Justinian I Ιουστινιανός Α ´； About November 14, 482-565), the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire (527-565), known as Justinian the Great.
Justinian I assisted his uncle Justin I to ascend the throne and govern the country in his early years, and later succeeded as his adopted son. In terms of internal affairs, he formed the first systematic and complete code of law in Europe, the Great Book of National Laws, by appointing Triphonian and others to compile the code (528-534) and issuing new decrees (534-565); Suppressing the Nika Uprising (532), reforming the administration and strengthening the centralization of power; [1] Develop foreign trade and introduce silk weaving industry; Interfering in religious affairs and persecuting Arius and other heresies; Construction of St. Sophia Cathedral. To the outside world, the famous general Pelesalius fought with Sassanian Persia in the east, conquered the Vandal Kingdom of North Africa (533-534) and the East Gothic Kingdom of Italy (535-554) in the west, and occupied the south of the West Gothic Kingdom (around 552). In his later years, he devoted himself to theology. Soon after his death, the empire lost its territory in the West.
Justinian I's policy was summarized as "an empire, a church and a code" by the scholar Alexander Vasiliev. [2-4] His ruling period was generally regarded as an important transition period from the classical Eastern Roman Empire to the Hellenistic Byzantine Empire. [5]
(Overview: Detail of the mosaic in the apse of St. Vitale in Ravena 

Early experience
Commemorative statue in the hometown of Justinian Skopje (photographed by Dennis Jarvis)
Commemorative statue in the hometown of Justinian Skopje (photographed by Dennis Jarvis)
On May 5, 482 (also known as May 11, 483) [7], Justinian I was born in Taolisium Village, Dardania Province, the Eastern Roman Empire (also translated as "Taolesian" [8], "Taoreshum" [9], "Tolishim" [10], "Taolisihum" [11], etc., "Tolesso" [12] or its translation name; La: Tavrision; UK: Taurescium), [13] Gibbon and Henry Bronson Dewing once believed that it was near Sofia, [7] [14] but archaeological evidence shows that this place is near Skoplje in modern Macedonia, [8] [15] and Skoplje is its ancestral home. [12]
Justinian, formerly known as Flavios Petrus Sabatius, [2] was born in a poor peasant family. He uses Latin and regards it as his "mother tongue" [16], which may indicate that he is well educated, or [12] because he is from a Latin nationality. In his youth, he went to Constantinople to join Justin, his uncle, who was then a senior general, where he received better cultural education. [12] Justin also placed high hopes on Justinian, took him as an adopted son, and added his surname "Justinianus". In this way, without the addition of honorific titles (Caesar and Augustus) and adjectives, Justinian I's full name is Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Justinianus (La: Flavius Petrus Sabbatius IUstinianus; Xi: Φλάβιος Πέτρος Σαββάτιος Ιουστινιανός）。 [2]
Assisting Uncle
In 518, Anastasius I died, and Justin, with the help of Justinian, was elected as Byzantine emperor for Justin I. Since then, Justinian, as an adopted son, continued to assist Justin I in formulating important policies at home and abroad, and won the title of "Caesar". Internally, he assisted his adoptive father in executing the noble leader Vitalian and others, and cancelled Anastasius I's religious policy to temporarily quell the social unrest caused by religious conflicts. Abroad, he invited Roman bishops to visit Constantinople to maintain peace with Persia. At the same time, he also allied with Lakaz, Ethiopians and other forces to limit the expansion of Persians. [17]
In 523 (first 525 [17]), Justinian married Theodora. [18]
In 526, Antioch was hit by a serious earthquake, with 250000 victims (another 300000). [19-20]
Ascend the throne
East Roman coin with portrait of Justinian
East Roman Coins with Justinian Portrait (9 pieces)
On April 1, 527, Justinian was awarded the title of "Augustus" and co ruled with his uncle. On August 1 of the same year, Justin died and became the sole monarch. In order to compete for the export from the Caucasus to the Black Sea and participate in the trade competition with the East, he soon fought with Sassanopos.
On February 15, 528, it was ordered to form a ten member committee, including Treponian, to begin the preparation of the Justinian Code. [21] In the same year, Antioch suffered another earthquake. [19] In addition to allocating funds for disaster relief, Justinian also exempted Antiochus from taxes for three years, and once renamed the city Theopolis (meaning "the city of God", Theopolis) to appease the people. [22]
On April 7, 529, the Justinian Code was published and came into force on April 16 [21]. In the same year, Justinian closed the Plato Academy and exiled seven famous scholars to Persia. [18] Samaritans launched an uprising in Palestine, and Jews also participated in it. [24]
In 530, the Samaritan uprising was suppressed. [24] In the same year, the imperial government issued an order in Antioch, Syria, that anyone who did not recognize the Gakden Council would be exiled. [18] On December 15, Justinian formed a 16 member editorial committee to edit the Collection of Doctrines. [21]
Nica Incident
In 531, Justinian appointed Giovanni di Cappadocia ("John the Cappadocian", UK: John the Cappadocian), who was good at gathering, as the praefecti praetorio Orientis in the east of the empire, and adopted the policy of increasing taxes. Many residents of the empire became poor and flocked to the capital. [25]
In 532, the Nica Uprising broke out in Constantinople. At that time, carriage racing was prevalent in Constantinople. The racing teams were divided into blue teams, white teams, green teams, and red teams according to the color of the coachman. In fact, they became political parties, with the blue party and the green party having the strongest influence. Both sides often clashed, and some people were arrested [18]. At the racing meeting on January 11, 532, the people of both parties asked Justinian to forgive the prisoners of their respective parties, but they were refused, which intensified the situation. [25] On the 12th, some frustrated nobles joined the uprising. On the 15th, armed conflict broke out between the insurgents and the government. They destroyed churches, burned government offices, attacked prisons, attacked the imperial palace, [26] chanted the slogan "Nika" (meaning "victory"). [25]
Nica Uprising was suppressed by Justinian
Nica Uprising was suppressed by Justinian
On January 18, the insurgents had almost taken control of Constantinople and were ready to elect a new emperor. [26] Justinian I wanted to abandon the city and escape, but he decided to stay after the advice of Empress Theodora. [18] After discussion, Justinian sent the eunuch Narses to bribe the Blue Party involved in the uprising with money, and sent the generals Berisalius and Mundus (Italy: Mundo; Britain: Mundus) to enter the racetrack on the same day to kill the people who were ready to support the new emperor. [25] More than 35000 people were killed. [18] (There are also 30000, 40000 people, etc. [7]) After the uprising was suppressed, Justinian continued to kill or exile the involved nobles. [25] In the same year, we began to rebuild the St. Sophia Cathedral destroyed by the uprising. [27]

explore and expand
In 532, Justinian signed a "permanent" peace agreement with Persia at the cost of 11,000 pounds of gold. For the attacks of the barbarian tribes in the northern Balkans, Justinian also tried to win peace by paying the chiefs a lot of money. In this way, the eastern and northern borders were temporarily stabilized. Justinian then concentrated his forces to launch a war to the west in an attempt to destroy the barbarian countries established on the former site of the Western Roman Empire. [18]
Justinian gave the Code to Triphonian (painted by Raphael)
Justinian gave the Code to Triphonian (painted by Raphael) [28]
In August 533, Justinian sent Belisariu troops to attack the Kingdom of Wanda on the pretext that his ally Hildesis was abolished. [18] On November 21, the Law Ladder was published. On December 16, The Collection of Theories was published. On December 30, both become effective. [21] In the same winter, Constantinople was hit by an earthquake. [29]
In 534, Berisalius conquered the Kingdom of Vandal Alam, annexed North Africa, and occupied Sardinia and Corsica. In order to rule the conquered territory, Justinian set up an Afri extended government and a military supervision office in Carthage, and returned the land occupied by the Vandals to the local residents and the Catholic Church. In order to celebrate the recovery of his country, he held a grand triumphal ceremony for Berisaliu in Constantinople. In the same year, the eunuch general Solomon defeated the rebellious Berber tribe Maori at the Battle of Mames. On November 16, the revised Justinian Code (also known as the "Justinian Amendment Code", Codex Justinianus' repetitiae praecectionis) was re promulgated and came into force on December 25. [21]
In 535, Justinian launched the first war with the East Goths on the pretext of the murder of Emma Larsensa, the Regent Queen of East Goths. Belisarius led his troops to land in Sicily. [18]
In 536, Theodosius, a trusted follower of Empress Theodora, was sent to Alexandria as archbishop, which aroused the resistance of the Egyptian people. Although the resistance was suppressed, Justinian deeply felt that his rule would be endangered if he continued to use high-pressure means against the monosexualism sect. He adopted the advice of the Queen, tried to compromise with this sect, found the bishop of the exiled monosexualism sect, and tried to reconcile the contradictions between the monosexuals and the imperial government and the official church. In the same year, Berisaliu attacked Rome. [18]
In 537, the sunlight and moonlight along the Mediterranean coast were obscured for many months. The reason was unknown, possibly because of volcanic eruption. The result is climate change and reduced agricultural production. In the same year, the Cathedral of St. Sophia was completed.
In 539, Bulgarians invaded Greece and plundered extensively.
In 540, when Persia invaded the Eastern Roman Empire, Antiochus was destroyed.
In 541, Persian troops invaded the Lazika region from the north. Justinian once again appointed Berisaliu to command the eastern battlefield and carry out a series of counterattacks. [93] In the same year, the plague spread from the East and Central Africa to Egypt. [30]
In the spring of 542, the plague spread to Constantinople, and then spread to the whole empire and even the regions outside the empire through commercial routes and military expeditions. This great plague is called "Justinian plague". In Constantinople, Justinian ordered Theozorus to deal with the dead and relieve the sick. Later, he ordered to dig a deep pit in Gala, Golden Horn Bay, to bury the dead. [30] Justinian himself was once ill, during which some officers planned a coup. Although the plot itself was aborted due to Justinian's recovery, a group of civil and military officials including Beliza were involved. [31] In the same year, Justinian I abolished the post of consul, which was left over from the Roman Republic (possibly due to cost considerations).
In 544, the East Goths launched an uprising, and Justinian sent Belissa to Italy again to suppress.
Lose a good assistant
On June 28, 548, Empress Theodora died. At the same time, the succession of the throne, the northern border of the Balkans, religious disputes and other issues gradually highlighted, becoming an important factor that troubled Justinian's later rule. [2]
In 549, a plot against Justinian I was uncovered.
In 550, Justinian sent Patrician Liberius, a nobleman, to lead the fleet and occupy part of the southern part of the country in the name of interfering in the internal affairs of Visigoth. [2] The year of the event is still controversial, with 552, 554 and other different versions.
In 551, a strong earthquake occurred in the eastern Mediterranean, and the losses in Greece were particularly serious. [19]
In 553, in order to ease the contradiction between the Christian Calsidon Orthodox and the Unisex, Justinian presided over the union of the two, that is, the Second Constantinople Conference. The meeting finally turned into a criticism of the oneness of Christ.
Justinian's expansion
Justinian's expansion
In 554, Narses defeated the Franks who invaded Italy at the Battle of Casillinum, and finally destroyed the Kingdom of East Gothic. [7] In order to guide the reconstruction of Italy, Justinian issued the Pragmatica sanctio, which stipulated the preservation and abolition of laws left over by the Eastern Gothic Kingdom and some specific legal issues. [32] By that year, Corsica, Sardinia, the Balearic Islands and Dalmatia had been incorporated into the Byzantine territory. The Byzantine Empire had included most of the old territories of the Western Roman Empire except Gaul and Britain, nearly doubling its original territory area. However, the long-term foreign war consumed a lot of military and economic strength of the country, and the successors of Justinian I finally failed to stop the continuous invasion of Slavs, Baokals, the remnants of the Huns and the Awars. [18]

Rule in old age
Statue of Justinian (Theodoric, Ravenna, Ввласенко Photograph)
Statue of Justinian (Theodoric, Ravenna, Ввласенко Photograph)
In 555, the Samaritans launched an uprising again, and a large number of Jews responded. Justinian mobilized the expeditionary forces stationed in North Africa and suppressed the uprising in 556. [24]
In 557, a strong earthquake occurred in Constantinople, and the vault of St. Sophia Cathedral collapsed.
In 558, the plague recurred in Constantinople, and then Silesia and other places also suffered from epidemics. [33]
In 559, the rest of the Huns (also known as Bulgarians [17]) invaded the Eastern Roman Empire and reached the outskirts of Constantinople. Justinian was forced to use the idle Beresalius, who won the victory with a small number of soldiers. Since then, Justinian has bribed the Hungarian tribes to kill each other through diplomacy, reducing their threat until these Hungarian tribes were annexed by Slavs and Avars. [2] In the same year, the rumor that Constantinople had been killed by Justinian fell into confusion until the rumor was clarified. [29]
At the end of 561, the Eastern Roman Empire made peace with Sassanian Persia and signed a peace treaty for 50 years.
In 562, another plot against Justinian I was uncovered, and St. Sophia Cathedral was built again.
On November 14, 565, Justinian I died. Justin II succeeded to the throne. Soon thereafter, most of the conquered areas were lost.

executive summary
Justinian I, like Diocletian and Constantine the Great, was one of the most important emperors in the late Roman Empire and one of the most influential emperors in the world. First, he laid a solid foundation for the Byzantine Empire, which had lasted for nearly a thousand years in the wind and rain of history, and later became the only remaining kindling in the western civilized world of Eurasia. The second is the National Law. Justinian's code once lost its influence after the fall of the Byzantine Empire, but under the impetus of the European Renaissance, Justinian's code regained its vitality and became a legal book that transcended time and space. The laws of modern European countries, apart from Britain's own system, were deeply influenced by Roman law, which affected the laws of Asian, African, American and other countries. [35]
National Laws
Civil Law
Civil Law
During the reign of Justinian I, he organized Roman law, including:
(1) Codex Justinianeus: It was compiled in 528 and promulgated the following year. It is composed of the collection, examination and approval of imperial edicts and resolutions of the Senate of all previous dynasties, and selection. The imperial edicts issued by the emperors of previous dynasties will be invalidated if they are not included. Later Justinian found that there were omissions in the compilation process, and immediately formed a new codification committee to continue sorting out. Some of the amendments were based on Justinian's new legislation, and a revised version was issued in 534, a total of 12 volumes. [12] The imperial edicts are arranged in the order of year, month and day, with the annotation of the names of the emperors who issued the imperial edicts, including church law, sources, senior official positions, private law, criminal law, administrative law, etc. [36]
(2) Digesta: It was drafted by a committee of 16 jurists under the auspices of Triphonian in 530-533. Collected works of famous Roman jurists from the first to the fourth century are divided into 50 volumes and 9200 paragraphs, all of which have legal effect. [36] At the same time, it is declared that the legal statements that have not been selected are invalid, and it is prohibited to use them in the future. [12] In this process, in order to resolve the differences between jurists in the past, Justinian made a series of decisions in 529-531, totaling about 50, commonly known as "Quinquaginta decisions". [37] [21]
(3) "Institutes of Law": a private law elementary textbook based on Gaius's "Ladders of Law", according to the actual needs of preparing basic courses for first-year students of law schools, [12] according to the proposal of Treponian. Three articles, four volumes, were issued in 533 and have legal effect. [36]
(4) Novellae (also known as the New Code) [94]: After Justinian's death, jurists sorted out the edicts issued by him in 535-565, including 124, 134 and 168 (including 7 edicts after Justinian's death). [21] [36]
The University of Bologna, Italy, where the science of law rose due to the discovery of the Collection of Theories
The University of Bologna, Italy, where the science of law rose due to the discovery of the Collection of Theories
The above four parts were collectively called the Corpus Juris. Later (in 1583 [38]), in order to be symmetrical with the Corpus Juris Canonici, it was also called the Corpus Juris Civil. [21] It declares that the emperor has unlimited power, maintains the privileges of the state religion, protects private property, and determines the powerless status of slaves and state-owned slave farmers. [36] Strictly speaking, the National Law is only a compilation of previous laws and an extract of the opinions of major Roman jurists, and does not constitute a new code with typical significance. [12] However, as a masterpiece of Roman law, it still has a profound impact on the "private law" of later generations. [36] Especially, it has a huge legal impact on continental European countries. It has been inherited in a relatively complete way from form to content and has become the basis of the continental law system. Ecclesiastical law and the laws of Anglo American law system countries also absorb their principles to varying degrees in relevant aspects. Its annotation reached a climax from the 11th to the 13th century, which led to the formation of a school of law, namely the School of Annotative Law. [37] At the same time, it is also the main historical material for later generations to study Roman law. [36]
In addition to the codification, Justinian also carried out reforms in legal education: he formulated an imperial legal education program for five years, and those who passed the study were issued certificates as conditions for performing judicial duties in Rome. [36] There are also initiatives to simplify judicial procedures. [12]

Internal reform
Detail of Justinian mosaic
Detail of Justinian mosaic [39]
In terms of internal political system, Justinian attacked the political forces that might threaten the imperial power in the capital, reformed local administration and strengthened the autocratic imperial power. [17]
When Justinian I ascended the throne, a large number of democratic remnants remained in the political life of the empire. The cruel suppression of Nica Uprising by Justinian basically changed the tradition of Constantinople people participating in high-level political decision-making. The influence of the Senate in political life has also declined further. In terms of local administration, he merged a large number of small provinces into large provinces, and re integrated local military and political power, especially taking the lead in pursuing the policy of integrating military and political power in Asian territory; In order to enable the highest officials of Ravena and Carthage to respond in a timely manner, Justinian also asked them to take over all local powers. However, the reform was not carried out in an all-round way, and some areas remained unchanged. [17]
A series of measures taken by Justinian to strengthen the autocratic centralization of monarchy enabled him to achieve his goal of "one emperor". [17]
economic policy
Justinian's economic policies include the adjustment of the tax system and the development of trade and handicrafts. In order to repair the tax system destroyed by the tax payer, he abolished the tax system, required national officials to receive tax business training, eliminated tax agencies, and required officials to check local tax amounts, re register tax paying units, and let taxpayers pay taxes as much as possible. He changed the ordinary tax from a tax in kind to a mixed tax in kind and currency. He also abolished the tax exemption enjoyed by aristocratic landlords. [17] Critics believed that he appointed cruel officials, exercised tyranny, and levied exorbitant taxes. [3]
International Situation in Justinian Era
International Situation in Justinian Era
Commercial policy was the focus of Justinian's administration. He actively took measures to open the Red Sea and South Caucasus trade routes, trying to shake off the Persian control of Byzantine industry and commerce by means of a north-south strike. First of all, Justinian strengthened the management of the two ports at the northeast corner and northwest coast of the Red Sea, and established the customs to receive goods from the East. However, due to the lack of Imperial merchant ships, normal transportation cannot be guaranteed. So Justinian actively united with the Aksum Kingdom of Abyssinia, a Christian country in East Africa, to persuade them to go to India to buy silk and then transfer it to Byzantium. However, all Indian ports have been monopolized by Persian merchants, and Abyssinians can hardly get in touch with them. Justinian's plan failed again. However, there has been a turnaround since then. This is the introduction of silk weaving industry. [40]
According to Procobi's records, a group of monks from India helped Justinian bring silkworm eggs from the "Salinda" in the east to East Rome, and taught the technology of silkworm rearing to the East Romans. [14] [41] Since then, the silk weaving industry has developed rapidly in Byzantine territory. Silk weaving factories have been built in Constantinople, Beirut, Tiree, Antioch, Thebes and even Alexandria, Egypt. Mulberry trees are also widely planted in these areas. [40] As a result, the silk weaving industry entered Europe from Asia. [42]
Some people think that the outbreak of Justinian plague is related to Justinian's active foreign trade policy. [31]
Religious policy
Relationship between church and state
Restoration of St. Sophia Cathedral and its front square (including Justinian Column)
Restoration of St. Sophia Cathedral and its front square (including Justinian Column)
In the relationship between politics and religion in the Eastern Roman Empire, the emperor's supreme power was mainly embodied in the power to convene Christian congresses, the power to appoint and remove senior clergy, and the power to participate in church affairs and arbitrate church disputes. These powers gradually weakened with the passage of time, but Justinian I was still able to hold these powers more effectively. [17] He also intervened in the power of Christianity to approve doctrines and personnel organization, and promoted the status of Constantinople Church to that of the Roman Church. [8]
Suppress heresy
Justinian claimed to be the protector of the orthodox state religion (the "Trinity" sect). On the one hand, he tried to settle the disputes between various sects, on the other hand, he forced the pagans to convert to the state religion, and used high-pressure means to suppress the heretics who were unwilling to yield. [17] In 528, Justinian persecuted the religious heresy Arius. [43] In 529, Justinian issued a law to forcibly close the New Plato School in Athens (founded by Plutarch at the end of the 4th century AD, and also regarded it as a "Plato School" [44-45]). Since then, academic activities in Athens have not flourished, and Athenian polytheism has also gone to the end with the decline of Athenian academic. [46] At the same time, Christians who hold unorthodox doctrines are limited to convert to the orthodox state religion within three months, otherwise they will be persecuted politically, economically, religiously and other aspects. [17]
Justinian, Virgin, Son and Constantine (from left) Mosaic of St. Sophia Cathedral)
Justinian, the Virgin, the Son and Constantine (from left) Mosaic of St. Sophia Cathedral) [47]
The oneness of Christ favoured by Empress Theodora also belonged to the heresy in Justinian's eyes, but the emperor did not strictly enforce his own restrictions before the death of the empress, and large-scale persecution began after the death of the empress. In 553, Justinian convened the second Constantinople Council, decided to severely punish the followers of the Unitarian School, [17, And was forced to agree to the above measures.

Build a church
According to statistics, including St. Sophia Cathedral, Justinian built and rebuilt as many as 25 churches in Constantinople. In addition, other cities in the Eastern Roman Empire also built more than 1000 churches. [49]
Cultural achievements
Development of historiography
An outstanding historian in Justinian's time, he was the first to promote Procopius of Caesarea, and has handed down the History of War, Architecture and Secret History. He has the literary characteristics of simplicity, fluency and rigorous speculation in ancient Greek history books, and reflects Thucydides' style of writing in terms of material selection and narrative. Other representatives include John of Lydian, a historian personally appointed by Justinian, and Agathias, a jurist in Asia Minor. They and their works became the symbol of the development of historiography in Justinian's time, and also promoted the development of church history, saints' biographies and other literary writing at that time. In addition, the encouragement of Justinian's era to the opening of new trade routes between the East and the West also gave birth to such adventurous businessmen as Cosmas Indusreustes and his famous Christian National Heritage. [17]
Foster art
The reign of Justinian I was the heyday of Byzantine mosaics. There are also mosaics reflecting Justinian and his followers, Theodora and his followers in St. Vitale's Church in Ravenna.

Sculpture art has also been continued. For example, in the Forum Augusta of Constantinople, the original statue of horseback cast by Justinian for himself was erected on a stone pillar (100 feet [50] high, British: Column of Justinian), which simulated Achilles. [2] After the capture of Constantinople, Muhammad II destroyed it. [51]
The production of consul's ivory board is nearing the end, but the emperor's double ivory board has been handed down. There is a work called Barberini Ivory. It is speculated that the horse riding figure in the center of the relief may be Justinian I. It showed the social ethos of praising the King of Victory at that time: the power of emperors had spread all over the world, and the anthropomorphic earth was trampled on by Justinian I; In front of him on the right, a man handed him the statue of Victory. [27]
The most important achievements of Justinian's time in art were in the field of architectural art. He rebuilt the cities destroyed by the earthquake, laid water pipelines, reinforced fortifications, and built orphanages, cloisters, hotels, cathedrals, etc. [12] The most outstanding representative is St. Sophia Cathedral. [17]
Since 532, Justinian has built St. Sophia Cathedral, which is designed and directed by Antimos of Trales and Isidor of Milidou. The project was completed in only five years. [27] From 558 to 562, Isidore the Younger was responsible for rebuilding the dome of the church. It is magnificent, with a semicircular dome with a diameter of 31 meters, flying on several small domes 51 meters from the ground, making it one of the highest buildings in Europe at that time; It covers a wide area, with the central hall alone covering more than 5600 square meters; The decoration is exquisite, and a large number of gold, silver, ivory, various gems, marble, mosaic, etc. are used for internal and external decoration. The use of ceramic building materials and the setting of domes, skylights and colonnades also reflect advanced architectural technology. As an example of Byzantine architecture, it profoundly influenced the development of architecture in Europe and the Near East.

Persian Wars
In 527 AD, Justinian I ascended the throne, and immediately appointed the famous general Pelissa as Marshal to declare war against the old enemy, the Persian Empire. In 528 AD, the great general of the Persian army, Zakisis, led 30000 troops, and pushed back Berisaliu with overwhelming force in Nyabis the next year. The next year, the two armies met again in the city of Dallas in the two river basin (the Battle of Dallas), and Berisaliu won. Later, the Persian army defeated Berisalius in the Battle of Kalinicus in 531, and the two countries finally signed an armistice agreement in 532. Byzantium paid a large sum of money to Persia in a lump sum.
This peace treaty provided necessary conditions for Justinian I's plan to rebuild his empire in the West, because the war with Persia itself had already excessively occupied Byzantine resources. But the peace was broken in 540. According to Procopius, Old Kus I was afraid that the Roman Empire would grow stronger after it was rebuilt, and Persia would not be able to resist. In addition, the East Goths were willing to ally with Persia, and Persia's largest enemy in the rear was tired of collapse, which made Persia less worried about its future. The direct cause of this war is the competition between the two sides for the Korkas region. It lasted until 561 or 562, with one ceasefire excluding the Korkas region. During this period of time, Byzantium had to fight on two battlefields at the same time: east to Persia, in Italy to the East Goths, and in the Balkans, it was threatened by the Avars and Slavs. During this period, Antioch, which had experienced the earthquake, was attacked, plundered and destroyed by the Persian army due to the fact that the city wall had not been repaired and the lack of support. [22]
Byzantium's military strength is limited, and fighting on both sides is very dangerous for it. In 560, Persia was also threatened by Turks, so it was willing to cease fire with Byzantium. Justinian I was able to maintain the Korkas region, and maintained the territory of Byzantium for the last time, but he had to pay tribute to Persia every year.
Vandal War
After reaching a temporary peace with Persia in 532, the ambitious Justinian fought against the Kingdom of Vandal again and sent Belissa to Africa in 533. The expeditionary force is weak and contains most of the barbarian mercenaries who are rude and have no sense of organization and discipline. In the middle of September, Berissa stayed in Carthage and encountered the Vandals' army. After a complicated detour, the Vandals' army lost its favorable terrain and dispersed into several parts to lose their cohesion. Then he defeated them and won a decisive victory in the Battle of Tricameron. The Vandals surrendered in March 534, and the Vandals Kingdom was destroyed. [52]
The African campaign of Justinian made the Byzantine Empire control the vast livestock bases in Africa. The powerful monarch was obviously not keen on peace, and Goth became a thorn in Justinian's side. [52]
Eastern Gothic War
The territory, administrative divisions and Gothic War of Justinian in his later years
The territory, administrative divisions and Gothic War of Justinian in his later years
The war against the East Goths in Italy was more difficult than previously thought. The reason why Byzantium fought against the East Goths was the death of Theodoric and the struggle of the successors within the Goths. Amarasantha, Theodoric's daughter, was more close to Byzantium, while Theoda, Theodoric's nephew, had his own idea. After the death of Amarasantha's young son, Theoda ascended the throne. In 535, the discord between the two men evolved into war. The head of Byzantium attacked Darmahiya first, but failed. Belisaruze led his troops to land in Sicily, and soon occupied Naples. Theoda was defeated, and Vitigus replaced Theoda. Vittigus was more successful in resisting Berisalius, but in 536 Berisalius occupied Rome. Vidigus failed to reoccupy Rome. The fierce fighting between the two sides has brought great devastation to Italy. In 538, the Byzantine army occupied Milan, but the Donggoths drove the Byzantines out of Milan after cruel fighting. The constant fighting also brought famine.
In May 540, Bellisaliu captured Ravenna. The Eastern Gothic nobles said that they would stop resisting if Berisaliu was willing to accept the position of Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, and Berisaliu agreed. Vidigus was captured and died in 542. It is not clear whether Berisalius falsely agreed to take the throne of Western Rome, but this is very likely. However, Justinian I had long been suspicious of Beliza, which made Justinian I more suspicious.
Due to the oppression of heavy taxes, an uprising broke out in Italy soon. In 542, Totila was elected as the new King of Goth in Pavia. Dodira was a very clever strategist who used propaganda warfare and built a fleet. In 544, Berisalius again gained command of the Italian battlefield, but because Justinian I did not trust Berisalius, he only left a small army for Berisalius. The so-called Second Gothic War lasted from 541/542 to 552, which was more cruel than the First War. Totila captured Rome at the end of 546, but he was unable to defend Rome. The whole of Italy was in the midst of war, and both sides used very brutal means. In 549, Berissaliu was recalled to Constantinople after being charged with many charges, and his competitor, Naris, was ordered to be the Italian commander. In 550, Totila captured Rome again, but was unable to defend the city. This war completely destroyed the rich senators in Rome. By the end of the sixth century, this stratum had completely disappeared from the historical records.
At the beginning of June 552, Naris once again occupied Ravena, and soon Toltila was killed in the battle at Tagina, so the Goths lost their best strategists. In October, the Goths were defeated again at Mount Vesuvius. Since then, although some Gothic troops still resisted tenaciously, on the whole, they were defeated. Italy was severely devastated. Shortly after the death of Justinian I, Lombards invaded Italy and occupied most of its territory.
Expedition to Visigoth
Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
In 534, Beliza sent troops to occupy the Strait of Gibraltar to prevent the Kingdom of Visigoth from assisting the Vandals, but there was no long-term plan to conquer Spain at that time. Later, Justinian took advantage of the internal turmoil of King Visigoth to send troops to the West. There are few records about this expedition in the history circle, and there are different opinions about its time, such as 550 years [2], 552 years [34] [53], 554 years [54], etc. After this expedition, the Eastern Roman Empire controlled the seaports and strongholds in southern Spain and part of the territory in southeastern Spain, including the ancient famous city Carthage (not the Carthage ancient city in present-day Tunisia), Malaga and Cordoba. The occupied area lasted for 70 years. [2]
Military system
Under the rule of Justinian I, wars continued for decades. Most of the territory of the original Roman Empire has now been incorporated into Byzantium. At the same time, the number of Byzantine troops is decreasing. From the 4th to the 5th century AD, the number of Byzantine troops was 680000. By the end of Justinian's rule, it had dropped to 150000, less than a quarter of the former. There is a view in the academic circle that it is related to the consumption of troops in Justinian's expansion war, and it is also said that the population reduction caused by the Justinian plague is the key factor. [17]
In addition, Justinian changed the previous tactics of the army, which focused on advancing infantry, and built a new armored cavalry regiment, which was the main pillar of Byzantium in its war of expansion. [52]