The Justinian Period Timeline

The Justinian Period 19

483 – 527 Justin I and the rise of Justinian Justinian is born c.483 in Dacia Mediterranea (modern Serbia/North Macedonia) as Flavius Petrus Sabbatius, a Latin-speaking peasant. His uncle Justin, an illiterate soldier who rises through the ranks to become emperor (518-527), brings his nephew to Constantinople and provides him with an excellent education. Justinian works in the palace administration under Justin, effectively running the government long before he formally inherits power. He is already in his forties when he becomes sole emperor in 527 -- experienced, educated, extraordinarily energetic and possessed of an absolute conviction in his divine mission to restore the Roman Empire.
500 – 565 Belisarius -- the last great Roman general Flavius Belisarius (c.500-565) is the most gifted general of the early Byzantine period and the last commander to win victories worthy of the great Roman generals. Brilliant at cavalry tactics, siege warfare and strategic improvisation, he wins campaigns in Persia (530), North Africa (533-534) and Italy (535-540, 544-549) with forces far smaller than conventional wisdom demands. His loyalty to Justinian is total even as Justinian repeatedly underresources him, recalls him at critical moments and allows palace intrigues to undermine him. He ends his career in obscurity; Justinian outlives him by months.
500 – 548 Theodora -- from the circus to the throne Theodora is born c.500, the daughter of Acacius, a bear-keeper for the Green faction at the hippodrome. After her father's death she and her sisters work as entertainers -- actress, dancer, mime. Ancient sources (particularly Procopius's scurrilous Secret History) describe her early life in scandalous detail; the truth is hard to recover. She meets Justinian c.520; he is devoted to her. He changes the law prohibiting senators from marrying actresses to marry her (525). As empress she is his equal in all but formal title: she has her own court and treasury, corresponds with foreign rulers and is acknowledged by contemporaries as co-ruler.
527 – 565 The Justinian Period (527–565) The reign of Justinian I (527-565) is the most ambitious and consequential in Byzantine history -- the last attempt to reunite the Roman world, and the moment at which the Eastern Roman Empire reaches its maximum territorial extent. Justinian reconquers North Africa (533), Italy (535-554) and southern Spain (552). He codifies Roman law in the Corpus Juris Civilis, builds Hagia Sophia in five years, and steers the empire through the Plague of Justinian -- the first pandemic in recorded history. His co-ruler Theodora and his general Belisarius are among the most remarkable individuals of the ancient world. The reign is simultaneously a triumph and an overstretch: the empire Justinian leaves is larger but poorer, more plague-weakened and more militarily extended than the one he inherited.
529 – 534 Corpus Juris Civilis -- the most influential legal text in history Justinian appoints the jurist Tribonian to compile all existing Roman law into a systematic whole: the Codex Justinianus (first edition 529, revised 534), the Digest or Pandects (533, 50 volumes condensing 2,000 years of juristic writing), the Institutes (533, a student textbook) and the Novels (new legislation, 534-565). The Corpus Juris Civilis is the foundation of civil law systems across the world: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Scotland, Quebec, Louisiana, Brazil and most of Latin America base their legal systems on it. It defines concepts -- property, contract, crime, family law -- that remain fundamental in legal systems governing billions of people.
529 Justinian closes the Academy of Athens In 529 Justinian closes the Platonic Academy of Athens -- the philosophical school founded by Plato in 387 BC and operating continuously for 916 years. The closure is part of Justinian's suppression of paganism and marks the formal end of classical pagan philosophy as an institutional force. Seven philosophers leave for Persia, briefly creating an Academy-in-exile at the court of Khosrow I. The closure is often cited (somewhat dramatically) as the end of the ancient world. The year 529 is also when Justinian promulgates the first edition of the Codex -- the beginning of the Corpus Juris Civilis.
530 Battle of Dara -- Belisarius defeats Persia At the Battle of Dara (530), Belisarius defeats a Persian army of 40,000 with 25,000 Byzantine troops -- an achievement that secures the eastern frontier and frees Justinian to plan the western reconquest. Belisarius uses an innovative defensive formation -- a central infantry line with concealed cavalry in ditches on the flanks -- that traps the Persian cavalry when it advances. The victory makes Belisarius famous across the Mediterranean world. The following year he suffers a reverse at Callinicum (531) but the overall Persian war ends in a negotiated peace (532) -- the 'Endless Peace' that lasts seven years.
532 Nika Riots -- Constantinople in flames On 13 January 532, partisans of the chariot-racing Blues and Greens factions in Constantinople unite against Justinian, chanting 'Nika!' (Victory!). The riots last five days, burning the Hagia Sophia, the Senate house, the baths of Zeuxippus and large parts of the city. Justinian prepares to flee; Theodora refuses and delivers her famous speech about preferring a royal death to ignoble flight. Belisarius and Mundus trap approximately 30,000 rioters in the hippodrome and slaughter them. The riots kill more people than some wars -- and clear the ground for Justinian's building programme.
532 – 537 Hagia Sophia -- built in five years Justinian commissions a completely new Hagia Sophia immediately after the Nika Riots destroy the previous church. The architects Anthemius of Tralles (a mathematician) and Isidore of Miletus (a physicist and engineer) design a building of unprecedented ambition: a central dome 31.24 metres in diameter, raised 55.6 metres above the floor, floating on four pendentives that transfer its weight to four massive piers. 10,000 workers build it in five years. On its dedication (27 December 537), Justinian reportedly exclaims: 'Glory to God who has thought me worthy to finish this work. Solomon, I have surpassed you.' It remains the world's largest cathedral for nearly 1,000 years.
533 – 534 Conquest of North Africa -- the Vandal Kingdom destroyed Belisarius lands in North Africa in June 533 with approximately 16,000 troops -- an audacious gamble against a Vandal kingdom that has terrorised the western Mediterranean for a century. He defeats the Vandals at the Battle of Ad Decimum (September 533) and the Battle of Tricamarum (December 533). The Vandal king Gelimer surrenders in 534. North Africa, lost in 429, is recovered in 14 months. Belisarius returns to Constantinople for a triumph, bringing the Vandal royal treasury including what may be the Temple of Jerusalem menorah (looted by the Vandals from Rome in 455). The reconquest is apparently effortless -- the Gothic Wars that follow are anything but.
535 – 540 Belisarius conquers Italy -- first phase Belisarius opens the Italian campaign in 535 with an audacious winter crossing of Sicily and advances north, capturing Naples by undermining its aqueduct (536) and entering Rome unopposed (December 536). He holds Rome against a Gothic siege of 374 days with approximately 5,000 men against perhaps 150,000 Goths -- one of the great defensive actions in military history. He raises the siege, advances north, and captures Ravenna by a brilliant ruse (540): convincing the Gothic king Witiges that Belisarius will become Western Emperor if Witiges surrenders. Witiges surrenders. Belisarius is immediately recalled to Constantinople.
540 Khosrow I sacks Antioch -- the Persian threat returns While Belisarius campaigns in Italy, the Sassanid Persian king Khosrow I repudiates the 'Endless Peace' of 532 and invades Syria in 540, sacking and burning Antioch -- the third largest city in the empire, famous across the ancient world for its beauty and prosperity. The sack of Antioch is a profound shock: the idea that a Persian army could penetrate to the Syrian coast and destroy one of Christendom's greatest cities undermines the whole narrative of Byzantine invincibility. Belisarius is recalled from Italy to deal with the Persian threat, fatally undermining the Italian campaign.
541 – 543 The Plague strikes Constantinople Bubonic plague reaches Constantinople from Egypt via the grain ships in spring 541. The contemporary historian Procopius describes the symptoms: swellings in the groin, armpits and behind the ears; black blisters; delirium; the impossibility of burying the dead fast enough. At the peak, 5,000 to 10,000 people die per day in Constantinople. Justinian contracts the plague and survives -- one of history's more consequential recoveries. The army is devastated: whole units disappear; the tax base collapses; Justinian is forced to reduce military expenditure at precisely the moment when the Italian and Persian wars demand maximum resources.
544 – 552 Totila reconquers Italy -- the Gothic counter-attack The Gothic king Totila (541-552) launches a brilliant counter-offensive while Belisarius is pinned in Persia, exploiting Byzantine logistical failures to reconquer most of Italy. He reforms the Ostrogothic kingdom's social structure -- freeing slaves, redistributing land from absentee Roman landlords -- and rebuilds the Gothic army. He captures Rome three times (546, 549, 550). When Belisarius returns to Italy with inadequate forces (544-548), he cannot stop Totila. Procopius writes that Belisarius's second Italian campaign was 'conducted in a manner that brought him no glory.' The war is decided only after Justinian sends Narses with a properly funded army (552).
552 Narses defeats Totila -- the Gothic Wars end The eunuch general Narses, aged approximately 74, defeats and kills Totila at the Battle of Busta Gallorum (552) and then defeats the last Gothic army at Mons Lactarius. He completes the conquest of Italy by 554. Narses is one of the most remarkable commanders in Byzantine history -- a palace official with no military experience who proves to be a natural strategist. Italy is reconquered but at catastrophic cost: 20 years of warfare have devastated the peninsula, depopulated its cities and destroyed the senatorial aristocracy. The population of Rome has fallen from 500,000 to perhaps 20,000.
553 Second Council of Constantinople -- Justinian and the Three Chapters The Fifth Ecumenical Council (553), convened by Justinian at Constantinople, condemns the 'Three Chapters' -- the writings of three theologians considered too sympathetic to Nestorianism. Justinian's goal is to reconcile the non-Chalcedonian churches of Egypt and Syria to the imperial church. The council's decisions are accepted by most of the eastern church but rejected by significant parts of the western church, further straining relations between Constantinople and Rome. Justinian's theological interventionism -- he considers himself both emperor and theologian -- generates controversy throughout his reign.
554 Pragmatic Sanction -- reconquered Italy organised The Pragmatic Sanction of 554 is Justinian's settlement for the reconquered Italy -- restoring the senatorial aristocracy, the papacy and the Roman municipal institutions, while placing the territory under a Byzantine praetorian prefect. It attempts to restore Italy to the condition before Theodoric -- an impossible task after 20 years of devastating war. The settlement works for 14 years until the Lombard invasion of 568 dismantles it. The Pragmatic Sanction is a reminder that Justinian's reconquest was always conceived as a restoration of the legitimate Roman order, not a colonial enterprise.
560 – 565 Justinians final years -- theological obsession In his final years (c.560-565), Justinian becomes increasingly isolated and obsessed with resolving the theological controversies that have divided the Church throughout his reign. He is reportedly moving toward a position called Aphthartodocetism (the belief that Christ's body was incorruptible and impassible from birth) when he dies in November 565. His court is run by competing factions; his treasury is depleted; his generals are underfunded. The empire he leaves is larger than the one he inherited but significantly weakened by plague, war expenditure and administrative overstretch.
565 Justinians legacy -- law, architecture and overstretch Justinian's legacy operates on multiple levels. The Corpus Juris Civilis is the most influential legal text in history -- the foundation of civil law systems governing billions of people. Hagia Sophia is one of the greatest buildings ever constructed. The Ravenna mosaics -- portraits of Justinian and Theodora in the church of San Vitale -- are the finest surviving examples of Byzantine art. But the military reconquest is largely undone within decades: the Lombards take Italy (568); the Visigoths retake Spain (625); North Africa falls to the Arabs (698). Justinian's reach exceeded the empire's grasp -- and the cost of overstretch is paid by his successors.