Justinian I

Royalty · Confessor · 482–565 · Constantinople, North Africa, Italy, Dardania

Life events

  1. Born — 482

    Born in Tauresium, Dardania, near the city of Naissus, according to his biographer Procopius. He came from a peasant family of Thraco-Roman or Illyro-Roman origin and was a native speaker of Latin.

  2. Educated

    Brought to Constantinople by his uncle Justin, commander of the Excubitors imperial guard, who adopted him and ensured his education in jurisprudence, theology, and Roman history.

  3. Other — 525

    Married Theodora in Constantinople around 525. She was an actress and some twenty years his junior; the marriage was made possible only after his uncle Emperor Justin I lifted restrictions on marriages with ex-actresses.

  4. Consecrated — 527

    Crowned co-emperor on 1 April 527 and became sole ruler on 1 August 527 after the death of his uncle Justin I.

  5. Wrote — 529

    Commissioned the first edition of the Codex Justinianeus, issued 7 April 529, followed by the Digesta in 533 and the Institutiones; together with the Novellae these constitute the Corpus Juris Civilis, a comprehensive recodification of all Roman law.

  6. Council — 532

    Survived the Nika riots of January 532, when rival chariot-racing factions united against him and attempted to replace him with the senator Hypatius. After nearly fleeing Constantinople by sea, Justinian ordered suppression of the riots; Procopius records approximately 30,000 unarmed civilians killed in the Hippodrome.

  7. Other — 537

    The rebuilt Hagia Sophia was dedicated on 26 December 537, constructed under the architectural supervision of Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles after the original basilica was destroyed during the Nika riots. According to Pseudo-Codinus, Justinian declared at the dedication: 'Solomon, I have outdone thee.'

  8. Died — 565

    Died in his sleep on the night of 14 November 565, childless, after a reign of nearly 38 years. His body was entombed in a specially built mausoleum in the Church of the Holy Apostles, which was desecrated and robbed during the sack of Constantinople in 1204 by forces of the Fourth Crusade.

Numbered pins trace the chronological journey from 6places; the line connects events in order of year.

Relationships

Relationships (1)
Relationship ego graph (1-hop) for Justinian I Related to Saint Pantaleon Related to Saint Pantaleon Saint Pantaleon Justinian I

Documented claims

  • The Corpus Juris Civilis, commissioned by Justinian, remains the basis of civil law in many modern states and formed the foundation of later Byzantine law, Continental European law, and eventually legal systems in the Americas. (certain)
  • Justinian contracted the Plague of Justinian in the early 540s — the devastating bubonic plague outbreak that is traditionally said to have killed tens of millions — but survived the infection. (likely)
  • Justinian and his empress Theodora are commemorated as saints in the Eastern Orthodox Church on 14 November, the anniversary of his death; the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and Lutheran Church-Canada also list him on 14 November. (certain)
  • Contemporary sources knew Justinian as 'the emperor who never sleeps' — a reference to his intensive work habits — while also describing him as amiable and easy of access. (likely)
  • Justinian's reconstruction of the Hagia Sophia cost 20,000 pounds of gold; the structure, with its gilded octagonal dome and mosaics, became the Eastern Roman Empire's central space of imperial and religious identification. (likely)