THE CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO

THE AGE OF JUSTINIAN

This book introduces the Age of Justinian, which was both the last Roman century and the first flowering of Byzantine culture. Dominated by the policies and personality of emperor Justinian Ⅰ (r. 527–565), this period of grand achievements and far-reaching failures witnessed the transformation of the Mediterranean world. In this volume, twenty specialists explore the most important aspects of the age, including warfare, urbanism, economy and the mechanics and theory of empire. They also discuss the impact of the great plague, the codification of Roman law, and the religious controversies of the day. Consideration is given to imperial relations with the papacy, northern barbarians, the Persians, and other eastern peoples, shedding new light on a dramatic and highly significant historical period.

Michael Maas is Professor of History and Director of the Program in Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations at Rice University.

THE CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO

THE AGE OF JUSTINIAN JUSTINIAN

Edited by

MICHAEL MAAS
Rice University

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo

Cambridge University Press
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© Cambridge University Press

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First published 2005

Printed in the United States of America

A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

The Cambridge companion to the Age of Justinian / edited by Michael Maas.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-521-81746-3 (hardback) – ISBN 0-521-52071-1 (pbk.)
1. Byzantine Empire–History–Justinian I, 527–565. I. Maas, Michael, 1951–
DF572.C35   2004
949.5′013 –DC22     2004049266

ISBN -13   978-0-521-81746-2 hardback
ISBN -10   0-521-81746-3 hardback

ISBN -13   978-0-521-52071-3 paperback
ISBN -10   0-521-52071-1 paperback

Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for
the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or
third-party Internet Web sites referred to in this book
and does not guarantee that any content on such
Web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

This book is dedicated with great respect and affection
to Peter Brown

on the occasion of his seventieth birthday.

CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS

COLOR PLATES

(Color plates appear between pages 266–267.)

CONTRIBUTORS

JOSEPH D. ALCHERMES is Associate Professor in the Department of Art History and Architectural Studies at Connecticut College.

LESLIE BRUBAKER is Reader in Byzantine Art History and Director of the Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman, and Modern Greek Studies at the University of Birmingham.

BRIAN CROKE is Executive Director of the Catholic Education Commission, Sydney.

FRED M. DONNER is Professor of Near Eastern History in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.

PATRICK T. R. GRAY is Professor of Religious Studies in the School of Arts and Letters in the Atkinson Faculty of York University, Toronto.

GEOFFREY GREATREX is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa.

JOHN HALDON is Professor of Byzantine History in the Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman, and Modern Greek Studies and Head of the School of Historical Studies at the University of Birmingham.

KENNETH HOLUM is Professor of History at the University of Maryland.

PEREGRINE HORDENis Reader in Medieval History, Royal Holloway, University of London.

CAROLINE HUMFRESS is Lecturer in Late Antique and Early Medieval History at Birkbeck College, London.

DEREK KRUEGER is Professor and Head of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

NICHOLAS DE LANGE is Professor of Hebrew and Jewish Studies at the University of Cambridge.

A. D. LEE Senior Lecturer in Classical Studies at the University of Nottingham.

MICHAEL MAAS is Professor of History at Rice University.

CHARLES PAZDERNIK is Assistant Professor of Classics at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan.

WALTER POHL is Director of the Institute of Medieval Research at the Austrian Academy of Sciences and teaches medieval history at the University of Vienna.

LUCAS VAN ROMPAY is Professor of Eastern Christianity in the Department of Religion at Duke University.

CLAIRE SOTINELis Maître de Conférences in Roman History at the University of Bordeaux.

CLAUDIA RAPP is Associate Professor in the History Department at the University of California at Los Angeles.

CHRISTIAN WILDBERG is Professor of Classics at Princeton University.

ABBREVIATIONS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It is a pleasure to thank friends and colleagues at several institutions who assisted in the preparation of this book. First of all, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the A.G. Leventis Foundation, whose kind interest and generosity at the eleventh hour made the publication of this book possible. The School of Historical Studies, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, N.J., provided a most congenial atmosphere in which to plan the volume during the academic year 2000–2001. The American Philosophical Society also supported my research during that time. I warmly thank both institutions. Gale Stokes, when Dean of Humanities at Rice University, supplied funds for the color photographs. Catherine Howard, Kamila Bergen, and copy-editor Sage Rountree supplied invaluable assistance with the manuscript. Advice and aid came from Emily Albu, Joseph Alchermes, Morten Axboe, Susan Ashbrook Harvey, Matthias Henze, Carol Quillen, Julia Smith, Lisa Spiro, and as always, Paula Sanders. Beatrice Rehl at Cambridge University Press skilfully guided the entire project from its beginning; Kate Mertes expertly prepared the index; and Zachary Dorsey of TechBooks supervised the volume's production with exceptional efficiency. To all of them I am most grateful. Most of all I wish to thank the contributors to this volume for their patience and good humor.

SELECT LIST OF ANCIENT SOURCES

Agapetus. Sixth-century deacon, possibly of Hagia Sophia, whose Mirror of Princes, written between 527 and 548, advised Justinian on how to be a good ruler. Partial translation by Ernest Barker, Social and Political Thought in Byzantium (Oxford 1957), 54–63.

Agathias, c. 532–c. 580. A lawyer at Constantinople whose Histories continue Procopius’s narratives: Agathias, the Histories, trans. J. D. Frendo (Berlin, 1975). In his Kyklos, or Cycle, he collected Greek epigrams, which are contained in the Greek Anthology, trans. W. R. Paton (Cambridge, Mass., 1916–1918).

Anonymous Treaty on Strategy. This discussion of defensive and offensive strategy was written by a professional soldier, probably in the sixth century. George T. Dennis, Three Byzantine Military Treatises (Washington, D.C., 1985).

Anonymous of Piacenza (see Piacenza Pilgrim).

Cassiodorus, c. 487–c. 580. Italian statesman and scholar. After his retirement from service under King Theoderic, he established a monastery at Vivarium in Calabria. His Variae or Official Correspondence collected edicts and letters he had written for Theoderic. Variae, trans. S. J. B. Barnish (1992) and The Letters of Cassiodorus, trans. Thomas Hodgkin (1886) contain selections. His History of the Goths, which no longer survives, was an important source for Jordanes. Charles C. Mierow, The Gothic History of Jordanes (1915).

Corippus, d. c. 567. This north African émigré to Constantinople wrote in Latin. His epic poem Johannis celebrated the victories of John Troglita over the Berbers in North Africa. The Iohannis or de Bellis Libycis of Flavius Cresconius Corippus, trans. George W. Shea (1998). His Panegyric on Justin Ⅱ, which honors Justinian’s successor, contains information about Justinian’s death, Justin’s succession, and political ideology. Flavius Cresconius Corippus, In Laudem Iustini Augusti minoris, libri IV, trans. Averil. M. Cameron (1976).

Cosmas Indicopleustes (first half of the sixth century). An Alexandrian merchant who traveled on the Red Sea and possibly went to India, Cosmas wrote the Christian Topography, which describes his voyages and attempts to refute Ptolemaic and Aristotelian astronomy, believing that the world’s shape imitates the tabernacle of Moses. The Christian Topography of Cosmas, trans. William McCrindle (London, 1897).

Cyril of Scythopolis, c. 525–c. 559. A Palestinian monk, whose Lives of the Monks of Palestine reveals much about ascetic practice in the desert monasteries of the sixth century. Lives of the Monks of Palestine, trans. R. M. Price and John Binns (Kalamazoo, Mich., 1991).

Evagrius Scholasticus, c. 536–after 594. A lawyer at Antioch, whose Church History covers the years 431–594, especially valuable for the post-Justinianic period. Ecclesiastical History, trans. Michael Whitby (2000).

John Malalas, c. 490–c. 575. An Antiochene bureaucrat who moved to Constantinople around 540 and wrote the Chronicle, or Chronographia, which tells the history of the world from the Creation to the death of Justinian. A valuable source for contemporary attitudes and beliefs. John Malalas, The Chronicle, translated by Elizabeth Jeffreys, Michael Jeffreys, Roger Scott, et al. (Melbourne, 1986).

John of Nikiu. A late-seventh-century Egyptian bishop who composed a chronicle in Greek (now lost), surviving only in Ethiopic, covering the period from Adam to the Arab conquest of Egypt. It is the only eyewitness account of the conquest. The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiou, trans. R. H. Charles (London, 1916).

John Philoponos, c. 490–after 567 or 574. A Christian trained in Neoplatonic philosophy who taught at Alexandria, known especially for his criticism of Aristotle on many issues. Philoponus: Against Aristotle on the Eternity of the World, trans. Christian Wildberg (1987). Other works are also translated.

John the Lydian (John Lydus), 490–c. 565. A bureaucrat in the praetorian praefecture in Constantinople and an antiquarian scholar. He wrote three treatises that preserve much information from earlier sources while responding to contemporary controversies. On Offices (De magistratibus) is translated as Ioannes Lydus On Powers or The Magistracies of the Roman State by Anastasius C. Bandy (Philadelphia, 1983). On Months and On Portents have not yet been translated into English.

Junillus Africanus, d. c. 549. Chief legal officer at Constantinople after Tribonian’s death, his Handbook of the Basic Principles of Divine Law presented a handbook of Christian exegesis for students. Translation by Michael Maas in Exegesis and Empire in the Early Byzantine Mediterranean (Tübingen, 2003).

Justinian, Roman emperor who reigned from 527–565. He was the author of many theological texts, some of which are translated by Kenneth P. Wesche, On the Person of Christ (Crestwood, N.Y., 1991). His Corpus iuris civilis(Corpus of Civil Law), which gathered prior Roman law and jurisprudence, consisted of the Institutes, Code, and Digest. He also published new laws called Novellae or Novels. P. Birks and G. MacLeod, trans., Justinian’s Institutes (1987); J.A.C. Thomas, The Institutes of Justinian (1975); and Alan Watson, ed., The Digest of Justinian (1998). The Novels and the Code are translated (unreliably) by S. P. Scott in The Civil Law (Cincinnati, 1932).

Marcellinus Comes (Count Marcellinus). Sixth-century functionary at Justinian’s court, he wrote a chronicle covering the eastern Mediterranean world during the years 379–534. As an eyewitness to events and a user of public documents, he is an important source for the reigns of Anastasius, Justin Ⅰ, and Justinian. Brian Croke, Chronicle of Marcellinus: Translation and Commentary (Sydney, 1995).

Menander Protector. This late-sixth-century historian was a member of the palace guard under the emperor Maurice (r. 582–602). He composed a continuation of Agathias’s History covering the period from 558–582. His work survives only as excerpts for a tenth-century Byzantine encyclopedia. R. C. Blockley, The History of Menander the Guardsman (Liverpool, 1985).

Paschal Chronicle(Easter Chronicle). The author of this early-seventh-century chronicle covering the Creation to 629 is unknown. It contains material on the Age of Justinian not found elsewhere. Michael Whitby and Mary Whitby, trans., Chronicon Paschale 284–628AD (Liverpool, 1989).

Paul the Silentiary. A court official late in Justinian’s reign, he composed a Description of Saint Sophia recited at the second dedication of the cathedral in 562. Sancta Sophia, trans. W. R. Lethaby and H. Swainson (London, 1894).

Peter the Patrician, c. 400–565. A lawyer and diplomat who served Justinian as master of offices for twenty-six years, he negotiated in Italy with the Goths and with Persian kings. Fragments of his writings survive. Some are translated into English by G. Greatrex and S. Lieu, The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars: Part II: 363–628 AD, Narrative Sourcebook (London, 2002).

Photius, c. 810–c. 893. Patriarch of Constantinople, whose Bibliotheca, or Library, contains summaries and comments on hundreds of earlier Greek sources, many now lost. Bibliothéque, French trans. René Henry (1959–1977); The Library of Photius, trans. John N. Freese (1920) contains only the first 165 of Photius’s summaries.

Piacenza Pilgrim. The account of this late-sixth-century traveler to the Holy Land contains much information about religious practice at holy sites, sacred geography, and architecture. John Wilkinson, Jerusalem Pilgrims before the Crusades(Warminster, Eng., 2002).

Procopius of Caesarea. The most important historian of Justinian’s reign and an eyewitness to many events. His Wars, in eight books, deals with the Vandalic, Gothic, and Persian conflicts; Buildings celebrates Justinian’s public works; and the Secret History or Anecdota is a vici- ous attack on the emperor, his court, and his policies. All Procopius's works are translated by H. B. Dewing and G. Downey (Cambridge, Mass., 1914–1940). The Secret History, trans., G. A. Williamson ( London, 1966).

Pseudo-Joshua the Stylite. His chronicle, the earliest extant work of Syriac historiography, deals with Byzantine–Persian relations during the period 494–506. It describes the misfortunes of the city of Edessa in Syria. The Chronicle of Pseudo-Joshua the Stylite, trans. Frank R. Trombley and John W. Watt (Liverpool, 2000).

Romanos the Melode. Sixth-century deacon in Constantinople, whose hymns reflect contemporary piety and religious practice. Excellent translations of selected hymns: Ephrem Lash, trans. St. Romanos the Melodist, Kontakia: On the Life of Christ (1995) and R. J. Schork, Sacred Song from the Byzantine Pulpit: Romanos the Melodist (1995). His complete works are translated by Marjorie Carpenter, Kontakia of Romanos, Byzantine Melodist, 2 vols. (Columbia, Mo., 1970).

Suda. A lexicon written about 1000 that compiles much information about earlier historians and other writers. The Suda is now being translated online: www.stoa.org/sol.

Theophanes Confessor, c. 760–817. A historian whose Chronographia covers the years 285–813. The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor, in Byzantine and Near Eastern History, AD 284–813, trans. Roger Scott and Cyril Mango (Oxford, 1997).

Theophylact Simocatta, early seventh century. The last historian writing in the classical tradition, he composed a narrative of the reign of emperor Maurice (582–602) as well as other works on natural history and theology. TheHistory of Theophylact Simocatta, trans. Michael Whitby, and Mary Whitby (Oxford, 1986).

CHRONOLOGY

MAPS

MAP 1. Justinian's empire in 565

MAP 2. The eastern provinces of the Roman Empire