The reign of the eastern Roman emperor Justinian (527-565 CE) is in many ways emblematic of the sixth century. This is understandable, given his unusually long reign of thirty-eight years. By comparison, one often thinks of the emperors Augustus and Constantine, who were equally noted for the length of their reigns (forty-one years and thirty-one years respectively) and for their influence on ensuing eras. The reign of Augustus laid the groundwork that accustomed the governing classes of Rome to the rule of one man, while that of Constantine facilitated the emergence of a Christian imperial identity. In both cases, however, arguments may be made that subordinate the agency of individual emperors to longer historical trends during their lifetimes: for example, the nearly century-long experimentation with autocratic roles that preceded the rise of Augustus, and, in the case of Constantine, the already increasing influence of Christian urban leadership. In other words, even with emperors such as Augustus and Constantine, there has been healthy hesitation to accord them too much personal agency in the making of an era.
In the case of Justinian, we have a reign of comparable length, but with far less consensus concerning his actual role in setting trends for the emergence of a new period of Mediterranean history. This lack of consensus is in part a result of the way modern scholars interpret Justinian’s reign within the wider historical framework. The western Roman Empire had fragmented into the so-called ‘successor states’ well before Justinian’s reign, and his efforts to regain those territories (especially in Italy) would prove ephemeral, while eastern Roman territories would experience a similar process within the decades following Justinian with the appearance of Avars, Slavs and, eventually, Islam. Hence, it is difficult to see Justinian as the instigator of deep historical changes in the political fabric of the late-antique Mediterranean. In geopolitical terms, it is easier to understand him as an ‘actor’ than as an ‘author’.
But there is another reason for a particularly noteworthy ambivalence in modern scholarship’s interpretation of Justinian’s legacy and in assigning a ‘character’ to the Age of Justinian. This is the often contradictory nature of sources available for interpreting his reign. Polemical differences concerning Justinian and the policies of his court seem to dominate the sources far more than is the case with the reigns of Augustus and Constantine. Polemical receptions of Constantine certainly surface in the literature, although they are rather feeble complaints by comparison to the reign of Justinian. Here, it is important to make note that polemic was likely a feature of any imperial reign that made, or at least threatened to make, lasting changes to the status quo enjoyed by the governing elites who produced the majority of our sources. But the exact contours of the contemporary debates depend on the survivability of sources, and where the number of sources available for the reign of Augustus is slight in comparison to what we have for Constantine, the survival of sources from Justinian’s reign is correspondingly robust by comparison to that of Constantine. It is precisely this volume of textual sources that reveals the contemporary polemic and is responsible for the ambivalent assessments of Justinian’s reign made by modern scholarship. The sources are varied both in their nature, across multiple genres and media, and in their sympathies with regard to the eastern imperial court, to the extent that the Justinian to whom we have access seems to have multiple personalities. And modern scholars have followed a tendency to privilege one or another of these Justinianic personas by muting or discounting the validity of some source materials in preference to others. As a result, the real personality of Justinian and his lasting influence on the formation of an era remains deeply unresolved in modern scholarly literature.
This is where Fiona Haarer’s book makes a welcome contribution. Recent years have seen a number of substantial studies, either biographies of Justinian or more often analyses of the society in which he reigned. But rather than advance one particular interpretation of the reign, Haarer’s book seeks to outline the contours of both sixth-century and modern debates concerning Justinian and his society. The book combines aspects of a monograph and an anthology, and this is precisely its virtue. Following the guidelines of the series to which it belongs, it is a compilation of prominent topics that collectively reconstruct Justinian’s society, with each topic being organized around the main sources and debates that have animated Justinianic studies. Thus, rather than advancing new arguments about Justinian and his milieu or even advancing the author’s own preferred interpretations, this volume offers a skillfully assembled abridgement of prominent topics of interest, the primary sources that provide the most compelling evidence relating to each topic, and a bibliographic summary of scholarly interpretations currently shaping the debates. As such, Haarer has produced what really should be regarded as the first of its kind, a scholarly tool that will allow uninitiated audiences to navigate recent Justinianic scholarship. It should also prove to be a valuable resource for scholars more familiar with the material.
The book is divided into two parts. Part I is dedicated to thematic content, where readers will find helpful summaries of each topic (for example, the chronological course of Justinian’s various wars or the background to the theological debates of his reign). Evidence throughout includes laws, inscriptions, coins, histories, diptychs, and religious narratives (ecclesiastical histories, hagiography, and liturgies), thus providing the most substantial treatment possible and inviting readers to consider the perspective of evidence not commonly brought into the discussion. Part II is dedicated to translations from a sampling of the sources discussed in Part I. Although by no means exhaustive, the eighty-two excerpts presented will prove useful for courses that focus on the society of Justinian’s reign. The back matter of the volume includes a chronology of events from Justinian’s life, a list of popes and patriarchs, a glossary of terms suited to the non-specialist, a summary of further reading, a list of potential essay questions, a carefully curated bibliography of primary sources and modern scholarship, and finally a thorough index.
Although Haarer’s book outlines current debates, rather than advancing its own overarching argument, a brief summary of the thematic contents of Part I should prove useful for readers considering the utility of the book. The introduction (pp. 3-11) emphasizes the contrast between the tumult of Justinian’s reign and Justinian’s overall attempts to bring order to the empire, which Haarer notes produced the irreconcilable portrayals of Justinian and his age in modern scholarship. The introduction also offers a brief survey of the major sources used to reconstruct the sixth century. Chapter 1 (pp. 12-32) treats Justinian’s rise to power and his early years on the throne, with special attention to the role of his predecessor, Justin I, in shaping Justinian’s policies; the role of the circus factions; the controversial reputation of the empress, Theodora; and the Nika Revolt of 532. In Chapter 2 (pp. 33-48) Haarer opens the topic of the eastern empire’s fraught relationship with Persia and provides an excellent overview of the progress of the eastern campaigns, the main benefit of which is to provide a clear chronology that navigates the sometimes confusing web of sources needed to piece together the eastern campaigns. The major debate considered by Haarer in this chapter is whether Justinian pursued an active policy of offensive campaigning against the Persians or whether his policies were primarily reactive and defensive.
The western campaigns (primarily in North Africa and Italy) occupy Chapter 3 (pp. 49-74). Again, the chapter offers a concise summary of the chronology of each campaign and the causes of the respective conflicts, and also offers a consideration of the economic impact of re-integrating North Africa and Italy into the empire (especially with regard to investment in building projects) and the extent to which territorial restoration contributed to resolving confessional differences among the Christian communities of the empire. Haarer should have paid more attention to what she calls ‘the final flourish of western adventurism’ (p. 73) in Spain. The relationship of Christian communities to the imperial state is the focus of Chapter 4 (pp. 75-94), with particular interest in Justinian’s personal involvement in matters of church theology and debate, and the chapter provides a thorough account of the history of Christian church councils and schisms. It concludes with a survey of modern debates about the suitability of discussing Justinian in relation to ‘caesaropapism’. In Chapter 5 (pp. 95-119), Haarer provides an overview of Justinian’s governmental policies. Financial administration, social reforms, and his much-discussed legislative compilations receive the bulk of attention. The final chapter (pp. 120-139) concerns Justinian’s involvement, whether conscious or not, in the empire’s transition from a Classical pagan culture to a Byzantine Christian culture. This chapter supplies evidence for Justinian’s sometimes paradoxical relationship to Roman imperial tradition, including debates about the closure of the Platonic school at Athens; the overall ambivalence of the imperial court toward traditional, non-Christian festivals and celebrations; and Justinian’s patronage of authors and their works.
Although Haarer’s book will prove immensely helpful to non-specialist readers and scholars alike, some topics could have received more thorough treatments, such as Justinian’s persecution of pagans and other non-Christian groups, which is only mentioned in passing (for example, pp. 88 and 90). Similarly, readers will find little concerning topics of social history (gender, slavery, rural life, etc.), and where mention is made, it is primarily where these topics intersect directly with Justinian’s reforms and legislation. Thus, the overall portrayal of “Empire and Society” suggested by the book’s title falls somewhat short. In fairness, it may be that the author felt current scholarship was not robust enough to include such topics, but this represents something of a missed opportunity: highlighting under-explored avenues of research and study could have been a substantial complementary role for a book of this nature. On the whole, however, Haarer has produced a remarkable piece of scholarship, impeccably thorough in its review of both evidence and scholarly literature, written with a lively and accessible style and worthy of gracing the shelves of any scholar of late antiquity.