European Kingdoms

Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire
Dynasty of Justinian (AD 518-602)

Rome Aquitani Tribes Canaanite States Celtic Tribes Classical Colonies Germanic Tribes Iberian Tribes Mesopotamian States Syrian States

From the start, the capital of the newly-created Eastern Roman empire was based at Constantinople, dedicated by Emperor Constantine 'the Great' in AD 330. In AD 395, the Roman empire finally suffered a permanent split, creating formal Eastern Roman and Western Roman empires within Europe and beyond, acknowledging what had existed in practise for many years.

The 'Dynasty of Justinian' succeeded the 'Dynasty of Leo' in AD 518. As the western empire had declined and faded in the face of increasing barbarian incursions and settlement, the eastern empire had survived and recovered from fourth and early fifth century instability.

The empire even flourished, experiencing a golden age under Justinian I which saw territory expanded into Western Europe. He gained the throne as the nephew and adopted son of Justin I, a former palace guard who had usurped the Leonid throne to create his own dynasty of emperors.

Early in his reign Justinian moved to further cement Christianity as the empire's official religion. Traditional Greco-Roman religions had largely been banned by now, but Justinian expanded upon this by closing the philosophical school at Athens in 529, ending the practice of teaching students about the works of ancient Greek philosophers such as Plato.

The Nika riots of 532 provided an initial stumbling block thanks to the rival 'Greens' and 'Blues'. When the authorities arrested several members of both factions and sentenced them to be executed, the two factions teamed up to riot. It took the army and several days of deaths to quell the mob, and a good deal of destruction had been caused.

Justinian took the opportunity to build a grand cathedral called the Hagia Sophia which still stands in what is now Istanbul in Turkey. Architecture also flourished throughout the rest of the city in this period to create the great Constantinople which would be known throughout its remaining lifetime as a Roman capital.

Principal author(s): Page created: Page last updated:

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from the John De Cleene Archive, from The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Volume III: AD 527-641, John R Martindale, A H M Jones, & John Morris (Cambridge University Press, 1992), from The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium: Niketas, Walter Emil Kaegi (Alexander P Kazhdan, Ed, Oxford University Press, 1991), from The Cambridge Ancient History, John Boardman, N G L Hammond, D M Lewis, & M Ostwald (Eds), and from External Links: History of the Byzantine Empire (Live Science), and Jewish Heritage Cultural Routes in Georgia, and History of the Later Roman Empire, John Bagnall Bury (Dover Books, 1958, reprint of the original 1923 work, available via the Bill Thayer Site), and The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire, Jonathan Shepard (Ed, Revised Edition, Cambridge University Press, 2008, and available via the Internet Archive).)

518 - 527

First successor to the Leonid dynasty. Began rebuilding.

518 - 519

A breach with the church of Constantinople which had opened in 484 is healed under Pope Hormisdas. When the orthodox Justin becomes Eastern Roman emperor he disavows the Monophysitism of his predecessors. A church council in the presence of legates of Hormisdas restores orthodoxy to the empire.

Shown here are two sides of a type of coinage which was typical of that being issued under Eastern Roman emperors, Justin I and Justinian I, during the height of Eastern Roman power in the aftermath of the collapse of the western empire

523 - 525

Under pressure from the Eastern Romans, the Christian kingdom of Ethiopia installs a Christian king in Saba (today's Yemen). The act destroys the Himyarite kingdom there, which is half a millennium old.

527 - 565

Nephew and adopted son. Oversaw a golden age.

532

The Nika Riots involve two rival groups which have essentially formed as bands of 'football hooligans'. They employ colours for their rivalry as the 'Greens' and the 'Blues' and generally enjoy their rivalry at chariot races and similar public sporting events. Chariot races are tremendously popular though, with even the emperor being a supporter of the 'Blues'.

In an attempt to regain some public control the authorities arrest several members of both factions and sentence them to be executed. This provokes supporters on both sides, angry as they already are at Justinian's high tax rises, so they unite and attempt to overthrow the emperor.

The riots last several days, and Justinian is forced to call in troops. Procopius later writes that thirty thousand people are killed as a result. The riots cause widespread damage, but Justinian takes advantage at the site of a destroyed church known as the Hagia Sophia (meaning 'Holy Wisdom'). A far grander cathedral is built there under the same name, completed in 537.

The Hagia Sophia was built by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I as an Eastern Orthodox church between 532-537, later experiencing changes of identity as a Roman Catholic cathedral, an Eastern Orthodox church again, a mosque, a museum, and a mosque again

533 - 534

General Belisarius is sent to North Africa with an army, and in one campaigning season, the Vandali are conquered. Ancient Carthage becomes the Eastern Roman 'North African Colony' exarchate of Africa.

In this and later campaigns by the general, the Heruli feature as notable members of his forces, even supplying his personal guard. Corsica and Sardinia, both former Vandali possessions, are also captured and appended to the empire (in 534 and 533 respectively).

535 - 537

Following the death of Theodoric, Ostrogothic control in Italy had never been quite so complete. The disruption has increased to such an extent that, in 535, General Belisarius is sent to conquer the peninsula and bring it back under imperial control.

He enters Rome in 536, shortly before it is besieged by King Vittigis of the Ostrogoths. The city suffers starvation until the siege is lifted and Belisarius pursues his opponents.

The Eastern Roman empire's highly successful General Belisarius and his wife, Antonina, who not only accompanied him on campaign but became involved in the planning

Before he does this he is ordered by Empress Theodora in Constantinople to depose Pope Sylverius in favour of her choice, Vigilius. So begins a period of over two hundred years in which the Eastern Roman emperors dominate the Papacy.

541 - 542

The 'Plague of Justinian' strikes Constantinople with the arrival of bubonic plague, probably carried on grain ships from Egypt. Justinian is one of the few to contract the disease and survive.

The rest of the Eastern Roman empire is devastated by it, and is critically weakened at the point at which it is about to conquer all of Italy to bring it under the rule of one Roman emperor for the first time since AD 395.

It probably also contributes to the rapid rise of the Islamic empire in the following century, as the number of available troops who are fighting on many fronts to secure the empire is too low to contain the Arab tidal wave.

The cuneiform tablet records the existence of the Arabic Nabataeans, one of the few mentions of them as later records were largely paper/papyrus-based, written in Aramaic or Greek

542 - 562

The Lazic War is fought between the Eastern Roman empire and the Sassanids for control over the mountain kingdom of Egrisi in the Caucasus. The truce of 557 ends actual hostilities.

543 - 545

This period sees missionary work carried out by Julian, who proselytises in Nobatia on behalf of the Eastern Roman empire. The new religion appears to be adopted there with considerable enthusiasm.

544 - 545

At Theodora's insistence, Justinian attempts a reconciliation between Catholics and the ever bolder Monophysites. He repudiates the minor works of three fifth-century theologians even though they had formerly been accepted as orthodox by the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451).

Pope Vigilius rejects the emperor's right to proclaim on doctrine so, on 22 November 545, Justinian has the pope kidnapped and brought by stages to Constantinople, which he reaches in 547. For the next eight years the pope resists cooperation.

This Nubian burial mound of a Nobatian king was discovered at Ballana, Lower Nubia, during excavations that were carried out in the 1930s, in the late phase of perhaps the most glamorous period of early archaeological discovery in North Africa

550/551

The Gothic writer Jordanes, a bureaucrat in the Eastern Roman capital of Constantinople, completes his sixth century work at this time, entitled Getica. Amongst many other things it provides an account of the origins of the Sclavenes or Sclaveni (Slavs, but various translations produce the two different plural suffixes seen here).

In relation to them he mentions two other kinds of professional warriors, the Antes and 'Venethi' or 'Venethae', although he appears confused as to the exact relationship between the three groups.

This could be due to that relationship being a confused one in the real world, with the Venedi probably undergoing a gradual absorption by newly-arriving Slav groups and also by their various masters over the ensuing centuries (Huns, Goths, Avars, Magyars, and others)..

Once established on the Pannonian plain, the Magyars plagued Europe's established kingdoms for several decades before being forced through defeat in battle at Lechfield in 955 to concentrate on establishing their own medieval kingdom in what would become Hungary

The Venethae (Vinidi, or Venedi) are associated with the great fourth century king of the Ostrogoths, Hermanarich, while the Antes are linked with his successor, King Vinitharius. No specific deeds with regard to the Sclaveni are ascribed to any Gothic ruler, showing that they are essentially a post-Gothic institution.

552

The death of Totila at the Battle of Taginae allows Rome to be retaken by Constantinople's General Narses, with the empire now able to govern Italy from Ravenna. The city of Rome remains dominated by the Eastern Romans until the eighth century, but a civil government slowly emerges to take control of civil Roman regional affairs in the late ninth century, often vying for power with the pope.

553

The Fifth Council (Constantinople II) is held. Monophysitism is condemned again, this time by Pope Vigilius. Empress Theodora in Constantinople (now deceased) had helped him to the papacy on the understanding, supported by cash, that he would be a supporter of Monophysitism.

Although unconfirmed, the mosaic in the basilica of San Vitale which depicts Emperor Justinian and his entourage also includes this man who is usually identified as General Narses

555

The doctrinal problem which involves Pope Vigilius is resolved when a council meets to provide Justinian with the condemnation he requires. The spirit of Vigilius has been broken though, so Justinian permits him to return to Rome. He dies from kidney problems in Syracuse on his way there.

562

Peace terms are concluded between Justinian and the Sassanids, but the Eastern Roman empire removes the freedom which previously had been enjoyed by the mountain kingdom of Egrisi, as well as removing its king.

565 - 578

Nephew. m Sophia, Theodora's neice.

567

Over the past two decades the Langobards had been granted subsidies by Justinian I whilst being encouraged to fight the Gepids after they had established a large kingdom in Dacia.

In effect, they have been hired as mercenaries, a role which they have fulfilled to perfection. The Gepid kingdom is destroyed by 567 while their capital, Sirmium, reverts to the Eastern Romans.

The Germanic Gepids migrated into Poland where they occupied land to the east of the Vistula in the first century AD, close to their allies, the Goths

568 - 571

The Langobards invade Italy from the north, and the power of the Eastern Romans from their base at Ravenna wanes over the course of the next two centuries. The emperor sends Longinus as exarch of Ravenna to stem the Lombard advance, but he can do little but defend the coastal territories with the powerful Eastern Roman fleet.

Much of Italy is very quickly lost to the Langobards who create their own kingdom in the north, and two independent duchies in the centre: Spoleto and then Benevento.

570 - 571

Theodomir of the Visigoths attacks Eastern Roman strongholds. His forces sack but do not reoccupy Malaga in 570. In the following year they recover Medina Sidonia, the most westerly of Eastern Roman fortresses on the southern Iberian coast.

574 - 578

Adopted as caesar: friend and military officer.

578 - 582

Former caesar, now sole emperor.

579

Under Thomas as praetorian prefect and Gennadius as magister militum, the Mauro-Roman kingdom of Garmul is defeated during a short but highly effective campaign. Garmul is killed in 579 as his kingdom collapses.

What are now Roman ruins at Batna in Algeria would still have been largely habitable during Eastern Roman ownership of the region, some seven hundred years after the first Roman settlement there

Part of it is incorporated into the 'Prefecture of Africa' while other areas become incorporated into Berber states. Roman control of the entire region is resumed.

580

Tiberius II reorganises the surviving Roman territories in Italy into five provinces which are given the Greek name eparchies. This use of Greek instead of Latin is part of a gradual shift for the Eastern Romans away from their Italian roots and towards greater integration with their permanent homeland in Greece.

The new provinces include Annonaria in northern Italy around Ravenna, which incorporates the duchy of the Pentapolis, a strip of five Adriatic coastal cities immediately to the south of Ravenna.

Below that is the duchy of Perugia, with both that and Annonaria being governed directly from Ravenna. The others are Calabria, Campania, Emilia, and Liguria, and the Urbicaria around the city of Rome (Urbs). To the north, the duchy of Venice remains nominally under the service of the Eastern Romans.

This romantic painting shows the amphitheatre of the Italian city of Tusculum, native territory of the influential counts of Tusculum who dominated the early post-Frankish Roman civil authority

582 - 602

Son-in-law. Murdered by Phocas as a 'Non-Dynastic' ruler.

582

The ancient city of Sirmium, a Roman city, on and off, since the first century BC, is now conquered and destroyed by the recently-arrived Avars, with this new wave of nomadic invaders of Eastern Europe temporarily removing Eastern Roman influence in Dacia.

580s - 590s

According to a much later story, a large group of proto-Bulgars under the command of three brothers reaches the River Tanais (the modern Don) from Central Asia. Here one of the brothers, called Bulgarios, takes ten thousand people with him, parts with his brothers and, with the permission of Emperor Maurice, settles in Upper Moesia, Lower Moesia, and Dacia.

Here, no doubt, they can be used as a buffer against the Avars whom Maurice pushes to the north of the Danube by 599. Other Bulgars, along with Barsils and Pugars, are used as a buffer against steppe nomads in the northern Caucasus.

c.590

Ancient Nubia is once more brought into the orbit of the Mediterranean world by the arrival of Christian missionaries from the Eastern Roman empire. The kingdom of Dongola converts to Christianity, as does Alodia and Nobatia.

Axum's influence is strong there, and the missionary work is carried out by the first Monophysite bishop of Nobadia, Longinus. From the start the church of Alodia remains subordinate to the bishop of Alexandria.

Pope Gregory I was one of the most important and influential figures for the early papacy, spreading Christianity to new outposts such as Corsica, Sardinia, and England

591

Under Gennadius the prefecture of Africa becomes the 'Exarchate of Africa' (often, but not permanently it seems. The title may be more of a personal one than one which is attached to the office).

The exarch in Africa is the direct military and civil representative of the Eastern Roman emperor and, as such, he wields considerable power over the entire western half of the North African coast, the islands (including Sardinia and Corsica), and Iberia.

602

Maurice's reign has been troubled by financial difficulties and almost constant warfare. Now a dissatisfied general named Phocas usurps the throne, having Maurice and his six sons executed in the process.

This event proves a disaster for the empire, sparking devastating war with the Sassanids and a Jewish revolt in Palestine, while Phocas holds the throne as the empire's first 'Non-Dynastic' ruler.

The coming of the Sassanids as replacements for the Parthians meant an entirely new and more vigorous empire being created in the north-western borders of Saka-controlled lands