09. The Reign of Justinian

Summary

Why Use Primary Sources?

Professor Paul Freedman opens by explaining that primary sources—writings by people who lived during the period—offer vivid, immediate evidence about events and the mood of the time. But they can also be difficult to interpret because their authors had different assumptions, styles, and biases. Historians must reconstruct not only what happened, but how people understood and responded to it.

Procopius and Gregory of Tours illustrate contrasting approaches. Procopius wrote in a classical literary tradition and paid relatively little attention to Christianity; Gregory, a bishop, emphasized the Church and supernatural events. Neither should simply be taken at face value.

Justinian’s Reign: Reconquest and Overextension

Justinian ruled from 527 to 565, following a period in which he had already gained influence under his uncle, Justin I. The earlier part of his reign saw the Eastern Roman Empire reach a high point. Justinian sought to recover former Western Roman territories:

• North Africa, taken from the Vandals
• Parts of Mediterranean Spain, held by the Visigoths
• Italy, held by the Ostrogoths

For a time, these conquests appeared to restore much of the old Roman Empire. But they came at high cost. The campaigns required substantial resources and taxation, while the empire also faced threats on its eastern frontier.

Freedman frames the central historical question as whether Justinian’s western conquests were grand ambition or a costly mistake. In retrospect, the empire’s expansion left it overstretched and less able to withstand future pressures. But judging Justinian’s choices also requires remembering that he could not know what later threats would emerge.

Procopius as a Source on Justinian

Procopius is the chief source for Justinian’s wars, but his works present sharply different portraits:

• The Wars recounts campaigns against Persia, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths. It initially adopts a sober classical style, but Procopius becomes increasingly uneasy and critical as the Italian campaign turns into a long, destructive struggle.
• The Secret History, also known as the Anecdota, portrays Justinian and Theodora in intensely hostile terms. Procopius apparently hoped it would be published after his death.
• Buildings praises Justinian’s construction projects and presents him as a great ruler.

Freedman argues that these opposing accounts need not mean Procopius was simply unreliable or had radically changed his mind. Praise and denunciation could coexist in a political culture where power was concentrated around the ruler: public or official praise might sit alongside private resentment.

Procopius was also a conservative, elite-minded writer who objected to imperial power, taxation of wealthy people, and social “upstarts.” His attacks on Theodora reflect strong gender prejudice, so his allegations about her youth should be treated cautiously.

Justinian and Theodora

Procopius depicts Justinian as exceptionally hardworking, attentive to detail, and interested in a wide range of subjects, including law, theology, architecture, and Church ceremonies. Of relatively humble Balkan origin, he was the last emperor whose native language was Latin. He sought to restore Roman territory and prestige, was willing to tax heavily to do so, and exercised strong authority over the Church.

Theodora, Justinian’s consort, held unusual power and influence. The two differed in temperament and religious sympathies, yet ruled as a political team. Their differences also appeared in their support for rival factions at Constantinople’s Hippodrome.

The Nika Revolt and Rebuilding Constantinople

In 532, conflict involving the Hippodrome’s Blues and Greens escalated into a revolt. The factions were not simply political parties, though they had religious associations: the Greens tended toward Monophysite sympathies, while the Blues tended toward the opposing position.

The immediate crisis followed the attempted execution of rioters. Two prisoners escaped, and the factions united in demanding a pardon. The revolt became a broader challenge to Justinian’s rule. Its slogan, Nika (“Victory”), gave the uprising its name.

According to Procopius, Justinian considered fleeing, but Theodora urged him to remain. Generals Belisarius and Narses helped suppress the rebellion, with the deaths of tens of thousands reported. Much of Constantinople was damaged by fire.

Justinian then undertook an extensive rebuilding program. Its best-known achievement was the new Hagia Sophia, constructed in about five years, alongside repairs and rebuilding of other major public and religious buildings. The rebuilding demonstrated Justinian’s capacity for large-scale projects, but also required further resources.

Wars, Plague, and the Empire’s Mounting Strain

Justinian’s eastern policy sought to secure peace with Persia while freeing troops for campaigns in the West. A “perpetual peace” was agreed in 531, but it lasted only about nine years.

The North African campaign of 533–534 succeeded relatively quickly, although resistance from the Berber population continued to challenge Byzantine control. The campaign in Italy, begun in 535, proved far more difficult. The Ostrogoths resisted strongly; the war lasted roughly two decades and devastated Italy. Belisarius initially made gains but was recalled, and Narses later completed the conquest. Ravenna fell to Byzantine forces in 540.

That same year, Persia invaded and sacked Antioch, a major city of the empire. A major plague began in 542; Freedman cites an estimate that it killed about a third of the population.

Although Justinian’s campaigns were officially successful, the later years of his reign were marked by heavy taxation, economic decline, population loss, and military overextension. The empire had recovered territory, but much of the Italy it had conquered was ruined.

Justinian’s Law Code

Justinian’s legal reforms were a major achievement, even though Procopius says very little about them. Roman law had become extensive and difficult to navigate, containing imperial statutes as well as centuries of legal opinions, or responsae, some of which conflicted. A commission organized the material and resolved contradictions.

The resulting Corpus Iuris Civilis (“Body of Civil Law”) was compiled over about five years and consisted of four main parts:

• Codex: A collection of imperial legislation and earlier statutes
• Digest (Digesta): Selected and organized legal opinions, or responsae, arranged by subject
• Institutes: A textbook-style overview of the law
• Novellae: New laws issued after the other collections; these were in Greek, while the first three works were in Latin

The compilation dealt extensively with property, contracts, inheritance, partnerships, guardianship, and other civil matters. Freedman emphasizes that law is central to political and administrative order: despite the burdens of bureaucracy, legal systems help societies function and avoid anarchy. The code also expressed a conception of government in which the emperor was both the servant and the master of the law.

Main Lessons

• Primary sources are valuable for their immediacy, but their authors’ motives and assumptions must be examined.
• Procopius’s contradictory portraits of Justinian are useful evidence of political tensions, not merely a reason to dismiss him.
• Justinian’s reconquests brought prestige and territory but also drained resources and weakened the empire.
• Historical judgments should account for the uncertainty faced by people at the time, rather than relying only on hindsight.
• Justinian’s legacy includes not only military campaigns and monumental buildings, but also a systematic organization of Roman law.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Speaker: Paul Freedman, lecturer
• Primary sources discussed: Procopius’s The Wars, Secret History (Anecdota), and Buildings; Gregory of Tours, introduced as a source for the following lecture
• Other named authors and historians referenced: Thucydides, Augustine (The Confessions), J. B. Bury, Paul Kennedy, and Edward Gibbon
• Legal compilation discussed: Justinian’s Corpus Iuris Civilis—the Codex, Digest, Institutes, and Novellae