JUSTINIAN I

JUSTINIAN I. This Roman emperor reigned at Constantinople (q.v.) from 527 to 565, and was effectively in power from the accession of his uncle, Justin, in 518. A native Latin-speaker from Illyricum (q.v.), Justinian’s eyes were on Rome and the recovery of the Empire’s western half from the beginning of his reign. He nearly succeeded, recapturing Italy, North Africa, and portions of Spain, but at a cost that left the Empire weakened. Following his death, it was a ready prey to invasions from the north (the Slavs), east (Iran), and south (Islam [qq.v.]) that were to remove large parts of the ancient imperium permanently from the rule of the capital.

Justinian’s accomplishments, other than conquest, were considerable. He contributed a refinement of Eusebius of Caesarea’s theology of Church and state (qq.v.), specifically the notion of “symphony,” meaning the theoretically equal roles of imperium and sacerdotium. The latter was included in Justinian’s justly famous codification of Roman law, the Corpus Juris Civilis (see Justinian, Code of), which he ordered compiled and which has since served as the basis of civil law for most of the European continent. Coming closer than any emperor before or since (excepting the attempts of the Isaurian Dynasty [q.v.]) to the actual realization of caesaropapism (q.v.), he planned, orchestrated, and carried off the convocation and the decisions of the Fifth Ecumenical Council (q.v.) in 553. The council failed, however, in achieving the primary purpose for which the Emperor had called it: the realization of union between Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian Christians within the Empire. The failure contributed to the loss of Egypt and Syria to Islam (qq.v.) a century later.