Byzantine Empire

The 6th century: from East Rome to Byzantium

The 6th century opened, in effect, with the death of Anastasius and the accession of the Balkan soldier who replaced him, Justin I (ruled 518–527). During most of Justin’s reign, actual power lay in the hands of his nephew and successor, Justinian I. The following account of these more than 40 years of Justinian’s effective rule is based upon the works of Justinian’s contemporary, the historian Procopius. The latter wrote a laudatory account of the Emperor’s military achievements in his Polemon (Wars) and coupled it in his Anecdota (Secret History) with a venomous threefold attack upon the Emperor’s personal life, the character of the empress Theodora, and the conduct of the empire’s internal administration. Justinian’s reign may be divided into three periods: (1) an initial age of conquest and cultural achievement extending until the decade of the 540s; (2) 10 years of crisis and near disaster during the 540s; and (3) the last decade of the reign, in which mood, temper, and social realities more nearly resembled those to be found under Justinian’s successors than those prevailing throughout the first years of his own reign.

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