Reign Of Justinian Research Articles

A Christian Moses in the Transfiguration Mosaics Created during the Reign of Justinian

This essay examines various aspects of how Moses was represented as a Christian in artistic depictions of the Transfiguration produced during Justinian’s reign (527–565), particularly discussing mosaics in the apses of the Church of Sant’Apollinare and St. Catherine’s Monastery. First, this essay demonstrates the existence of an earlier type of the Metamorphosis, the St. Sabina-Brescia Lipsanotheca type. Second, this essay focuses on the exegetical tradition of the Transfiguration, which, until the first half of the fourth century, was relatively mild, but was later aggravated by Christian writers during the Theodosian Dynasty. Ultimately, a new type of Transfiguration was created, of which the central theme was the creation of a Christian Moses. The motivation behind this new type was the contradiction attributable to Maximian, the archbishop of Ravenna, the contradiction between his typological iconography visualized in the sanctuary of the Church of San Vitale and Justinian’s severe persecution against the Jews. This contradiction was dissolved through the creation of an image of a Christian Moses in the Transfiguration mosaics in the apses of Sant’Apollinare.

Bombyx vs Sericum: The Humanists’ «Invention» of European Silk at the End of the 15th – First Half of the 16 th Century

This paper deals with the humanists’ historical interpretation of the origin of silk in Europe. The lasting progress of Italian sericulture aroused the interest of intellectuals who turned to study ancient texts on the question of sericulture. Within the growing interest to the origin of things, special attention was paid to the beginnings of silk production in Europe. Based on ancient texts humanists cultivated an idea that in ancient times the women of is Island were the first to learn how to unravel silkworm cocoons for the production of bombazine, called in Latin bombyx. When in the first half of 16th century the work of Procopius of Caesarea «History of Wars» came into knowledge, a new revision began. The renaissance thinkers started to criticize the concept of the ancient sericulture on Cos. It was little by little replaced with the idea that the production technology of «real», Chinese silk (called in Latin sericum) was not known in Europe until the reign of Justinian. This conclusion was one of the factors that predetermined a revision of the authority of ancient knowledge for the modern science.

Le De Trinitate du Pseudo-Didyme et le culte des archanges : un élément méconnu de datation

Abstract Pseudo-Didymus’ De Trinitate mentions many sanctuaries of the archangels Michael and Gabriel, finely adorned, some of which were quite famous to attract people from very far in the hope of a miracle. Although this testimony was usually considered as an ancient evidence because of its purported attribution to Didymus the Blind, it does not actually reflect the state of the archangels’ cult in the fourth century. However, it proves to be an important element for the dating of the De Trinitate itself, since it refers to a time when the cult of the archangels was developed in the East. The documentary and literary evidence shows that the churches dedicated to them, especially to Saint Michael, significantly multiply in the sixth century, and that their cult is being established under the reign of Justinian (527-565). It is from this period that the composition of Pseudo-Didymus’ De Trinitate is likely to date.

Apollinarios, the Chalcedonian Theodosian

This paper argues that the Chronicle of John, the bishop of Nikiu, in Egypt, a late seventh-century world chronicle, preserves two passages that suggest the Egyptian Chalcedonian patriarch Apollinarios (551–570 CE) was chosen by a coalition of Chalcedonians and anti-Chalcedonian Severan-Theodosians as a bulwark against the growing popularity of the aphthartist Gaianites during the reign of Justinian I. The accidental preservation of this memory in a rather unpopular text suggests that the lines separating the Severan-Theodosian (or proto-Coptic) miaphysite church from its doctrinal rivals were contingent and often remarkably blurry.

Everyday Life in extremis

Everyday Life <i>in extremis</i>

Град Ихрит във „Вселенската история“ на Асохик и възникването на сакралния ореол около средновековния Охрид

Stepanos Taronetsi (Steven of Taron), better known as Asoghik, completed his Universal History in 1004. This work made him the most prominent Armenian historian of the 11th century. It is known in Bulgaria because of Asoghik’s information about the Armenian origin of the Bulgarian Tsar Samuel. However, the following passage, related to Bulgarian history, has gone unnoticed by scholars: “Justianos, 37 years... He was overthrown by his army for insignificant reasons and fled to Khakan, the king of the Khazars, married his daughter and took the city of Ihrit as an inheritance, and with the help of the Khazar troops returned to reign in Constantinople and established himself on the throne of his kingdom. Then he built the great and famous Hagia Sophia Church.” Ihrit is the city of Ohrid in the present-day Republic of North Macedonia. A careful analysis of the passage shows that the episode of Justinian II’s reascension (685–695; 705–711) to the Byzantine throne with the help of the Bulgarians (the Khazars at Asoghik) was automatically attached to the reign of Justinian I (527–565) by the Armenian historian. Or rather, this insertion was already made in the earlier source used by Asoghik. The fact that Asoghik mentions Ohrid during the reign of Justinian I falls within the context of the propaganda efforts of the Ohrid Archbishopric (Archbishopric of Bulgaria) to derive its origins directly from the famous Archbishopric of Justiniana Prima, founded in 535 by Emperor Justinian I. The aim was to create a sacred aureola around the Ohrid Archbishopric and subsequently to neutralize the Constantinople Patriarchate’s attempts to subdue it and even to put an end to its existence. However, Asoghik’s account preceded the Ohrid Archbishopric’s efforts by a century. Nevertheless, the mention of Ohrid in Asoghik’s work is not a late interpolation of a scribe, but it fits perfectly into a statement of the Byzantine historian Nicephorus Gregoras, suggesting that the first steps in presenting Ohrid as an ancient ecclesiastical center, identical to Justiniana Prima, were made around 972, shortly after the seat of the Bulgarian Patriarchate had been transferred from Moesia to Macedonia.

Burial architecture. 3D dissemination study for a selection of Byzantine graves

&lt;p class="VARAbstract"&gt;The former polis of Tall-as-Sin (in the current province of Deir ez-Zor, Syria) grew considerably during Justinian's reign in the 6&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; century AD. Its cemetery, outside the walls, presents an extraordinary Byzantine necropolis, where 163 hypogea graves were documented, thanks to recent archaeological campaigns financed by the Ministry of Culture (PAMES-Sirio Euphrates Middle Archaeological Project). This paper presents the research for obtaining three-dimensional (3D) models of graves, selected in the cemetery, by combining information (obtained from planimetric and photographic surveys of the site) with taxonomic features (types of arcosolia, vaults, accesses, stairways...). The 3D modelling process is carried out using data collected during the survey of the graves. These data are then used to restore the surfaces which cover the burial chambers dug out in the ground. The modelling technique was based on generating surfaces, incorporating the different sections and profiles obtained during the data collection phase. The surfaces generated enclose the volume of the dug-out space so that the definitive grave models were obtained using a simple Boolean operation, removing these volumes from a prism-shaped piece representing a portion of the land, thus emptying the interior. The result has provided a reliable and rigorous graphic basis for the design and printing of 3D mockups, contributing to the dissemination of the exhibition called "A retrospective on five years of archaeological activities in Syria".&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Highlights:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;p&gt;Contributing to Byzantine architecture classification in the Middle East, including specific case-studies, interesting both from archaeological and architectural research fields.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;p&gt;Experimenting and investigating tools for the study, representation and conservation of archaeological finds, combining 3D digital and 3D printing mockups.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;p&gt;Incorporating resources for promoting and disseminating archaeological and architectural heritage, raising awareness among local Syrian population and authorities, allowing them to rediscover their own heritage, often neglected.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;

Римська дипломатія у відносинах з Іраном у часи правління Юстиніана І (527-565)

У статті розкриваються особливості розвитку пізньоримської дипломатії Юстиніана І у відносинах з Сасанідським Іраном. Автор статті аналізує наступність дипломатичної традиції, що формувалась у Римській імперії від початку взаємодії з іранськими царями у ІІІ ст. Розглядається практика обміну посольствами у мирний і воєнний час, укладання угод та їх стандартні умови. Особлива увага приділяється ролі римських грошових субсидій, як стабілізаційного фактору у відносинах двох імперій. Автор також аналізує обставини укладання та зміст «Вічного миру» (532 р.) та «П’ятдесятилітнього миру» (562 р.).

An aspect of local lamp production in the western Pontic region: the case of lamps of types Hayes/Saraçhane 9 and 10

Clay oil lamps of type Hayes 9 were produced in large quantities in the eastern Roman ateliers and in Western Pontic workshops, which were responsible for making also lamps of type Hayes 8. A huge concentration of this production occurred in Constantinople and Halmiris. In the latter case, arguing in favor of this idea is the shape, fabric and chronology of the finds from the excavation of this Dobrodgean site. The Halmyris workshop complex is thus demonstrated to be an important lamp-producing centers, at least for the Black Sea region, during the reign of Justinian.

Review: Rome Resurgent: War and Empire in the Age of Justinian, by Peter Heather

Peter Heather, Rome Resurgent: War and Empire in the Age of Justinian . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018. xiii + 393 pp. ISBN 9780199362745. $29.95. Written with the characteristic pugilistic vim that has become the hallmark of his recent publications, Peter Heather's latest book is a political and military history of the reign of Justinian. The central aim of the book is to interrogate previous assumptions that instability caused by Justinian's storied military campaigns, and the strain that these campaigns placed on eastern imperial resources, eventually caused both the reversal of his military successes and, ultimately, the downfall of the eastern provinces in the face of Muslim conquest (pp. 7–9). Thus, the book attempts to provide a balance sheet for the successes and failures of Justinian's reign, primarily by focusing on the effectiveness and overall impact of his military policies. On the whole, Heather portrays Justinian as a political actor behaving in patterns that were well established for Roman emperors and, following a dominant theme from his previous work on the end of the western Roman Empire, he attributes the later contraction of the eastern Empire in the seventh century not to the long-term consequences of Justinian's policies, but to instabilities caused by “foreigners” (esp. pp. 3–6). Although the style and manner of citation indicate that the book was written primarily for a popular, non-academic audience, Heather's stance against a “revisionist discourse” (pp. 3–4) in academic interpretations of Justinian's reign suggests an academic audience was intended as well. Whether or not the book succeeds in its suitability for either a popular or academic audience is a subject to which this review will return in its conclusion. The book is organized into twelve chapters, including an introduction which attends to the preliminary business of framing Justinian's legacy in the wider context of modern studies of the sixth century, outlining some themes related to the exhaustion of western imperial power and explaining Heather's methodology for reading of …

Roma capta! – Uwagi na temat relacji o zdobyciu Rzymu w 410 i 455 r. w dziełach wybranych autorów późnoantycznych

In the presented article the author analyses depictions of sieges and capturesof Rome in the years 408-410 and 455 passed on by selected authors of Latin andGreek sources from the late antique. The scope of the research included sourcescontaining more extensive narratives, while sources containing only laconicannual information solely about the fact of capturing the city were rejected. Inthe depictions of the capture of Rome by Alaric in 410 the authors rather tendto seek supernatural reasons, and less often logical explanations of the origin ofthe events, contrary to the depictions of the year 455, where one can find almostexclusively rational justifications for the course of events, determined by politicalsituation. While discussing the events of the year 410 the authors oftentimescreate their own original digressions and allow for deviations from the historicreality. The relations about the year 455 are consistent and show only minor differences.Contrary to later opinions, the capture of Rome in 410 was not considereda gigantic tragedy outside Italy, although it was recognized as a breakthroughmoment. For the eastern historians these events are remote, taking place in landsfar from Constantinople and often their depiction is used to indicate the superiorityof the Eastern Empire over the Western Empire. Sacco di Roma by Genseric in455, which is referred more precisely and recognized as an element of significanthistory and politics of the East (Vandals corsair raids, Leo the Thracian’s expedition,recapturing Africa during the reign of Justinian I), is treated in an entirelydifferent manner.

Le siècle de Justinien d'après les ouvrages de H. Leppin, P. Maraval et G. Tate

Three recent biographies concern all aspects of Justinian's reign and may also be compared. Their authors have various research specialties, which allow a diversification of the points of view. This study follows the order of P. Maraval's book (2016), the most recent in French, while regularly appealing to those of G. Tate (2004, in French) and of H. Leppin (2011, in German). G. Tate's book is almost precious for the social structures, in particular the functioning of the administration and the army, as well as the demographical and economical evolutions. H. Leppin's work is noticeable by the analysis of numerous texts, almost to demonstrate the growing importance of Christianity to legitimate the powers. Finally, P. Maraval's book shows a great precision in examining theological and more broadly cultural questions.

유스티니아누스 통치 시기 유대인 박해

유스티니아누스 시기 유대인 박해와 관련하여 필자는 세 가지 점에 주안점을 두었다. 첫째, 유대인 박해와 관련하여 이미 공표된 법이 있었음에도 불구하고 왜 유사한 칙령들이 공표되었는가? 이는 단순히 황궁의 명령과 그 명령의 수행 다시 말해 제국의 칙령들이 실시되지 않거나 혹은 시행할 수 없는 것들이 있어 새롭게 공표했다고도 볼 수 있지만 필자가 위에서 살펴본바 이는 특히 기독교 중심의 절대주의를 이루기 위한 한 초석으로 활용하기 위해 칙령들을 공표하였다고 본다. 둘째, 유대인 박해가 상황에 따라 어떻게 달리 나타났는가? 그의 통치 초기에는 이교 박해의 한 부분으로 나타났으나, 팔레스타인에서 반란이 일어났을 때는 단순한 이교 박해가 아니라 반란이라는 죄목으로 단호하게 대처했다. 하지만 그 외의 지역에서는 유대교를 계속 존속시켰으며, 특수한 경우이기는 하지만 북아프리카에서는 회당을 병영으로 바꾸기도 했다. 셋째, 유대인들의 상업 활동과 그에 따른 박해문제는 어떠하였는가? 유대인들은 범지중해 네트워크를 형성하여 활발한 상업 활동을 하였다. 하지만 황제를 중심으로, 수도를 중심으로 하는 황제국부주의를 지향했던 유스티니아누스는 교역에 있어 관치를 중요시하였기 때문에 자연히 유대인들의 상업 활동을 제한할 필요가 있었다. 하지만 유스티니아누스 정부는 관치를 통해 세금을 고작 3% 정도 올리는 성과 밖에 거두지 못했기 때문에 유대인의 상업 활동에 대한 박해는 크다고 할 수 없다.

The Historiography of Crisis: Jordanes, Cassiodorus and Justinian in mid-sixth-century Constantinople

ABSTRACTThis article presents a new interpretation of the historiographical production of Jordanes by situating it in the political and social environment of Constantinople of the years 550–552. It argues that these years were a period of crisis in Justinian's reign and that this is reflected in the pessimistic view of Roman power and the critique of Justinian's military and religious policy we can see in Jordanes’Romana. If this prevents us from understanding Jordanes as a mouthpiece of the court, he cannot be reduced to a mere reproducer of Cassiodorus either: while there is more evidence for a close interaction between Jordanes and Cassiodorus (in particular the use of theHistoria Tripartitain theRomana) than usually adduced, this is balanced by Jordanes’ explicit attempts to keep his distance from the senator. If the latter can be explained by Jordanes’ much lower social and literary status and his Moesian rather than Italian origin, which made him only a marginal member of Cassiodorus’ circle in Constantinople, the agreement between both men is the result of a confluence of views caused by the turn of the Italian war in 540–550. Jordanes, then, appears as a unique voice in what must have been a polyphony of opinions in mid-sixth-century Constantinople.

Christliche Explikationen in der Gesetzgebung Justinians I.

Abstract:The paper examines the extent and role of Christian explications in Justinian’s imperial legislation – beyond the programmatic formulations in the prologues of the novels which have often been studied. It shows that the significance of Christian arguments in order to justify legal measures is rather limited and unspecific, while traditional arguments which are based on Roman law discourse are still of great importance. These are often neither transformed in a Christian way nor synthesized with Christian ideas. This is true for the whole reign of Justinian and thereby not restricted to the period of Tribonian. Since 541/542 A. D. there is just a gradual but not fundamental change in this respect. Though Justinian focuses very much on a theological foundation of his reign he has to meet the expectations of the members of the senatorial elite which are legally trained and often deeply rooted in Roman memorial culture.

PLAGA JUSTYNIANA. CESARSTWO WOBEC EPIDEMII

JUSTINIANIC PLAGUE. ROMAN EMPIRE TOWARDS THE EPIDEMIC Summary The first certain epidemic of pestilences was so called “the Justinianic Plague” that had broken out in VI century in the Byzantine Empire and lasted through two centuries. It is recognized that in the years of 541-750 there had been eighteen strikes of pestilences. Two waves of the plague took place during the reign of Justinian. The first one broke out in Pelusium in 541, the second – in 558. The Justinianic Plague was recognized as bubonic plague indeed since one of its main symptom was bubo. Such a diagnosis was confirmed by the World Health Organization. It is estimated that in the time of the outbreak had been dying 10.000 of people every day and had died 25 million in total resulting in decreasing the population of ¼. In XX century there had been theories (Ch. Duncan, S. Scott) that the outbreak in the Justinian Times was not caused by bubonic plague but by its virus variation. However, the thesis of Duncan and Scott has not been shared by the contemporary science. The most basic rules against spreading the diseases have not been known by the ancient Romans. However, the Emperor had taken steps in order to decrease the effects of the outbreak by implementing the medical rules in regards to proceedings of burring the bodies. He set up a referendarius to be responsible for this task and provided him with money and personnel. In 544 Justinian issued an edict (Nov. 122) in which he claimed that the pestilences had ended. But generally, Justinian’s legislation demonstrates rather little interest for the situation caused by the plague.

Pogańskie idee polityczne w chrześcijańskim świecie. Władza, jej granice i źródła legitymizacji w ocenie autora dialogu περι πολιτικησ επιστημεσ (De scientia politica)

De scientia politica was written in the form of a Platonist dialogue and constituted a political and philosophical theory of a state and its ruling king or emperor. The writing was created in the 6th century A.D., during the reign of Justinian I. The information about its existence had been known from a short note in Photios Library, long before its parts were found and published in 1827. The author – excellently educated and continuing the Platonist and Neo-Platonist tradition – preferred to remain anonymous, despite some at­tempts of identification. The work is highly intellectual, addressed to educated readers, capable of understanding sophisticated literary references and allusions. The author’s effort to give it a scholarly character is clearly visible. Book IV was devoted to military affairs, whereas Book V – to imperial power, where the author discussed the problem of its origin, limitations, principles of choosing a ruler and ruler’s obligations. While expressing the principles which a 6th century ruler (i.e. already a Christian ruler) should obey, the author makes references to the Greek and Roman writers – Homer, Plato and Neo-Platonists, Cicero, Seneca, Titus Liv­ius and others. The Persian model was not alien to him either and it is not always clear if he took from the pagan or the Christian heritage. Frequent references to the predecessors’ thought do not mean that the author of De Scientia politica uncritically took over all of their views. He rather selected from the antique heritage what he thought to be current and at the same time he tried to adjust his work to the reality of a 6th century world. The work, albeit pre­served only in fragments is, according to P. N. Bell: „the only surviving example of a Neo-Platonic political theory outside the Arab world”.

BİLECİK MÜZESİ'NDEKİ BİZANS BRONZ SİKKELERİ

The Coin Collection of the Bilecik Museum contains 742 ancient and Islamic coins. The subject of this article is 147 Byzantine coins which were recorded through a study carried out in the Bilecik Museum in 2013. Of these 147 coins, 81 coins are gold (a hoard), 65 coins are bronze and 1 coin is billion. Byzantine gold coins in the museum are from the reign of Justinian I (527-65), Justin II (565-78), Maurice (582-602) and Phocas (602-10). Bronze coins are dated to Anastasius I (491-518) and Manuel I Komnenos (1143-1180) periods. Although the number of Byzantine coins in the museum is less than sufficient for a general assessment, the data provided by this collection is important for scholars to understand the circulation of Byzantine coins in Anatolia.

A millennium of Belgrade (sixth-sixteenth centuries): A short overview

This paper gives an overview of the history of Belgrade from the reign of Justinian I (527-565), i.e. the time of Slavic settlement, to the Ottoman conquest in 1521. The millennium can be divided into three thematic and chronological units: the Byzantine era (up to 1204), the Serbian era and, finally, the Ottoman era (fifteenth-sixteenth centuries). Within the Byzantine cultural orbit, and especially during the twelfth century, the city played a major role in the relations between the Byzantine Empire and Hungary. Byzantine emperors sojourned in Belgrade on multiple occasions. The city reached its peak during the reign of Despot Stefan in the early fifteenth century. After his death in 1427, the Ottoman threat cast its shadow over the city. Its inhabitants, the Serbs, defended Belgrade for almost a century (1427-1521), thus defending the whole of Central Europe. Belgrade?s fall into the Ottoman hands was followed by the demise of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1526. Even Vienna was threatened by the Ottomans, in 1529.

Justinian's Corpus Juris Civilis in Comparative Perspective: Illuminating Key Differences between the Civil, Common, and Chinese Legal Traditions

ABSTRACT In commissioning and promulgating his famous Digest—part of his sixth-century legal compilation known as the Corpus Juris Civilis—the Emperor Justinian helped ensure that continental European law would be horizontal, written, scholarly, and historical. The Digest, drawing from classical Roman law, lay dormant for several centuries following Justinian's reign but then reemerged in the eleventh century to confirm those four characteristics. Significantly, it is that very combination of four characteristics that sharply distinguishes continental European law from both traditional Chinese law and English common law.