Anastasius’s economic policies were far more successful; if they did not provide the basis for the noteworthy achievements of the 6th century in military affairs and the gentler arts of civilization, they at least explain why the Eastern Empire prospered in those respects during the period in question. An inflation of the copper currency, prevailing since the age of Constantine, finally ended with welcome results for those members of the lower classes who conducted their operations in the base metal. Responsibility for the collection of municipal taxes was taken from the members of the local senate and assigned to agents of the praetorian prefect. Trade and industry were probably stimulated by the termination of the chrysargyron, a tax in gold paid by the urban classes. If, by way of compensating for the resulting loss to the state, the rural classes had then to pay the land tax in money rather than kind, the mere fact that gold could be presumed to be available in the countryside is a striking index of rural prosperity. In the East, the economic resurgence of the 4th century had persisted, and it is not surprising that Anastasius enriched the treasury to the extent of 320,000 pounds of gold during the course of his reign.
With such financial resources at their disposal, the emperor’s successors could reasonably hope to reassert Roman authority among the western Germanic successor states, provided they could accomplish two objectives: first, they had to heal the religious discord between their subjects; second, they had to protect the eastern frontier against the threat of Sāsānian Persia. Since there was, in fact, to be concurrent warfare on both fronts during the 6th century, some knowledge of the age-old rivalry between Rome and Persia is essential to an understanding of the problems confronted by the greatest among Anastasius’s successors, Justinian I (ruled 527–565), as he undertook the conquest of the West.
In 224 the ancient Persian empire had passed into the hands of a new dynasty, the Sāsānians, whose regime brought new life to the enfeebled state. Having ensured firm control over the vast lands already subject to them, the Sāsānians took up anew the old struggle with Rome for northern Mesopotamia and its fortress cities of Edessa and Nisibis, lying between the Tigris and the Euphrates. In the course of the 4th century, new sources of hostility emerged as East Rome became a Christian empire. Partly by reaction, Sāsānian Persia strengthened the ecclesiastical organization that served its Zoroastrian religion; intolerance and persecution became the order of the day within Persia, and strife between the empires assumed something of the character of religious warfare. Hostilities were exacerbated when Armenia, lying to the north between the two realms, converted to Christianity and thus seemed to menace the religious integrity of Persia. If small-scale warfare during the 4th and 5th centuries rarely erupted into major expeditions, the threat to Rome nonetheless remained constant, demanding vigilance and the construction of satisfactory fortifications. By 518, the balance might be said to have tipped in the favour of Persia as it won away the cities of Theodosiopolis, Amida, and Nisibis. The 6th century: from East Rome to Byzantium
The 6th century opened, in effect, with the death of Anastasius and the accession of the Balkan soldier who replaced him, Justin I (ruled 518–527). During most of Justin’s reign, actual power lay in the hands of his nephew and successor, Justinian I. The following account of those more than 40 years of Justinian’s effective rule is based upon the works of Justinian’s contemporary the historian Procopius. The latter wrote a laudatory account of the emperor’s military achievements in his Polemon (Wars) and coupled it in his Anecdota (Secret History) with a venomous threefold attack upon the emperor’s personal life, the character of the empress Theodora, and the conduct of the empire’s internal administration. Justinian’s reign may be divided into three periods: (1) an initial age of conquest and cultural achievement extending until the decade of the 540s; (2) 10 years of crisis and near disaster during the 540s; and (3) the last decade of the reign, in which mood, temper, and social realities more nearly resembled those to be found under Justinian’s successors than those prevailing throughout the first years of his own reign.
Justinian I, 6th-century mosaic at the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy. © A De Gregorio—DeA Picture Library/age fotostock
After 550, it is possible to begin to speak of a medieval Byzantine, rather than an ancient East Roman, empire. Of the four traumas that eventually transformed the one into the other—namely, pestilence, warfare, social upheaval, and the Arab Muslim assault of the 630s—the first two were features of Justinian’s reign. The years of achievement to 540
Justinian is but one example of the civilizing magic that Constantinople often worked upon the heirs of those who ventured within its walls. Justin, the uncle, was a rude and illiterate soldier; Justinian, the nephew, was a cultivated gentleman, adept at theology, a mighty builder of churches, and a sponsor of the codification of Roman law. All those accomplishments are, in the deepest sense of the word, civilian, and it is easy to forget that Justinian’s empire was almost constantly at war during his reign. The history of East Rome during that period illustrates, in classical fashion, how the impact of war can transform ideas and institutions alike.
The reign opened with external warfare and internal strife. From Lazica to the Arabian Desert, the Persian frontier blazed with action in a series of campaigns in which many of the generals later destined for fame in the West first demonstrated their capacities. The strength of the East Roman armies is revealed in the fact that, while containing Persian might, Justinian could nonetheless dispatch troops to attack the Huns in Crimea and to maintain the Danubian frontier against a host of enemies. In 532 Justinian decided to abandon military operations in favour of diplomacy. He negotiated, at the cost of considerable tribute, an “Endless Peace” with the Persian king, Khosrow, which freed the Roman’s hands for operations in another quarter of the globe. Thus, Justinian succeeded in attaining the first of the objectives needed for reconquest in the West: peace in the East.
Even before his accession, Justinian had aided in the attainment of the second. Shortly after his proclamation as emperor, Justin had summoned a council of bishops at Constantinople. The council reversed the policies of Anastasius, accepted the Christological formula of Chalcedon, and called for negotiations with the pope. Justinian had personally participated in the ensuing discussions, which restored communion between Rome and all the Eastern churches save Egypt. No longer could a barbarian king hope to maintain the loyalties of his Catholic subjects by convincing them that a “Monophysite” emperor ruled in the East.
In the same year of 532, Justinian survived a revolt in Constantinople, stemming from the Nika riot, which initially threatened his life no less than his throne but, in the event, only strengthened his position. To understand the course of events, it is essential to remember that Constantinople, like other great East Roman cities, often had to depend upon its urban militia, or demes, to defend its walls. Coinciding with divisions within the demes were factions organized to support rival charioteers competing in the horse races: the Blues and the Greens. It was originally thought that those two factions were divided by differing political and religious views and that those views were aired to the emperor during the races. More-recent scholarship has shown that the factions were seldom motivated by anything higher than partisan fanaticism for their respective charioteers. The Nika riot—“Nika!” (“Conquer!” or “Win!”) being the slogan shouted during the races—of 532, however, was one of the rare occasions when the factions voiced political opposition to the imperial government. Angered at the severity with which the urban prefect had suppressed a riot, the Blues and the Greens first united and freed their leaders from prison; they insisted then that Justinian dismiss from the office two of his most-unpopular officials: John of Cappadocia and Tribonian. Even though the emperor yielded to their demands, the crowd was not appeased, converted its riot into a revolt, and proclaimed a nephew of Anastasius as emperor. Justinian was saved only because the empress, Theodora, refused to yield. Justinian’s able general, Belisarius, sequestered the rebels in the Hippodrome and slaughtered them to the number of 30,000. The leaders were executed, and their estates passed, at least temporarily, into the emperor’s hands.