Justinian Religion

The Roman Empire influenced the Byzantine Empire’s culture, mainly through the religion of Christianity. Christianity first appeared in the Roman Empire, with the birth, teachings, and supposed resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the beginning years of it’s arrival, Christianity was not tolerated and Christians were mainly, and most often brutally prosecuted. However, with Constantine’s Edict of Milan, Christianity was officially tolerated, and under Theodosius, it became the official religion of the Roman Empire. The Byzantine Empire inherited this relatively new religion, continuing to follow the beliefs and traditions of the church, as well as spreading the word of Jesus Christ and the message of god. Churches sprung up in the empire, such as the mighty Hagia Sophia. Located in Constantinople and built by Justinian, this church especially exemplified

During rule of Emperor Justinian of the Eastern Roman Empire, a cycle of recurring plagues started in the year 541 A.D. This plague cycle would disappear and reappear in roughly eleven year cycles. The last strike of this plague cycle was in 747 in Naples. This series of plagues were called the Justinian plague named after Emperor Justinian’s rule and it is also referred to as the early medieval pandemic (EMP). The severity of this plague was high being that Procopius of Caesarea, a Urban Prefect of Constantinople stated that the plague “fell upon the whole world, yet just as many people escaped as had the misfortune to succumb- either because they escaped the infection altogether, or because they got over it if they happened to be

The Byzantine Empire was originally known as the Eastern Roman Empire, after surviving the barbaric attacks on its land. Emperor Justinian protected this empire and was well known for conquering many places. In the Byzantine Empire, the Emperor is the supreme ruler, looked at as a god. He was the head of the army, the highest political authority and the supreme legislator and judge. However, according to Procipius in, The Secret History, Justinian destroyed the greatness and history of Rome. Justinian was described as being “crafty, hypocritical, secretive by temperament, two-faced, and purely evil”.

Justinian, also known as “the sleepless emperor” by his subjects, was one of the most influential of the early Byzantine emperors. The reign of Justinian was a prodigiously paramount period. It marked the final cessation of the Roman Empire; the establishment of the incipient, Byzantine empire; the commencement of Western Europe's unique position within the civilizations of the Old World; and made possible the spread of Islam and the rise of the Franks. He ruled along side his strong-willed wife, and

Byzantine Emperor Justinian was the bold architect of a revitalized Byzantine Empire that would leave a lasting legacy for Western Civilization. As much of Europe entered the Dark Ages, Justinian 's vision of a restored Roman Empire would reverse the decline of the Byzantine Empire and lay a firm foundation that would allow the Byzantine Empire to survive for centuries to come.

Justinian was an Emperor of the Byzantine Empire. He became Emperor in 527 over his uncle when he was a high-ranking nobleman. Justinian had sent his best general, Belarius, in 533 to recover North Africa the invading Germanic tribes where he had quickly succeeded. His army won nearly all of Italy and parts of Spain. He could call himself a Ceaser. An Emperor who rules with absolute power. Justinian had set up a panel of legal experts to regulate their increasingly complex society. This panel created a uniform code that is known as the Justinian Code. It served the Byzantine Empire for 900 years. His greatest passion was for church building, but he had launched the most ambitious public building program seen in the Roman World. Justinian had

Byzantine culture developed from Christianity and Roman characteristics in the Eastern half of the Roman Empire, Constantinople founded by Constantine in 324 was the center of the Byzantine Empire where the merge of Christianity and Roman characteristics flourished. Emperor Justinian was one of the greatest influences in combining Christianity and Roman traditions during his reign. Justinian had an unwavering Christian faith and a desire to reform the empire he also felt it was his duty as emperor to enforce uniform religious belief throughout the entire empire. Justinian goal was to create a Christian society he did this by combining Roman laws with military force. Justinian revamped the roman laws into Justinian’s codification of law’s that

The goth's who were just defeated by his armies regained control and the Roman's felt it severely. The roles of the power of the west were pretty reversed instantly. There was no organization among the armies of Justinian. The church was the only one who was able to slow down the vacuum of power in the west. The catholic church was a major influence. The church eventually got the same amount of power at the beginning of the renaissance. There were so many reasons the Christianity was spread but as long as Jesus is being heard and being spoken into the hearts of people is all that matters. God obviously had his part in all this. It wouldn't have happened without God's go ahead and consent. But us humans working with God can make one of the most powerful forces. You might think some polotical of econimical issues have been solves greatly by luck is dumb. It was obvioiusly God so he can spread his world and have more souls into his

Caesaropism was the concept relating the mixing of political and religious authority. With the Roman Emperors, it became central to the church versus state controversy in medieval Europe. The ruler at the time, Constantine, was a Christian emperor inherited this idea to play they rules fairly. Constantine had a very different way of ruling; he and successors used the idea of divinity. Many people followed Constantine’s example, especially the Byzantine emperors. The Byzantine Empire ran an absolute monarchy, when one particular ruler Justinian took control he became very relatable to Constantine. Justinian ruled from 527-565 C.E and had a very different background. He came from a peasant family and started to work his way up slowly by having

The conversions of Aksun Emperor Ezana and Armenian King Trdat to Christianity show Christianity was used as an imperial religion. Constantine set this conversion model in 312 when he proclaimed Jesus Christ as his patron deity. Constantine’s strategic decision was not based in faith but in a power to win the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. The Christian God is credited with this military triumph signaling the Christian God is one of imperial power.

In 527 AD, Justinian took control of the Byzantine Empire. Although it is currently referred to as the Byzantine Empire, many citizens and leaders, including Justinian, considered themselves to be Roman and part of the Roman Empire. This mentality led to the revival of the Roman Empire in Byzantine and in its capital, Constantinople. During his rule, Justinian led the empire to its greatest size both in the amount of controlled land and influence over groups in Europe and Asia. He also contributed to the spread of Christianity both within the Byzantine Empire and without. Finally, Justinian preserved Roman laws for the Byzantine Empire and other European systems of government. Justinian’s successful emulation and revival of the Roman Empire through his beautification and improvements on Constantinople and other parts of the Byzantine Empire, strong support of Christianity and role in its growth as a major religion, and his codification of Byzantine law benefited the Byzantine Empire and the surrounding regions.

The Byzantine Empire, though often forgotten among better-known empires, such as the Roman Empire, ran for nearly one thousand years, occupying the eastern half of what once was the Roman Empire. It engaged in trade, expansion, and decades of warfare. It also gave women a better status then men, valued and preserved Greek history, and eventually fell to the Ottomans.

Both Tertullian and Justin Martyr are apologists defending the Christian faith; however, their approach is from two different mindsets. The mindset in which Justin Martyr approaches faith, reason, and philosophy shares similarities with the ideals of early Christian scientists who sought to grow in their faith through their studies and therefore saw their studies as extensions of their faith. Justin saw that the faith in Jesus Christ was the inevitable answer to his philosophical questions. Justin utilizes the prophesies and history of the Jewish people to explain his reasoning as to the soundness of the philosophy and faith in Christ. Even arguing that Plato, himself, developed his line of reasoning from the prophets and so by careful

Justinian sought to rebuild the former glory of the Roman Empire and he started after the Nika Riots in 532. Since most of Constantinople was burnt down during the riots Justinian decided to rebuild the capital into a much more magnificent city and it all started with the reconstruction of the Hagia Sophia. The Hagia Sophia was the most prominent church in the Roman Empire and Justinian had the church designed by architects Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. The church has a massive dome ceiling which was a huge feat for construction builders during the post-classical age. There were 40 windows which helped to bring in light and illuminate the many mosaics inside the church. The mosaics were icons popular to the Eastern Orthodox faith such as Christ, angels and crosses. The Hagia Sophia has two levels and stands at 180 feet tall. There was a Narthex (antechamber at the western entrance of early Christian churches) used only for the emperor and it lead to the second level of the church that was only used by the

We learn that the Byzantine Empire was the capital of Constantinople. The empire was able to prosper so long until the fall of the Constantinople itself. Byzantine Empire was known to have one of the leading economic, military and cultural powers. Procopius a bishop of Caesaria, was a scholar who was active in service when Justinian was emperor. Procopius became an official court historian and biographer that resulted in his writings showing his true thoughts on Justinian as emperor and his ruling strategies in maintaining the Byzantine Empire. With these secrets revealed, Procopius felt that future generations would view his writings as fiction, and label him among the poets (Procopius, 223).