Emperor Justinian: Builder of the Byzantine Legend

1274 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Rise and fall of the byzantine empire essay

?š The writing in Bold refers to the Works Cited page where the info came from
Justinian was a Byzantine Emperor who helped to revitalize the Byzantine Empire that would leave a lasting legacy for Western Civilization. During Justinian?fs reign, the Byzantine Empire was at a time of decline. With Justinian?fs 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 uncle?fs 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 400?fs, 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, Belisarius?fs 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).

Show More
Related

  • Byzantine Empire Dbq Essay

    1153 Words  | 3 Pages

    Did Justinian impact life as we know it because he is such a great ruler, or is he just a follower who keeps trying to hold on to the loose threads of a fallen empire? Some might say that without Justinian, humanity is a step further back. Others may argue evermore that Justinian is a two-faced liar who you cannot trust (Doc. 2). Contrary to many beliefs, Justinian creates a new Byzantine Empire after the fall of Rome that is influential to many different cultures, more advanced and educated than Rome, and more economically thriving than the Roman Empire.

    Read More

  • Theodora Empress Of The Byzantine Empire Research Paper

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    While Rome was being ramp sacked from Germanic and other barbaric groups, the imperial power shifted to the eastern part of the Roman Empire, where the center city was Byzantium (Craig/Graham/Kagan/Ozment /Turner, 354, 2009). Between 324 and 330 BCE, Constantine the Great became emperor and rebuilt the city and renamed it after himself (Craig/Graham/Kagan/Ozment /Turner, 354, 2009). After Constantine died, power shifted to Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora in 527 BCE (Craig/Graham/Kagan/Ozment /Turner, 354, 2009).

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Haitian Revolution And French Revolution

    1077 Words  | 3 Pages

    In September 1791, France achieved the movement of freeing and outlawing slavery. In turn, Haitian slaves were inspired to do the same by revolting against French plantation owners. This transformative movement of 100,000 slaves was led by Toussaint L’Ouverture; unfortunately, he died before experiencing Haiti’s separation from France in 1804. However, along the way of success of both revolutions, a toll occurred on the numerous lives lost. The Reign of Terror in France was created as a way to protect the republic from its internal enemies, but instead 16,000 people were guillotined. Many documents were shown to be describing the execution of the Reign of Terror to be gruesome and wrongful such that J.G. Milligen stated, “The process of execution was also a sad and heartrending spectacle”, in The Revolutionary Tribunal. Milligen continued to describe the vivid scene of the execution, but this was only one event and many others have died in the fall of the Bastille and the attack on the royal palace. Haiti has also lost many lives as an outcome of the revolutions especially in the slave revolts and battles with French soldiers sent by Napoleon. In addition, the Haitian Revolution leader L’Ouverture died in captivity in France. Both of these revolutions were known to have successfully achieved its goals, but it was chaotic and

    Read More

  • Reform and Renewal

    805 Words  | 2 Pages

    A rise of Seljuk Turks who were a Muslim nomadic warrior group and asserted their political control. Seljuk Turks not only expanded their political control they also took half the Byzantine Empire with them. Byzantine Emperor named Alexius Comnena asked Pope Urban II for assistance to regain former territory the Byzantines had lost. During this time period Emperor Alexius had his daughter Anna

    Read More

  • Claudius Role Of Emperor

    1532 Words  | 4 Pages

    Claudius was a significant ruler of the early Roman imperial era. He reigned from AD 41-54. He was easily influenced by those with questionable agendas, such as his last two wives and his freedmen, yet his principate was deemed successful. His expansion of the empire, his new reforms and his control over the senate were all beneficial to the state and and his rule was one which paved the way for those who ruled after him.

    Read More

  • Procopious's The Secret History: Justinian And Theodora

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    Through history we can have learned many things of past civilization and learn the types of culture they were associated. However, little is known about what really happen during those historical times. Many account usually came from elite people who were mostly people that were highly educated and had riches. We can only assume that most of its true and we can only take much information to draw a conclusion. But when you have someone like Procopious author of The Secret History it changes everything of what we viewed of the Byzantine Empire. From this text historians have a different point of view through someone who able to reveal many secrets that were hidden away. It also creates the question to either take this text as something true

    Read More

  • The Rise and Downfall of Julius Caesar

    735 Words  | 2 Pages

    Caesar came from an old patrician family, where he received an education, and began his journey into a political career (Hart 337). He started just as any man would trying to make something of himself and not die the same way he was born, average. Without having conquered Gaul and crossed the Rubicon he would just be another politician in a corrupted government. “Julius Caesar reached a mature age without achieving astonishing success (qtd. Hart 7). Unlike rulers like Alexander The Great, Caesar was into his 50’s with nothing to show for it. The most influential people are usually geniuses or prodigies that can’t help but make a difference in the world. Unlike people like Einstein who mastered Calculus before he was 15 he was just a white sheep amongst others.

    Read More

  • Justinian and The Byzantine Empire

    1707 Words  | 4 Pages

    Justinian was one of the most influential rulers of Byzantium. When he came into power in 527 AD, he inherited a civilization in disarray. Justinian had a positive impact on the Byzantine Empire. Most notably, he introduced an improved set of laws and conquered many surrounding nations, nearly restoring the former glory of the Roman Empire. In addition to these contributions, Justinian also made advances with the Christian Church and Byzantine architecture.

    Read More

  • Justinian I

    1462 Words  | 3 Pages

    This was the beginning of Justinian’s famous rule, which lasted from 527 A.D. through 565 A.D. (The Reign of Justinian). The reign of Justinian was significant in many ways. First of all, it marked the final end of the Roman Empire. It was the establishment of the New Byzantine empire. It was also the beginning of Western Europe’s unique position within the civilization of the old world.

    Read More

  • Causes of the French Revolution

    1463 Words  | 3 Pages

    The French Revolution happened in France around the period 1789-92 (although these dates are disputed by historians), and resulted in the overthrow of the French monarchy and the Ancien Régime (the system of government). The monarchy in France had been established for many centuries, and the causes of the Revolution were deeply-rooted, including the problems with the Ancien Régime, the growth of nationalism, the influence of philosophers, and the example of the American Revolution. In the short term, there were other factors that precipitated the French Revolution, and these included the character of Louis XVI (the reigning French monarch at the time), the Bankruptcy of the French Crown, and, in the very short term, the economic and agricultural problems of 1788 and 1789.

    Read More

  • Domitian

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    Domitian was born in Rome on Pomegranate Street 0n October 24th AD51. He was the second son born to the future emperor Vespasian. Domitian’s older brother was named Titus. Even when very young Domitian was of the opinion that he should be treated like a god.

    Read More

  • Basil I or Basil the Macedonian

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    The initial cultural and political decline of the Byzantine Empire that preceded the rule of emperor Michael III can be attributed to the second iconoclast crisis; the religious dispute between those in favor of and against religious images and symbols. The Byzantine Empire, “ a Graeco-Christian Empire, also occupied a unique cultural position, set midway between the East and the West” at the divide of the crisis (Ostrogorski 217). However, this fall in political standing was followed by reversal and expansion into the East under the rule of Theodora, Michael’s mother. Michael III lacked the ambition to carry out the topographical expansion of the Byzantine Empire, as he was “capricious and fickle to the point of complete unreliability” (Ostrogorski 223). Regardless, his reign was considered profitable due to the genius of his uncle Bardas and the politician Photius. However by the end of Michaels reign, the tension from the iconoclast division between the Roman Chur...

    Read More

  • Constantine the Great

    1346 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...cil of the Church, establishing a creed in which we still use today. Constantine formed a union between the Church and state successfully consolidating the Roman Empire and protecting the welfare of all the people in the empire.

    Read More

  • Emperor Justinian I Essay

    1255 Words  | 3 Pages

    Justinian I, considered one of the best late Roman/ Byzantine emperors. He was one of the few emperors to have had such success in his life highlighted in this article.

    Read More

  • Safe Haven Feminist Theory

    1078 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women cooked, cleaned, sewed, and even held light jobs (working in a mill), while men held jobs in heavier industries (railroad, steel, mining, etc.); however, a woman would not be as well compensated as a man would be and she could not obtain a high education because all colleges were closed against her. To fight for women’s equality, women such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, and Susan B. Anthony led feminists’ revolts, and after a long period of time, white women were granted the same rights as men (Hymowitz and Weissman). This is an important part of history for women, because without it, we would be unable to obtain a high education, have a career, and support

    Read More

More about Emperor Justinian: Builder of the Byzantine Legend

Open Document