Emperor Justinian
THE STORY OF JUSTINIAN'S REIGN
Justinian 1
After Constantine died, his sons ruled the empire. First to ascend to the throne was a general named Julian and then by a series of other emperors. In 527, a Macedonian named Justinian became emperor. He married Theodora, an actress who had a much greater influence on the Byzantine government than other empresses. He was a strong ruler, is considered the greatest Byzantine emperor, and an autocrat: a ruler with complete authority.
Justinian's Code
Justinian had studied laws made by other emperors, but decided that the old legal system was too complicated and disorganized. He chose ten men to work out a better system, lead by a legal scholar named Tribonian. After studying the existing laws, they did away with those that were not needed. They organized and rewrote the remaining laws. In six years, this became known as the Justinian Code.
Byzantium Flourishes under Justinian
Hagia Sophia
Justinian's greatest triumpth was rebuilding the Hagia Sophia, which means "Holy Wisdom." The interior glowed with coloured marble and embroidered silk curtains.
Economic and Military Strength
The Byzantine Empire flourished under a strong central government, which exercised strict control over a prosperous economy. Trade and industry flourished in the cities. At the same time, the Byzantines built one of the strongeset military forces in the world.
Rights for Women
Byzantine women had greater protection of their rights by law in regard to property, divorce, and children. Only the poorest women could not read and write and the status of a women was actually high and not among the nobility.
Difference between East and West
The Great Schism
During the Middle Ages, the two branches of Christianity grew farther apart. They fought over the use of icons. The Byzantine Christians used icons of Jesus, Mary and other saints. From the west, the pope joined in dispute by condemning the Byzantine emperor. This left restrictions against the pope in Byzantine. In 1054, other controversies provoked a schism, or split, between th eastern and western Christianity.
Art and Learning
Art includes mosaics, painting and some forms of jewelry-making. Women were more educated in the Byzantine empire, even if they were not noble.