JUSTINIANUS (JusTimAN) I., FLAVIUS Armrrs, nephew, by the mother's side, of the emperor Justin, was born 483 A.D., in the village of Tanresitim, which afterwards grew into the splendid city of Justiniana. and on the site of which the modern Kits tendje stands. Although of obscure parentage he shared the success of his maternal uncle, Justin, being invited at an early age to Constantinople, where he received a care ful education, and if the reports of his courtly biographers can he accepted, attained to considerable eminence in philosophy, theology. and law, as well as in the more elegant pursuits of poetry, musie,•and architecture. When his uncle was elevated to the purple, in 518, he appointed Justinianus commander-in-chief of the army of Asia. The tastes of Justinianus, however, inclining him rather to civic pursuits, he declined this appoint ment, and remained attached to the court of Constantinople. In 521 lie was named consul, and during the remaining years of the reign of his uncle he continued to exer cise great influence. In 527 the emperor Justin, by the advice of the senate, proclaimed him his partner in the empire. Justin surv!ved the step but a few months, and Justin ianns was crowned as sole emperor, along with his wife. the famous Theodora, wham, despite of her more than dubious antecedents as an actress, he had raiscd to the position of his wife. Justinianus, on his accession, was in his 45:11 year. Ilis reign, which cytends over 38 years, is the most brilliant in the history of the late empire. Although himself without the taste or the capacity for military command, he had the fortune or the skill to select the ablest generals of the last days of Roman military ascendency. Under the direction of his generals, and especially of the celebrated Narses (q.v.) and BelisLrius (q.v.), his reign may be said to have restored the Boman empire, at least in outward appearance, to its ancient limits, and to have reunited the east and west under a single rule. In his first war—that with Persia—he concluded a treaty by which the crisis that had so long threatened was at least warded off; but the rejoicings which cele brated its termination had almost proved fatal, by a domestic revolution, to the author ity of Justinianus himself. A conflict of the so-called Blue and Green factions in the circus in 532 was but an outburst of political discontent, which went so far as to elect as rival emperor, Hypatins. Justinianns himself was struck with dismay, and made preparations for flight; but the vigor and determination of Tht oiora arrested the revolt.
Narses, with a relentless hand, repressed the tumults. 20,000 victims having. it is said, fallen in a single day. By the arms of I3elisarius the Vandal kingdom of Africa was reannexed to the empire; and the same gen., conjointly with Narses. restored the impe rial authority as well in Rome as in northern Italy and a large portion of Spain. One of the most extraordinary, though in the end ineffective, works of the reign of Justinia nus was the vast line of- fortifications which he constructed, or renewed and strength ened, along the eastern and south-eastern frontier of his empire. These works of defense, and the construction of many public buildings, both in his capital and in other cities of the empire, involved an enormous expenditure. and the fiscal administration of Justinianus, in consequence, pressed heavily on the public resources; but it is admitted to have been ably and uprightly conducted. It is, however, as a legislator that Justin ianus has gained renown. Immediately on his accession he set himself to collect all previous legislative enactments which were still in force; and in order to do this thor oughly he first compiled a code. which comprised all the constitutions of his prede cessors (521-529). See Conn. The authoritative commentaries of the jurists were next harmonized, and published under the title Duqesta Pandecta (529-533). See P.A.NDECTS. The code was republished in 534, with the addition of Justinianus's own constitutions. Ilk third great legal undertaking was the composition of a systematic treatise on the laws, for the guidance of students and lawyers. This was published a short time before the Digest, under the title of institutinnes, i.e., "Institutes." All these works were accomplished under the careful superintendence and direction of Tribonian, and were written originally in Latin. The later treatises which Justinianus caused to be written were in Greek, and were entitled J7orelke, i.e., "New Works:" The character of Justinianus as a ruler contrasts favorably with that of most of the emperors, whether' of the earlier or the later empire. His personal virtues were of a class and in a degree seldom united in one of such station, and his public administra tion, with the single exception of that of ecclesiastical affairs, in which he was an arbi trary and imperious intermeddler, exhibits great ability and just and upright intentions. He died at the age of 83, and in the 38th year of his reign, Nov. 14, 565.