Justinian the Great

Justinian

• Emperor of ERE (527-565)
• Born a peasant
• Like whom?
• Nephew of Justin I
• Emperor of ERE
• Swineherd

​

Justinian

• Powerful advisor for Justin I
• Legally adopted
• Made Augustus
• Becomes sole emperor when…

Justin I dies :(

Procopius

• Historian from whom we get most of the info he have on Justinian from
• Wrote contradictory accounts of him
• What does that mean?

Procopius

• Good commentaries
• On the Wars
• On Buildings
• Bad commentary
• The Secret History
• Bashes Justinian and his wife

Theodora

• Justinian’s wife
• Daughter of circus bearkeeper
• Rose to fame
• Actress
• Prostitute

​

Theodora

• Made Justinian’s mistress
• Get married
• Theodora is made Augusta
• Historians: Theodora ran things

Bellwork

Materials: Bellwork NB, Pen/Pencil, HW Out, Write down HW

​

Q: What makes an individual great? Can one make mistakes and still be considered great? Can one do great things and still not be considered great?

Therapeutic Thursday!

Joy?

​

Take 4 minutes. Please either draw, write, write a poem, draw a comic, etc. of whatever it is brings you the most joy! If you finish with one thing, you can move on to another thing that brings you joy.

Recap

Abandonment?

Justin?

Justinian?

Procopius?

Theodora?

Nike Revolt

• Hippodrome
• Blues and Greens
• Most emperors choose a team
• Justinian did not

​

Nike Revolt

• John of Cappadocia
• Bad reforms
• United riot/protest against Justinian
• Ring leaders captured
• Escape

What will the ring leaders do next?............

Take 20 secs to discuss

Nike Revolt

• FIRE EVERYWHERE!!
• Justinian tells General Belisarius to squash rebellion
• Fails
• The rioters want Hypatius to be emperor
• Ppl w/ power?

Nike Revolt

• He did not want to!
• Carried to throne against his will

- Justinian holed up in his palace

Nike Revolt

• Justinian is about to flee
• Theodora shames him
• “It is better to die as an emperor than be a coward and survive”

​

Nike Revolt

• Gets courageous and orders Belisarius to attack
• #? killed in hippodrome
• Including one poor man………

There were no more races for a while…..

Reconquest of the West

​

• Justinian defeats Vandals in North Africa
• Pushed Visigoths to Spain
• Took part of Italy from Ostrogoths

Church reconciliation

• Eastern and Western Church were not agreeing
• Disagreements on nature of Christ
• Trinity
• Justinian’s radical solution……..

The Solution

1. kidnap the Pope
2. bully him until he agrees w/ his beliefs!!!
1. Which side “wins”
2. Will this work?

Result

• Peace and unity, shockingly, was not achieved!
• Both sides (W & E) now resented him

​

Justinian’s Code

• 528 institutes a codification of Roman laws
• Named it the Corpus Iuris Civilis (Body of Civil Law)
• What is a code?

Justinian’s Code

1. Codex - imperial edicts
2. Digest - legal opinions
3. Institutes - a textbook for students
4. Novellae - most recent imperial edicts

Justinian’s Code

• Lasted for generations
• All international, commercial, and Church Law
• Still incorporated in West Europe

Hagia Sophia

• Within which event were there many fires?
• Justinian begins rebuilding palaces, churches, and public buildings
• Builds the Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom)
• Massive church with a big dome
• One of the world-renowned architectural masterpieces of the world
• Model for all churches in the empire

• One of the world-renowned architectural masterpieces of the world
• Model for all churches in the empire

Is He Great?

Late Years of Rule

• Plagues begin in 542
• Fighting the Persians and Ostrogoths
• And then he dies……..

A Historian’s Take

• Policies were
• Unrealistic
• Too ambitious
• Disastrous
• Trying too hard to return Rome to glory
• Hagia Sophia and Justinian’s Code however keep him relevant

Quiz Review