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Books about Justinian I :
History of the Later Roman Empire : From the
Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian
(483-565). The most famous of all the emperors of the Byzantine, or Eastern Roman, Empire was Justinian the Great.
Born a barbarian, he became a powerful ruler and law reformer. He is known today chiefly for his codification of
law.
Justinian was born probably of Slavic parents in a place called Tauresium, in Illyria (an ancient country along
the eastern Adriatic coast). Nothing is known of his early years except that as a youth he was adopted by his uncle
Emperor Justin I and was educated in Constantinople. In 527 Justin made him a co-ruler of the empire. When his
uncle died four months later, Justinian became sole emperor. He was crowned together with his wife Theodora, a
famous actress.
The Byzantine emperor Justinian sponsored a code of laws that had a wide influence on legal theory for 13 centuries. --SCALA/Art Resource
Justinian found the laws of the empire in great confusion. Many were out of date; some contradicted others; nowhere
did a complete collection of them exist. Justinian appointed a commission to study the problem. The work of the
commissioners resulted in the publication of the 'Code of Justinian'. The first book, 'Codex Constitutionum', is
a collection of decrees of the emperors; the 'Digest', or 'Pandects', a summary of 9,000 extracts from the opinions
of the lawyers and judges who had interpreted these decrees; and the 'Institutes', a textbook. The 'Institutes'
stated legal principles in simple terms. A fourth book, the 'Novels' (Novella constitutiones), included the ordinances
of Justinian after the codification. These four together constitute the 'Code of Justinian', or Civil Law (Corpus
Juris Civilis).
Under Justinian the empire enjoyed its greatest glory. His armies, led by his generals Belisarius and Narses, drove
the Ostrogoths out of Italy and the Vandals out of Africa, temporarily restoring those lands to the empire. Justinian
also became a great builder. Throughout his vast empire he erected forts, aqueducts, and churches. The most splendid
of these buildings is the church of Hagia (Santa) Sophia, now a museum.
Religion also was of extreme importance to Justinian throughout his life. A pious man, he tried to end the disputes
between the eastern and western branches of the Christian church. He died on Nov. 14, 565. His only child, a son,
had died in infancy, and Justinian was succeeded to the throne by a nephew, Justin II. (See also Byzantine
Empire.)
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