Sources in Conversation: The Rebirth of the Roman Empire in the East

The Roman Empire did not fall in 476. The last emperor to reside in the city of Rome may have been deposed in that year, but the empire, now centered on Constantinople, lived on in the East. At the same time that centralized government, long-distance trade and commerce, and urban life were in sharp decline in the West, the greatest of the Byzantine emperors, Justinian I (482–565), was busy expanding and consolidating imperial power and authority, carrying out monumental building projects, and reforming the Roman legal system. The documents below provide two very different views of Justinian and his policies. In the first, an excerpt from The Institutes of Justinian, Justinian explains the importance of his reform and codification of Roman law. In the second, an excerpt from the Secret History of Procopius of Caesarea, a Byzantine scholar and aristocrat paints a decidedly unflattering picture of the emperor. As you read the documents, think about the motives of each author. What role did Justinian assign himself in Byzantine government? What might explain the intensity of Procopius’s dislike and distrust of the emperor?