Justin under Justinian: the rise of Emperor Justin II revisited

Lin, S. (2021) Justin under Justinian: the rise of Emperor Justin II revisited. Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 75, pp. 121-142.

Abstract

This article revisits the career of Emperor Justin II (565–578) prior to his accession. Although he does not appear frequently in the sources, it is nonetheless possible to piece together the future emperor’s networks and examine his ties with the imperial aristocracy. While Justin’s chief dynastic competitor, a military-minded relative also named Justin, has generally received a positive reception among Byzantinists, our protagonist has not, in no small part thanks to military defeats and policy failures in the 570s. The decades before his reign, however, were very different and we can reconstruct from the sources an active individual whose broad responsibilities and connections no doubt helped him to secure the throne in 565. Furthermore, through a prosopographical comparison of the two Justins’ families and allies, it becomes all the more clear why Justin II succeeded his uncle, for he had possessed strong ties to the houses of Empress Theodora and Emperor Anastasius and had friends who were increasingly prominent in court life in the final years of Justinian.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Lin, Dr Sihong
• Authors: Lin, S.
• Subjects: D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D111 Medieval History
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > History
• Journal Name: Dumbarton Oaks Papers
• Journal Abbr.: DOP
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University
• First Published: First published in Dumbarton Oaks Papers 75:121-142
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license