среда, 1 июля 2020 г.

News update 01/07/2020 (236400)

Several stages are clearly distinguished in the reign of Justinian I. The beginning of the reign (527-532) was a period of extensive charity, distribution of funds to the poor, tax cuts, and assistance to cities affected by the earthquake. At this time, the position of the Christian Church in the fight against other religions was strengthened: in Athens, the last stronghold of paganism, the Platonic Academy, was closed, the possibilities for open confession of the cults of other believers, Jews, Samaritans, etc., were limited. This was a period of wars with the neighboring Iranian power of the Sassanids for influence in South Arabia, the purpose of which was to gain a foothold in the ports of the Indian Ocean and thereby undermine Iran's monopoly on the silk trade with China. It was a time of struggle against the arbitrariness and abuses of the nobility.

The main event of this stage is the reform of law. In 528, Justinian established a commission of experienced lawyers and statesmen. Trebonian, a specialist in law, played the main role in it. First, the commission prepared a kind of constitution - the "Code of Justinian", then codes of specific laws - "Digests", as well as a guide to the study of law - "Institutions". During the legislative reform, they proceeded from the need to combine the norms of classical Roman law with the spiritual values ​​of Christianity. This was expressed primarily in the creation of a unified system of imperial citizenship and the proclamation of the equality of citizens before the law. The reform of Justinian completed the process of creating the legal regulation of the institution of private property, which began in the ancient Roman period. In addition, the laws of Justinian considered the slave no longer as a thing - a “talking tool”, but as a person. Although slavery was not abolished, many opportunities opened up for the slave to be freed: if he became a bishop, went to a monastery, became a soldier; it was forbidden to kill a slave, and the murder of another's slave entailed a cruel execution. In addition, under the new laws, the rights of women in the family were equalized with the rights of men. The laws of Justinian forbade divorce condemned by the church. At the same time, the epoch could not but leave an imprint on the law. Executions were frequent: for commoners - crucifixion, burning, giving to be eaten by wild animals, beating with rods to death, quartering; nobles were beheaded. An insult to the emperor was also punishable by death, even damage to his sculptural images. The emperor's reforms were interrupted by the Nika popular uprising in Constantinople (532). It all started with a conflict between two parties of fans in the circus: Veneti (“blue”) and Prasin (“green”). These were not only sports, but partly socio-political unions. Political grievances were added to the traditional struggle of the fans: the Prasins believed that the government was oppressing them, and patronizing the Venets. In addition, the lower classes were dissatisfied with the abuses of the "Minister of Finance" of Justinian - John of Canpadocia, but the nobility hoped to get rid of the upstart emperor. The leaders of the prasins presented their demands to the emperor, and in a very harsh manner, and when he rejected them, they called him a murderer and left the circus. Thus, an unheard-of insult was inflicted on the autocrat. The situation was complicated by the fact that when on the same day the instigators of the clash from both parties were arrested and sentenced to death, two of the condemned fell from the gallows (“were pardoned by God”), but the authorities refused to release them. Then a single "green-blue" party was created with the slogan "Nika!" (circus cry "Win!"). An open riot and arson began in the city. The emperor agreed to concessions, dismissing the ministers most hated by the people, but this did not bring peace. An important role was also played by the fact that the nobility distributed gifts and weapons to the rebellious plebs, inciting a rebellion. Neither attempts to suppress the uprising by force with the help of a detachment of barbarians, nor the public repentance of the emperor with the Gospel in his hands, yielded anything. The rebels now demanded his resignation and proclaimed the noble senator Hypatius emperor. Meanwhile, the fires were spreading. “The city was a heap of blackening ruins,” wrote a contemporary. Justinian was about to abdicate, but at that moment Empress Theodora declared that she preferred death to flight and that "the emperor's purple is an excellent shroud." Her determination played a big role, and Justinian decided to fight. The troops loyal to the government made a desperate attempt to regain control over the capital: a detachment of the victorious Persian commander Belisarius penetrated the circus, where there was a stormy rally of the rebels, and staged a brutal massacre there. It was said that 35 thousand people died, but the throne of Justinian survived.
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The terrible catastrophe that befell Constantinople - fires and deaths - did not, however, plunge either Justinian or the townspeople into despondency. In the same year, rapid construction began at the expense of the treasury. The pathos of restoration captured wide sections of the townspeople. In a sense, we can say that the city has risen from the ashes, like a fabulous Phoenix bird, and has become even more beautiful. The symbol of this upsurge was, of course, the construction of a miracle of miracles - the Church of St. Sophia in Constantinople. It began immediately, in 532, under the guidance of architects from the province - Aphmilia from Thrall and Isidore from

Miletus. Outwardly, the building could not impress the viewer with much, but a real miracle of transformation took place inside, when the believer found himself under a huge mosaic dome, which, as it were, hung in the air without any support. The dome with a cross hovered over the worshipers, symbolizing the divine cover over the empire and its capital. Justinian had no doubt that his authority had divine sanction. On holidays, he sat on the left side of the throne, and the right was empty - Christ was invisibly present on it. The autocrator dreamed that an invisible veil would be lifted up over the entire Roman Mediterranean. With the idea of ​​restoring the Christian empire - "the Roman house" - Justinian inspired the whole society.

When the dome of Sophia of Constantinople was still being erected, the second stage of Justinian's reign (532-540) began with the Great Liberation Campaign to the West.

By the end of the first third of the VI century. the barbarian kingdoms that arose in the western part of the Roman Empire were in deep crisis. They were torn apart by religious strife: the main population professed Orthodoxy, but the barbarians, Goths and Vandals were Arians, whose teaching was declared a heresy, condemned in the 4th century. at the I and II Ecumenical Councils of the Christian Church. Within the barbarian tribes themselves, social stratification was rapidly going on, discord grew between the nobility and commoners, which undermined the combat effectiveness of the armies. The elite of the kingdoms were busy with intrigues and conspiracies and did not care about the interests of their states. The indigenous population was waiting for the Byzantines as liberators. The reason for the start of the war in Africa was the fact that the Vandal nobility overthrew the legitimate king - a friend of the empire - and put his relative Gelimer on the throne. In 533, Justinian sent an army of 16,000 under the command of Belisarius to the African shores. The Byzantines managed to covertly land and freely occupy the capital of the Vandal kingdom - Carthage. The Orthodox clergy and the Roman nobility solemnly welcomed the imperial troops. The common people also treated their appearance sympathetically, because. Belisarius severely punished robberies and looting. King Gelimer tried to organize resistance, but lost the decisive battle. The Byzantines were helped by chance: at the beginning of the battle, the king's brother died, and Gelimer left the troops to bury him. The Vandals thought the king had fled, and panic seized the army. All Africa was in the hands of Belisarius. Under Justinian I, grandiose construction began here - 150 new cities were built, close trade contacts with the Eastern Mediterranean were restored. The province experienced economic growth throughout the 100 years that it was part of the empire.