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Justinian - the last true Roman, the man who reconquered the West and brought glory back to the Roman empire, in an epic tale of reconquest.
Examines how Justinian built absolute power in three stages: eliminating rivals via the Nika riots, controlling his domains and administration, and winning his subjects through religion and building p
Key Takeaways
- Justinian's internal consolidation of power arguably mattered as much as, or more than, his external conquests.
- The Nika riots are presented as a possibly engineered event that eliminated rivals and weakened the senate and demes.
- Administrative and legal reforms, including checks on governors, were used to centralize control and reduce corruption.
- Religion, architecture, and imperial symbolism were deliberate tools for legitimizing and unifying imperial rule.
What the video covers
- Justinian rose from humble origins as a migrant to Constantinople, aided by his uncle Justin, who became emperor through his role in the palace guard.
- The video frames Justinian's power as operating on three levels: eliminating internal enemies, controlling domains and resources, and winning the hearts and minds of his people.
- The presenter argues, based on Geoffrey Greatrex's 1997 study, that Justinian may have deliberately allowed or staged the Nika riots to purge rivals, the demes, and senators.
- Hypatius, nephew of Anastasius, was proclaimed emperor by the mob and then executed, removing a prime rival for the throne.
- The massacre in the hippodrome, reportedly around 30,000 dead, is presented as a decisive act that set a precedent against opposing Justinian's rule.
- Administrative reforms aimed to curb corruption by strengthening provincial judges (defensores civitatis) and checking governors' powers through public posting of orders and oversight.
- Fiscal management, including Egyptian revenues funding the Libyan frontier, is discussed as part of maximizing output from the empire's domains.
- Religious policy is examined, including attempts to compromise with the Monophysites and the use of imperial symbolism and grand architecture to project divine authority.
- The video's central thesis is that Justinian's domestic consolidation preceded and enabled his western reconquests, which are often remembered more prominently.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction: Justinian's Reputation and the Three Levels of Power
- 01:34Justinian's Rise from Migrant to Emperor
- 03:08Motives and Evidence for the Nika Riots
- 05:31The Hippodrome Massacre and Elimination of Rivals
- 08:20Administrative Reforms and Curbing Governors
- 13:00Fiscal Control of Provinces and Revenue
- 17:20Religious Policy and Monophysite Compromise
- 21:40Architecture, Symbolism, and Winning the People
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
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This is what Justinian is mostly remembered for - perhaps justifiably, since conquests of such magnitude rarely remained unnoticed. However, when searching deeper, these achievements seem less and less impressive when compared to what Justnian had to achieve in the interior
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before advancing on the exterior. Absolute power within the state needed to be acquired first.
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For every ruler, including Justinian, after assuming the government’s highest position, power can be analyzed on three levels, that separate figureheads from actual leaders: The first level is the one concerning the internal enemies - their extermination is essential for the ruler to move forward with any of his plans.
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The second level, after securing the ability of decision making, is the control over his own terrains - to what degree does the ruler, and the state by extension benefit by possessing the domains and resources it does?
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Most rulers usually struggle with those first two steps - but not Justinian. He was able to advance on the third and hardest step - control of the hearts and minds of his people - a feat much harder in an era before mass media and fast communications.
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In this video we will examine how Justinian managed to build his absolute power on those three levels: how he ruthlessly eliminated his enemies through the Nika riots, how he micromanaged his domains for maximal output, and finally how he used religion and symbolisms to gain the will of his people,
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all in all becoming one of the most powerful and effective rulers of the pre modern era.
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Justinian was a native of the western Balkans who arrived in Constantinople as an economic migrant, along with his uncle Justin. The capital of the empire was rapidly growing in size at that point, probably reaching a population of half a million. Within this crowd, slowly but steadily Justin
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managed to rise through the ranks of the imperial elite, becoming a member of the Excubitores, the palace guard. As the influence of his uncle grew, he sponsored the education of young Justinian and introduced him to the political, military and scholarly elite of the time.
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The position of Justin as the head of the palace guard eventually secured his rise to the throne - not without first sidestepping the nephews of the previous emperor, Anastasius.
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With his uncle on the throne, Justinian took a more and more active part in the administration and surrounded himself with capable people of the era, like John the Cappadocian - a man with a great administrative vision - and Tribonian, the chief architect of the codification of laws
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under Justinian. The nine years of Justin’s rule served as a preparation stage for Justinian, who in 527 assumed charge of the empire. One can thus imagine the ideal conditions under which Justinian became emperor. A 45 - year - old with extensive experience
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in politics, broad education and a handpicked board of advisors. This all begs the question: how could this powerful administrative body almost allow for its own destruction by the angry mob of Constantinople, during the Nika riots? In our point of view, this would be Justinian’s gamble to attain the first level of internal power.
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In the theory that we would like to present, based on factual data taken from Geoffrey Greatrex’s study (published in the Journal for Hellenic studies in 1997), we claim that the emperor could have staged the Nika riots to benefit from exposing
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his potential enemies while clearing the way for the transformation of the empire in his own image. The motives behind such an act would be the following: The capital had been overflooded with migrants from the imperial interior - thousands of men
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in search for better lives. Most of them wouldn't have been as lucky as Justinian. Those “excess” men would often cause trouble within the city, as attested. A massacre of the likes of the Nika riots would help getting rid of them. The aforementioned young men would be in great
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part absorbed by the demes, those are athletic unions supporting charioteering teams, with great influence in politics. The influx of men in the capital would increase their power, as the newcomers acted as urban militias, imposing their will on imperial policies. Defeating the demes in
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a straight up confrontation within the capital would greatly increase Justinian’s prestige. Next, even though there was no clear inheritance system within the empire, Anastasius' nephews would be prime contenders for usurpation. Even if they never attempted something on their own, they
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would be the first pick of anyone trying to depose the emperor. This is what actually happened during the riots, leading to the execution of Hypatius after he was proclaimed emperor by the mob.
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Additionally, all hidden enemies that the emperor may have had, found the perfect opportunity to put forth their plans. That was the case with many senators - they were exposed during the riots and then faced the consequences. The power of the senate
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was considerably diminished after the Nika riots. Last but not least, any destruction caused by the rioters would be used as an excuse by Justinian to rebuild parts of the city in his own vision.
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After establishing the motives for staging the nika riots, we must examine the evidence. First and foremost Justinian and his advisors would be fairly capable of stopping the riots even before any violence occurred. There were certain techniques with which peace in the capital was always secured - chief amongst them,
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the emperor would support one of the two main demes, blue or green, in order for the violence to be directed against the benefited deme instead of the government.
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Secondly, even when violence slowly commenced, Justinian could have given in to the crowd’s demands. What they requested initially was just the release of two deme members - one blue and one green, who had been condemned to death due to violence but miraculously survived. Pardoning them
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would not make the emperor lose face, since he could claim it was God’s will for them to survive.
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Thirdly, the riot was taking place slowly, within the span of a week. The imperial guard was stationed within the city, and even if it was against the rioters from time to time, it did not fully commit until the last day. There lies the final key piece of evidence.
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On the final day, the rioters finally proclaimed Hypatius, one of Anastasius' nephews, as emperor - inside the hippodrome itself. Hypatius, along with other members of the Government, was essentially hiding in the imperial palace under Justinian during the riots,
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possibly having no aspirations for the throne. It was during the previous days however that the rioters had searched for a usurper against Justinian - Probus, also a nephew of Anastasius, was their initial pick. But probus was not found by the mob, so a new candidate was needed.
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Releasing Hypatius and his brother Pompeius from the Palace would serve the mob perfectly. In the previous days, the emperor had asked for an end of the violence by holding the gospel in his hands - that was already too late, as the riots had spiraled out of control. On the last
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day of the riots, everything was set up in place: the rioters packed in the hippodrome, led now by Hypatius, proclaimed him emperor in that exact spot, while the emperor had already proven his moral high ground by appealing to the crowd - even
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if deliberately late. The only just course of action at this point was the order to slaughter everyone within the hippodrome. In this tight battlefield, Belisarius’s armoured men would have a tremendous advantage, leading to the indiscriminate slaughter of 30.000 men.
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Thus Justinian achieved his first goal - elimination of his internal enemies, setting a precedent for whoever would dare to oppose his rule. The unruly crowd was decimated, the demes weakened, the senate lost much of its power and any potential usurpers were killed
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among the crowd. This triumph of the emperor would allow him an unprecedented freedom of movement.
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After the Nika riots in 532, Justinian was free to expand the empire in the interior. His goal would be to maximize the income of the imperial household, that would in turn be used to fund his external campaigns, without increasing taxes, as he knew this would disrupt production in the
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long run, but rather through making sure that law was applied - essentially minimizing corruption.
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Secondarily, he would make sure that imperial lands would be administered in the most efficient way possible. First, within Constantinople order after the Nika riots would be restored with the appointment of two officials: the Praetor of the people and the
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Quaestor. The first one would be responsible to quell any public disorder and would be answerable to both the urban praefect - essentially the city mayor, and the emperor in person - thus Justinian would exercise extra control on the city. The Quaestor would assist the Praetor
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but his task would be more specific, as he would act as an immigration controller: new economic migrants would be refused entry in the City and beggars would be put to work, if capable. Thus, the development of a new mob, like the one that would lead to the Nika riots would be impossible.
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Within the provinces, the new legislation would concern two existing posts: the Defensores Civitatis and the regional Governors. The aims of the reforms in these positions would be to reduce the freedom of governors to prevent them from evading taxes and favor their own people.
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For this, the power of the defensores Civitatis, basically provincial judges, was increased so that they could control the governors’ power. More specifically, they could now preside over trials where the amount in question was up to 300 solidi instead of 50,
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making them more important in the administration of the province. Additionally, they were to report to Justinian the actions of the governors, basically helping the emperor “to keep an eye on them”, while also issuing fiscal documents and persecuting pagans and heretics in the region.
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Governors on their part would be now prohibited from purchasing governorships, even if the sums they were providing before were huge, as in the long run, the emperor acknowledged that more tax revenue would be acquired if the taxes were paid as the government intended and not as
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the governor pleased, lowering the incentive for power hungry men to rise to the positions of governorship. Still, an entry fee would be required. Additionally governors would also be overseen by bishops in addition to the Defensores civitatis, to limit their actions
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even more. Their own duties on the other hand included making sure that peasants would not forcibly work as agricultural laborers of wealthy aristocrats and civilians would not carry arms.
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Finally, when Governors were to receive the office in a province they would have to hold a meeting with other public officials and post the orders that they received in public places in major and minor cities within the region. All these reforms would keep the governors in check, limiting their
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opportunities for corruption and eventually lead to a regulated and increased tax revenue. The laws mentioned before would concern all the provinces of the empire - however the emperor also issued specific laws concerning certain provinces. For example, in Pisidia, the governor was tasked
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to perform internal campaigns against the populous and unruly cities of the region. In Lycaonia, Hellenopolis and Paphlagonia reforms were issued to curtail corruption even more - the regions would now be called praefectures Justiniani, taking the name of the emperor, in purpose of
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course. In Cappadocia, much of the land would be assigned as an estate directly funding the imperial household - Cappadocia was famed for its horses and would thus prove valuable as a source for mounts for the cavalry. Next, in unruly or border provinces like Palestine and Arabia,
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the civil and military command would be separated to better administer local crises. Egypt, one of the wealthiest imperial provinces, would be broken down into several administrative units in order to produce maximal output, but its military command would remain unified. The officials in those
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smaller divisions would be tasked with collecting a set amount of money or else they would be subjected to punishment. Much of the revenue from Egypt would in turn be spent on the defence of the Libyan frontier, by funding garissons there. Other provinces with significant revenues,
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like Cyclades, Cyprus or Caria would have their revenues be spent on less fortunate provinces like the Balkans. Additionally, after the reconquests of Belisarius, the new provinces would also be assigned specific status, like it was the case for Sicily, whose entire
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income would be used as a personal imperial fund. After imposing the new reforms, Justinian would now control the populace of Constantinople tightly with the new capital officials, so that his powerbase would be completely stable. Next, the governors of his vast provinces would
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essentially be his own tightly controlled employees, in an organization that greatly resembles a totalitarian state of recent eras. Finally, the empire would be run centrally - each province would help build a strong empire - in contrast to later feudal systems where each
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governor’s goal would be the prosperity of his own province. Against all odds, Justinian created a modern state in the early medieval era, a state that he controlled in the grip of his hand.
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In a totalitarian state however, the head of government is hated, or at least feared - and thus on the first sign of his weakness, his subjects would attempt to revolt.
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Justinian was certainly aware of that, and thus embarked on his hardest challenge yet: to convince his subjects that he built heaven on Earth, a heaven with his own signature.
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But one man’s heaven is another man’s hell - thus the first step of his plan would focus on just that: that all the subjects have the same interpretation of Heaven.
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Justinian heavily favoured the Nicene - Orthodox creed as public officials and positions of power could only be assumed by men of the leading dogma, while at the same time he prosecuted all other forms of religion. The remnants of the old pagan ways were heavily
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injured by the closing of the Academy of Athens, while heretics like Arians and Nestorians and religious beliefs like Manicheism were persecuted. Religious minorities like the Samaritans, and to certain extent Jews, were also hunted down. The strongest religious group outside of imperial
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acceptance, the Monophysites, could not be dealt with force, thus Justinian attempted to compromise and bring them closer to the orthodox creed, in one of his failed projects. Nevertheless, in Justinian’s time, the empire stood more religiously united than ever, even if by force.
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Now that the matter of the subject's religion was being settled, it remained for the emperor to assume the ultimate status within this new faith, equal to the Biblical king Solomon.
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Agia Sophia, the church of God’s Holy wisdom was something much more than a simple church. Built on the ruins of the city of Constantine, Agia Sophia rose to the size of a hill inside Constantinople, visible to a traveller even from a great distance. To a provincial man,
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or even a foreign traveller, this would be the most impressive building he would have ever seen, larger than any church or temple and much more elaborate - even if smaller - than the pyramids of Giza. But the true magnificence of the building would be hidden inside. Its spectacular interior
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would have been the single largest interior space of the era, a space illuminated by windows on the base of the huge sky-like dome, a space with the intense aroma of incense and an acoustic that allowed for carefully constructed hymns to echo like angel’s voices, would have given a visitor
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the impression of entering not in a regular building, but in the residence of God on Earth.
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Truly, to the regular visitor, Justinian had not just beaten king Solomon, he set a new standard for religious architecture for the next millenia. Hagia Sophia was definitely the most impressive, but it was by far not the only monumental project issued by the emperor. He commissioned the
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buildings of several more churches around the capital, like Sergius and Bacchus, and also the impressive water reservoir known as the Basilica cistern. The provinces would also benefit. Religious buildings like the Jerusalem Nea church of Theotokos, to the San Vitale Basilica in Ravenna where the famous mosaic of the emperor can still be seen
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today, the Monastery of Saint Catherine in the Sinai Peninsula amongst others would increase the emperor’s perceived piety and generosity among his subjects. Additionally to all these, Justinian also constructed a series of fortifications in the Balkan frontiers, renovated the Hexamilion
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wall at the entrance of the Peloponnese, issued the building of the impressive Sangarios bridge in Anatolia and last but not least, he seems to have not forgotten his roots, as he built, close to his birthplace, the city of Justiniana Prima, a completely new settlement bearing his name.
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No matter where his subjects lived, there was now no excuse: the emperor’s name and legacy were all around. Wherever Justinian’s watchful eye could not reach, his building projects and religious policy made sure that it was felt across the land.
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Justinian managed to climb the ladders of power more efficiently than any other ruler of the premodern world - a fact that is usually overshadowed by his most impressive campaigns of reconquest, as well as by events later in his rule that partially weakened the
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state. Justinian inherited an empire ruled by powerful factions: senators, hippodrome demes and provincial governors, all exerting their influence around the empire to accumulate profit and status.
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Justinian redirected this entire flow towards the center - a center that worked towards gaining even more power, control, legitimacy and prestige for the emperor. An emperor that not only transformed his domains, but even defined an entire era in his image, essentially transforming the empire
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of Augustus and Constantine into the empire of Justinian, a state that would survive for the next thousand years, a state that would at least temporarily reverse the cultural, military and administrative downturn that the roman empire was facing for the last centuries.
Topics:JustinianByzantine EmpireNika riotsConstantinopleHypatiusLate AntiquityByzantine historyimperial administrationMonophysitescentralization of power
