JUSTINIAN I
The emperor Justinian I ruled the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire from 527 until 565. He is significant for his efforts to regain the lost provinces of the Western Roman Empire, his CODIFICATION of ROMAN LAW, and his architectural achievements.
Justinian was born circa 482 in Pauresium,
Illyricum (probably south of modern Niss, Ser-
bia). Justinian came to the throne with the
intention of reestablishing the Roman Empire as
it had been before the provinces of the Western
Roman Empire fell under the control of various
Germanic tribes during the fifth century. To this
end, he sent his armies against the Vandals in
North Africa (roughly, modern Algeria and
Tunisia), the Visigoths in Spain, and the Ostro-
goths in Italy. The Vandals surrendered in 534,
but the Visigoths and Ostrogoths proved more
difficult. Justinian’s forces never succeeded in
capturing more than a small part of Spain and
subdued Italy only after a devastating war that
