Justinian I

Roman emperor who codified Roman law and reconquered lost territories.

Justinian I was Roman emperor from 527 to 565, known for his ambitious but only partly realized renovatio imperii.^[1] His reign saw the partial recovery of Western Roman territories and the uniform rewriting of Roman law, the Corpus Juris Civilis.^[1][2] Numerous achievements were realized during the reign of Justinian I, who is considered a highly significant Roman emperor.^[2]

Last updated 2026-09-30 from the source article.

Quick Facts

Reign: 1 April 527 – 14 November 565
Coronation: 1 April 527
Predecessor: Justin I
Successor: Justin II
Regent: Justin I (until 1 August 527)
Birth name: Petrus Sabbatius
Born: 482
Birthplace: Tauresium (probably Gradište near Skopje), Eastern Roman Empire

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Procopius, a contemporary writer, states that Justinian's birthplace was the small settlement of Tauresium, located in Dardania.^[3] His first language was Latin, and his family were peasants, with their origins believed to be either Thraco-Roman or Illyro-Roman.^[4] Justinian's education in law, religion, and Roman history was arranged by his uncle Justin, who was the commander of the Excubitors and later adopted him.^[5] On 1 April 527, Justinian was made co-emperor, and upon Justin's death on 1 August 527, he became the sole ruler.^[6]

Theodora, his former mistress, became his wife around 525 and held considerable sway over imperial politics.^[7][8] The Vandal Kingdom in North Africa was rapidly subdued by Justinian's commander Belisarius.^[9] Generals including Belisarius and Narses subsequently overcame the Ostrogothic Kingdom, bringing Dalmatia, Sicily, Italy, and Rome back under imperial control.^[9] The southern part of the Iberian Peninsula was recovered by the praetorian prefect Liberius, who then set up the province of Spania.^[9]

Having no children, Justinian passed away on 14 November 565, and Justin II then became emperor.^[10][11]

What the cited sources add

Woudhuysen states that Justinian shrewdly signed an "endless peace" with the Sasanian emperor Khusro II in 532.^[12] Woudhuysen adds that Justinian dispatched armies to recover regions lost to barbarian rulers as the western Roman Empire collapsed.^[12]

References

Wikipedia, "Justinian I" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: J. F. Haldon, Byzantium in the seventh century (Cambridge, 2003), 17–19.; On the western Roman Empire, see now H. Börm, Westrom (Stuttgart 2013). (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Justinian I" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Woudhuysen, "Restless zeal of the insomniac emperor", The Critic Magazine, 24 December 2023; Treadgold, A History of Byzantine State and Society 1997, p.217; Evans, J.A.S. The Age of Justinian: The Circumstances of Imperial Power, 1996, pp.270 - 271; John Henry Merryman and Rogelio Pérez-Perdomo, The Civil Law Tradition: An Introduction to the Legal Systems of Europe and Latin America, 3rd ed. (Stanford: Sta (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Justinian I" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Of Caesaria, "Buildings", p. 224 (iv. i. 16–24); Joannes Zonaras ( 1140), Epitome XIV, 5: he was crowned at the age of 45. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Justinian I" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: The Inheritance of Rome, Chris Wickham, Penguin Books Ltd. 2009, (p. 90). Justinian referred to Latin as his native tongue in several of his laws. See Moorhead ; Robert Browning, "Justinian and Theodora", Gorgias Press, 2003, p. 21; Shifting Genres in Late Antiquity, Hugh Elton, Geoffrey Greatrex, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2015, , p. 259.; Pannonia and Upper Moesia: A History of the Middle Danube Provinces of the Roman Empire, András Mócsy, Routledge, 2014, , p. 350.; Barker, "Justinian and the Later Roman Empire", University of Wisconsin P en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Justinian I" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Robert Browning. "Justinian I" in Dictionary of the Middle Ages, volume VII (1986).; Robert Browning. "Justinian I" in Dictionary of the Middle Ages, volume VII (1986).; Robert Browning. "Justinian I" in Dictionary of the Middle Ages, volume VII (1986).; PLRE; Malalas, Chronicle 18.425; Cambridge Ancient History p. 65; : He then conjectures that Justinian most resembled Emperor Domitian (r. 81-96), one of the most hated men in Roman history (also cited as an archetypical tyran (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Justinian I" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Robert Browning. "Justinian I" in Dictionary of the Middle Ages, volume VII (1986).; PLRE; Moorhead (1994), pp. 21–22, with a reference to Procopius, Secret History 8.3.; Robert Browning. "Justinian I" in Dictionary of the Middle Ages, volume VII (1986).; Justinian: Procopius, Secret History 6.28 and Victor of Tunnuna, Chronicle 523; Justin: Evagrius, Ecclesiastical History 4.3; Robert Browning. "Justinian I" in Dictionary of the Middle Ages, volume VII (1986).; This post seems to have been titular; there is no evidence that Justinian had a en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Justinian I" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: See Procopius, Secret history, ch. 13. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Justinian I" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: quote=As it was impossible for anyone who had reached the rank of senator to marry a prostitute (this being prohibited from the earliest times by the most ancie; M. Meier, Justinian, p. 57.; P. N. Ure, Justinian and his age, p. 200. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Justinian I" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Early Medieval and Byzantine Civilization: Constantine to Crusades", Tulane; Evans, J. A. S., The Age of Justinian: the circumstances of imperial power. pp. 93–94 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Justinian I" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chronicon Paschale 566; John of Ephesus III 5.13. ; Theophanes Confessor AM 6058; John Malalas 18.1 . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Justinian I" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Crowley, "City of Fortune, How Venice Won and Lost a Naval Empire", Faber & Faber Ltd., 2011, p. 109 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Woudhuysen, "Restless zeal of the insomniac emperor", The Critic Magazine, 24 December 2023. facts only, no text reused. thecritic.co.uk

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Justinian I (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.