This Historical Roman Siliqua Denar is a remarkable addition to any collection of historical memorabilia. The coin features the image of Justinian. The coin is an excellent addition for any collector.
Museums Denar: 17 mm 2.5 g
Justinian I (/dʒʌˈstɪniən/ just-IN-ee-ən; Latin: Iustinianus, Classical Latin: [juːstiːniˈaːnʊs]; Greek: Ἰουστινιανός, translit. Ioustinianós, Medieval Greek: [i.ustini.aˈnos]; 482 – 14 November 565),[b] also known as Justinian the Great,[c] was Eastern Roman emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized renovatio imperii, or "restoration of the Empire".[5] This ambition was expressed by the partial recovery of the territories of the defunct Western Roman Empire.[6] His general, Belisarius, swiftly conquered the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa. Subsequently, Belisarius, Narses, and other generals conquered the Ostrogothic kingdom, restoring Dalmatia, Sicily, Italy, and Rome to the empire after more than half a century of rule by the Ostrogoths. The praetorian prefect Liberius reclaimed the south of the Iberian Peninsula, establishing the province of Spania. These campaigns re-established Roman control over the western Mediterranean, increasing the Empire's annual revenue by over a million solidi.[7] During his reign, Justinian also subdued the Tzani, a people on the east coast of the Black Sea that had never been under Roman rule before.[8] He engaged the Sasanian Empire in the east during Kavad I's reign, and later again during Khosrow I's reign; this second conflict was partially initiated due to his ambitions in the west.
A still more resonant aspect of his legacy was the uniform rewriting of Roman law, the Corpus Juris Civilis, which is still the basis of civil law in many modern states.[9] His reign also marked a blossoming of Eastern Roman (Byzantine) culture, and his building program yielded works such as the Hagia Sophia.
Justinian was born in Tauresium,[10] Dardania,[11] probably in 482.[12] A native speaker of Latin (possibly the last Roman emperor to be one),[13] he came from a peasant family believed to have been of Illyro-Roman[14][15][16] or Thraco-Roman[17][18][19] origin. The name Iustinianus, which he took later, is indicative of adoption by his uncle Justin. During his reign, he founded Justiniana Prima not far from his birthplace.[20][21][22] His mother was Vigilantia, the sister of Justin. Justin, who was commander of one of the imperial guard units (the Excubitors) before he became emperor,[23] adopted Justinian, brought him to Constantinople, and ensured the boy's education.[23] As a result, Justinian was well educated in jurisprudence, theology, and Roman history.[23] Justinian served as a candidatus, one of 40 men selected from the scholae palatinae to serve as the emperor's personal bodyguard.[2] The chronicler John Malalas, who lived during the reign of Justinian, describes his appearance as short, fair-skinned, curly-haired, round-faced, and handsome. Another contemporary historian, Procopius, compares Justinian's appearance to that of tyrannical Emperor Domitian, although this is probably slander.[24]
The ancient town of Tauresium, the birthplace of Justinian I, located in today's North Macedonia. Parts of the town had been destroyed during Justinian's life.
Mosaic of Theodora, Justinian's wife
When Emperor Anastasius died in 518, Justin was proclaimed the new emperor with significant help from Justinian.[23] Justinian showed a lot of ambition, and several sources claim that he was functioning as virtual regent long before Justin made him associate emperor,[2] although there is no conclusive evidence of this.[25] As Justin became senile near the end of his reign, Justinian became the de facto ruler.[23] Following the general Vitalian's assassination in 520 (orchestrated by Justinian and Justin), Justinian was appointed consul and commander of the army of the east.[23][26] Justinian remained Justin's close confidant, and in 525 was granted the titles of nobilissimus and caesar (heir-apparent).[27][2] He was crowned co-emperor on 1 April 527,[28][d] and became sole ruler after Justin's death on 1 August 527.
As a ruler, Justinian showed great energy. He was known as "the emperor who never sleeps" for his work habits. Nevertheless, he seems to have been amiable and easy to approach.[30] Around 525, he married his mistress, Theodora, in Constantinople. She was by profession an actress and some twenty years his junior. In earlier times, Justinian could not have married her owing to her class, but his uncle, Emperor Justin I, had passed a law lifting restrictions on marriages with ex-actresses.[31][32] Though the marriage caused a scandal, Theodora would become very influential in the politics of the Empire. Other talented individuals included Tribonian, his legal adviser; Peter the Patrician, the diplomat and long-time head of the palace bureaucracy; Justinian's finance ministers John the Cappadocian and Peter Barsymes, who managed to collect taxes more efficiently than any before, thereby funding Justinian's wars; and finally, his prodigiously talented generals, Belisarius and Narses.
Justinian's rule was not universally popular; early in his reign he nearly lost his throne during the Nika riots, and a conspiracy against the emperor's life by dissatisfied entrepreneurs was discovered as late as 562.[33] Justinian was struck by the plague in the early 540s but recovered. Theodora died in 548[34] at a relatively young age, possibly of cancer; Justinian outlived her by nearly twenty years. Justinian, who had always had a keen interest in theological matters and actively participated in debates on Christian doctrine,[35] became even more devoted to religion during the later years of his life. He died on 14 November 565,[36] childless. He was succeeded by Justin II, who was the son of his sister Vigilantia and married to Sophia, the niece of Theodora. Justinian's body was entombed in a specially built mausoleum in the Church of the Holy Apostles until it was desecrated and robbed during the pillage of the city in 1204 by the Latin States of the Fourth Crusade.