Compare Justinian, Charlemagne

A detailed Summary of Compare Justinian, Charlemagne

Emperor Justinian ruled from 527-565. He was born in an Illyrian village to a peasant family and joined the army at an early age. He quickly rose in rank, as his uncle Justin was the emperor at that time. He married an actress named Theodora and shortly before his uncle died he claimed the throne. He is noted for various achievements throughout his unusually long reign (there were a whole string of short-lived emperors between Theodosius and him). These included the recapture of many of the western provinces of the empire, the collection of all Roman law, and the building of the Hagia Sophia. These achievements were not however, universally admired, one of his biographers, Procopius, gives us an entirely different view of events and when his accomplishments are mentioned are it is only in a spiteful manner. So there are distinctly different views of his success.

It is not doubted that Justinian did achieve a few important things throughout his thirty-eight year reign. He collected together all of the Roman law codes into three parts. Such a feat had not been attempted for over a hundred years, "Tribonian and a commission were assigned the task of producing the first comprehensive collection of Roman law sin

The main virtue that Charlemagne possessed was his ability to intimidate people, to cause others to fear him. This made him powerful because many were in awe of his imperial presence. One of his vices was the ignorance of internal threats against him. There was more than one plot to depose him, including one by his own son Pepin, but fortunately he was able to catch these plots before they flowered so ensure his position as emperor.

One of his major achievements was the introduction of a new style of ruling, which was to last for many centuries to come. " Charlemagne required all males to swear an oath of allegiance to him, and he compared himself to a biblical king in his responsibility to admonish, to teach and to set an example for his people." This caused an upheaval of the previous system because it was necessary for the ruler to be a man of immense power and charisma in order that it be upheld. He engaged in multiple wars so as to expand his empire, and as a consequence caused much suffering. His main biographer, Einhard, was also a close friend and as a result writes very highly of him. "Such are the wars (that were fought by him), most skillfully planned and successfully fought, which this most powerful king waged during his reign."

There are examples of the vices of Justinian, which lessened people's view of him, mostly from the biography by Procopius. One major flaw was his marriage with Theodora. She was a common actress, and was reputed to have resorted to prostitution as a means of living

Some common words found in the essay are:
Roman Empire, Hagia Sophia, Theodosius II, Emperor Justinian, Emperor Justin, Procopius Justinian, Muslims Huns, roman law, Reign Charlemagne, building hagia, position emperor, people's view, collection roman, collected roman, hagia sophia, collection roman law, building hagia sophia,

Approximate Word count = 1023
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History