T he Byzantine Empire, which grew out of the Eastern Roman Empire in Greece, carried Roman culture into the Middle Ages . It was a splendid and sometimes powerful realm, a stronghold of civilization in a dark time, and Justinian was perhaps its greatest ruler.

Justinian reconquered the Western Roman Empire , which had fallen to invading tribes in 476, and briefly reunited former Roman lands under his leadership. More lasting was his legal code, or system of laws, which provided the foundation for much of the law that exists today. Justinian built dozens of churches, most notably the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, and under his reign, Byzantine arts—including mosaics, colored bits of glass or tile arranged to form a picture—reached a high point.

In His Uncle's Care

The Byzantine BIZ-un-teen) Empire, sometimes known as Byzantium (bi-ZAN-tee-um), controlled much of southeastern Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa from its capital at Constantinople (kahn-stan-ti-NOH-pul), which today is the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Justinian, however, grew up far from the centers of power, in a village called Tauresium. His family had been humble farmers just a generation before, but his uncle Justin c. 450–527) had changed their fortunes when he went to Constantinople and became a member of the imperial bodyguard charged with protecting the life of Emperor Leo I.

Eventually Justin became commander of the imperial guards and a military leader of distinction. Having no children of his own, Justin brought his nephews—including Justinian—to Constantinople, where he helped them gain an education and embark on careers. Justinian enjoyed the benefits of a superb education, something Justin, who never learned to read and write, did not have. As was the Roman custom (the Byzantines referred to themselves as "Romans", Justinian proved his ability by service in the military.

Co-ruler And Sole Ruler

In 518, the reigning emperor died, and Justin was chosen as his successor. Now the uncle called on his nephews, who had the education he lacked, to assist him in leading the empire, and none of these men distinguished himself more than Justinian. The latter became one of Justin's key advisors, and early in Justin's reign uncovered a plot against his uncle by one of the emperor's rivals.

Although Justinian was in his late thirties by now, Justin formally adopted him at some point during the 520s as a means of preparing to pass on leadership to him. In 525, the emperor designated his nephew as his preferred successor, though under the Roman system, succession was far from automatic: the emperor's chosen successor had to prove himself. Evidently Justinian did, because Justin promoted him to co-emperor on April 4, 527, and when the uncle died on August 1, Justinian became sole ruler.

9. Constantine the Great (February 272 AD – May 337 AD)



Constantine the Great ( Latin : Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus ; 27 February c. 272 – 22 May 337), also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. Well known for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity , Constantine and co-Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed tolerance of all religions throughout the empire.

Constantine defeated the emperors Maxentius and

Licinius during civil wars. He also fought successfully against the Franks, Alamanni, Visigoths, and Sarmatians during his reign — even resettling parts of Dacia which had been abandoned during the previous century. Constantine built a new imperial residence at Byzantium, naming it New Rome. However, in Constantine's honour, people called it Constantinople , which would later be the capital of what is now known as the Byzantine Empire for over one thousand years. Because of this, he is thought of as the founder of the Byzantine Empire.

Early life

Flavius Valerius Constantinus, as he was originally named, was born in the city of Naissus,

Dardania province of

Moesia, in present-day

Niš, Serbia, on 27 February of an uncertain year, probably near 272. His father was

Flavius Constantius, a native of

Dardania province of Moesia (later

Dacia Ripensis). Constantius was a tolerant and politically skilled man. Constantine probably spent little time with his father. Constantius was an officer in the Roman army in 272, part of the Emperor Aurelian's imperial bodyguard. Constantius advanced through the ranks, earning the governorship of Dalmatia from Emperor Diocletian, another of Aurelian's companions from Illyricum, in 284 or 285. Constantine's mother was

Helena, a Bithynian woman of low social standing. It is uncertain whether she was legally married to Constantius or merely his concubine.

In July 285, Diocletian declared Maximian, another colleague from Illyricum, his co-emperor. Each emperor would have his own court, his own military and administrative faculties, and each would rule with a separate praetorian prefect as chief lieutenant. Maximian ruled in the West, from his capitals at Mediolanum ( Milan , Italy ) or Augusta Treverorum ( Trier, Germany), while Diocletian ruled in the East, from Nicomedia ( İzmit,

Turkey ). The division was merely pragmatic: the Empire was called "indivisible" in official panegyric, and both emperors could move freely throughout the Empire. In 288, Maximian appointed Constantius to serve as his praetorian prefect in Gaul. Constantius left Helena to marry Maximian's stepdaughter Theodora in 288 or 289.

Diocletian divided the Empire again in 293, appointing two

Caesars (junior emperors) to rule over further subdivisions of East and West. Each would be subordinate to their respective Augustus (senior emperor) but would act with supreme authority in his assigned lands. This system would later be called the

Tetrarchy. Diocletian's first appointee for the office of Caesar was Constantius; his second was Galerius, a native of Felix Romuliana. According to Lactantius, Galerius was a brutal, animalistic man. Although he shared the paganism of Rome's aristocracy, he seemed to them an alien figure, a semi-barbarian. On 1 March, Constantius was promoted to the office of Caesar, and dispatched to Gaul to fight the rebels Carausius and

Allectus. In spite of meritocratic overtones, the Tetrarchy retained vestiges of hereditary privilege, and Constantine became the prime candidate for future appointment as Caesar as soon as his father took the position. Constantine went to the court of Diocletian, where he lived as his father's heir presumptive.

8. Antoninus Pius (19 September, 86 AD – 7 March, 161 AD)



Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Antoninus was born on 19 September, 86 on the family estate at Lanuvium, in Italy. However, his family came originally from Nemausus (modern-day Nîmes) in the province of Transalpine Gaul. Both sides of his family were of consular rank.

AR denarius of Antoninus Pius divus (the emperor after his posthumous deification). Obverse has bare portrait of emperor r., DIVVS ANTONINVS. Reverse has funerary altar, DIVO PIO.

About his early political career we know very little. He was quaestor around 111, then praetor (perhaps around 116), before reaching the consulship in 120. Under Hadrian, Italy had been split into four quasi-provinces governed by ex-consuls and after his consulship Antoninus was appointed to one of these positions.

The Historia Augusta states that he was given control of the area in which most of his own land was situated, a mark of both the esteem in which he was held by Hadrian and of the trust the emperor had in him, for there was clearly the potential for conflicts of interest in his administration of the region.

Antoninus’ final post before becoming emperor came around 134 or 135, when he was awarded the high-profile governorship of the province of Asia, which we are told he ruled in a just and upright manner.

In 136, shortly after Antoninus’ return from the East, Hadrian, whose health had started to fail him, began looking for an heir and successor. He settled first on a senator named Lucius Ceionius Commodus, whom he adopted. Commodus became Lucius Aelius Caesar.

However, in January 138, Aelius died suddenly and Hadrian was obliged to seek a new heir. It was now that the ailing emperor chose Antoninus. Before adopting him, Hadrian obliged Antoninus to adopt both Commodus’ young son, and the grandson of Antoninus’ own father-in-law. These boys would become the emperors Lucius Verus and Marcus Aurelius, respectively.

Hadrian died in July 138. With some exceptions, the normal response to the death of an emperor involved the granting of posthumous honours and deification. But Hadrian’s relationship with the Roman senate had been strained from the beginning and there was resistance to the idea.

Antoninus, however, seems to have pushed for Hadrian to be granted these honours and granted they were. This is one of several possible explanations offered in the sources for why the senate subsequently gave Antoninus the additional, honorific name of Pius (‘faithful’ or ‘dutiful’).

At 23 years, Antoninus’ reign was one of the longest. It was also one of the most stable and peaceful. That is not to say it was entirely without military activity: we hear of rebellions in Egypt and Greece, and actions against some Germanic and Dacian tribes.

A campaign in Britain seems to have been a little more serious, insofar as it prompted Antoninus to construct the Antonine Wall, some 99 miles north of Hadrian’s. But at no point during his reign did the Roman Empire experience a major invasion, or launch a major offensive.

Domestically, the picture painted by our sources is of a diligent, conscientious, mild-mannered, just, prudent, moderate, and generally highly competent ruler. This portrait is in line with the equally hagiographic descriptions of Antoninus the man: he was apparently handsome, intelligent, even-tempered, a gifted speaker, restrained in his appetites, generous, friendly, and utterly without ostentation. In short, he seems to have been the perfect Roman noble.

Antoninus’ long and prosperous reign came to its end on 7 March, 161. He was 75 years old. It seems he had caught a fever from which he never recovered. His final word, given to the Praetorian guardsman then on duty, was the watchword for the day, ‘equanimity’. He was afterwards deified.

He died at his country estate outside the town of Lorium, in Italy. In stark contrast to his predecessor Hadrian, Antoninus had never left Italy (save for his turn as governor of Asia), nor been to the frontier or interacted with the legions stationed there. Antoninus’ policy of avoiding warfare as far as possible may, however, have been an error to some degree.

Almost as soon as Marcus Aurelius (who had married Antoninus’ daughter, Faustina Minor) and Lucius Verus ascended the throne as co-emperors, a major conflict with the neighbouring Parthian Empire erupted in the East. Almost as soon as this war was won, another broke out in the north against various Germanic tribes. Beating them back would consume the remainder of Marcus’ time as emperor.

The Historia Augusta says that on his deathbed Antoninus talked about the anger he felt towards certain foreign kings. We might wonder if these are the Parthian and German rulers who would make trouble for his successors, and whether some pre-emptive action under Antoninus might have spared his heirs much trouble

7. Vespasian (November 9 AD – 23 June, 79 AD)

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