The Golden Age of Byzantine Empire - Essay Example

Analysis of Justinian I Ruling during The Golden Age of Byzantine Empire The Golden Age of Byzantine Empirestarted from 641 to 1025. Byzantine period actually spanned from the fourth century A.D. and it is called Early Byzantine period. In the period of ruling Justinian I during the Golden Age of Byzantine Empire, several issues occur. Procopius stated that Justinian is the most hated of Romans "so hated that even tearing him into pieces did not satisfy their wrath against him". Concerning with the indiscretions and injustices overwhelmed during his reign. Procopius described fairly Justinian that suited his previous ruling class, as "villainous and amenable", meaning most of the time his decisions, even how evil and disastrous to his domain, he will implement it, and in times it is agreeable. The very issue indeed of Justinian I's ruling is the ruling of him in this period. For the traits and characteristics of this ruler opposed of those great rulers. The author of The Secret History added his descriptions to him as "deceitful, devious, false, hypocritical, two-faced, cruel, skilled in dissembling his thought, never moved to tears by either joy or pain, though he could summon them artfully at will when the occasion demanded, a liar always, not only offhand, but in writing, and when he swore sacred oaths to his subjects in their very hearing. Then he would immediately break his agreements and pledges, like the vilest of slaves, whom indeed only the fear of torture drives to confess their perjury. A faithless friend, he was a treacherous enemy, insane for murder and plunder, quarrelsome and revolutionary, easily led to anything evil, but never willing to listen to good counsel, quick to plan mischief and carry it out, but finding even the hearing of anything good distasteful to his ears". One issue is the changing of the law in the Emperor's own favor. A definite instance is to permit him to marry a courtesan, in which the former law forbids him to. The ignorance in state of affairs of the Empress Euphemia permitted him to perversed the law especially after her death. Justinian's choice of wife put him in shame as Theodora is known and condemned for several abortions, but blinded by his own preference. Procopius put this marriage this way "I need hardly mention any other proof of the character of this man: for all the perversity of his soul was completely displayed in this union; which alone was ample interpreter, witness, and historian of his shamelessness". In an independent minded citizen during that period like Procopius, having someone like Theodora in the monarchial power is a disgrace that is yielded and majestically honored by many. Their marital affair affected christianity, as it was split in two, siding one side to the Emperor and the other to Theodora every time they were having disagreement. Each party stands as an opposition to one another. Theodora supported the Blues, and encouraged them to make the most of the heinous violence against the opposing party; while Justinian, lead the opposition pretentiously not opposing her orders. The Blues being punished and compensated whenever she was being defeated by her husband. Both were in guile to serve their own selfish intentions, even reached to the point of dropping their parties and stripping off the properties of the members once they were not in used anymore. Procopius clearly stated that "as soon as Justinian came into power he turned everything upside down" pertaining the perversion he made within the previous laws just to serve his intentions. As the Romans were in peace to the world before his term, he managed his way to set battle between the barbarians unfortunately for no logical reason. This proves his lust for slaughtering leveling him as a mass murderer indirectly. The slavery of the Roman empires under the Huns was through the will of the Emperor himself, even paying the Huns' chieftains to proceed on their barbaric domination. This condition of Romans invited others to robbed them off their own wealth, and after these barbaric tribes victor their cruel intentions they too received reward from the Emperor. This force many Romans, if not dead from the battle, pillaged through different regions. No place in Rome is safe from the lowly houses to the caves, everything is injured. On the contrary Justinian paid the Chosroes for the peace sake. But somehow managed to break the truce because of his own intentionally arbitrariness like befriending and commanding more tribal chieftains for barbaric battle. The cruelty of Justinian affected greatly many churches during his time which never happened before in times of other Emperors. He confiscated the properties of the churches. He even abolished many existing doctrines of churches like Montanists and Sabbatians and even the heretics, and replace by what were considered before the orthodox dogma, as punishments for the disobedients. Some of Montanists locked themselves up to their church only to be consumed by fire as ordered by the Emperor. He implemented to renounce the faith of the fathers of the of his domain and practiced that was a dogmatic rituals. Most of the rustic people rebelled among their superiors, some fled away from the country. The effect of this newly recognized faith by Justinian leaves many to embraced the belief or resort to polytheism otherwise known as Manichean sect. Also Gentiles didn't escaped from this Emperor's cruelty, treating them as lowly for not being a Christian, in which he himself mistreated, he subjected them in tortures and plundered their own lands.This result for the country people to unite and battle against the Empire led by a certain bandit named Julian. Unfortunately they didn't won the battle instead it lead them in destitution of farms and properties. The punishment for them was to pay heavy annual taxes for the rest of their lives without any form of service in return from the magistrate. The same fate happened to the innocent astrologers as the Emperor had an undefined disliking to them. Disgracing them publicly by parading on camels on being whipped at the back. There was a constant emigration in Rome as Romans crossing with foreigners to leave their country and the latter to seek for some barbaric dominion that favored by the Emperor. Another issue emerged is the Senate robbery of Constatinople of the Emperor and Theodora which Procopius desccribed as "brutally confiscated" from the Senators. The practice of treachery and falsifying documents of deeds began with a Constantinople man named Zeno that the Emperor happened to meet, they have the ownership of his properties, which they orchestrally stolen, after he died. Within the same manner they made themselves heirs of Tatian, Demosthenes, and Hilara, who were foremost in the Roman Senate. Some of the possessions they obtained came from counterfeiting letters. The same strategy also used to obtained the properties of some Roman Senators like Dionysius, and John. They sequesterated all of the riches of almost all in the Senate. The guileness of these Empire couple made Procopius see them as fiends in human form stating that " wherefore to me,- and many others of us, these two seemed not to be human beings, but veritable demons, and what the poets call vampires: who laid their heads together to see how they could most easily and quickly destroy the race and deeds of men; and assuming human bodies, became man-demons, and so convulsed the world. And one could find evidence of this in many things, but especially in the superhuman power with which they worked their will." Procopius even cited testimonies of many of demonic-spiritual encounter of those who have been with Justinian I, like his floating head apart from his body, and premonition of horrifying formless flesh of his face. Issue of mass killing written down in the history during Justinian ruling, known in the quantity of trillion. In Libya reckoning that thousands of Vandals killed, and repeated with almost as same amount in Italy. His wrong decisions and move put at risks his many soldiers battling many barbaric tribes and warriors in different countries that borders Roman Empire. Procopius described the state "while he was Emperor, the whole earth ran red with the blood of nearly all the Romans and the barbarians." The Civil war in Constantinople added to his number of inquisition activities, not just ordering for unceasing battle but also bestowing death punishment for no apparent reasons. His practice of treacherous scheme of sequestering and robbing wealth form Romans continued added with tax issues and corruptions. Some of the wasted wealth was done intentionally in senseless building programs that he presented for the barbarians. His commercialization of his power and the wealth of Roman empire which was his domain meant of destitution of the very people his ruling, giving all the greater sums to the barbarians of the East and West, for him to be hailed by other countries' ambassadors, to make favor in return. And so it made the barbarians the master of the Roman's wealth in anyway they please as it was consented by the Emperor. Now, the corruption took place as he bargained the offices of some known honest officials, to sold it to the other scroundels whom he can have an arrangement with providing laws to ammend that he can use for selfish intentions. Offices that been taken care in generations by his predecessors swept in an instant for a bargain. Technically, Justinian's ruling still considered in early ages of Byzantine Empire. Bordering the regarded Golden Age of Byzantine Empire as the evolution of art step up in which the technicalities of this era is known for. Justinian's ruling obviously couldn't be remarked as golden to be included in Golden Age of the era. It could be a metaphor golden age for those who have been tested and survived of Justinian's demonic ruling but never for the Emperor himself, as the former resembles to the test of fire of a gold to be verified as a real one. Works Cited Ahrweiler, Helene "Studies on the Internal Diaspora of the Byzantine Empire", Harvard University Press, 1998. Birkenmeier, John W. (2002). The Development of the Komnenian Army, 1081-1180. Brill. J.M. Hussey, The Cambridge Medieval History, Volume IV - The Byzantine Empire Part I, Byzantium and its Neighbors, Cambridge University Press 1966 Read More