassanid Empire. After two disastrous campaigns, in which the Persians underKhosrow I overranSyria andcaptured the strategically important fortress ofDara, Justin became inflicted with a severe mental illness.[28] During his incapacitation, his wife Sophia reversed his tributary policy by attaining a one-year truce from Persia with a payment of 45,000 gold coins. This was followed by a three-year truce when Tiberius reached an agreement to pay 30,000 coins annually. Further negotiations had the Romans recognizing Persian dominance ofEastern Armenia andIberia,[29] though the wars continued inArmenia.[25]
100nummi coin of Justin II minted in Carthage. Helmeted and cuirass-wearing facing bust, holding shield Monogram; cross above, 100 below
Shortly after thesmuggling of silkworm eggs into the Byzantine Empire fromChina byNestorian Christian monks, the 6th-century Byzantine historianMenander Protector writes of how theSogdians attempted to establish a direct trade ofChinese silk with the Byzantine Empire. After forming an alliance with the Sassanid ruler Khosrow I to defeat theHephthalite Empire,Istämi, the Göktürk ruler of theWestern Turkic Khaganate, was approached by Sogdian merchants requesting permission to seek an audience with the Sassanid king of kings for the privilege of traveling through Persian territories in order to trade with the Byzantines.[30] Istämi refused the first request, but when he sanctioned the second one and had the Sogdian embassy sent to the Sassanid king, the latter had the members of the embassy poisoned to death.[30] Maniah, a Sogdian diplomat, convinced Istämi to send an embassy directly to Constantinople, which arrived in 568 and offered not only silk as a gift to Justin, but also proposed an alliance against Sassanid Persia. Justin agreed and sent an embassy to the Turkic Khaganate, ensuring the direct silk trade desired by the Sogdians.[30][31]
His foreign policy has received unfavorable modern assessments. In 1937, historian Previte-Orton criticized Justin as lacking realism, having overestimated Roman strength against foreign enemies.[b]
After 572, Justin was reported to have fits of insanity.John of Ephesus, whose Monophysite sect suffered persecutions under Justin, offered a vivid description of Justin's madness, in which he behaved like a wild animal, was wheeled about on a mobile throne and required organ music to be played day and night.[33]
Despite moments of clarity, Justin was no longer able to govern. Eastern Roman sources report that Tiberius, the commander of the Excubitors, directed the government from this point, alongside Sophia.[34] In 574, about a year after his incapacitation, Justin elevated Tiberius ascaesar at Sophia's suggestion and adopted him as his son.[35] On 7 December, according toTheophylact Simocatta, Justin remained sufficiently clear-minded to make an eloquent speech as he passed the crown:[36][37]
You behold the ensigns of supreme power. You are about to receive them, not from my hand, but from the hand of God. Honor them, and from them you will derive honor. Respect the empress your mother: you are now her son; before, you were her servant. Delight not in blood; abstain from revenge; avoid those actions by which I have incurred the public hatred; and consult the experience, rather than the example, of your predecessor. As a man, I have sinned; as a sinner, even in this life, I have been severely punished: but these servants (and he pointed to his ministers), who have abused my confidence, and inflamed my passions, will appear with me before the tribunal of Christ. I have been dazzled by the splendor of the diadem: be thou wise and modest; remember what you have been, remember what you are. You see around us your slaves, and your children: with the authority, assume the tenderness, of a parent. Love your people like yourself; cultivate the affections, maintain the discipline, of the army; protect the fortunes of the rich, relieve the necessities of the poor.[35]
Four years later, on 26 September 578, he elevated Tiberius asAugustus. Justin died only nine days later, on 5 October 578.[38]
^The full imperial title of Justin II inLatin is attested in anovel issued on 1 March 570:ImperatorCaesarFlavius Iustinus fidelis in Christo mansuetus maximus benefactor Alamannicus Gothicus Francicus Germanicus Anticus Vandalicus Africanus pius felix inclitus victor ac triumphator semperAugustus ("Emperor Caesar Flavius Justin, faithful in Christ, mild, majestic, greatest benefactor;victor over theAlamanni,Goths,Franks,Germans,Antes,Vandals,Africans; pious, fortunate, renowned, victorious and triumphant, ever augustus").[1] The victory titles are directly copied from Justinian.
^Previte-Orton describes Justin as "a rigid man, dazzled by his predecessor's glories, to whom fell the task of guiding an exhausted, ill-defended Empire through a crisis of the first magnitude and a new movement of peoples". Previte-Orton continues, "In foreign affairs he took the attitude of the invincible, unbending Roman, and in the disasters which his lack of realism occasioned, his reason ultimately gave way. It was foreign powers which he underrated and hoped to bluff by a lofty inflexibility, for he was well aware of the desperate state of the finances and the army and of the need to reconcile theMonophysites."[32]
^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
^abcHoward, Michael C.,Transnationalism in Ancient and Medieval Societies, the Role of Cross Border Trade and Travel, McFarland & Company, 2012, p. 133.
^Liu, Xinru, "The Silk Road: Overland Trade and Cultural Interactions in Eurasia", inAgricultural and Pastoral Societies in Ancient and Classical History, ed. Michael Adas, American Historical Association, Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2001, p. 168.
Browning, Robert (2003),Justinian and Theodora, Gorgias Press LLC,ISBN1-59333-053-7
Corippus; Cameron, Averil (1976).In laudem lustini Augusti minoris. Translated by Cameron, Averil. London: Bloomsbury.ISBN978-04-85-11157-6.
Dagnall, Lewis (2024)."The Empress Sophia and East Roman Foreign Policy"(PDF). In Rollinger, Christian; Viermann, Nadine (eds.).Empresses-in-Waiting: Female Power and Performance at the Late Roman Court. Women in Ancient Cultures. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press.ISBN978-1-80207-593-9.
Evans, James Allan Stewart (1996),The age of Justinian: the circumstances of imperial power, Routledge,ISBN0-415-23726-2
.jpg)
