Lesson
20 Essay
Justinian
began his life as a shepard boy in the Eastern Roman Empire in 482
AD. He lived a mostly calm life but at the age of sixteen he walked
all the way to Constantinople
(the
capital of the empire), where he met his uncle, Justin, who the
commander of the emperor's guard. Justinian's uncle received him well
(unlike other
uncles
I've read about), and gave him a good education. Justinian was a
relatively good looking young man and he quickly became well known
throughout the empire.
The
emperor at this time was Emperor Anastasius. When Anastasius died,
Justinian's uncle Justin became the new emperor with much help from
his nephew. As Emperor Justin grew older, Justinian started co-ruling
the empire with him. Eventually, Justin appointed Justinian as
Co-Emperor just a few
months before Justin died. Justinian became the sole emperor in 527
and he ruled for the next 40 years. He became known as Justinian the
Great through his impressive accomplishments .
Justinian
was an exceptional ruler and often appointed efficient officials to
government positions; some of these were unpopular because they were
too
efficient. The people of Constantinople revolted in 532 and much of
the city burned and 30,000 citizens died. These revolts are known as
the Nika Revolts.
Justinian
had two generals named Belisarius and Narses. Belisarius oversaw the
expanding the empire to include North Africa. Justinian made
improvements to Constantinople and the general culture while the
military was reclaiming parts of Italy from the Ostrogoths in 552.
This was the beginning of what is known as the Byzantium Empire and
it lasted for 1,000 years.
One
of the things Justinian is known for is the Hagia Sophia, a
magnificent cathedral, in 537. It remains mostly intact to this day.
He worked on
at least 34 other churches.
The
first certified Roman Law was organized by Justinian and it became
known as the Code of Justinian. This code laid out the basis of
imperial law in Byzantium until 1453 AD. During his reign, Justinian
encouraged new industries and education; he began silk production and
factories were started.
Justinian
remained a strong and active emperor until his death in 565AD, at the
age of 83. His legacy in the empire lasted 1,000 years. However,
after his death, the empire did not last that long and began
weakening shortly after his death.
To
conclude this essay, Justinian the Great was the best emperor in the
Eastern Roman Empire, and is largely responsible for bringing
Byzantium to it's peak.
I can tell you were paying attention and understood the lessons. Two corrections for you:
ReplyDelete1. Justinian's first job was as a shepherd not shepard
2. The empire really did last 1000 years after his reign, it just did not retain the size and grandeur that it had under Justinian.
Great essay!
- Mr. Fish
Thank you! Your lessons are really fun to learn! Thanks again!
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