Preview

Justinian was a Byzantine Emperor

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1143 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Justinian was a Byzantine Emperor
Justinian was a Byzantine Emperor who helped to renew the Byzantine Empire that would leave an eternal legacy for Western Civilization. During Justinian’s reign, the Byzantine Empire was at a time of decline. With Justinian’s visions, he was able to lay out a foundation that would help the Byzantine Empire live for many years to come.
Justinian 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.
Justinian worked hard and rose in his uncle’s government. He studied in Constantinople and became consul in 521. He married his wife Theodora in 523 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.
Justinian had dreamed of restoring the Roman Empire in Europe so he immediately set out to secure and expand the weakening Byzantine Empire. The only way Justinian could achieve his goal was by retaking control over the Western provinces that were once ruled by Rome.
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 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
With peace now in the East, Justinian appointed General Belisarius to lead an army and re-conquer the western Roman provinces. In 533, Belisarius army smashed the Vandals and took over North African provinces and sent their King, Gelimer, back to Constantinople

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Proctor Essay 2

    • 815 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “Beginning with the reign of Constantine I and the establishment of the Byzantine Empire, the Eastern Christian church became a tool of the Emperors. Byzantine Emperors and Empresses played a dominant role in the Eastern church and used the Christian religion to strengthen the Empire internally, to spread Byzantine cultural and political influence, and at times, to fortify their own power”…

    • 815 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 330 CE the Roman emperor Constantine made the city of Byzantium the capital of the Roman Empire.Throughout Constantine's reign the Roman Empire was unified but soon after his death in 337 the empire was once again divided. In 476 AD the Roman Empire fell; however, Byzantine continued to survive. During 527-565 CE Justinian ruled the Byzantine Empire and was highly praised. Justinian throughout his reign attempted to reunite the Roman Empire and was greatly successful. As a result, Justinian did not develop a unique Byzantine Empire instead he recreated Rome through following Roman laws, leading similarly to previous emperors, and by continuing to have Christianity as an official religion.…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The period of really intense political and cultural activity in the Byzantine Empire began after coup de’etat of 856.” The Byzantine Empire under the Macedonian dynasty reached “military power and political authority, and also the revival and flowering of Byzantine culture in all its aspects from philosophy to painting.” The Byzantine Empire really had political and cultural progress and expansion during this period. They were so superior to “its western and eastern foes” because “Western Europe staggered under the blows dealt by the Saracens, Vikings, and Magyars, and the Arabs lost the momentum that had carried them forward for two centuries.” Therefore, they managed to spread their culture, and “enjoyed the relative calm, wealth, and…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Byzantium's Golden Age

    • 858 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Byzantium, on the other hand, was a culture that was a continuation of the Roman empire that began in 324CE. Christianity was the official religion which was central to the identity of many of the empire’s inhabitants, which in turn influenced art. Although Byzantine inhabitants inherited Roman culture and called themselves Romans, much of their culture was aligned with Greek culture, especially evident in the fact that their language was Greek and not Latin like Romans. Like many transitioning states, the Byzantine empire went through stages of ups and downs as the empire expanded. The empire reached its peak, however, when Justinian was in power. His reign, from 527 to 565CE, is known as Byzantium’s golden age. In this time, Justinian successfully…

    • 858 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the Byzantine Empire’s greatest emperors was Justinian I or Justinian the Great. He conquered almost all of the land previously occupied by the Roman Empire, built the magnificent church the Hagia Sophia, and wrote Justinian’s Code. Justinian had assistant accomplishing these things from his wife, Empress Theodora. Most Byzantine Empresses took an active part in governing the empire, but none more so than Theodora. While Justinian was commanding the army or working on a project, Theodora took charge of much of the day to day business. She also improved women’s rights and abolished some unfair laws against them. A few Byzantine Empresses ruled alone, although the vast majority ruled with either their husband or son. The first Empress to rule alone was Empress Irene, who ruled independently from 797 to 802 after briefly being co-emperor with her husband and murdering her son. Unfortunately, Empress Irene proved to be a disastrous empress, almost bankrupting the empire, and was exiled to the island of Lesbos after people rebelled against her. Another great emperor was Basil…

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Byzantine Empire

    • 1291 Words
    • 6 Pages

    3 The Byzantine emperor Justinian is most famous for his (A) reconquest of Italy (B) conversion of the Slavic peoples (C) contributions to Christian theology (D) code of law…

    • 1291 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Byzantine Empire

    • 816 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Date Name DBQ SzBYZANTINE EMPIRE UNDER IUSTINIAN Historical Context Justinian became emperor in527, he was determined to revive the ancient Roman Empire, to build a new Rome. He established Constantinople as the capital of the Byzantine, or Eastern RomarL Empire. Justiniar{s actions preserved Roman heritage for more than a thousand years. \Atrhen I Directions: The following question is based on the accompanying documents Part A.…

    • 816 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    When Justinian became emperor in 527, he wanted to build a new Rome by incorporating the ancient Roman Empire. He made Constantinople the capital of the Byzantine Empire and kept the Roman culture along with the Greek culture for more than a thousand years. Justinian helped rebuild the Roman Empire by the many contributions he gave to the empire; he was able to rule a well-structured empire.…

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Byzantine

    • 321 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Byzantine Empire did more than protect - it also preserved. Even though the rise of Christianity was a major break which caused huge changes in the Greco-Roman world, much of the fabric of ancient life continued in Byzantium. This included the preservation and study of Classical science, literature, philosophy and critical thought, engineering, architecture, art and even medicine.…

    • 321 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The First Triumvirate

    • 1365 Words
    • 6 Pages

    He wanted to gain a large pro-consular command, instead of some insignificant part of the Roman Empire, which was the optimates plan.…

    • 1365 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    One reason that the Empire expanded under Justinian was because of his ability to pick exceptional advisors. The men that he gave power to owed this to him and so were very loyal. Despite many periods of financial and military crisis where the Empire faced threats from all sides it always managed to come through, often due to the talents of the Emperors advisors. One of the talented generals during Justinian’s reign was Belisarius. Belisarius was a former member of Justinian’s bodyguard whom the Emperor saw potential in. The general was with Justinian for much of his reign and had many victories against larger enemies. In 530, near the border fortress of Dara, he defeated a much larger Persian force, showing his talents as a commander. He was also in charge of the force that reconquered Africa by the end of 533, less than a year after he landed with an army of around 18,000 soldiers.…

    • 1163 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alexander the Great was born in July 356 BCE, at Pella, Macedon. His father, Philip II of Macedon, allowed Aristotle to mentor him and to teach him about the Greek philosophy. At around the age of 20 years old, his father was assassinated and he was crowned the King of Macedonia. As King of Macedonia, he finish uniting…

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The beautiful church San Vitale was built in the 6th century in Ravenna, Italy. The Greek banker Julius Argentarius sponsored the construction of the church and it was built to honor Saint Vitalis for his Christian beliefs. Like so many other amazing buildings at this time it housed some of the best Byzantine Art. One of the most famous images of political authority from the Middle Ages is the beautiful Mosaics who are of the Emperor and Empress, the beautiful Justinian,Bishop Maximianus & Attendants and Theodora And Attendants.…

    • 1847 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Attila The Hun Thesis

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages

    He crossed the Danube twice and plundered the Balkans, but was unable to take Constantinople. His unsuccessful campaign in Persia was followed in 441 by an invasion of the Eastern Roman the Byzantine Empire, the success of which encouraged Attila to invade the West. He also attempted to conquer Roman Gaul which is modern France and crossing the Rhine in 451 and marching as far as Aurelianum before being defeated at the Battle of the Catalaunian…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He tells his audience that Justinian is a ruthless leader, “who was far too ready to listen to false accusations and quick to inflict punishment”. Through Procopius’ biased opinion of Justinian, we see not the great Emperor, but an almost demonic character, one that comes from peasant parents of barbarian descent. However, Procopius describes Justinian as “extremely simple with no more sense than a donkey, ready to follow anyone who pulls its rein, waving its ears all the time”. Definitely not the kind of character you would expect to find as an elite of the Byzantine Empire, let alone it’s Emperor. He continues on to tell his audience that if you added up all the calamities which had happened to the Romans for all time, and you weighed them against those with which Justinian was responsible, you would find that “a greater slaughter of human beings was brought about by this one man than took place in all the preceding centuries”. Procopius wanted his audience to know that Justinian was a corrupt tyrant. He committed many horrible evil deeds against humankind, from sweeping away established customs, looting households of wealthy people, to the murder of “thousands of thousands of…

    • 1005 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays