November 14: Emperor Dies

On 14 November 565 Roman emperor Justinian I died. Known as Justinian the Great, he ruled from 527 until his death.

Justinian is best known for recapturing much of the territory lost following the fall of the western empire. Aside from being a great military tactician, Justinian is also known as a great builder. He had many large cathedrals built, the most notable being the Hagia Sofia in Constantinople. His reign saw the construction of underground cisterns, dams, and bridges along with the rebuilding of cities that were damaged by earthquakes and war.

The death of Justinian marks a major turning point in the history of the Roman Empire and Europe as a whole. Justinian’s attempt to return the empire to its former glory was the last such effort. The Eastern Roman Empire began to be known as the Byzantine Empire and the west fell into the hands of various barbarian groups. Without the stability of a powerful central government much of Europe fell into the dark ages. A time defined by war, disparity, and death.

Trade between European nations nearly came to a complete halt causing millions to die of starvation or malnutrition. As this era showed us, a balanced diet cannot be undervalued. A regular meal for the citizens of the day consisted of bread, stew, and nuts. Today we sometimes forget that we are lucky enough to have fresh fruits and vegetables along with readily available meat products. When the world emerged into the renaissance it was in large part because there was better quality food and more of it. One lesson we can take from this era is that food, no matter how subtle it may seem, plays a major role in the advancement of society.

–Tyler Lynch
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Photo Caption: Justinian I as depicted in a mosaic from St.Vitale church in Ravenna.

Meet the Author: Tyler Lynch

I am currently a full time student at Schoolcraft College and will be transferring to Eastern Michigan University next year. I am studying to be a history teacher. I also work at a Mexican restaurant. In my free time I love to play sports with my friends, especially volleyball and baseball. When I am a teacher I hope to also coach a sports team.

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Schoolcraft College Student
Categories: World History: Early Modern
Tags: Constantinople, politics, religion

8 Responses

Marco Yaquinto says:

18 November 2012 at 5:34 pm

Justinian commonly known as Justinian the Great like you said was known for his creation of the Hagia Sophia. He was also the Last Roman emperor to speak Latin as a first language. Also he was known for rewriting uniform Roman Law. The Bubonic Plague effected his empire and took into a state of decline. Just some more interesting facts about Justinian

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Mustafa Raychouni says:

25 November 2012 at 4:15 pm

Commonly known as Justinian the Great, he was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire’s greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire. One of the most important figures of Late Antiquity and the last Roman Emperor to speak Latin as a first language. Justinian’s rule constitutes a distinct epoch in the history of the Eastern Roman Empire. The impact of his administration extended far beyond the boundaries of his time and domain. Justinian’s reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized renovatio imperii, or “restoration of the Empire”. This ambition was expressed by the partial recovery of the territories of the defunct Western Roman Empire. His general Belisarius swiftly conquered the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa, extending Roman control to the Atlantic Ocean. Subsequently Belisarius, Narses, and other generals conquered the Ostrogothic Kingdom, restoring Dalmatia, Sicily, Italy, and Rome to the Empire after more than half a century of barbarian control.

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Jenna Elwell says:

1 December 2012 at 5:37 pm

The Byzantine Church Hagia Sophia was built between 532 and 537. Justinian wanted “to build a church larger and more permanent than its precedents to unify the church and reassert his authority as the emperor.” However, due to several earthquakes that struck in the years 553, 557, and 558, the church had to be reconstructed. By those times, Justinian had passed and the reconstruction was left in the hands of other emperors. The reconstruction in 558 was left the Isodorus the younger and later in 869 by Basil I.
In 1996 and 1998, Hagia Sophia was on the World Monuments Fund’s annual list of 100 Most Endangered Monuments. It was placed on this list so funds could be secured for the restoration of the church. Today, the Hagia Sophia serves as a museum for the public and is “considered a significant influence on the idea of classical Ottoman architecture.”

Jenna Elwell

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Allie Coleman says:

3 December 2012 at 5:42 pm

After his death, Justinian the second took power. His ruling was harsh, and many stories of cruelty have been passed on. Still, he proved to be a military leader, noted especially for reconquering Macedonia. However, him and the Pope never did get along. He also prohibited rituals of non-Christian origin among Christians. Justinian the second caused much anger when using state finances for lavish building projects. This was part of the reason for his lack of support in 695 causing this fall.

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Mary Rabe says:

4 December 2012 at 10:51 pm

Before the age of 20 Justin I (518-527) was an Illyrian peasant; until he then went to Constantinople to be a palace guard. He rose to become the Commander of the Palace Guards under Emperor Anastasius I.

After he gained the throne he supported the Christian Orthodoxy. During his reign as emperor he had his nephew, Justinian I, to help him.

Justinian I was co-emperor for only a few months before his predecessor, Justin I (518-527), died. Afterwards he succeeded his Uncle Justin I. Roman emperor Justinian I’s full name was Flavius Anicius Julianus Justinianus.

Mary Rabe

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Theron Leclerc says:

9 December 2012 at 12:57 pm

While it seemed that Justinian the Great was, overall, a good ruler, he was not without his acts of cruelty. This can be seen most notably in January of 532, during events known as the Nika riots, when he came very close to being overthrown. A group of chariot racing factions that were upset with his choice in advisers banded together (something almost unprecedented) and forced him to dismiss several of his ministers. They almost succeeded in removing Justinian himself from power, but the emperor ordered suppression campaign that resulted in nearly 30,000 civilian deaths. Afterwards, though mainly through outside advice, he had those who would have replaced him executed.

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mike88dante says:

14 November 2013 at 10:55 am

What we call the Byzantine Empire, was not known by that name until centuries after it fell. it was know as the “Roman Empire” both by its citizens and their contemporaries and by its conquerors, The name was invented in 1557

Here is what Wikipedia has to say, ” Both “Byzantine Empire” and “Eastern Roman Empire” are historiographical terms applied in later centuries; its citizens continued to refer to their empire as the Roman Empire”

And from the New World Encyclopedia, “The term Byzantine Empire was invented in 1557, about a century after the fall of Constantinople to the Turks by German historian Hieronymus Wolf (1516–1580), who introduced a system of Byzantine historiography in his work Corpus Historiae Byzantinae in order to distinguish ancient Roman from Medieval Greek history without drawing attention to their ancient predecessors. Standardization of the term did not occur until the seventeenth century, when French authors such as Montesquieu began to popularize it.

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