Justin I
 |
Flavius Iustinus Augustus. |
Flavius Iustinus or
Justin I (
ca. 450–
August 1,
527) was an
Eastern Roman Emperor (
518–527) who rose through the ranks of the army of the
Byzantine Empire and ultimately became its emperor, in spite of the fact he was illiterate and almost 70 years old at the time of accession. His reign is significant for the founding of a dynasty that included his eminent nephew
Justinian I and laws that de-emphasized the influence of the old Byzantine nobility.
Justin was born in a hamlet near Bederiana in the Roman province
Dardania belonging to the
Dacian Diocese, which along with
Macedonia made up the prefecture of
Illyricum. As a teenager, he and two companions fled from a barbaric invasion, taking refuge in
Constantinople. Justin soon joined the army, and because of his ability, rose through the ranks to become a general and commander of the palace guard under the emperor
Anastasius I decades later. Thanks to his position (he commanded the only troops in the city) and gifts of money, Justin was able to secure election as emperor in
518.
A career soldier with little knowledge of statecraft, Justin wisely surrounded himself with trusted advisors. The most prominent of these men, of course, was his nephew Flavius Petrus Sabbatius, whom he adopted as his son and invested with the name Justinian. It is common now to say that Justinian ruled the empire in his uncle's name during this time, thanks to the accounts of the historian
Procopius, but there is much evidence to the contrary. In fact, Justinian was not named as successor until less than a year before Justin's death.
In
525, Justin repealed a law that effectively prohibited a member of the senatorial class from marrying a woman from a lower class of society, including the theatre, which was considered scandalous at the time. This edict paved the way for Justinian to marry
Theodora, a former
mime actress, and eventually resulted in a major change to the old class distinctions at the Imperial court.
The latter years of his reign were marked by strife between the empire and the
Ostrogoths and
Persians. In 526, Justin's health began to decline and he formally named Justinian as co-emperor and his successor on
April 1, 527. On
August 1 of that year, Justin died and was succeeded by Justinian.
The town of
Anazarbus was re-named
Justinopolis in
525, in his honour.
