Early in Justinian’s reign the treasury was hit by a number
of large demands for monies; not just bread and circuses. The government
provided support for cities struck by earthquake, helping survivors – Antioch
in 528 AD and Laodicea in the following year. A war with Persia swallowed up
men and money until peace was agreed in 531 AD. The peace required a tribute of
11,000 lbs of gold per annum to the Persians. In addition Justinian commenced a
lavish building programme.
This expenditure was funded by taxes. A reorganisation of
the tax collection system provided economies of scale and increased revenue. To
provide funds for the increase expenditure new taxes had to be invented and for
the first time the rich too had to pay. Centralisation of government reduced
the power of local officials.
Unfortunately the man Justinian placed in charge of the
reforms, John of Cappodocia, although an extremely able official, was also
morally depraved. He imprisoned, flogged and even tortured those he suspected
of under-declaring or hiding their wealth. His ‘private’ life was viewed with
contempt by his contemporaries and he was seen as a glutton, drunkard and
debauchee.
By 532 AD John of Cappodocia was the most hated man in the
empire; but his bad reputation was closely matched by that of the Quaestor of
the Sacred Palace. Tribonian, who was the most senior law officer of the
government, was a pagan and corrupt; prepared to sell justice to the highest
bidder. He was a charming and erudite man, whose breadth of knowledge may have
attracted the emperor’s attention.
Justinian wanted Tribonian to undertake a re-codification of
Roman law. The new Codex was completed in fourteen months and by mid-April 529
AD was in force throughout the empire. A year later a second commission under
Tribonian began a second codification.
The Nika Riots
The first five years of Justinian’s reign created the
emperor a lot of enemies. He dispensed with the support of the Blue faction and
now both the Blue and Green factions found themselves being brutally suppressed.
In 532 AD after races at the Hippodrome the two factions
came to blows and Justinian sent in the troops. Seven of the ringleaders were
condemned to death, but two of the seven were found to be alive after the
bodies were brought down from the scaffold; one Blue and one Green. The two men
were rescued by a group of monk and taken to sanctuary, where the City prefect
decided to starve them out, placing the buildings under guard.
The crowd at the next meeting at the Hippodrome chanted the
word ‘Nika’[i] over and over again. The
games were abandoned in disarray and the mob spilled out into the streets where
they commenced by setting fire to the City Prefect’s palace and freeing all the
prisoners.
The second night of rioting called for the dismissal of the
City prefect and John of Cappodocia. By the fifth day the mob were demanding a
new emperor and Justinian faced them down at the Hippodrome, taking full blame
for the disturbances and promising an amnesty for all who had taken part in the
riots.
The mob were still calling for a new emperor, crowning one
of Emperor Anastasius’ nephews Hypatius. Justinian was meanwhile arranging for
the court to leave the capital. It was now that Theodora intervened.
‘Every
man born into the light of day must sooner or later die. And how could an
emperor ever allow himself to be a fugitive?’[ii]
Two generals, Belisaurus and Mundus were authorised to use
arms to restore order. With assistance from the Commander of the Imperial
Bodyguard Narses; the soldiers slaughtered the crowds at the Hippodrome. On
Theodora’s order Hypatius and his brother were executed, to avoid the risk of
their being used in any future revolt. Within a few weeks Justinian had
reinstated both the City Prefect and John of Cappodocia.
After the riots large swathes of Constantinople required
rebuilding and Justinian already in his fifties, wanted to see the buildings
completed in his lifetime.
Expansion
Justinian believed not only in one church, but also in one
empire. His goal was the recovery f the empire lost in the west; he considered
it his Christian duty. The empire’s most talented general, Belisaurus, had
already inflicted defeat on the Persians to the east. He was now ready to take
an army to Africa. Belisaurus’s main liability was his wife Antonina, a friend
of Theodora’s. The two had shared a similar lifestyle when young and Antonina
had borne several children, in and out of wedlock. Belisaurus took her with him
on campaign, possibly as the best method of keeping her under some control.
Procopius was not impressed with Antonina
‘So
it was already her intention to be unfaithful from the start. She took great
care to conceal this business, not because her conduct gave her any qualms, or
because she stood in any fear of her spouse - she never felt the slightest
shame for any action whatever, and thanks to her regular use of magic she could
twist her husband round her little finger – but because she dreaded the
vengeance of the empress; for Theodora was only to ready to rage at her and
bare her teeth. But by assisting her in matters of exceptional importance she
quickly brought her to heel.’[iii]
Belisaurus
In under three months Belisaurus captured Carthage from the Vandals. Their prince was not killed and he rallied his remaining forces taking to the field again in early December 533 AD. On the 1115th Belisaurus defeated the Vandals and took the Vandal city of Hippo, along with the Royal Treasury. Belisaurus was awarded a triumph; the first person not a member of the imperial family to be awarded one for over a century. Justinian and Theodora received the submission of the Vandal prince in the Hippodrome.
Justinian’s eyes had now turned westwards to where the
Ostrogoths ruled as nominal Viceroys for the emperor. Justinian had been in
contact with Amalasuntha, the mother of the young king; she had come to an
agreement with Justinian as the Ostrogoth nobles had removed her son from her
care. After the death of her son she was imprisoned by her cousin Theodahad’s
nobles[iv] and Justinian wrote to
the Ostrogoth court demanding her release, promising to intervene in Ostrogoth
affairs if this was not done. In under three months Belisaurus captured Carthage from the Vandals. Their prince was not killed and he rallied his remaining forces taking to the field again in early December 533 AD. On the 1115th Belisaurus defeated the Vandals and took the Vandal city of Hippo, along with the Royal Treasury. Belisaurus was awarded a triumph; the first person not a member of the imperial family to be awarded one for over a century. Justinian and Theodora received the submission of the Vandal prince in the Hippodrome.
Theodora meanwhile had written to Theodahad assuring him
that Justinian would be happy if Theodahad had his cousin put out of the way.
It is not known whether this letter was part of a plan organised between
Justinian and Theodora; or as Procopius suggests, that the empress was
motivated by jealousy of an intelligent and cultivated woman, who she may have
viewed as a threat.
‘Theodora
reflected that the woman was an aristocrat and a queen, besides being extremely
attractive in appearance and as swift as lightning to find means to her ends,
and being suspicious of her splendid and extraordinarily masculine bearing, the
fickle spirit of her own husband giving her further cause for alarm.’[v]
Justinian sent General Mundus to occupy Dalmatia. Mundus was
killed in battle, while Belisaurus took Sicily without much opposition. At this
point Belisaurus was called back to Africa to deal with a mutiny in the
Imperial Army of Occupation.
It was not until spring 536 AD that Belisaurus was able to
begin campaigning on the Italian mainland. After a siege Naples was taken and
then sacked. Theodahad was blamed by the Goths for failing to relieve the city.
It was believed that he had been bribed by Justinian to betray his country;
while the Imperial Army sets its sights on Rome. Theodahad had already accepted
one bribe from Justinian and failed to deliver on his promise and now he was
deposed by the tribal elders. Theodohad fled but was caught and executed at
Ravenna.
Belisaurus spent the summer and autumn consolidating his
grip on southern Italy; moving northwards in December to occupy Rome. The Goth
garrisons marched out of the city as the Imperial army marched in. The Goths,
as expected, returned to lay siege to the city; but Belisaurus had organised
his troops to repair the city walls and commandeer supplies.
The siege lasted 373 days and the Goths commenced by cutting
all the aqueducts; which provided not only the majority of the city’s water, but
also provided the power to grind corn for bread, the staple food of the masses.
The siege was raised after a contingent of Belisaurus’s men
took the town of Ariminum, two hundred miles to the Goths’ rear. A truce in
November, for peace terms to be considered by Justinian, had allowed a reprovisioning
of the city. In mid-March 538 AD the Goth troops withdrew and Belisaurus and
his men fell on the retreating army, leaving large numbers of Goth troops dead,
some drowned in the Tiber’s spring flood. A few days later Belisaurus set out
to conquer the north.
Bibliography
Byzantium – The Early Centuries – John Julius Norwich, Folio
Society 2003
The Secret History – Procopius – Folio Society 1990En.wikipedia.org
[i] Win; this was normally followed by the name of the faction being supported. In this instance the crowd continually chanted the single word nika.
Being of eclectic tastes, I know more about Amalsuentha and the Goths than I do about Byzantium, so looking at it from the other angle is fascinating.
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