Justin I

Justin I
Golden coin depicting Justin I
Solidus of Justin I marked:
d·n· iustinus p·p· aug·
Byzantine emperor
Reign9 July 518 – 1 August 527
Coronation10 July 518[a]
PredecessorAnastasius I
SuccessorJustinian I
Co-emperorJustinian I (from 1 April 527)
Bornc. 450
Bederiana, Eastern Roman Empire
Died1 August 527 (aged 77)
Constantinople, Eastern Roman Empire
SpouseEuphemia
IssueJustinian I (adoptive)
Names
Iustinus[b]
Regnal name
Imperator Caesar Flavius Iustinus Augustus
DynastyJustinian
ReligionChalcedonian Christianity

Justin I (Latin: Iustinus; Greek: Ἰουστῖνος, translit. Ioustînos; c. 450 – 1 August 527), also called Justin the Thracian (Latin: Iustinus Thrax; Greek: Ἰουστῖνος ὁ Θρᾷξ, translit. Ioustînos ho Thrâix),[7] was Eastern Roman emperor from 518 to 527. Born to a peasant family, he rose through the ranks of the army to become commander of the imperial guard and when Emperor Anastasius I Dicorus died, he out-maneouvered his rivals and was elected as his successor, in spite of being around 68 years old. His reign is significant for the founding of the Justinian dynasty that included his eminent nephew, Justinian I, and three succeeding emperors. His consort was Empress Euphemia.

He was noted for his strongly orthodox Christian views. This facilitated the ending of the Acacian schism between the churches of Rome and Constantinople, resulting in good relations between Justin and the papacy. Throughout his reign, he stressed the religious nature of his office and passed edicts against various Christian groups seen at the time as non-Orthodox. In foreign affairs, he used religion as an instrument of state. He endeavoured to cultivate client states on the borders of the Empire, and avoided any significant warfare until late in his reign.

  1. ^ Martindale, Jones & Morris 1980.
  2. ^ Zacharias of Mytilene VIII, 1.
  3. ^ John Malalas XVII,1; Evagrius Scholasticus IV,1; Chronicon Paschale 518.
  4. ^ Constantine VII (c. 956), De Ceremoniis, I 93.
  5. ^ Walsh, Robert (1839). Constantinople and the Scenery of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor. British Library: Fisher, Son & Co. p. xxix.
  6. ^ Bury, John Bagnell (1958). History of the Later Roman Empire: From the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian, Volume 2. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications Incorporated. ISBN 0-486-20399-9.
  7. ^ Joannes Zonaras (c. 1140), Epitome, XIV 5.


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