His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realizedrenovatio imperii, or "restoration of the Empire".[5] This ambition was expressed by the partial recovery of the territories of the defunctWestern Roman Empire.[6] His general,Belisarius, swiftly conquered theVandal Kingdom in North Africa. Subsequently, Belisarius,Narses, and other generalsconquered theOstrogothic Kingdom, restoringDalmatia,Sicily,Italy, andRome to the empire after more than half a century of rule by theOstrogoths. Thepraetorian prefect Liberius reclaimed the south of theIberian Peninsula, establishing the province ofSpania. These campaigns re-established Roman control over the western Mediterranean, increasing the Empire's annual revenue by over a millionsolidi.[7] During his reign, Justinian also subdued theTzani, a people on the east coast of theBlack Sea that had never been under Roman rule before.[8] He engaged theSasanian Empire in the east duringKavad I's reign, and later again duringKhosrow I's reign; this second conflict was partially initiated due to his ambitions in the west.
Justinian is regarded as one of the most prominent and influential Roman emperors, and historians have often characterized him as aworkaholic who worked tirelessly to expand theByzantine Empire.[9] One of the most enduring aspects of his legacy was the uniform rewriting of Roman law, theCorpus Juris Civilis, which was first applied throughout Continental Europe and is still the basis ofcivil law in many modern states.[10] His reign also marked a blossoming ofByzantine culture, and his building program yielded works such as theHagia Sophia.
Justinian was born inTauresium,Dardania,[11][12] probably in 482.[13] A native speaker ofLatin (possibly the last Roman emperor to be one),[14] he came from apeasant family thought to have been of either ofIllyro-Roman[15][16][17] orThraco-Roman[18][19][20] origin. The nameIustinianus, which he took later, is indicative of adoption by his uncleJustin. During his reign, he foundedJustiniana Prima not far from his birthplace.[21][22][23] His mother was Vigilantia, the sister of Justin. Justin, who was commander of one of the imperial guard units (theExcubitors) before he became emperor,[24] adopted Justinian, brought him toConstantinople, and ensured the boy's education.[24] As a result, Justinian was well educated injurisprudence,theology, and Roman history.[24] Justinian served as acandidatus, one of 40 men selected from thescholae palatinae to serve as the emperor's personal bodyguard.[2] The chroniclerJohn Malalas, who lived during the reign of Justinian, describes his appearance as short, fair-skinned, curly-haired, round-faced, and handsome, with receding hairline and greying hair and beard.[25] Another contemporary historian,Procopius, describing him in similar terms, compares Justinian's appearance to that of EmperorDomitian.[26]
When EmperorAnastasius died in 518, Justin was proclaimed the new emperor with significant help from Justinian.[24] Justinian showed a lot of ambition, and several sources claim that he was functioning as virtualregent long before Justin made him associate emperor,[2] although there is no conclusive evidence of this.[27] As Justin became senile near the end of his reign, Justinian became thede facto ruler.[24] Following the generalVitalian's assassination in 520 (orchestrated by Justinian or Justin),[28] Justinian was appointedconsul and commander of the army of the east.[24][29] Justinian remained Justin's close confidant, and in 525 was granted the titles ofnobilissimus[2] andcaesar (heir-apparent).[30] He wascrowned co-emperor on 1 April 527,[31][f] and became sole ruler after Justin's death on 1 August 527.[31]
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.[33] 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.[34][35] Though the marriage caused a scandal, Theodora would become very influential in the politics of the Empire. Other talented individuals includedTribonian, his legal adviser;[36]Peter the Patrician, the diplomat and long-time head of the palace bureaucracy;[37] Justinian's finance ministersJohn the Cappadocian andPeter Barsymes, who managed to collect taxes more efficiently than any before, thereby funding Justinian's wars;[37] and finally, his generals,Belisarius andNarses, responsible for the re-conquest of North Africa and Italy.[38]
The ancient town ofTauresium, the birthplace of Justinian I, located in today'sNorth Macedonia. Parts of the town had been destroyed during Justinian's life.
Justinian's rule was not universally popular; early in his reign he nearly lost his throne during theNika riots, and a conspiracy against the emperor's life by dissatisfied entrepreneurs was discovered as late as 562.[39] Justinian was struck by theplague in the early 540s but recovered. Theodora died in 548[40] at a relatively young age, possibly of cancer; Justinian outlived her by nearly twenty years. Justinian, who had always had a keen interest in theological matters and actively participated in debates on Christian doctrine,[41] became even more devoted to religion during the later years of his life. He died on 14 November 565,[42] childless. He was succeeded byJustin II, who was the son of his sisterVigilantia and married to Sophia, the niece of Theodora. Justinian's body was entombed in a specially built mausoleum in theChurch of the Holy Apostles until it was desecrated and robbed during thepillage of the city in 1204 by theLatin States of theFourth Crusade.[43]
Justinian remains well-known for his judicial reforms, particularly through the complete revision of allRoman law,[45] something that had not previously been attempted. The total of Justinian's legislation is known today as theCorpus juris civilis. It consists of theCodex Justinianeus, theDigesta orPandectae, theInstitutiones, and theNovellae.
Early in his reign, Justinian had appointed thequaestorTribonian to oversee this task. The first draft of theCodex Justinianeus, a codification of imperial constitutions from the 2nd century onward, was issued on 7 April 529. (The final version appeared in 534.) It was followed by theDigesta (orPandectae), a compilation of older legal texts, in 533, and by theInstitutiones, a textbook explaining the principles of law. TheNovellae, a collection of new laws issued during Justinian's reign, supplements theCorpus. As opposed to the rest of the corpus, theNovellae appeared inGreek, the common language of the Eastern Empire.[46]
TheCorpus forms the basis of Latin jurisprudence (including ecclesiasticalCanon Law) and, for historians, provides a valuable insight into the concerns and activities of the later Roman Empire. As a collection it gathers together the many sources in which theleges (laws) and the other rules were expressed or published: proper laws,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 theBasilika ofBasil I andLeo VI the Wise. The only western province where the Justinianic code was introduced was Italy (after the conquest by the so-calledPragmatic Sanction of 554),[47] from where it was to pass toWestern Europe in the 12th century and become the basis of much Continental European law code, which was eventually spread by European empires to theAmericas and beyond in theAge of Discovery. It eventually passed toEastern Europe where it appeared in Slavic editions, and it also passed on toRussia.[48] It remains influential to this day.
His legislations restricted avenues of divorce, including divorce by mutual consent. The latter was overturned by his immediate successor,Justin II.[49]
He passed laws to protect prostitutes from exploitation and women from beingforced 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.[50]
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.[51]
He passed legislations directed against the Christian "heretics", pagans, Jews and Samaritans, forbidding them from holding public office, destroying their places of worship and restricting the ownership of property.[52]
Justinian discontinued the regular appointment ofConsuls in 541.[53]
In January 532, partisans of thechariot racing factions in Constantinople, normally rivals, united against Justinian in a revolt that has become known as theNika riots. They forced him to dismissTribonian and two of his other ministers, and then attempted to overthrow Justinian himself and replace him with the senatorHypatius, who was a nephew of the late emperorAnastasius. While the crowd was rioting in the streets, Justinian considered fleeing the capital by sea, but eventually decided to stay, apparently on the prompting of his wife Theodora, who refused to leave. In the next two days, he ordered the brutal suppression of the riots by his generals Belisarius andMundus. Procopius relates that 30,000[54] unarmed civilians were killed in the Hippodrome. Justinian had Anastasius' nephews executed.[g][56]
The destruction that took place during the revolt provided Justinian with an opportunity to carry out his building program in Constantinople, most notably the architectural innovation of the domedHagia Sophia.[57]
Reconstruction of theColumn of Justinian, after Cornelius Gurlitt, 1912. The column was erected in theAugustaeum in Constantinople in 543 in honour of his military victories.
Justinian's reign was marked by the recovery of large stretches of land around the Western Mediterranean basin that had slipped out of imperial control in the 5th century.[58] 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.[59] The re-conquests were in large part carried out by his general Belisarius.[h]
From his uncle, Justinian inherited ongoing hostilities with theSassanid Empire.[60] In 530 the Persian forces suffered a double defeat atDara andSatala, but the next year saw the defeat of Roman forces under Belisarius nearCallinicum.[61] Justinian then tried to make alliance with theAxumites of Ethiopia and theHimyarites of Yemen against the Persians, but this failed.[62] When kingKavadh I of Persia died (September 531), Justinian concluded an "Eternal Peace" (which cost him 11,000 pounds of gold)[61] with his successorKhosrau I (532). Having thus secured his eastern frontier, Justinian turned his attention to the West, whereGermanic kingdoms had been established in the territories of the formerWestern Roman Empire.[63]
The first of the western kingdoms Justinian attacked was that of theVandals inNorth Africa. KingHilderic, who had maintained good relations with Justinian and the North AfricanCatholic clergy, had been overthrown by his cousinGelimer in 530 AD. Imprisoned, the deposed king appealed to Justinian. Justinian protested Gelimer's actions, demanding that Gelimer return the kingdom to Hilderic. Gelimer replied, in effect, that Justinian had no authority to make these demands. Angered at this response, Justinian quickly concludedhis ongoing war with theSassanian Empire and prepared an expedition against the Vandals in 533.[63]
In 533, Belisarius sailed to Africa with a fleet of 92dromons, escorting 500 transports carrying an army of about 15,000 men, as well as a number of barbarian troops. They landed atCaput Vada (modern Ras Kaboudia) in modernTunisia. They defeated the Vandals, who were caught completely off guard, atAd Decimum on 14 September 533 andTricamarum in December; Belisarius tookCarthage. KingGelimer fled to Mount Pappua inNumidia, but surrendered the next spring. He was taken to Constantinople, where he was paraded in atriumph.Sardinia andCorsica, theBalearic Islands, and the strongholdSeptem Fratres nearMons Calpe (later namedGibraltar) were recovered in the same campaign.[64]
A golden medallion celebrating the reconquest ofAfrica, AD 534
In this war, the contemporaryProcopius 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."[65] AnAfrican prefecture, centred in Carthage, was established in April 534,[66] but it would teeter on the brink of collapse during the next 15 years, amidst warfare with theMoors and military mutinies. By the mid-540s, under a succession of Byzantine generals, the region was disrupted under civil war, plague and military campaigning.[67] The area was not completely pacified until 548,[68] but remained peaceful thereafter and enjoyed a measure of prosperity. The recovery of Africa cost the empire about 100,000 pounds of gold.[7]
As in Africa, dynastic struggles inOstrogothic Italy provided an opportunity for intervention. The young kingAthalaric had died on 2 October 534, and a usurper,Theodahad, had imprisoned queenAmalasuintha, Theodoric's daughter and mother of Athalaric, on the island of Martana inLake Bolsena, where he had her assassinated in 535. Thereupon Belisarius, with 7,500 men,[69] invaded Sicily (535) and advanced into Italy, sackingNaples and capturing Rome on 9 December 536. By that time Theodahad had been deposed by the Ostrogothic army, who had electedVitigis 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.[70]
Justinian sent another general,Narses, to Italy, but tensions between Narses and Belisarius hampered the progress of the campaign.Milan was taken, but was soon recaptured and razed by the Ostrogoths. Justinian recalled Narses in 539. By then the military situation had turned in favour of the Romans, and in 540 Belisariusreached the Ostrogothic capitalRavenna. There he was offered the title of Western Roman Emperor by the Ostrogoths at the same time that envoys of Justinian were arriving to negotiate a peace that would leave the region north of thePo River in Gothic hands. Belisarius feigned acceptance of the offer, entered the city in May 540, and reclaimed it for the Empire.[71] Then, having been recalled by Justinian, Belisarius returned to Constantinople, taking the capturedVitigis and his wifeMatasuntha with him.[72]
Map of the Byzantine–Sasanian frontier in 565. In 541, the small but strategic region ofLazica on the eastern shore of the Black Sea became the new battlefield of theRoman–Persian Wars.
Belisarius had been recalled in the face of renewed hostilities by thePersians. Following a revolt against the Empire inArmenia in the late 530s and possibly motivated by the pleas of Ostrogothic ambassadors, KingKhosrau I broke the "Eternal Peace" and invaded Roman territory in the spring of 540.[73] He first sackedBeroea and thenAntioch (allowing the garrison of 6,000 men to leave the city),[74] besiegedDaras, and then went on to attack the Byzantine base in the small but strategically significant satellite kingdom ofLazica near the Black Sea as requested by its discontented kingGubazes, 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.[74]
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.[75] 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 atAnglon.[76] The next year, Khosrau unsuccessfullybesieged the major city ofEdessa. Both parties made little headway, and in 545 a truce was agreed upon for the southern part of the Roman-Persian frontier. After that, theLazic War in the North continued for several years: the Lazic king switched to the Byzantine side, and in 549 Justinian sentDagisthaeus torecapture Petra, but he faced heavy resistance and the siege was relieved by Sasanian reinforcements. Justinian replaced him withBessas, who was under a cloud after the loss of Rome in 546, but he managed tocapture and dismantle Petra in 551. The war continued for several years until a second truce in 557, followed by afifty 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 (30,000solidi) to be paid by the Romans.[77]
While military efforts were directed to the East, the situation in Italy took a turn for the worse. Under their respective kingsIldibad andEraric (both murdered in 541) and especiallyTotila, the Ostrogoths made quick gains. After avictory atFaenza 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.[78] During this period the city of Rome changed hands three more times, firsttaken 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 plunderedSicily and attacked Greek coastlines.[79]
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.[80] The army reached Ravenna in June 552 and defeated the Ostrogoths decisively within a month at thebattle of Busta Gallorum in theApennines, where Totila was slain. After a second battle atMons Lactarius in October that year, the resistance of the Ostrogoths was finally broken. In 554, a large-scaleFrankish invasion was defeated atCasilinum, 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.[81] The recovery of Italy cost the empire about 300,000 pounds of gold.[7] Procopius estimated 15,000,000 Goths died.[82]
In addition to the other conquests, the Empire established a presence inVisigothicHispania, when the usurperAthanagild requested assistance in his rebellion against KingAgila I. In 552, Justinian dispatched a force of 2,000 men; according to the historianJordanes, this army was led by the octogenarianLiberius.[83] The Byzantines tookCartagena and other cities on the southeastern coast and founded the new province ofSpania 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, theBalkans suffered from several incursions by theTurkic andSlavic peoples who lived north of theDanube. Here, Justinian resorted mainly to a combination of diplomacy and a system of defensive works. In 559 a particularly dangerous invasion ofSklavinoi andKutrigurs under theirkhanZabergan threatened Constantinople, but they were repulsed by the aged general Belisarius.[84]
The Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent since the fall of theWestern Roman Empire, under Justinian I in 565 AD. Emperor Justinian reconquered many former territories of the Western Roman Empire, includingItalia,Dalmatia, Africa, and southernHispania.
Justinian's ambition for re-conquest was only partly realized, with the only lasting and sustainable conquest beingAfrica. In the West, the 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.[85] The heavy taxes that the administration imposed upon Italian population were deeply resented.[86]
The final victory in Italy and the conquest of Africa and the coast of southernHispania 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 theLombards 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 historianMenander Protector felt the need to attribute the Emperor's failure to protect the capital to the weakness of his body in his old age.[87] Some historians view that 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.[88]
Justinian saw the orthodoxy of his empire threatened by diverging religious currents, especiallymiaphysitism, which had many adherents in the eastern provinces of Syria and Egypt. Miaphysitism rejected theCouncil of Chalcedon in 451, which ruled that Jesus Christ has two natures (one divine and one human), instead maintaining that he has one nature that is both fully divine and fully human. The tolerant policies towards Miaphysitism ofZeno andAnastasius I had been a source of tension in the relationship with the bishops of Rome.[89]
Justin reversed this trend and confirmed the Chalcedonian doctrine, openly condemning the Miaphysites. 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.[89]
The empress Theodora, herself a Miaphysite, sympathized with the Miaphysites and was accused of being constant source of pro-Miaphysite 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.[90]
Little Hagia Sophia (Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus) was built by Justinian
As in his secular administration,despotism appeared also in the Emperor's ecclesiastical policy. At the very beginning of his reign, he promulgated by law the Church's belief in theTrinity and theIncarnation, and to threaten allheretics with the appropriate penalties,[91] whereas he subsequently declared that he intended to deprive all disturbers of orthodoxy of the opportunity for such offense bydue process of law.[92] He made the Nicaeno-Constantinopolitan creed the sole symbol of the Church[93] and accorded legal force to thecanons of the fourecumenical councils.[94] The bishops in attendance at theCouncil of Constantinople (536) recognized that nothing could be done in the Church contrary to the emperor's will and command,[95] while, on his side, the emperor, in the case of thePatriarch Anthimus, reinforced the ban of the Church with temporal proscription.[96] Justinian protected the purity of the church by suppressing heretics. He neglected no opportunity to secure the rights of the Church and clergy, and to protect and extendmonasticism. He granted the monks the right to inherit property from private citizens and the right to receivesolemnia, or annual gifts, from theimperial treasury or from the taxes of certain provinces and he prohibited lay confiscation of monastic estates.[citation needed]
Both theCodex and theNovellae 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 ofHagia Sophia (which cost 20,000 pounds of gold),[97] the original site having been destroyed during the Nika riots. The new Hagia Sophia, with its numerous chapels and shrines, gilded octagonal dome, andmosaics, became the Eastern Roman Empire's space of identification.[98]
Justinian entered the arena of ecclesiastical conflicts shortly after his uncle's accession in 518, and put an end to theAcacian schism. Previous Emperors had tried to alleviate theological conflicts by declarations that deemphasized theCouncil of Chalcedon, which had condemnedmiaphysitism, which had strongholds in Egypt and Syria, and by tolerating the appointment of Miaphysites 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 re-established the union between Constantinople and Rome.[99] After this, Justinian also felt entitled to settle disputes in papal elections, as he did when he favoredVigilius and had his rivalSilverius deported.[100]
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 Miaphysites 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 Miaphysites without surrendering the Chalcedonian faith. Such an approach was supported by the Empress Theodora, who favoured the Miaphysites unreservedly. In the condemnation of theThree Chapters, three theologians that had opposed Miaphysitism before and after the Council of Chalcedon, Justinian tried to win over the opposition. At theFifth Ecumenical Council, most of the Eastern church yielded to the Emperor's demands, andPope 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 Miaphysites remained unsatisfied – all the more bitter for him because during his last years he took an even greater interest in theological matters.[101]
Justinian's religious policy reflected the conviction that the unity of the empire presupposed unity of faith under theChalcedonian Church.[citation needed] Those of different beliefs were subjected to persecution, which imperial legislation had effected from the time ofConstantius II and which would now vigorously continue. TheCodex contained twostatutes[102] that decreed the total destruction ofpaganism, even in private life; these provisions were zealously enforced. Contemporary sources (John Malalas,Theophanes, andJohn of Ephesus) tell of severe persecutions, including men in high positions.[103]
The originalAcademy of Plato had beendestroyed by the Roman dictatorSulla in 86 BC. Several centuries later, in 410 AD, aNeoplatonic Academy was established that had no institutional continuity with Plato's Academy, and which served as a center forNeoplatonism 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.[104]
The civil rights of Jews were restricted[115] and their religious privileges threatened.[116] Justinian also interfered in the internal affairs of the synagogue[117] and encouraged the Jews to use the GreekSeptuagint in their synagogues in Constantinople.[118]
The Emperor faced significant opposition from theSamaritans, who resisted conversion to Christianity and wererepeatedly in insurrection. He persecuted them with rigorous edicts, for example, in 529, he banned them from having wills, an intentional act of humiliation.[119] However, he could not prevent reprisals towards Christians from taking place in Samaria toward the close of his reign.
TheManicheans too suffered persecution, experiencing both exile and threat of capital punishment.[120] In Constantinople, c.450, a number of Manicheans, after strict inquisition, were executed by burning.[103]
Justinian's reputation as a prolific builder is attested in the works of Procopius,Paul the Silentiary, John Malalas andPseudo-Zacharias Rhetor.[121] Under Justinian's reign, theSan Vitale in Ravenna, which features two famous mosaics representing Justinian and Theodora, was completed under the sponsorship of Julius Argentarius.[24] Most notably, he had theHagia Sophia, originally abasilica-style church that had been burnt down during theNika riots, splendidly rebuilt according to a completely different ground plan, under the architectural supervision ofIsidore of Miletus andAnthemius 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 byIsidore the Younger. This new cathedral, with its magnificent dome filled with mosaics, remained the centre of eastern Christianity for centuries.[122]
Another prominent church in the capital, theChurch of the Holy Apostles, which had been in a very poor state near the end of the 5th century, was likewise rebuilt.[123] The Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, later renamedLittle Hagia Sophia, was also built between 532 and 536 by the imperial couple.[124] Works of embellishment were not confined to churches alone: excavations at the site of theGreat Palace of Constantinople have yielded several high-quality mosaics dating from Justinian's reign, and acolumn topped by a bronze statue of Justinian on horseback and dressed in a military costume was erected in theAugustaeum in Constantinople in 543.[125] 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.[126]
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 undergroundcisterns (seeBasilica Cistern). To prevent floods from damaging the strategically important border townDara,an advanced arch dam was built. During his reign the largeSangarius Bridge was built inBithynia, securing a major military supply route to the east. Furthermore, Justinian restored cities damaged by earthquake or war and built a new city near his place of birth calledJustiniana Prima, which was intended to replaceThessalonica as the political and religious centre ofIllyricum.[127]
In Justinian's reign, and partly under his patronage, Byzantine culture produced noteworthy historians, including Procopius andAgathias, and poets such asPaul the Silentiary andRomanus the Melodist flourished. On the other hand, centres of learning such as the Neoplatonic Academy in Athens and the famousLaw School of Berytus[128] lost their importance during his reign.[129]
As was the case under Justinian's predecessors, the empire was an agrarian-based economy. In addition, long-distance trade flourished, reaching as far north asCornwall where tin was exchanged for Roman wheat.[130] Within the empire, convoys sailing fromAlexandria provided Constantinople with wheat and grains. Justinian made the traffic more efficient by building a large granary on the island ofTenedos for storage and further transport to Constantinople.[131] Justinian also tried to find new routes for the eastern trade, which was suffering badly from the wars with the Persians.
Silk was an important luxury product, 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.[132] In order to bypass the Persian landroute, Justinian established friendly relations with theAbyssinians, whom he wanted to act as trade mediators by transporting Indian silk to the empire; the Abyssinians, however, were unable to compete with the Persian merchants in India.[133] Then, in the early 550s, two monks succeeded insmuggling eggs of silk worms fromCentral Asia back to Constantinople,[134] and silk became an indigenous product.
Gold and silver were mined in the Balkans, Anatolia, Armenia, Cyprus, Egypt and Nubia.[135] At the start of Justinian I's reign, he had inherited a surplus 28,800,000solidi (400,000 pounds of gold) in the imperial treasury from Anastasius I andJustin I.[7] Under Justinian's rule, measures were taken to counter corruption in the provinces and to make tax collection more efficient. Greater administrative power was given to both the leaders of theprefectures and of the provinces, while power was taken away from thevicariates of thedioceses, of which a number were abolished. The overall trend was towards a simplification of administrative infrastructure.[136] According toBrown (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.[137] It has been estimated that before Justinian I's reconquests the state had an annual revenue of 5,000,000solidi in AD 530, but after his reconquests, the annual revenue was increased to 6,000,000solidi in AD 550.[7]
Throughout Justinian's reign, the cities and villages of the East thrived, althoughAntioch was struck by two earthquakes (526, 528) and sacked and evacuated by thePersians (540). Justinian had the city rebuilt, but on a slightly smaller scale.[138]
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 decreasing the empire's population, probably created a scarcity of labor and a rising of wages.[139] It has been proposed that the lack of manpower also led to a significant increase in the number of "barbarians" in the Byzantine armies after the early 540s,[140] but others are skeptical of this view.[141] 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.[142]
The historian Procopius recorded in 536 in his work on theVandalic 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".[146][147]
Seven years later in 542, a devastating outbreak ofBubonic Plague, known as thePlague of Justinian, was traditionally believed to have killed tens of millions, second only toBlack Death of the 14th century. Justinian and members of his court 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.[148][149]
In July 551, theBeirut earthquake struck the eastern Mediterranean and triggered a tsunami. The combined fatalities of both events likely exceeded 30,000, with tremors felt from Antioch to Alexandria.[150]
Procopius provides some of the primary sources for the history of Justinian's reign, but displays growing disillusionment (Justinian and the Later Roman Empire by John W. Barker) and bitterness towards Justinian and his empress Theodora. While he glorified Justinian's architectural achievements in his panegyric (Buildings) and provided a more lukewarm account in his history (Wars), Procopius also wrote a hostile account,Anekdota (the so-calledSecret History), in which Justinian is depicted as cruel, venal, incompetent and demonic. TheSyriac chronicle of John of Ephesus, which survives partially, was used as a source for later chronicles, contributing many additional details of value. John Malalas' chronicle was another popular source that summarized the events of his reign.
In theParadiso section of theDivine Comedy, Canto (chapter) VI, byDante Alighieri, Justinian I is prominently featured as a spirit residing on the sphere ofMercury. The latter holds inHeaven 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"[154]), 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 toDorothy L. Sayers.[155] 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 novelCount Belisarius, by Robert Graves. He is depicted as a jealous and conniving Emperor obsessed with creating and maintaining his own historical legacy.[156]
Justinian is a chief protagonist of Belisarius inEmpire 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 stripPrince Valiant, usually as a nemesis of the title character.[citation needed]
10th-century Hagia Sophia mosaic depicting the Virgin Mary holding Christ on her lap. On her right side stands Justinian, offering a model of the Hagia Sophia. On her left,Constantine I presents a model of Constantinople.
^The sole source for Justinian's full name are consular diptychs of the year 521, which refer to him asFlavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus.[2] The nameFlavius became acourtesy title by the late 4th century and was no longer used as a personal name.[3] Justinian's full titulature, as attested in hisInstitutes, wasImperator Caesar Flavius Iustinianus Alamannicus Gothicus Francicus Germanicus Anticus Alanicus Vandalicus Africanus pius felix inclitus victor ac triumphator semper Augustus (Imperator Caesar Flavius Justinian,victor over theAlamanni,Goths,Franks,Germans,Antes,Alans,Vandals,Africans; pious, fortunate, renowned, victorious and triumphant, ever Augustus)[4]
^According to one source, this came at Theodora's insistence, and apparently against his own judgment.[55]
^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.)
^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. 9–11Archived 8 April 2023 at theWayback Machine.
^Atchity, Kenneth John (1997)."Justinian".The Classical Roman Reader: New Encounters with Ancient Rome. Oxford University Press. p. 358.ISBN978-0-521-32591-2.Archived from the original on 2 June 2024. Retrieved2 June 2024.
^The Inheritance of Rome, Chris Wickham, Penguin Books Ltd. 2009,ISBN978-0-670-02098-0 (p. 90). Justinian referred to Latin as his native tongue in several of his laws. See Moorhead (1994), p. 18.
^Treadgold, Warren T. (1997). A history of the Byzantine state and society. Stanford University Press. p. 246.ISBN978-0-8047-2630-6. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
^Moorhead (1994), pp. 21–22, with a reference to Procopius, Secret History 8.3.
^Justinian: Procopius,Secret History 6.28 and Victor of Tunnuna,Chronicle 523; Justin: Evagrius,Ecclesiastical History 4.3
^This post seems to have beentitular; 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).
^Johnston, David (1999).Roman Law in Context. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 24.ISBN0521639611.
^Kunkel, W. (translated by J. M. Kelly)An introduction to Roman legal and constitutional history. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1966; 168
^Darrell P. Hammer (1957). "Russia and the Roman Law".American Slavic and East European Review.16 (1). JSTOR:1–13.doi:10.2307/3001333.JSTOR3001333.
^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;Novellae Constitutiones 140.
^Pseudo-Zachariah of Mytilene,Syriac Chronicle 9.14; Diehl, Charles.Theodora, Empress of Byzantium ((c) 1972 by Frederick Ungar Publishing, Inc., transl. by S.R. Rosenbaum from the original FrenchTheodora, Imperatice de Byzance), 89.
^For an account of Justinian's wars, see Moorhead (1994), pp. 22–24, 63–98, and 101–109.
^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 ofCodex Iustinianus 1.27.1 andNovellae 8.10.2 and 30.11.2.
^See Geoffrey Greatrex, "Byzantium and the East in the Sixth Century" in Michael Maas (ed.).Age of Justinian (2005), pp. 477–509.
^abJ. Norwich,Byzantium: The Early Centuries, p. 195.
^John Stevens Cabot Abbott; Wilfred C. Lay (1900).Italy. P. F. Collier. p. 424.
^See for this section Moorhead (1994), pp. 89 ff., Greatrex (2005), p. 488 ff., and especially H. Börm, "Der Perserkönig im Imperium Romanum", inChiron 36, 2006, pp. 299 ff.
^Procopius mentions this event both in theWars and in theSecret History, but gives two entirely different explanations for it. The evidence is briefly discussed in Moorhead (1994), pp. 97–98.
^Evans, James Allan (2011).The Power Game in Byzantium : Antonina and the Empress Theodora. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 205–206.ISBN978-1-4411-2040-3.OCLC843198707.
^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)
^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)
^John Moorhead,Justinian (London/New York 1994), p. 57
^Peter Brown,The World of Late Antiquity (London 1971), pp. 157–158
^John L. Teall, "The Barbarians in Justinian's Armies", inSpeculum, 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).
^A.D. Lee, "The Empire at War", in Michael Maas (ed.),The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Justinian (2005), p. 118
^Procopius (2011) [1916].Procopius. Vol. 2: History of the [Vandalic] Wars, Books III and IV. Translated by Dewing, Henry Bronson (eBook scan ed.). London: William Heinemann. p. 329.ISBN978-0-674-99054-8.Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved3 October 2021.
^Ochoa, George; Jennifer Hoffman; Tina Tin (2005).Climate: the force that shapes our world and the future of life on earth. Emmaus, PA: Rodale.ISBN978-1-59486-288-5.
^Cournos, John (20 November 1938) [20 November 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...."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..."
Meier, Mischa (2003).Das andere Zeitalter Justinians. Kontingenz Erfahrung und Kontingenzbewältigung im 6. Jahrhundert n. Chr [The other age of Justinian: Experience of contingency and coping with contingency in the 6th century AD.] (in German). Gottingen.ISBN9783666252464.
Meier, Mischa (2004).Justinian. Herrschaft, Reich, und Religion [Justinian: Rule, Empire and Religion] (in German). Munich: CH Beck.ISBN9783406508325.
Rubin, Berthold (1960).Das Zeitalter Iustinians. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter & Co.OCLC7320555. German standard work; partially obsolete, but still useful.
Sarris, Peter (2006).Economy and society in the age of Justinian. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN9781139459044.
Ure, PN (1951).Justinian and his Age. Penguin, Harmondsworth.
Vasiliev, A. A. (1952).History of the Byzantine Empire (2nd ed.). Madison.
Sidney Dean;Duncan B. Campbell; Ian Hughes; Ross Cowan; Raffaele D'Amato; Christopher Lillington-Martin, eds. (June–July 2010). "Justinian's fireman: Belisarius and the Byzantine empire".Ancient Warfare.IV (3).
Kettenhofen, Erich (2009). "Justinian I".Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. XV, Fasc. 3. pp. 257–262.Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved25 June 2018.
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