Introduction

Abstract

In the reign of the Emperor Justinian, the Late Roman Empire of the East had something of a rebirth (if not a renaissance in the sense of the word used by most historians today). In the capital city of the empire, Constantinople, Justinian built the Hagia Sophia, the church dedicated to the holy wisdom, which still stands above the Golden Horn in Istanbul. Justinian saw the church as a visible expression of his piety, and of his desire to unite the various theological factions of Eastern Christianity behind his own version of Orthodoxy. Along with the church and many other visible works of architecture, Justinian commissioned the compilation, editing and rationalization of the many strands of Roman law and created many important laws of his own (Watts, 2004). The Code of Justinian, like the Hagia Sophia, is one of Justinian’s lasting monuments. More fleetingly, Justinian sent his ships into the Mediterranean and beyond to the lost Roman Empire of the West, where his soldiers retook the provinces of Africa, Italy and part of Spain. For a moment, with the defeat of the Italian Goths, it looked as if the Roman Empire was to be reunited and refreshed by the success of Justinian’s generals.