anaveno - Macedonian Civilization

We continue to present famous people from world history, whose origin was from Macedonia. In the following we will make a brief summary of the character and the accomplishments of the famous Byzantine Emperor Justinian the 1st also known as the Grate. Most of the researchers and historians figured that there is no doubt that he was born near Skopje. This fact is represented in the Catholic encyclopaedia ( title: Justinian).

The real name of Emperor Justinian was Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Justinianus. He was born in 482 or 483. Some speculate that even as a child he was adopted by Byzantine Emperor named Justin (who ruled from 518 till 527), because he was the son of his sister. These researchers came to this conclusion on the bases of the name Justinian, which was given to him.
It is known that eight years after his coming to power, Justinian ordered his birth place be well decorated, after which it got the name “Justinian Prima”.

Some researchers claim that Justinian didn’t speak the Greek language at all.
For example the author Christopher Hibert in his book “Cities and civilisations”, on page 59 writes that there are no evidence that the Emperor Justinian spoke the Greek language well.
Here we can read:
“As a young man Justinian joined his uncle Justin in Constantinople, where he acquired a solid education, although he never learn to speak Greek well”.
Justinian was married to Theodora, who before that was a dancer.

ACTIVITIES OF WAR

Justinian became an emperor instead of his uncle Justin on August the 1st 527.
Before that he ruled as a co-emperor together with Justin. In his first years he dealt with the pagans. All pagan teachings were banned, and several pagan philosophers fled to Persia. In difference to paganism, Judaism at first was tolerated, but later Justinian ordered the synagogues in some parts of his state be turned in to churches.

Justinian led long battles with Persia.
His chief commander was Belisarius. After he defeated the Persians, in 533 Justinian led a war against territories of the Vandals in Africa. At the same time he fought the Berbers.
In 535 Justinian, trough Sicily, executed a raid on the territory of what is today Italy (once the centre of the Roman Empire), where the Ostrogots reigned. A major battle was fought at Naples (where the Ostrogots had a garrison), which fell after the sage of Belisaria.
Soon after Belesaria, together with his army, he entered Rome. The Osrogots returned with a counter attack in which (according to Procopie) participated 150.000 soldiers. An attack on Rome was made. The city was under sage for more than a year, but the Ostrogots didn’t manage to take it, after which they called for negotiations.

But, the experienced commander Belisaria took as a sign of weakness of the Ostrogots and mounted an attack, taking Rimini and turning to Ravena, where the king of the Ostrogots was. But then a split in the Byzantine army occurred, that is a clash between two commanders- Belisaria and Nars, after which Justinian himself inter-vened, withdrawing Nars for the territory of what is today Italy.

After that rumours of a plot by Belisaria reached Justinian, who allegedly wanted to establish himself as an emperor in Italy, after which he recalled Belisaria from the military campaign of what is today Italy.9
In 540 Persia attacked Byzantium. The Ostrogots as well managed to reclaim a part of there territories in Italy, which was taken from them by the raids of Belisaria.
In the war Armenia entered on the site of Persia,. On the eastern front against Persia the seasoned general Belisaria was sent, who managed to defeat the Persian army.
But Justinian recalled Belesaria again because of an alleged plot.

In that period other misfortunes happened.
In 542 Constantinople was struck by a powerful earthquake, and after that an epidemic spread, from which a number of people died. In 543 Justinian attacked Armenia (which was under Persia), and in 545 he made peace with the Persian emperor, whom he paid a large sum of money.
In 548 the Ostrogots managed to recapture Rome. In 550 Justinian mounted a new campaign on the territory of what is today Italy. For that purpose he hired his general Nars, who was of Armenian origin,
and who achieved two major victories against the Ostrogots.

Almost at the same time Justinian moun ted an assault on the Visigoths in Spain.
He used the infi ghting of the Visigoths and attacked this former Roman colony.
In 556 the Samarians lunched a big uprising against Justinian. In 557 there was another big earthquake in Constantinople.
Even the church “St. Sophia” collapsed. In 559 the Huns (the Bulgarian ancestors) entered the Balkans across the Danube. A part of them attacked Constantinople, but Belisaria repelled them. In 562 a plot against Justinian was organized which almost killed him. At the same time there was a shortage of food and water in Constantinople, so street riots broke out. In these kinds of restless times Justinian ended his life in 565. Justinian the 2nd came in his place.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

In the history of law the famous Justinian’s Codex is still taught. It is a collection of laws, which Justinian created and in acted as replacement of the old, most of the time confusing old Roman laws. He hired 10 experts under the guidance of John of Kapadokia, who prepared these laws. The commission ended its work on the 7th of April 529 and the Codex Justinianus was published. After that a number of other laws were enacted concerning taxes and etc.

For his credits to Christianity Justinian was anointed a saint. He also wrote a number f religious works and poems. Some historians claim that the lovely poem “ Ige Heruvimi” is his work. In 553 he called the 5th Universal Council so that several questions about faith can be cleared.

He established the curch Justinian Prima, from which the Ohrid archdiocese later developed.
At the end we can say that some of the neighbouring church historians manipulate with the origin of this famous Byzantine emperor and Macedonian saint, so I came upon Serbian church books in which it is written that St. Justinian “was probably a Serb from the vicinity of Skopje” as well as in Bulgarian books in which it states that he was a Bulgarian and was born “near Bulgarian capital Sofia”.

But, Justinian is a son of Macedonia.
A Byzantine chronic Prokopie (6th century ) for St. Justinian writes that (quote):”…he built a beautiful city called Justinian Prima. That’s how he fulfilled his debt to his homeland…
He accomplished other such deeds in Macedonia”.
(a quote from George Radule: “ Who Falsified History?” Stip, 2002, page 55).

Writer:
Aleksandar DONSKI

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