The Byzantine Emperor Justinian I came close to uniting the former Roman Empire less than a century after its fall. However, popular discontent, foreign war, and a plague all combined to bring his dream of reestablishing Roman glory to an end, despite remarkable successes.
Rome by Another Name
The fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE proved to be one of the most striking turning points in history. Due to this major shift, the surviving eastern half of the empire is often called the Byzantine Empire by historians.
Despite the different moniker, the empire was the continuation of Rome’s law, traditions, and history. Being in the largely Greek-speaking half of the Empire, the nearly 1,000-year history of the Byzantine Empire allowed for the Greek and Roman parts of the Classical world to live on, almost into modernity.
The center of the empire was the former Greek fishing village of Byzantion, or Byzantium, for which the empire was later named. Ironically, the Byzantines would have never called themselves by such a name, preferring instead to call themselves “Romans.”
What had been a sleepy fishing village became a major center thanks to the Roman Emperor Constantine I (r. 306-337 CE). Constantine converted the empire to Christianity and recognized the strength of the nation’s eastern half amid the western half’s many issues.
From here, Byzantium became Constantinople, which then became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. From this background “New Rome” attempted to save the original city of Rome during its darkest hour.
The End of One Rome
The fall of the Roman Empire is a topic for another article and is more complex than several paragraphs can explain. However, to better understand the effort to stitch the empire back together again, we must look at the situation facing Justinian I in the 6th century.
Centuries of serious social, economic, and other issues faced the western half of the empire. Following Constantine’s creation of the new city, the empire was split between the mostly Latin-speaking West and the Greek-speaking East. The Western Roman Empire faced the brunt of the barbarian invasions and economic decline. It was wracked by severe inflation and a reliance on non-Romans as mercenaries.
The 5th century saw several sacks of Rome itself while the country’s capital was moved to nearby Ravenna. A series of ineffective emperors were increasingly under the sway of barbarian leaders.
All of this led to the last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus (r. 475-476 CE), being forced off the throne by the self-declared King of Italy, Odoacer. A millennium of Roman history was now living on in the eastern part of the empire. Only with care and skill would there be a chance of restoring Rome.
An Unlikely Background
Justinian I (r. 527-565 CE) was unlike many leaders in Roman and Byzantine history. He lived during a sort of middle space between the Eastern Roman Empire retaining its Roman heritage and becoming something unique. He was born poor in the Balkans just six years after the fall of the Western Roman Empire and brought to Constantinople by his uncle Justin, who would rise from the military to the throne.
Justinian was a hard-working, intelligent ruler who did not care for public opinion. He showed this by marrying the future Empress Theodora, who was considered a social inferior as an actress, and subjected to numerous rumors.
Justinian was able to get to work immediately, with the hope of bringing Rome back to its former glory. He rewrote Roman law as the Corpus juris civilis, better known as “Justinian’s Code.” Elements of the code continue to be used even to this day. However, he also raised taxes to pay for many of his efforts to remake Constantinople into the new Rome. He became increasingly unpopular and even faced a popular revolt by chariot racing fans in 532 CE. Known as the Nika Riots, the emperor almost fled the city until he was convinced otherwise by Theodora. Justinian then invited the rioters to the Hippodrome for negotiations, and under General Belisarius, slaughtered thousands of the rioters.
The Start of a New Rome
The end of the Nika Riots allowed for a major opportunity for Justinian. Despite being unpopular, he now had complete control over the country. He was able to start to take a path that has led many historians to call him “Justinian the Great.”
On the site of the destroyed hippodrome, Justinian ordered the construction of a new cathedral. This would become the Hagia Sophia or the Church of Holy Wisdom. The church was built very quickly by ancient standards, constructed in just five years. Completed in 537, it became the largest church in Christendom and one of the major defining features of Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire. It was also the headquarters of the Patriarch of Constantinople, the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Constantinople was at the nexus of major trade routes and represented the fusion of land and sea trade. The city soon became the wealthiest in the world and would boast the strongest defenses of any city on the planet. It would go unconquered for centuries.
Around the same time, Justinian also embarked on the ambitious project to reconquer much of what had been the Roman Empire. Utilizing the great General Belisarius, Justinian came close to achieving his goal. Justinian’s forces were able to capture much of North Africa from the Vandals, who had seized it from the Romans the century prior.
Belisarius was able to regain much of the region in a lightning-fast campaign. The conquest brought back an area that had been the Roman Empire’s breadbasket. However, as the climate was changing the value of North Africa had changed. The region also faced the devastation of war and neglect, as well as attacks from local tribes.
Recapturing Italy and Beyond
While Belisarius was able to capture North Africa with skill, one of his hardest campaigns was yet to come.
Belisarius was able to use a relatively small army of just 7,500 to begin the invasion of Italy in 535. After seizing Sicily, he was able to make a rapid ascent up the Italian peninsula, capturing Rome the next year. The great general was trapped fighting the Ostrogoths in Italy, including a siege to retake the city of Rome between 537 and 538.
The Byzantines significantly expanded over the next several years, taking the former Roman (and current Ostrogothic) capital of Ravenna. The Ostrogoths also offered Belisarius the crown of the Western Roman Empire, which he claimed before seizing Ravenna in the name of Justinian. Belisarius would be called away to fight the Sasanian Persians, but the campaigns in the west did not end.
Over the next fifteen years, the Byzantines were able to secure the rest of Italy and even southern Spain. Despite some amazing successes, there were severe issues with Justinian’s great conquests which would help to unravel part of his legacy in the coming years.
A Major Catch
What may have seemed to be the great reconquest of the imperial city of Rome proved to be an illusion. Italy remained a site of war for decades further, and much of the Byzantine grasp loosened. With the exception of the southern part of the peninsula, barbarian kings again gained control of Italy.
Belisarius himself may have also suffered a poor fate. He had defeated a number of Roman enemies time and again. Later in his career he was accused of conspiring against Justinian and was found guilty. Justinian pardoned him in the case and died in 565 CE, the same year as Justinian.
Byzantium was faced with constant war with the Sasanid Persians, which would weaken both empires and play a major role in allowing the rapid rise of the Arab caliphate in the next century.
Despite the great conquests in the West, the country also faced severe issues. Justinian’s reign was marked by a major famine in 535-536 CE caused by the aftereffect of a volcanic eruption. There was also a massive earthquake and a tsunami that affected much of the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea.
Most devastating of all was the outbreak of the Bubonic Plague, often referred to as the Plague of Justinian. The plague likely killed millions of people and could have killed up to 20% of the population of Constantinople itself.
What had started as a great effort to rebuild the city of Constantinople and recapture much of what had been the Roman Empire ended with mixed results. Justinian came the closest of any Byzantine Emperor to restoring Rome but was ultimately unable to finish the job.
All of this leads to the question: without the wars against the Sasanians and a string of natural disasters — what could have been?
