Justinian I (May 11, 483-November 14, 565), Byzantine Emperor (reigned 527-565)

The rules of law are: live honestly, do not harm others, and have their own place; everything everyone does to protect himself is regarded as legal-the Code of Justinian; we are all slaves to the law, and because of this, we are free-Cicero

Justinian, like many Roman emperors of civilian origin, his life was full of legends. He greatly expanded the territory of Rome, but his wish to restore the former Roman Empire to its peak could not be said to be successful. What really made him famous through the ages was the Code of Justinian.

Justinian was born into a peasant family in Yugoslavia. Later, he followed his uncle Justinian on his career in Rome and endured the test of blood and fire on the battlefield. Later, Justinian was made emperor of Rome due to his outstanding military exploits. Since he had no heir, Justinian was trained as his successor. In 527 Justinian officially ascended the highest throne.

The Roman Empire at that time was no longer the bullious empire under the rule of Octavian, Trajan, Constantine and others that regarded the Mediterranean Sea as an inner lake. In 395, the Eastern and Western Roman Empires split, and in 476, the Western Roman Empire was destroyed by barbarians. The Eastern Roman Empire (also known as the Byzantine Empire) under Justinian also faced multiple crises. Justinian was a devout Christian throughout his life, eager to restore the Roman Empire to its former heyday and spread orthodox Christianity to every inch of the empire. In his early days in office, he worked tirelessly for this and was described as a demon who liked to spend the night.

However, he still had to endure several tests before realizing his long-cherished wish. First, he fought a very beautiful war with Persia. He also discovered generals led by Belisarius, which ended in a peace treaty in favor of Byzantium in 532.

Although Justinian grew up in the army, the indecisive side of his character was still revealed from time to time. The most critical moment in his life was the "Nika Uprising" in 532. The racing event has always been a major event in Constantinople, and Justinian also attended the event. However, on this day, the people's enthusiasm for racing suddenly turned into strong dissatisfaction with autocracy, corruption and harsh taxes, forming a surging wave of fighting and besiege the palace. At the instigation of Queen Theodora, Justinian, who was hiding in the palace, regained his courage and relied on Belisarius's mercenaries to bloody suppress the uprising and massacre more than 30,000 people.

Starting in 533, Justinian finally began to realize his dream of restoring the old Roman Empire, and he walked on this road for 22 years. Belisarius led 16,000 troops to attack the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa by sea. It was unstoppable. He captured its capital, Carthage, that year, and completely destroyed this short-lived country in 534. In 535, Belisarius's troops pointed at Italy, the heart of Rome in the past. He landed in Sicily and attacked the Ostgothic Kingdom that occupied Italy from south to north. He conquered Rome at the end of 536 and captured Ravenna, the capital of the Ostgothic Kingdom in 540. However, the fierce and tenacious characteristics of the Goths were not lost despite the changes of the times. Under the leadership of the new king Totila, they launched a counterattack and besieged Rome for more than a year. After a long and arduous tug-of-war, the Byzantine Empire finally achieved a decisive victory in the Battle of Tadina in 552, and General Narsis finally destroyed the Ostrogoth Kingdom in 554. In the same year, he also took advantage of the internal strife of the Visigothic Kingdom to send troops to occupy the coastal areas of present-day Spain. In these wars of conquest, Justinian fully exposed his cunning side as a "changeable friend and unchanging enemy." The flexible and changeable characteristics of the Byzantine Empire's diplomacy may have originated from Justinian.

However, Justinian did not complete the old business of the Roman Empire, not only because most of Gaul, Britain, and Spain did not enter his territory, but also because he tried his best to restore the old Roman system in the old land, such as the ownership of the great slave owners, but he was strongly resisted, causing chaos, and finally had to end in compromise. The development and evolution of the social system was ultimately irreversible.

Belisarius laid down great rivers and mountains for Justinian, but in the end, he was persecuted by Justinian due to his great achievements. In the end, he was blinded and reduced to a beggar. This is the most severe tragedy of "rabbits are killed and dogs are cooked, birds are buried." In addition to having a number of good generals, a king with a poor army needs a number of officials who are good at collecting wealth to cope with huge expenditures. John Cappadocia obviously played this "glorious" role. He is famous for his ability to plunder people's wealth.

There was another figure who also made outstanding contributions to Justinian, and that was his queen, Theodora. Theodora had worked as a prostitute and actress, but later met Justinian by chance and eventually became his other half. She made up for Justinian's occasional indecision with the wit and determination brought by her rich experience and participated in Justinian's legal preparation. It is immeasurable how much of Justinian's achievements came from her.

Justinian's greatest contribution to the history of human civilization is the Compendium of Roman Civil Law. There is no way to prove why Justinian had such a high enthusiasm for compiling codes, but his enthusiasm for making a name in Qing history and restoring the glory of old Rome must be one of the reasons. In the second year after Justinian's accession to the throne, the "Roman Law Compilation Committee" was established. It was led by the famous jurist Tribonia. It edited the resolutions of the Roman Senate and the imperial edicts of the emperor for more than 400 years, and finally became the "Justinian Code." Later, the works explaining law in the past dynasties were compiled into the "Compilation of Doctrines", and then compiled into the "Summary of Legal Principles" as a teaching material for students to study law. In 565, the decrees of the Justinian era were compiled into the "New Laws" of the Justinian Code. The above four books were collectively referred to as the "Compendium of Roman Civil Law" by later generations. Justinian paid close attention to and involved in the work of the Compilation Committee from beginning to end, sometimes personally participated in discussions and adjudicated differences. He is well-deserved to be called the "father of the law" by future generations. Generally speaking, these codes do not have much innovation, and their main role is to collect and edit them.

Another great creation of the Justinian era was Hagia Sophia, which stood in Constantinople.

In his later years, Justinian's side as a theologian became more apparent. He gradually became tired of political affairs and became addicted to living a monastic life in the court. He talked with the bishops about the nuances of Christianity with gusto until late into the night. Justinian died in 565, and the people of Constantinople are said to be in great joy. Of course, history still gave Justinian a high evaluation for its fair referee.

There is also another figure that played a big role in Justinian's fame. He is the famous historian Procous. Procous wrote two books,"War" and "Architecture", to praise Justinian, but left behind a "Secret History" to expose the darkness of Justinian's court. As a result, Justinian became one of the most vivid emperors.

Justinian was one of the most influential emperors in the world, mainly reflected in these two points: he laid a solid foundation for the Byzantine Empire, which lasted for nearly a thousand years despite the wind and rain of history, and later became The only spark of civilization in the western part of Eurasia. The second is the Compendium of Roman Civil Law. Justinian's code once lost its influence after the fall of the Byzantine Empire. However, under the promotion of the European Renaissance, Justinian's code regained its energy and became a law that transcends the limitations of time and space. In addition to Britain's own system, the laws of modern European countries were deeply influenced by Roman law, which thus influenced the laws of countries such as Asia, Africa and the United States. Therefore, among the most influential emperors in world history, Justinian I could deservedly enter the top 10.

Comments: Taking advantage of people's yearning for the heyday of the old Roman Empire may be the key to Justinian's entire achievements. The great army marched westward under the banner of restoring the Western Roman Empire; the compilation of the Compendium of Roman Civil Law reflected the enthusiasm for retaining the essence of Roman culture. It is also common in human history to admire the imaginary and perfect dream country has become the driving force for transforming the malady real kingdom. Of course, no matter what the Roman Empire really looked like, Justinian's code will be immortal.