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- He started a significant military campaign to retake Africa from the Vandals (in 533 to 534 CE) and Italy from the Goths (535 to 554 CE). He also ordered the rebuilding of the Hagia Sophia church (begun in 532 CE) as well as an empire-wide construction drive, resulting in new churches, monasteries, forts, water reservoirs, and bridges.
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Justinian is considered one of the most important late Roman and Byzantine emperors. He started a significant military campaign to retake Africa from the Vandals (in 533 to 534 CE) and Italy from the Goths (535 to 554 CE).
- Justinian I
Justinian is considered one of the most important late Roman...
- Justinian I
- Overview
- Early career
- Foreign policy and wars
Justinian I served as emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 527 to 565. Justinian is best remembered for his work as a legislator and codifier. During his reign, Justinian reorganized the government of the Byzantine Empire and enacted several reforms to increase accountability and reduce corruption. He also sponsored the codification of laws known as the Codex Justinianus (Code of Justinian) and directed the construction of several important cathedrals, including the Hagia Sophia.
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Learn about this historical Eastern empire.
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Read more about Roman law in the time of Justinian I.
How did Justinian I become emperor?
Justinian was a Latin-speaking Illyrian and was born of peasant stock. Justinianus was a Roman name that he took from his uncle, the emperor Justin I, to whom he owed his advancement. While still a young man, he went to Constantinople, where his uncle held high military command. He received an excellent education, though it was said that he always ...
Two important facets of Justinian’s foreign policy were his continuation of the age-old struggle with Persia and his attempt to regain the former Roman provinces in the West from the control of barbarian invaders.
When Justinian came to the throne, his troops were fighting on the Euphrates River against the armies of the Persian king Kavadh (Qobād) I. After campaigns in which the Byzantine generals, among whom Belisarius was the most distinguished, obtained considerable successes, a truce was made on the death of Kavadh in September 531. His successor, Khosrow I, finally came to terms, and the Treaty of Eternal Peace was ratified in 532. The treaty was on the whole favourable to the Byzantines, who lost no territory and whose suzerainty over the key district of Lazica (Colchis, in Asia Minor) was recognized by Persia. Justinian, however, had to pay the Persians a subsidy of 11,000 pounds of gold, and in return Khosrow gave up any claim to a subvention for the defense of the Caucasus.
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War broke out again in 540, when Justinian was fully occupied in Italy. Justinian had somewhat neglected the army in the East, and in 540 Khosrow moved into Mesopotamia, northern Syria, and Byzantine Armenia and systematically looted the key cities. In 541 he invaded Lazica in the north. Belisarius, now reappointed commander in chief in the East, launched counteroffensives in 541 and 542 before his recall to Italy. The war dragged on under other generals and was to some extent hindered by bubonic plague. A five-years’ truce was made in 545 and renewed in 551 but still did not extend to Lazica, which the Persians obstinately refused to restore, and a fierce struggle continued intermittently in this mountainous region. When the truce was again renewed in 557, however, Lazica was included. Finally, a 50 years’ truce was negotiated, probably at the end of 561; Byzantium agreed to pay an annual tribute of 30,000 solidi (gold coins), and the Persians renounced all claim to the small Christian kingdom of Lazica, an important bulwark against northern invaders. Justinian had thus maintained his eastern provinces virtually intact in spite of the vigorous offensives of the Persian king, so his policy on this front can hardly be described as a failure.
In the West, Justinian considered it his duty to regain provinces lost to the empire “through indolence,” and he could not ignore the trials of Catholics living under the rule of Arians (Christian heretics) in Italy and in North Africa. In the Vandal kingdom of North Africa, Catholics had been subject to frequent persecution. There was also a disputed succession to the throne after the aged Vandal king Hilderich, who had been in alliance with Constantinople and had ceased persecution of the Catholics, was deposed in favour of Gelimer in 530. At the same time, the Vandals were threatened by the Moorish tribes of Mauretania and southern Numidia. In the face of considerable opposition from his generals and ministers, Justinian launched his attack on North Africa to aid Hilderich in June 533. The fleet of about 500 vessels set out with 92 warships. An unopposed landing was made in August, and by the following March (534) Belisarius had mastered the kingdom and received the submission of the Vandal ruler Gelimer. Northern Africa was reorganized as part of the empire and now included Sardinia, Corsica, the Balearic Islands, and Septem (Ceuta).
Sep 28, 2012 · Justinian is considered one of the most important late Roman and Byzantine emperors. He started a significant military campaign to retake Africa from the Vandals (in 533 to 534 CE) and Italy from the Goths (535 to 554 CE).
- Will Wyeth
Determined to regain former Roman provinces lost to barbarian invaders, Justinian conquered the Vandals in northern Africa in 534 and enjoyed an initial victory over the Ostrogoths in Italy in 540. War with the Goths, however, lasted another two decades and brought great devastation before Justinian gained control of the whole of Italy in 562 .
Aug 31, 2024 · Justinian I, also known as Justinian the Great, was a 6th century AD Byzantine emperor who reigned for close to four decades. He is best known for his numerous judicial reforms that protected children, women and other vulnerable members of the society.
As the capital’s cathedral and the most important church during the empire’s long history, the new Hagia Sophia rebuilt by Justinian set a standard in monumental building and domed architecture that would have a lasting effect on the history of Byzantine architecture.
Jan 15, 2020 · Justinian, or Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Justinianus, was arguably the most important ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire. Considered by some scholars to be the last great Roman emperor and the first great Byzantine emperor, Justinian fought to reclaim Roman territory and left a lasting impact on architecture and law.
