-
 TransAnatolie 3401
- 4 Day
Cultural Tour in Turkey
- Istanbul
Cultural Heritage Tour to
Turkey, Theodora1: Byzantium
2, Constantinople, Istanbul: The
Capital-City of Byzantium
Day 1:
Arrival in
Istanbul
Sightseeing city tour, dinner and overnight at the
4 star Armada Hotel.
Day 2: In the morning, discovery of the Golden Horn
and of the Pierre Loti area. Visits to Ottoman Imperial Cemetery and Eyüp Mosque. Walks
along the Roman-Byzantine city walls and visit the Chora
Church and Mihrimah Sultan Mosque.
The great Mosque of Eyüp lies outside the city walls, near the
Golden Horn, at the supposed place where Eyüp, the standard bearer
of the Prophet Mohammed, died in the Islamic assault on
Constantinople in 670 A.D. The first mosque built after the Ottoman
conquest of the city, this greatly venerated shrine attracts many
pilgrims.
The Kariye Museum (Chora Church), the 11th century church of "St.
Savior" in Chora, is, after St. Sophia, the most important Byzantine
monument in Istanbul. Unremarkable in its architecture, inside, the
walls are decorated with superb l4th century frescoes and mosaics.
Illustrating scenes from the life of Christ and the Virgin Mary,
these brilliantly coloured paintings embody the vigour of Byzantine
art. Restored wooden houses in the area surrounding the church offer
tea and coffee in a relaxed, atmosphere far removed from the city's
hectic pace.
Walls of glass fill the four immense arches that support the central
dome at the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque inside the Edirne gate of the old
city walls. One hundred and sixty-one windows illuminate this
mosque, built by Sinan for Mihrimah Sultana, the daughter of
Süleyman the Magnificent in 1555.
Lunch is next to the Roman Circus in a well known Turkish-Greek restaurant.
In the afternoon, we visit
St. Sofia (Ayasofya) and Topkapi
Palace Museums, and the Grand Bazaar.
The Basilica of St.
Sophia, now called the
Ayasofya Museum, is unquestionably one of the finest buildings
of all time. Built by Constantine the Great and reconstructed by
Justinian in the 6th century, its immense dome rises 55 meters above
the ground and its diameter spans 31 meters. You should linger here
to absorb the building's majestic serenity and to admire the fine
Byzantine mosaics.
On a spot of land at
the confluence of the Bosphorus, the Golden Horn and the Marmara
Sea, stands
Topkapi Palace, a maze of buildings at the center of the Ottoman
Empire between the 15th and 19th centuries. In these opulent
surroundings the sultans and their court lived and governed. A
magnificent wooded garden fills the outer, or first, court. To the
right of the second court, shaded by cypress and plane trees, stand
the palace kitchens, now galleries exhibiting the imperial
collections of crystal, silver and Chinese porcelain. To the left,
the Harem, the secluded quarters of the wives, concubines and
children of the sultan, charms visitors with echoes of a centuries
old intrigue.
Today, the third court holds the Hall of Audience, the Library of
Ahmet III, an exhibition of imperial costumes worn by the sultans
and their families, the famous jewels of the treasury and a
priceless collection of miniatures from medieval manuscripts. In the
center of this innermost sanctuary, the Pavilion of the Holy Mantle
enshrines the relics of the Prophet Mohammed brought to Istanbul
when the Ottomans assumed the caliphate of Islam
The cascading domes and four slender minarets of Süleymaniye Mosque
dominate the skyline on the Golden Horn's west bank. Considered the
most beautiful of all imperial mosques in Istanbul, it was built
between 1550 and 1557 by
Sinan, the renowned architect of the Ottoman golden age. On the
crest of a hill, the building is conspicuous by its great size,
which the four minarets that rise from each corner of the courtyard
emphasize. Inside, the mihrab (prayer niche) and the mimber (pulpit)
are of finely carved white marble; fine stained glass windows color
the incoming streams of light. It was in the gardens of this complex
that Süleyman and his wife Hürrem Sultan, Roxelane, had their
mausolea built, and near here also that Sinan built his own tomb.
The mosque complex also includes four medrese, or theological
schools, a school of medicine, a caravanserai, a Turkish bath, and a
kitchen and hospice for the poor.
We dine at Istanbul By Night at Kumkapi and overnight at the 4 star hotel with high QoS.
Day 3: In the morning, visit the Hippodrome,
Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum located at the Ibrahim Pascha Palace
as well as the Ethnographical Museum in Istanbul.
The dark stone building that houses the
Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art was built in 1524 by
Ibrahim Pasa; Grand Vizier to Süleyman the Magnificent, as his
residence. It was the grandest private residence ever built in the
Ottoman
Empire. Today, it houses a superb collection of ceramics,
metalwork miniatures, calligraphy, textiles, and woodwork as well as
some of the oldest carpets in the world.
Then we visit the
sixth century
Byzantine
citern known as the Yerebatan Sarnici. Three hundred and thirty-six
massive Corinthian columns support the immense chamber's fine brick
vaulting.
Walking along the
Sultan Ahmet Square we arrive in the famous Blue Mosque. Facing St. Sophia
stands the supremely elegant, six-minaret, imperial Sultanahmet
Mosque. Built between 1609 and 1616 by the architect Mehmet, the
building is more familiarly known as the Blue Mosque because its
interior gleams with a magnificent paneling of blue and white Iznik
tiles. During the summer months an evening light and sound show both
entertain and inform.
Before lunch we become familiar with Turkish
Cultural Products:
carpets
and kilims, jewellery and leather. Delicious lunch is at the Mesopotamian restaurant.
In the afternoon, pay
a visit to the Old Egyptian Market and Second-Hand
Market. We then fully enjoy the wonderful Bosporus Cruise between
two continents Asia and Europe,
A stay in Istanbul is not complete without the traditional and
unforgettable boat excursion up the Bosphorus, the winding strait
that separates Europe and Asia. Its shores offer a delightful
mixture of past and present, grand splendor and simple beauty.
Modern hotels stand next to yali (shorefront wooden villas), marble
palaces abut rustic stone fortresses, and elegant compounds
neighbour small fishing villages. During the journey, you pass in
front of the magnificent Dolmabahçe Palace; farther along rise the
green parks and imperial pavilions of Yildiz Palace. On the edge of
this park, on the coast, stands Çiragan Palace, now restored as a
grand hotel. Refurbished in 1874 by Sultan Abdülaziz, it stretches
for 300 meters along the Bosphorus shore, its ornate marble facades
reflecting the swiftly moving water. In Ortaköy, the next stop,
artists gather every Sunday to exhibit their works in a streetside
gallery. The variety of people create a lively scene; sample a
delicious bite from one of the street vendors. In Ortaköy, there is
a church, mosque and a synagogue that have existed side by side for
hundreds of years - a tribute to Turkish secularism and tolerance.
Overshadowing Istanbul's traditional architecture is the Bosphorus
Bridge, one of the world's largest suspension bridges linking Europe
and Asia.
We finally dine and enjoy the night
at our 4 star hotel with high QoS.
Day 4: Breakfast. Free day until the transfer to the
Airport. Another TransAnatolie Tour Services end with Turkish
Baklava.
Pricing
Optional
evening activities
-
Special Dinner with show at the
Caravanserai Night Club at Galata Tower or at the
Orient House Istanbul (43 €).
Rates include
-
4 days/3 nights in Istanbul
-
4 Star Armada Hotel (or similar) BB
-
Transportation in Istanbul
with Mercedes, WW mini-, midi-bus, Prenses 403 (depending on the size
of group).
-
2 lunches in
Turkish restaurants with specialities, dinner of the 1st arrival date and
breakfast of the departure date
-
all admission fees to the
visits planned
-
services of the Professional
Certified Guide
Rates exclude
-
Flights
Europe/Istanbul/Europe
-
Insurance
-
Airport Tax
-
Drinks
-
Tips
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Theodora (6th century)1
 Theodora
(Greek Θεοδώρα) (c. 500–June 28, 548) was empress of the Byzantine
Empire and the wife of Emperor Justinian I 3. Along with her husband,
she is a saint in the Orthodox Church, commemorated on November 14.
Theodora was of Greek Cypriot descent, into the lowest class of
Byzantine society, the daughter of Acacius, a native of Cyprus who
was a bear keeper at the Hippodrome in Constantinople, while her
mother, whose name is not recorded, was a dancer and an actress.
Much of the information from this earliest part of her life comes
from the Secret History of Procopius, published posthumously.
Critics of Procopius (whose work reveals a man seriously
disillusioned regarding his rulers) have dismissed his work as a
severely biased source, vitriolic and pornographic, but have been
unable to discredit some of its facts. For example, the sources do
not dispute Theodora emerged as a comic actress in burlesque theater,
and that her talents tended toward what might be called low physical
comedy. While her advancement in Byzantine society was up and down,
she made use of every opportunity. She had admirers by the score.
Procopius writes that she was a courtesan (and, according to other
sources, firstly a prostitute) and briefly served as the mistress of
Hecebolus, the governor of Pentapolis, by whom she bore her only
child, a son. There was a downside to her repertoire as well;
Procopius also repeatedly notes her lack of shame and cites a number
of scenes to demonstrate it, and also the low regard in which she
was held by respectable society.
Theodora as Empress was associated with the cause of Monophysitism,
often acting as an advocate on their behalf. Scholars usually hold
that Theodora was converted by Monophysites before meeting Justinian
and remained a partisan to that view throughout her life. Other
scholars however argue that this association was largely a role
assigned to her by Justinian, who courted the Monophysites to
finally reunite them to the Church. According to this view, Theodora
herself was a Chalcedonian but pastorally favored the Monophysites.
In 523 Theodora married Justinian, the nephew of Emperor Justin I.
On his accession to the Roman Imperial throne in 527, he made her
joint ruler of the empire, and appears to have regarded her as a
full partner in their rulership. This proved to be a wise decision.
A strong-willed woman, she showed a notable talent for governance.
In the Nika riots of 532, her advice and leadership for a strong
(and militant) response caused the riot to be quelled and probably
saved the empire. A contemporary official, Joannes Laurentius Lydus,
remarked that she was "superior in intelligence to any man".
Some scholars believe that Theodora was Byzantium's first noted
proponent — and, according to Procopius, practitioner — of abortion;
she convinced Justinian to change the law that forbade noblemen to
marry lower class women (like herself). Theodora also advocated the
prohibition of killing adulteress women, and the rights of women to
be socially serviced, helping to advance protections and delights
for them; and was also something of a voice for former prostitutes
and the downtrodden. She also helped to mitigate the breach in
Christian sects that loomed large over her time; she probably had a
large part in Justinian's efforts to reconcile the Non-Chalcedonians
to the Chalcedonian party.
Other scholars (and those who venerate Theodora as a saint) instead
regard Theodora's achievements for women not as a "liberation"
allowing abortion or adultery but rather as a truly egalitarian
drive to give women the same legal rights as men, such as
establishing homes for ex-prostitutes, granting women more rights in
divorce cases, allowing women to own and inherit property, giving
mothers some guardianship rights over their children, and enacting
the death penalty for rape, all of which raised women's status far
above the status quo.
There were less charitable acts as well. Rumors spoke of private
dungeons in her quarters into which people she disapproved of
disappeared forever, though such rumors can be found regarding
nearly any royal figure. More congenial is the story of how she
sheltered a deposed patriarch for 12 years without anyone knowing of
it.
Theodora died of an unspecified cancer before the age of 50, some 20
years before Justinian died. It should be noted that there is no
documentation to suggest that she died of breast cancer as some
scholars have suggested. Her body was buried in the Church of the
Holy Apostles, one of the splendid churches the emperor and empress
had built in Constantinople. Both Theodora and Justinian are
represented in beautiful mosaics that exist to this day in the
Basilica of San Vitale at Ravenna in northern Italy, which was
completed a year before her death.
Justinian I, Emperor of
the Eastern Roman Empire 2
3
Justinian
I or Justinian the Great (Latin: Flavius Petrus Sabbatius
Iustinianus, Greek: Φλάβιος Πέτρος Σαββάτιος Ιουστινιανός; 482/483 –
November 13 or November 14, 565) was Eastern Roman Emperor from 527
until his death, and second member of the Justinian Dynasty, after
his uncle Justin I. He is considered a saint amongst Eastern
Orthodox Christians. He has also sometimes been considered the "Last
Roman".
Justinian's rule constitutes a distinct epoch in the history of the
Byzantine Empire, the impact of his administration extending far
beyond the boundaries of his time and his empire. Justinian's reign
is marked by the ambitious but ultimately failed renovatio imperii,
"restoration of the empire". This ambition was expressed in the
partial recovery of the territories of the Western Roman Empire,
including the city of Rome itself; a still more resonant aspect of
his legacy was the uniform rewriting of Roman law, the Corpus Juris
Civilis, which is still the basis of civil law in many modern
states. His reign also marked a blossoming of Byzantine culture, and
his building program yielded masterpieces such as the church of
Hagia Sophia, which was to be the center of Eastern Orthodox
Christianity for many centuries. The devastating Plague of Justinian
in the early 540's, however, marked the end of an age of splendor;
after that, the empire entered a period of decline which would not
be reversed until the 9th century. Justinian is considered a saint
in the Eastern Orthodox Church and is also commemorated by the
Lutheran Church.
Procopius provides our primary source for the history of Justinian's
reign. The Syriac chronicle of John of Ephesus, which does not
survive, was used as a source for later chronicles, contributing
many additional details of value. Both historians became very bitter
towards Justinian and his empress, Theodora. Procopius also wrote
the Anekdota (the so-called Secret History), which reports on
various scandals at Justinian's court. Other sources include the
histories of Agathias, Menander Protector, John Malalas, the Paschal
Chronicle, the chronicles of Marcellinus Comes and Victor of Tunnuna.
Life
Justinian was born into a Latin-speaking peasant family in a small
village called Tauresium (near Justiniana Prima, which he founded
later), in what is today the Republic of Macedonia, around 482. He
was born as Petrus Sabbatius; the cognomen Justinianus, which he
later took, is indicative of adoption by his uncle Justin. His
mother was Vigilantia, the sister of Justin, who was in the imperial
guard (the Excubitors) before he became emperor. Justin adopted
Justinian, brought him to Constantinople, and ensured the boy's
education. As a result, Justinian was well educated in
jurisprudence, theology and Roman history. Justinian served for some
time with the Excubitors but the details of his early career are
unknown.
When Emperor Anastasius died in 518, Justin was proclaimed the new
emperor, with significant help from Justinian. During Justin's reign
(518-527), Justinian was the emperor's close confidant. Justinian
showed a lot of ambition, and it has been thought that he was
functioning as virtual regent long before Justin made him associate
emperor on April 1, 527, although there is no conclusive evidence
for this. As Justin became senile near the end of his reign,
Justinian became the de facto ruler. Justinian was appointed consul
in 521, and later commander of the army of the east. Upon Justin I's
death on August 1, 527, Justinian became the sole sovereign.
The Barberini Ivory, which is thought to portray either Justinian or
Anastasius I. As a ruler, Justinian showed great energy. He was
known as "the Emperor who never sleeps" on account of his work
habits. Nevertheless, he seems to have been amenable and easy to
approach. Justinian's family came from a lowly and provincial
background, and therefore he had no power base in the traditional
aristocracy of Constantinople. Instead, he surrounded himself with
men and women of extraordinary talent, whom he selected not on the
basis of aristocratic origin, but on the basis of merit. Around 525
he married Theodora, who was by profession a courtesan about 20
years his junior. Justinian would have, in earlier times, been
unable to marry her because of her class, but his uncle Emperor
Justin I had passed a law allowing intermarriage between social
classes. Theodora would become very influential in the politics of
the Empire, and later emperors would follow Justinian's precedent in
marrying outside the aristocratic class. The marriage caused a
scandal, but Theodora would prove to be very intelligent, "street
smart", a good judge of character and Justinian's greatest
supporter. Other talented individuals included Tribonian, his legal
adviser; his finance ministers John the Cappadocian and Peter
Barsymes, who managed to collect taxes more efficiently than any
before, thereby funding Justinian's wars; and finally, his talented
general Belisarius. Also Justinian inherited 400,000 pounds of gold
in the treasury from Anastasius I and Justin I. Justinian's rule was
not universally popular; early in his reign he almost lost his
throne during the Nika riots, and a conspiracy against the emperor's
life by dissatisfied businessmen was discovered as late as 562.
Justinian was struck by the plague in the early 540's, but
recovered. Theodora died, perhaps of cancer, in 548, at a relatively
young age, and Justinian outlived her by almost twenty years.
Justinian, who had always had a keen interest in theological matters
and actively participated in debates on Christian doctrine, became
even more devoted to religion during the later years of his life.
When he died, on the night of November 13-November 14, 565, he left
no children. He was succeeded by Justin II, the son of his sister
Vigilantia, who was married to Sophia, the niece of Empress
Theodora. Justinian's body was entombed in a specially built
mausoleum in the Church of the Holy Apostles.
Legislative activities
Justinian achieved lasting fame through his judicial reforms,
particularly through the complete revision of all Roman law,
something that had not previously been attempted. The total of
Justinian's legislature is known today as the Corpus juris civilis.
It consists of the Codex Justinianus, the Digesta or Pandectae, the
Institutiones, and the Novellae.
Early in his reign, Justinian appointed the quaestor Tribonian to
oversee this task. The first draft of the Codex Justinianus, a
codification of imperial constitutions from the 2nd century onward,
was issued on April 7, 529. (The final version appeared in 534.) It
was followed by the Digesta (or Pandectae), a compilation of older
legal texts, in 533, and by the Institutiones, a textbook explaining
the principles of law. The Novellae, a collection of new laws issued
during Justinian's reign, supplements the Corpus. As opposed to the
rest of the corpus, the Novellae appeared in Greek, the common
language of the Eastern Empire; Latin, the traditional language of
the Roman Empire, was only poorly understood by most citizens of the
Eastern Empire.
The Corpus forms the basis of Latin jurisprudence (including
ecclesiastical Canon Law) and, for historians, provides a valuable
insight into the concerns and activities of the later Roman Empire.
As a collection it gathers together the many sources in which the
leges (laws) and the other rules were expressed or published: proper
laws, senatorial consults (senatusconsulta), imperial decrees, case
law, and jurists' opinions and interpretations (responsa prudentum).
Tribonian's law code ensured the survival of Roman law. It formed
the basis of later Byzantine law, as expressed in the Basilica of
Basil I and Leo VI the Wise. The only western province where the
Justinianic code was introduced was Italy (after the conquest, by
the so-called Pragmatic Sanction of 554), from where it was to pass
to Western Europe in the 12th century and become the basis of much
European law code. It eventually passed to Eastern Europe where it
appeared in Slavic editions, and it also passed on to Russia. It
remains influential to this day.
Nika riots
Justinian's habit of choosing efficient, but unpopular advisors
nearly cost him his throne early in his reign. In January 532,
partisans of the chariot racing factions in Constantinople, normally
divided among themselves, united against Justinian in a revolt that
has become known as the Nika riots. They forced him to dismiss
Tribonian and two of his other ministers, and then attempted to
overthrow Justinian himself and replace him by the senator Hypatius,
who was a nephew of the late emperor Anastasius. While the crowd was
rioting in the streets, Justinian considered fleeing the capital,
but he remained in the city on the advice of Theodora. Shortly
thereafter he ordered the brutal suppression of the riots by his
generals Belisarius and Mundus. Procopius relates that 30,000
unarmed civilians were killed in the Hippodrome. Justinian had
Anastasius' nephews executed.
The destruction that had taken place during the revolt provided
Justinian with an opportunity to tie his name to a series of
splendid new buildings, notably the domed Hagia Sophia.
Military activities
One of the most spectacular features of Justinian's reign was the
recovery of large stretches of land around the Western Mediterranean
basin which had slipped out of imperial control in the 5th century.
As a Christian Roman emperor, Justinian considered it his divine
duty to restore the Roman Empire to its ancient boundaries. Although
he never personally took part in military campaigns, he boasted of
his successes in the prefaces to his laws and had them commemorated
in art. The reconquests were in large part carried out by his
general Belisarius.
From his uncle, Justinian inherited ongoing hostilities with the
Sassanid Empire. In 530 a Persian army was defeated at Daraa, but
the next year saw the defeat of Roman forces under Belisarius near
Callinicum. When king Kavadh I of Persia died (September 531),
Justinian concluded an "Eternal Peace" (which cost him 11,000 pounds
of gold) with his successor Khosrau I (532). Having thus secured his
eastern frontier, Justinian turned his attention to the West, where
Arian Germanic kingdoms had been established in the territories of
the former Western Roman Empire.
Conquest of North Africa, 533–534
The first of the western kingdoms Justinian attacked was that of the
Vandals in North Africa. King Hilderic, who had maintained good
relations with Justinian and the North African Catholic clergy, had
been overthrown by his cousin Gelimer in 530. Imprisoned, the
deposed king appealed to Justinian.
In 533, Belisarius with a fleet of 92 dromons escorting 500
transports, landed at Caput Vada (modern Ras Kaboudia) in modern
Tunisia with an army of about 15,000 men, as well as a number of
barbarian troops. They defeated the Vandals, who were caught
completely off-guard, at Ad Decimum on 14 September 533 and
Tricamarum in December; Belisarius took Carthage. King Gelimer fled
to Mount Pappua in Numidia, but surrendered the next spring. He was
taken to Constantinople, where he was paraded in a triumph. Sardinia
and Corsica, the Balearic Islands, and the stronghold Septem near
Gibraltar were recovered in the same campaign.
An African prefecture was established in April 534, but it would
teeter on the brink of collapse during the next 15 years, amidst
warfare with the Moors and military mutinies. The area was not
completely pacified until 548, but remained peaceful thereafter and
enjoyed a measure of prosperity. The recovery of Africa cost the
empire about 100,000 pounds of gold.
War in Italy, first phase, 535–540
As in Africa, dynastic struggles in Ostrogothic Italy provided an
opportunity for intervention. The young king Athalaric had died on 2
October 534, and a usurper, Theodahad, had imprisoned queen
Amalasuntha, Theodoric's daughter and mother of Athalaric, on an
island in Lake Bolsena, where he had her assassinated in 535.
Thereupon Belisarius with 7,500 men[27] invaded Sicily (535) and
advanced into Italy, sacking Naples and capturing Rome on 9 December
536. By that time Theodahad had been deposed by the Ostrogothic
army, who had elected Vitigis as their new king. He gathered a large
army and besieged Rome from February 537 to March 538 without being
able to retake the city. Justinian sent another general, Narses, to
Italy, but tensions between Narses and Belisarius hampered the
progress of the campaign. Milan was taken, but was soon recaptured
and razed by the Ostrogoths. Justinian recalled Narses in 539. By
then the military situation had turned in favour of the Romans, and
in 540 Belisarius reached the Ostrogothic capital Ravenna. There he
was offered the title of Western Roman Emperor by the Ostrogoths at
the same time that envoys of Justinian were arriving to negotiate a
peace which would leave the region north of the river Po in Gothic
hands. Belisarius feigned to accept the offer, entered the city in
May 540, and reclaimed it for the Empire. Then, having been recalled
by Justinian, Belisarius returned to Constantinople, taking the
captured Vitigis and his wife Matasuentha with him.
War with the Sassanid Empire, 540–562
Modern or early modern drawing of a medallion celebrating the
reconquest of Africa, c. 535Belisarius had been recalled in the face
of renewed hostilities by the Persians. Following a revolt against
Byzantium in Armenia in the late 530s and possibly motivated by the
pleas of Ostrogothic ambassadors, king Khosrau I broke the "Eternal
Peace" and invaded Roman territory in the spring of 540.[29] He
first sacked Beroea and then Antioch (allowing the garrison of 6,000
men to leave the city), besieged Daras, and then went on to attack
the small but strategically significant satellite kingdom of Lazica
near the Black Sea, exacting tribute from the towns he passed along
his way. He forced Justinian I to pay him 5,000 pounds of gold, plus
500 pounds of gold more each year.
Belisarius arrived in the East in 541, but, after some success, was
again recalled to Constantinople in 542. The reasons for his
withdrawal are not known, but it may have been instigated by rumours
of disloyalty on behalf of the general reaching the court. The
outbreak of the plague caused a lull in the fighting during the year
543. The following year Khosrau defeated a Byzantine army of 30,000
men, but unsuccessfully besieged the major city of Edessa. Both
parties made little headway, and in 545 a truce was agreed upon for
the southern part of the Roman-Persian frontier. After that the
Lazic War in the North continued for several years, until a second
truce in 557, followed by a Fifty Years' Peace in 562. Under its
terms, the Persians agreed to abandon Lazica in exchange for an
annual tribute of 400 or 500 pounds of gold (30,000 solidi) to be
paid by the Romans.
War in Italy, second phase, 541–552
While military efforts were directed to the East, the situation in
Italy took a turn for the worse. Under their respective kings
Ildibad and Eraric (both murdered in 541) and especially Totila, the
Ostrogoths made quick gains. After a victory at Faenza in 542, they
reconquered the major cities of Southern Italy and soon held almost
the entire peninsula. Belisarius was sent back to Italy late in 544,
but lacked sufficient troops. Making no headway, he was relieved of
his command in 548. Belisarius succeeded in defeating a Gothic fleet
with 200 ships. During this period the city of Rome changed hands
three more times, first taken and depopulated by the Ostrogoths in
December 546, then reconquered by the Byzantines in 547, and then
again by the Goths in January 550. Totila also plundered Sicily and
attacked the Greek coastlines. Finally, Justinian dispatched a force
of approximately 35,000 men (2,000 men were detached and sent to
invade southern Visigothic Spain) under the command of Narses. The
Byzantine Roman army reached Ravenna in June 552, and defeated the
Ostrogoths decisively within a month at the battle of Busta Gallorum
in the Apennines, where Totila was slain. After a second battle at
Mons Lactarius in October that year, the resistance of the
Ostrogoths was finally broken. In 554, a large-scale Frankish
invasion was defeated at Casilinum, and Italy secured for the
Empire, even though it would take Narses several years to reduce the
remaining Gothic strongholds. The recovery of Italy cost the empire
about 300,000 pounds of gold.
Other campaigns
In addition to the other conquests, the Eastern Empire established a
presence in Visigothic Spain, when the usurper Athanagild requested
assistance in his rebellion against king Agila. In 552, Justinian
dispatched a force under the octogenarian Liberius, who had served
under the Ostrogoth kings of Italy since the 490s. The Byzantines
took Cartagena and other cities on the southeastern coast and
founded the new province of Spania before being checked by their
former ally Athanagild, who had by now become king. This campaign
marked the apogee of Byzantine expansion.
During Justinian's reign, the Balkans suffered from several
incursions by the Turkic and Slavic peoples who lived north of the
Danube. Here, Justinian resorted mainly to a combination of
diplomacy and a system of defensive works. In 559 a particularly
dangerous invasion of Sklavinoi and Kutrigurs under their khan
Zabergan threatened Constantinople, but they were repulsed by the
aged general Belisarius.
Results
The enlargement of the Byzantine Empire's territory between the rise
to power of Justinian (red, 527) and his death (orange,
565)Justinian's ambition to restore the Roman Empire to its former
glory was only partly realised. In the West, the brilliant early
military successes of the 530s were followed by years of stagnation.
The dragging war with the Goths was a disaster for Italy, even
though its long-lasting effects may have been less severe than is
sometimes thought. The heavy taxes that the administration imposed
upon its population were deeply resented. While the final victory in
Italy and the conquest of the coast of southern Spain significantly
enlarged the area over which Byzantium could project its power and
influence, and while they must have contributed to the empire's
prestige, most of the conquests proved ephemeral. The greater part
of Italy would be lost to the invading Lombards three years after
Justinian's death (568), and within a century and a half Africa and
Spain were forever lost for the empire.
Events of the later years of the reign showed that Constantinople
itself was not safe from barbarian incursions from the north, and
even the relatively benevolent historian Menander Protector felt the
need to explain the emperor's failure to protect the capital from
the weakness of his body in his old age. In his efforts to renew the
old Roman Empire, Justinian dangerously stretched the resources of
the Eastern Empire while failing to take into account the changed
realities of 6th-century Europe. Paradoxically, Justinian's military
successes probably contributed to the empire's subsequent decline.
Religious activities
Religious policy
 Justinian
I, depicted on an AE Follis coin. As with his secular
administration, despotism appeared also in the emperor's
ecclesiastical policy. He regulated everything, both in religion and
in law.
At the very beginning of his reign, he deemed it proper to
promulgate by law the Church's belief in the Trinity and the
Incarnation; and to threaten all heretics with the appropriate
penalties; whereas he subsequently declared that he intended to
deprive all disturbers of orthodoxy of the opportunity for such
offense by due process of law. He made the Nicaeno-Constantinopolitan
creed the sole symbol of the Church, and accorded legal force to the
canons of the four ecumenical councils. The bishops in attendance at
the Second Council of Constantinople in 553 recognized that nothing
could be done in the Church contrary to the emperor's will and
command; while, on his side, the emperor, in the case of the
Patriarch Anthimus, reinforced the ban of the Church with temporal
proscription. Justinian protected the purity of the church by
suppressing heretics. He neglected no opportunity for securing the
rights of the Church and clergy, for protecting and extending
monasticism. He granted the monks the right to inherit property from
private citizens and the right to receive solemnia or annual gifts
from the imperial treasury or from the taxes of certain provinces
and he prohibited lay confiscation on monastic estates.
Although the despotic character of his measures is contrary to
modern sensibilities, he was indeed a "nursing father" of the
Church. Both the Codex and the Novellae contain many enactments
regarding donations, foundations, and the administration of
ecclesiastical property; election and rights of bishops, priests and
abbots; monastic life, residential obligations of the clergy,
conduct of divine service, episcopal jurisdiction, etc. Justinian
also rebuilt the Church of Hagia Sophia (which cost 20,000 pounds of
gold), the original site having been destroyed during the Nika
riots. The new Hagia Sophia, with its numerous chapels and shrines,
gilded octagonal dome, and mosaics, became the centre and most
visible monument of Eastern Orthodoxy in Constantinople.
Religious relations with Rome
From the middle of the fifth century onward increasingly arduous
tasks confronted the emperors of the East in ecclesiastical matters.
For one thing, the radicals on all sides felt themselves constantly
repelled by the creed adopted by the Council of Chalcedon to defend
the biblical doctrine of the nature of Christ and bridge the gap
between the dogmatic parties. The letter of Pope Leo I to Flavian of
Constantinople was widely considered in the East as the work of
Satan; so that nobody cared to hear of the Church of Rome. The
emperors, however, had a policy of preserving the unity between
Constantinople and Rome; and this remained possible only if they did
not swerve from the line defined at Chalcedon. In addition, the
factions in the East which had become stirred up and disaffected
because of Chalcedon needed restraining and pacifying. This problem
proved the more difficult because, in the East, the dissenting
groups exceeded supporters of Chalcedon both in numerical strength
and in intellectual ability. Tension from the incompatibility of the
two aims grew: whoever chose Rome and the West must renounce the
East, and vice versa.
Justinian entered the arena of ecclesiastical statecraft shortly
after his uncle's accession in 518, and put an end to the
Monophysite schism that had prevailed between Rome and Byzantium
since 483. The recognition of the Roman see as the highest
ecclesiastical authority remained the cornerstone of his Western
policy. Offensive as it was to many in the East, nonetheless
Justinian felt himself entirely free to take a Despotic stance
toward the popes such as Silverius and Vigilius. While no compromise
could ever be accepted by the dogmatic wing of the church, his
sincere efforts at reconciliation gained him the approval of the
major body of the church. A signal proof was his attitude in the
Theopaschite controversy. At the outset he was of the opinion that
the question turned on a quibble of words. By degrees, however,
Justinian came to understand that the formula at issue not only
appeared orthodox, but might also serve as a conciliatory measure
toward the Monophysites, and he made a vain attempt to do this in
the religious conference with the followers of Severus of Antioch,
in 533.
Again, Justinian moved toward compromise in the religious edict of
March 15, 533, and congratulated himself that Pope John II admitted
the orthodoxy of the imperial confession. The serious blunder that
he had made at the beginning by abetting a severe persecution of the
Monophysite bishops and monks and thereby embittering the population
of vast regions and provinces, he remedied eventually. His constant
aim now remained to win over the Monophysites, yet not to surrender
the Chalcedonian faith. For many at court, he did not go far enough:
Theodora especially would have rejoiced to see the Monophysites
favoured unreservedly. Justinian, however, felt restrained by the
complications that would have ensued with the West. But in the
condemnation of the Three Chapters Justinian tried to satisfy both
the East and the West, but succeeded in satisfying neither. Although
the pope assented to the condemnation, the West believed that the
emperor had acted contrary to the decrees of Chalcedon. Though many
delegates emerged in the East subservient to Justinian, many,
especially the Monophysites, remained unsatisfied; all the more
bitter for him because during his last years he took an even greater
interest in theological matters.
Suppression of non-Christian religions
Justinian was one of the first emperors to be depicted wielding the
cross on the obverse of a coin. Justinian's religious policy
reflected the imperial conviction that the unity of the Empire
unconditionally presupposed unity of faith; and it appeared to him
obvious that this faith could be only the Orthodox (Nicaean). Those
of a different belief had to recognize that the process of
consolidation, which imperial legislation had effected from the time
of Constantius II, would now vigorously continue. The Codex
contained two statutes which decreed the total destruction of
paganism, even in private life; these provisions were zealously
enforced. Contemporary sources (John Malalas, Theophanes, John of
Ephesus) tell of severe persecutions, even of men in high position.
Perhaps the most noteworthy event occurred in 529 when the
Neoplatonic Academy of Athens was placed under state control by
order of Justinian, effectively strangling this training-school for
Hellenism. Paganism was actively suppressed. In Asia Minor alone,
John of Ephesus claimed to have converted 70,000 pagans. Other
peoples also accepted Christianity: the Heruli, the Huns dwelling
near the Don, the Abasgi, and the Tzani in Caucasia.
The worship of Amun at Augila in the Libyan desert was abolished;
and so were the remnants of the worship of Isis on the island of
Philae, at the first cataract of the Nile. The Presbyter Julian and
the Bishop Longinus conducted a mission among the Nabataeans, and
Justinian attempted to strengthen Christianity in Yemen by
despatching a bishop from Egypt.
The Jews, too, had to suffer; for not only did the authorities
restrict their civil rights, and threaten their religious
privileges, but the emperor interfered in the internal affairs of
the synagogue, and forbade, for instance, the use of the Hebrew
language in divine worship. The recalcitrant were threatened with
corporal penalties, exile, and loss of property. The Jews at Borium,
not far from Syrtis Major, who resisted Belisarius in his Vandal
campaign, had to embrace Christianity; their synagogue became a
church.
The emperor had much trouble with the Samaritans, finding them
refractory to Christianity and repeatedly in insurrection. He
opposed them with rigorous edicts, but yet could not prevent
hostilities towards Christians from taking place in Samaria toward
the close of his reign. The consistency of Justinian's policy meant
that the Manicheans too suffered severe persecution, experiencing
both exile and threat of capital punishment. At Constantinople, on
one occasion, not a few Manicheans, after strict inquisition, were
executed in the emperor's very presence: some by burning, others by
drowning.
Building activities, learning, art and
literature
Justinian was a prolific builder; the historian Procopius bears
witness to his activities in this area. Under Justinian's patronage
the San Vitale in Ravenna, which features two famous mosaics
representing Justinian and Theodora, was completed. Most notably, he
had the Hagia Sophia, originally a basilica style church that had
been burnt down during the Nika riots, splendidly rebuilt according
to a completely different ground plan. This new cathedral, with its
magnificent dome filled with mosaics, remained the centre of eastern
Christianity for centuries. Another prominent church in the capital,
the Church of the Holy Apostles, which had been in a very poor state
near the end of the 5th century, was likewise rebuilt. Works of
embellishment were not confined to churches alone: excavations at
the site of the Great Palace of Constantinople have yielded several
high-quality mosaics dating from Justinian's reign, and a column
topped by a (now lost) bronze statue of Justinian on horseback and
dressed in a military costume was erected in the Augustaeum in
Constantinople in 543. It is possible that rivalry with other, more
established patrons from the Constantinopolitan aristocracy may have
enforced Justinian's building activities in the capital.
Justinian also strengthened the borders of the empire through the
construction of fortifications, and assured Constantinople of its
water supply through construction of underground cisterns. During
his reign a bridge over the river Sangarius was built, securing a
major trade route. Furthermore, Justinian restored cities damaged by
earthquake or war and built a new city near his place of birth
called Justiniana Prima.
In Justinian's era, and partly under his patronage, Byzantine
culture produced noteworthy historians, including Procopius and
Agathias, and poets such as Paul the Silentiary and Romanus the
Melodist flourished during his reign. On the other hand, centers of
learning as the Platonic Academy in Athens and the famous law school
of Beirut lost their importance during his reign. Another ancient
institution, the Roman consulate, was abolished in 541.
Economy and administration
As was the case under Justinian's predecessors, the empire's
economic health rested primarily on agriculture. In addition
long-distance trade flourished, reaching as far north as Cornwall
where tin was exchanged for Roman corn. Within the empire, convoys
sailing from Alexandria provided Constantinople with corn, and
Justinian made the traffic more efficient by building a large
granary on the island of Tenedos for storage and further transport
to Constantinople. Justinian also tried to find new routes for the
eastern trade, which was suffering badly from the wars with the
Persians. One important luxury product was silk, which was imported
and then processed in the empire. In order to protect the
manufacture of silk products, Justinian granted a monopoly to the
imperial factories in 541. In order to bypass the Persian landroute,
Justinian established friendly relations with the Abyssinians, whom
he wanted to act as trade mediators by transporting Indian silk to
the empire; the Abyssinians, however, were unable to compete with
the Persian merchants in India. Then, in the early 550s, two monks
succeeded in smuggling eggs of silk worms from Central Asia back to
Constantinople, and silk became an indigenous Byzantine product.
Under Justinian's rule, measures were taken to counter corruption in
the provinces and to make tax collection more efficient. Greater
administrative power was given to both the leaders of the
prefectures and of the provinces, while power was taken away from
the vicariates of the dioceses, of which a number were abolished.
The overall trend was towards a simplification of administrative
infrastructure. According to Brown, the increased
professionalisation of tax collection did much to destroy the
traditional structures of provincial life, as it weakened the
autonomy of the town councils in the Greek towns.
Throughout Justinian's reign, the cities and villages of the East
prospered, although Antioch was struck by two earthquakes (526, 528)
and sacked and evacuated by the Persians (540). Justinian had the
city rebuilt, but on a slightly smaller scale.
Despite all these measures, the empire suffered several major
setbacks in the course of the 6th century. The first one was the
plague, which lasted from 541 to 543 and, by decimating the empire's
population, probably created a scarcity of labour and a rising of
wages. The lack of manpower also led to a significant increase in
the number of "barbarians" in the Byzantine armies after the early
540s. The protracted war in Italy and the wars with the Persians
themselves laid a heavy burden on the empire's resources, and
Justinian was criticized for curtailing the government-run post
service, which he limited to only one eastern route of military
importance. Also under Justinian I, the army which had once numbered
645,000 men in Roman times, shrank to 150,000 men.
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