Biography of Justinian I, Emperor of Byzantine

Biography of Justinian I, Emperor of Byzantine Justinian, or  Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Justinianus, was arguably the most important ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire. Considered by some scholars to be  the last great Roman emperor and the first great Byzantine emperor, Justinian fought to reclaim Roman territory and left a lasting impact on architecture and law. His relationship with his wife, Empress Theodora, would play an essential role in the course of his reign. Justinians Early Years Justinian, whose given name was Petrus Sabbatius, was born in 483 C.E. to peasants in the Roman province of Illyria. He may have still been in his teens when he came to Constantinople. There, under the sponsorship of his mothers brother, Justin, Petrus acquired a superior education. However, thanks to his Latin background, he always spoke Greek with a notable accent. At this time, Justin was a highly-ranked military commander, and Petrus was his favorite nephew. The younger man climbed the social ladder with a hand up from the older, and he held several important offices. In time, the childless Justin officially adopted Petrus, who took the name Justinianus in his honor. In 518, Justin became Emperor. Three years later, Justinian became a consul. Justinian and Theodora Sometime before the year 523, Justinian met the actress Theodora. If The Secret History by Procopius is to be believed, Theodora was a courtesan as well as an actress, and her public performances bordered on the pornographic. Later authors defended Theodora, claiming that she had undergone a religious awakening and that she found ordinary work as a wool spinner to support herself honestly. No one knows precisely how Justinian met Theodora, but he appears to have fallen hard for her. She was not only beautiful, but she was also shrewd and able to appeal to Justinian on an intellectual level. She was also known for her passionate interest in religion; she had become a Monophysite, and Justinian may have taken a measure of tolerance from her plight. They also shared humble beginnings and were somewhat apart from Byzantine nobility. Justinian made Theodora a patrician, and in 525 - the same year that he received the title of Caesar - he made her his wife. Throughout his life, Justinian would rely on Theodora for support, inspiration, and guidance. Rising to the Purple Justinian owed much to his uncle, but Justin was well-repaid by his nephew. He had made his way to the throne through his skill, and he had governed through his strengths; but through much of his reign, Justin enjoyed the advice and allegiance of Justinian. This was especially true as the emperors reign drew to a close. In April of 527, Justinian was crowned co-emperor. At this time, Theodora was crowned Augusta. The two men would share the title for only four months before Justin passed away in August of that same year. Emperor Justinian Justinian was an idealist and a man of great ambition. He believed he could restore the empire to its former glory, both in terms of the territory it encompassed and the achievements made under its aegis. He wanted to reform the government, which had long suffered from corruption, and clear up the legal system, which was heavy with centuries of legislation and outmoded laws. He had great concern for religious righteousness and wanted persecutions against heretics and orthodox Christians alike to end. Justinian also appears to have had a sincere desire to improve the lot of all citizens of the empire. When his reign as sole emperor began, Justinian had many different issues to deal with, all in the space of a few years. Justinians Early Reign One of the very first things Justinian attended to was a reorganization of Roman, now Byzantine, Law. He appointed a commission to begin the first book of what was to be a remarkably extensive and thorough legal code. It would come to be known as the Codex Justinianus  (the  Code of Justinian).  Although the Codex would contain new laws, it was primarily a compilation and clarification of centuries of existing law, and it would become one of the most influential sources in western legal history.   Justinian then set about instituting governmental reforms. The officials he appointed were at times too enthusiastic in rooting out long-entrenched corruption, and the well-connected targets of their reform did not go easily. Riots began to break out, culminating in the most famous Nika Revolt of 532. But thanks to the efforts of Justinians able general Belisarius, the riot was ultimately put down; and thanks to the support of Empress Theodora, Justinian showed the kind of backbone that helped solidify his reputation as a courageous leader. Though he may not have been loved, he was respected. After the revolt, Justinian took the opportunity to conduct a massive construction project that would add to his prestige and make Constantinople an impressive city for centuries to come. This included the rebuilding of the marvelous cathedral, the Hagia Sophia. The building program was not restricted to the capital city, but extended throughout the empire, and included the construction of aqueducts and bridges, orphanages and hostels, monasteries and churches; and it encompassed the restoration of entire towns destroyed by earthquakes (an unfortunately all-too-frequent occurrence). In 542, the empire was struck by a devastating epidemic that would later be known as Justinians Plague or the Sixth-Century Plague. According to Procopius, the emperor himself succumbed to the disease, but fortunately, he recovered. Justinians Foreign Policy When his reign began, Justinians troops were fighting Persian forces along the Euphrates. Although the considerable success of his generals (Belisarius in particular) would allow the Byzantines to conclude equitable and peaceful agreements, war with the Persians would flare up repeatedly through most of Justinians reign. In 533, the intermittent mistreatment of Catholics by the Arian Vandals in Africa came to a disturbing head when the Catholic king of the Vandals, Hilderic, was thrown into prison by his Arian cousin, who took his throne. This gave Justinian an excuse to attack the Vandal kingdom in North Africa, and once again his general Belisarius served him well. When the Byzantines were through with them, the Vandals no longer posed a serious threat, and North Africa became part of the Byzantine Empire. It was Justinians view that the western empire had been lost through indolence, and he believed it his duty to re-acquire territory in Italy - especially Rome - as well as other lands that had once been part of the Roman Empire. The Italian campaign lasted well over a decade, and thanks to Belisarius and Narses, the peninsula ultimately came under Byzantine control - but at a terrible cost. Most of Italy was devastated by the wars, and a few short years after Justinians death, invading Lombards were able to capture large portions of the Italian peninsula. Justinians forces were far less successful in the Balkans. There, bands of Barbarians continually raided Byzantine territory, and though occasionally repulsed by imperial troops, ultimately, Slavs and Bulgars invaded and settled within the borders of the Eastern Roman Empire. Justinian and the Church Emperors of Eastern Rome usually took a direct interest in ecclesiastical matters and often played a significant role in the direction of the Church. Justinian saw his responsibilities as emperor in this vein. He forbade pagans and heretics from teaching, and he closed the famous Academy for being pagan and not, as was often charged, as an act against classical learning and philosophy.   Though an adherent to Orthodoxy himself, Justinian recognized that much of Egypt and Syria followed the Monophysite form of Christianity, which had been branded a heresy. Theodoras support of the Monophysites undoubtedly influenced him, at least in part, to attempt to strike a compromise. His efforts did not go well. He tried to force western bishops to work with the Monophysites and even held Pope Vigilius in Constantinople for a time. The result was a break with the papacy that lasted until 610 C.E.   Justinians Later Years After the death of Theodora in 548, Justinian showed a marked decline in activity and appeared to withdraw from public matters. He became deeply concerned with theological issues, and at one point even went so far as to take a heretical stand, issuing in 564 an edict declaring that the physical body of Christ was incorruptible and that it only appeared to suffer. This was immediately met with protests and refusals to follow the edict, but the issue was resolved when Justinian died suddenly on the night of November 14/15, 565. His nephew, Justin II succeeded Justinian.   The Legacy of Justinian For nearly 40 years, Justinian guided a burgeoning, dynamic civilization through some of its most turbulent times. Although much of the territory acquired during his reign was lost after his death, the infrastructure he succeeded in creating through his building program would remain. And while both his foreign expansion endeavors and his domestic construction project would leave the empire in financial difficulty, his successor would remedy that without too much trouble. Justinians reorganization of the administrative system would last some time, and his contribution to legal history would be even more far-reaching.   After his death, and after the death of the writer Procopius (a highly respected source for Byzantine history), a scandalous exposà © was published known to us as The Secret History. Detailing an imperial court rife with corruption and depravity, the work - which most scholars believe was indeed written by Procopius, as it was claimed - attacks both Justinian and Theodora as greedy, debauched and unscrupulous. While most scholars acknowledge the authorship of Procopius, the content of The Secret History remains controversial; and over the centuries, while it tarred the reputation of Theodora pretty badly, it has largely failed to reduce the stature of Emperor Justinian. He remains one of the most impressive and important emperors in Byzantine history.

Profile and Biography of Socrates

Profile and Biography of Socrates The Greek philosopher Socrates was born c. 470/469 B.C., in Athens, and died in 399 B.C. To put this in the context of the other great men of his time, the sculptor Pheidias died c. 430; Sophocles and Euripides died c. 406; Pericles died in 429; Thucydides died c. 399; and the architect Ictinus completed the Parthenon in c. 438. Athens was producing the extraordinary art and monuments for which she would be remembered. Beauty, including personal, was vital. It was linked with being good. However, Socrates was ugly, according to all accounts, a fact that made him a good target for Aristophanes in his comedies. Who Was Socrates? Socrates was a great Greek philosopher, possibly the wisest sage of all time. He is famous for contributing to philosophy: Pithy sayingsThe Socratic method of discussion or dialogueSocratic irony A discussion of Greek democracy often focuses on a sadder aspect of his life: his state-mandated execution. Family Although we have many details about his death, we know little about the life of Socrates. Plato provides us the names of some of his family members: Socrates father was Sophroniscus (thought to have been a stonemason), his mother was Phaenarete, and his wife, Xanthippe (a proverbial shrew). Socrates had 3 sons, Lamprocles, Sophroniscus, and Menexenus. The oldest, Lamprocles, was about 15 at the time his father died. Death The Council of 500 [see Athenian Officials in the Time of Pericles] condemned Socrates to death for impiety for not believing in the gods of the city and for introducing new gods. He was offered an alternative to death, paying a fine, but refused it. Socrates fulfilled his sentence by drinking a cup of poison hemlock in front of friends. Socrates as Citizen of Athens Socrates is remembered chiefly as a philosopher and the teacher of Plato, but he was also a citizen of Athens, and served the military as a hoplite during the Peloponnesian War, at Potidaea (432–429), where he saved Alcibiades life in a skirmish, Delium (424), where he remained calm while most around him were in a panic, and Amphipolis (422). Socrates also participated in the Athenian democratic political organ, the Council of the 500. As a Sophist The 5th century B.C. sophists, a name based on the Greek word for wisdom, are familiar to us mostly from the writings of Aristophanes, Plato, and Xenophon, who opposed them. Sophists taught valuable skills, especially rhetoric, for a price. Although Plato shows Socrates opposing the sophists, and not charging for his instruction, Aristophanes, in his comedy Clouds, portrays Socrates as a greedy master of the sophists craft. Although Plato is considered the most reliable source on Socrates and he says Socrates was not a sophist, opinions differ on whether Socrates was essentially different from the (other) sophists. Contemporary Sources Socrates is not known to have written anything. He is best known for the dialogues of Plato, but before Plato painted his memorable portrait in his dialogues, Socrates was an object of ridicule, described as a sophist, by Aristophanes. In addition to writing about his life and teaching, Plato and Xenophon wrote about Socrates defense at his trial, in separate works both called Apology. The Socratic Method Socrates is known for the Socratic method (elenchus), Socratic irony, and the pursuit of knowledge. Socrates is famous for saying that he knows nothing and that the unexamined life is not worth living. The Socratic method involves asking a series of questions until a contradiction emerges invalidating the initial assumption. Socratic irony is the position that the inquisitor takes that he knows nothing while leading the questioning.

Youth and Urban Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Youth and Urban Culture - Essay Example While examining the youth culture and subcultures it has been seen that it is important that the youth are taught to adapt conventional political and moral outlooks and are habituated to discipline in working life. Subcultures emerge as solution to problems that are collectively faced because of challenges in the social structure (Brake ix). The objective of this paper is to talk about the influence of the youth on the urban culture, bringing out the behavioral patterns and lifestyles of the former especially in modern urban setting. Youth as Subculture The study of subculture is done in relation with the broader system of society. It includes symbolisms of clothing, music and other interests of the subculture and also how such symbolisms are looked upon by the members of the broader culture that dominates the subculture. In any subculture there is the struggle for establishment of subgroups of different values and lifestyles (Brake 3). Youth subculture represents themselves with the ir own style, interests and behaviour through their activities. They often adhere to their own rules outside their social institutions like home or school. They consciously form a signature style of their own which they relish and exploit (Gelder & Thornton, 1). Style is significant in subculture. It transforms the normal process and goes â€Å"against nature†. ... There was a dramatic change in the cultural expression of the class. With the introduction of mass media, shift from joint families to nuclear families, changes in the school and work organisations, all these resulted in disintegrating and polarizing the community of the working class. This method of polarization gave rise to youth culture (Hebdige 74). In the post war era the youth began to exhibit many â€Å"non-solidaristic elements† with the culture of their parents. The dominant culture of the parents refused to comply with the status established by the youth. This led to the youth being a â€Å"vehicle for anti-establishment currents† (Jenks 122). Cultural Significance There are many specific factors behind the youth culture and some of them are rise in the spending power among the youth of the working class, emergence of market as an outlet for spending the surplus income and reformations in the field of education. All these factors led to a consciousness among t he younger generation to create an identity of their own and often they were rebellious against the traditional norms. Youth was being regarded as a separate culture as they began to adopt their own style and behavioral patterns. In the 1920s, it was understood that youth culture is not devoid of classes when evidence was garnered on juvenile criminals on streets and bootleggers (Hebdige, 74-75). The youth subculture enforces their own social practices, lifestyle, choice of clothes, types of television programs, music and friendship groups. The attempt of the youth to maintain a separate cultural world from the adults is not insignificant. Such forms of â€Å"symbolic creativity† are essential for daily life for the young people and should be considered as an essential part of human