Emperor Justinian: Builder of the Byzantine Legend

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Justinian was a Byzantine Emperor who helped to revitalize the Byzantine Empire that would leave a lasting legacy for Western Civilization. During JustinianÐ'Ѓfs reign, the Byzantine Empire was at a time of decline. With JustinianÐ'Ѓfs visions, he was able to lay out a foundation that would help the Byzantine Empire live for many years to come.

Justinian (Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Justinianus) was born in 483 AD at Tauresium in Illyricum in the Balkans of what is now central Europe. He was the nephew of Emperor Justin. His uncle Justin had passed over the duties of governing the Empire to his wife Lupicina, and nephew Justinian (Fortescue-Justinian I, Roman Emperor).

Justinian worked hard and rose in his uncleÐ'Ѓfs government. He studied in Constantinople and became consul in 521. He married his wife Theodora in 523 (Shelter)and rose to general-in chief of the Byzantine Empire in April 527. That same year, his uncle, Justin died and Justinian became the new Emperor (Fortescue-Justinian I, Roman Emperor).

Justinian had dreamed of restoring the Roman Empire in Europe so he immediately set out to secure and expand the weakening Byzantine Empire(Norwich- A Short History of Byzantium,68). The only way Justinian could achieve his goal was by retaking control over the Western provinces that were once ruled by Rome (Fortescue- Justinian I, Roman Emperor).

His first challenge to conquest in the West was to end warfare in the Persian Empire. The two empires had been long time rivals in the Middle East and had battled often (Norwich-A Short History of Byzantium,27). During the 400Ð'Ѓfs, both the Romans and the Persians struggled to cope with invasions from outside groups. But in 502, conflict re-ignited between them. From 502-505, the Byzantines, led by Justinian fought the Persians and then again from 527-532. This revisited conflict of warfare between the two rival empires ended when the Byzantines fought the Persians to a standstill and ordered them to accept a peace treaty (Whittow-Making of Byzantium,41).

With peace now in the East, Justinian appointed General Belisarius to lead an army and re-conquer the western Roman provinces(Fortescue-Justinian I, Roman Emperor). In 533, BelisariusÐ'Ѓfs army smashed the Vandals and took over North African provinces and sent their King, Gelimer, back to Constantinople as a prisoner. In 535, the Byzantines overtook Sicily and then moved into Italy (Norwich-A Short History of Byzantium,68-69).

In December of 536, BelisariusÐ'Ѓfs army entered Rome (Norwich- A Short History of Byzantium,69). The Ostrogoths had returned to Rome after war in the Italian peninsula, and forced the Byzantine army to remain under siege until 538, when reinforcement came (Fortescue- Justinian I, Roman Emperor). The war between the Ostrogoths and the Byzantines lasted until 552 when the Byzantines defeated their enemies at the Battle of Mon Lactarius (Bury-History of Later Roman Empire, 273).

As the war for Italy cooled down, the Byzantines were introduced to a new opportunity in Spain. The Visigoths had gone into a civil war with King Agilia for the Visigoth throne. Justinian and his army were invited to help aid the Visigoths in the fight for the throne. Under LiberiusÐ'Ѓfs command, the Byzantine took control over the Southern Roman provinces that had fallen under the control of the Visigoths. When the war ended, the Byzantines were asked to leave but refused and kept control of these provinces (Bury-History of Later Roman Empire, 287).

With all of these victories, the Byzantines were able to recover much of the land that had been taken over by the Roman Empire. The Byzantine Empire reached from Mesopotamia, all the way to Gibraltar, and reclaimed the role as the largest and most powerful entity in both Europe and the Middle East (Whittow-Making of Byzantium,38).

One of the most important accomplishments that Justinian made was his reform of the laws of the Byzantine Empire. Before Justinian became emperor, the laws were based upon Theodosian Code. By his time, the code had become very confusing. Justinian was determined to bring about these needed reforms (Fortescue-Justinian I, Roman Emperor). First, he appointed a commission of ten lawyers to review, organize, and rewrite Byzantine laws into a single unified set of laws. Thus came for the Justinian Code(Corpus Juris Civilis).

The Institutes, a section of the Justinian Code starts off with this excerpt that explains the objectives and principles of the Justinian Code. Ð'ЃgThe precepts of the law are these: to live honestly, to injure no one, and to give every man his due. The study of law consists of two branches, law public and law private. The former relates tot he welfare of the Roman state: the latter to the advantage of the individual citizen.