Khosrau I
Shahanshah of the Sassanian (Persian) Empire
Hunting scene showing Shah Khosrau I
Reign	531 CE to 579 CE (48 years)
Titles	Anushirvan (of the immortal soul)
Died	579 CE
Place of death	Ctesiphon
Predecessor	Kavadh I
Successor	Hormizd IV
Father	Kavadh I
Religious beliefs	Zoroastrianism

Khosrau I (also called Chosroes I in classical sources, most commonly known in Persian as Anushirvan or Anushirwan, Persian: انوشيروان meaning the immortal soul), also known as Anushiravan the Just or Anushirawan the Just (انوشیروان عادل, Anushiravān-e-ādel or انوشيروان دادگر, Anushiravān-e-dādgar) (r. 531–579), was the favourite son and successor of Kavadh I (488–531), twentieth Sassanid Emperor (Persian: Shahanshah, Great King) of Persia, and the most famous and celebrated of the Sassanid Emperors.

He laid the foundations of many cities and opulent palaces, and oversaw the repair of trade roads as well as the building of numerous bridges and dams. During Khosrau I's ambitious reign, art and science flourished in Persia and the Sassanid Empire reached its peak of glory and prosperity. His rule was preceded by his father's and succeeded by Hormizd IV. "Khosrau of the immortal soul" is one of the most popular emperors in Iranian culture and literature and, outside of Iran, his name became, like that of Caesar in the history of Rome, a designation of the Sasanian kings.^[1]

Early life[link]

Khosrau I's father, Kavadh I, was involved with a group of Zoroastrians called the Mazdakites. The Mazdakites believed in an egalitarian society and many lower class peasants supported the Mazdakite revolution.^[2] Kavadh, wanting to centralize power by taking power away from the great noble families, supported this movement. Upon Kavadh's death in 531, the Mazdakites gave their loyalty to Kavadh's eldest son, Kawus, while the noble families and the Zoroastrian Magi gave their support to Khosrau I. Khosrau presented himself as an anti-Mazdakite supporter.^[3] He, much like his father, believed in a strong centralized government. Khosrau met his brother Kawus in war and defeated him as well as his Mazdakite followers. Subsequently Mazdak, as well as a majority of his followers, were executed for his heretical beliefs and Khosrau took the Sassanian throne.^[4] At Khosrau's succession, Byzantine and Sassanian Persia were in open conflict with each other. Neither empire was able to get an advantage of the other, causing Emperor Justinian and King Khosrau to agree on a peace treaty in 531.^[5]

Khosrau I was married to the daughter of a Turkish khaqan named in Armenian sources as Kayen^[6] and in the Persian sources as Qaqim-khaqan^[7]

Shahanshah[link]

Summary[link]

Khosrau I represents the epitome of the philosopher king in the Sassanian Empire. Upon his ascension to the throne, Khosrau did not restore power to the feudal nobility or the magi, but centralized his government.^[8] Khosrau's reign is considered to be one of the most successful within the Sassanian Empire. The peace agreement between Rome and Persia in 531 gave Khosrau the chance to consolidate power and focus his attention on interior improvement.^[9] His reforms and military campaigns marked a renaissance of the Sassanian Empire, which spread philosophic beliefs as well as trade goods from the far east to the far west.

Reforms[link]

The internal reforms under Khosrau were much more important than those on the exterior frontier. The subsequent reforms resulted in the rise of a bureaucratic state at the expense of the great noble families, strengthening the central government and the power of the Shahanshah. The army too was reorganized and tied to the central government rather than local nobility allowing greater organization, faster mobilization and a far greater cavalry corps. Reforms in taxation provided the empire with stability and a much stronger economy, allowing prolonged military campaigns as well as greater revenues for the bureaucracy.^[10]

Tax Reforms[link]

Khosrau's tax reforms have been praised by several scholars, the most notable of which is F. Altheim.^[11] The tax reforms, which were started under Kavadh I and completely implemented by Khosrau, strengthened the royal court by a great deal.^[12] Prior to Khosrau and Kavadh's reigns, a majority of the land was owned by seven great noble families: Suren, Waraz, Karen, Aspahbadh, Spandiyadh, Mihran, and Zik.^[13] These great landowners enjoyed tax exemptions from the Sassanian empire, and were tax collectors within their local provincial areas.^[14]

Minted Coin of Khosrau I.

With the outbreak of the Mazdakite revolution, there was a great uprising of peasants and lower class citizens who grabbed large portions of land under egalitarian values. As a result of this there was great confusion on land possession and ownership. Khosrau surveyed all the land within the empire indiscriminately and began to tax all land under a single program. Tax revenues that previously went to the local noble family now went to the central government treasury.^[14] The fixed tax that Khosrau implemented created a more stable form of income for the treasury.

Because the tax did not vary, the treasury could estimate fairly well how much they were going to make in revenue for the year.^[15] Prior to Khosrau's tax reforms, taxes were collected based on the yield that the land had produced. This system was changed to one which calculated and averaged taxation based on the water rights for each piece of property. Lands which grew date palms and olive trees used a slightly different method of taxation based on the amount of producing trees that the land contained.^[14] These tax reforms of Khosrau were the stepping stone which enabled subsequent reforms in the bureaucracy and the military to take place.

Bureaucracy Reforms[link]

Khosrau I seated on a throne

The hallmark of Khosrau's bureaucratic reform was the creation of a new social class. Before, the Sassanian Empire consisted of only three social classes, magi, nobles, and peasants/commoners. Khosrau added a fourth class to this hierarchy between the nobles and the peasants, called the deghans. The deghans were small land owning citizens of the Sassanian Empire and were considered lower nobility.

Khosrau promoted honest government officials based on trust and honesty, rather than corrupt nobles and magi.^[16] The small landowning deghans were favored over the high nobles because they tended to be more trustworthy and owned their loyalty to the Shah for their position in the bureaucracy.^[8] The rise of deghans became the backbone of the empire because they were now held the majority of land and positions in local and provincial administration.^[17]

The reduction of power of the great families helped to improve the empire. This was because previously, each great family ruled a large chunk of land and each had their own king. The name Shahanshah, meaning King of Kings, derived from the fact that there were many feudal kings in Sassanian Persia with the Shahanshah as the ruler of them all. Their fall from power meant their control was redirected to the central government and all taxes now came to the central government rather than to the local nobility.

Military Reforms[link]

Major reforms to the military made the Persian army capable of fighting sustained wars and on multiple fronts as well deploy armies faster.^[18] Prior to Khosrau's reign, much like other aspects of the empire, the military was dependent on the feudal lords of the great families to provide soldiers and cavalry. Each family would provide their own army and equipment when called by the Shahanshah. This system was replaced with the emergence of the lower deghan nobility class, who was paid and provided by the central government.^[14]

The main force of the Sassanian army was the Savaran cavalry. Previously only nobles could enlist into the Savaran cavalry which was very limited and created shortages in well trained soldiers. Now that the deghan class was considered nobility, they were able to join the cavalry force and boosted the number of cavalry force significantly.^[18]

The military reform focused more on organization and training of troops. The cavalry was still the most important aspect of the Persian military, with foot archers being less important, and mass peasant forces being on the bottom of the spectrum.

Khosrau discarded the old satrap system and replaced it with four military districts with a spahbad, or general, in charge of each district.^[14] Before the reforms of Khusrau, the General of the Iranians (Eran-spahbed) controlled the military of the entire empire.^[19] The four zones consisted of Mesopotamia in the west, the Caucasus region in the north, the Persian gulf in the central and southwest region, and Central Asia in the east. This new “quatro” system not only created a more efficient military system but also “[administration] of a vast, multiregional, multicultural, and multiracial empire.”^[18]

Military[link]

Equipment[link]

During Khosrau's reign, a "list" for equipment for the cavalry was written. The list comprised a helmet, a gorget, a chain mail shirt, a lamellar coat or cuirass, leg armour, gauntlets, sword, shield, two bows with spare strings, 30 arrows, axe or mace, and horse armour.^[20]

Sassanian bullae showing the four spahbods show that horses were still fully armoured during this period and heavy cavalry tactics were still used by the Sassanian cavalry. It is highly likely that the stirrup had been introduced to the Sassanian cavalry two centuries before Khusrau's reforms ^[21] (and are mentioned in Bivar (1972) ^[20]), and a "stirrupped" foot position can be seen on the Sassanian bullae and at Taq-e-Bostan.

The image of Khosrau I at Taq-e-Bostan shows a different style of armour and equipment. Khosrau is shown wearing a helmet with a chain mail veil, and a chain mail shirt. His horse is shown only wearing armour from the front. This style of armour shows some parallels with Soghdian armour of the 6th - 8th Centuries, as depicted at Afrasiab and Panjikent, and may be related to a Soghdian or Turkic style of armour.

War With Justinian[link]

In 532, Khosrau and Justinian, emperor of the Eastern Roman/Byzantine Empire concluded Pax Perpetuum, or the Eternal Peace in hopes of settling all land disputes between the Romans and Sassanians.^[22][23] In 540, Khosrau broke the Pax Perpetuum and struck Mesopotamia and Syria. He then moved out to Antioch, taking a path that was south of the usual military route in order to extract tributes from towns along the way to Antioch.^[14] The walls of Antioch had been greatly damaged during an earthquake in 525-526, and the Romans had not since repaired them because of western military campaigns, which made it much easier to conquer.^[23] Khosrau sacked and burned the city at which point Justinian sued for peace, giving Khosrau a large amount of money. While traveling back to Persia, Khosrau took ransoms from multiple Byzantine towns at which point Justinian called off his truce and prepared to send his great commander Belisarius to move against the Sassanians.^[14]

Map of Sassanian military campaigns.

There were many motives behind Khosrau's strike against the Byzantines during their Eternal Peace. Emissaries from the Ostrogoth kingdom in the west appealed to Khosrau to put pressure on the eastern front of East Rome.^[14] Gothic envoys spoke to Khosrau's court and spoke of Justinian's goal to unite the world under Roman rule. The Gothic envoys persuasively informed Khosrau that if Persia did not act soon, they would soon become victims of Byzantine aggression.^[24] It was the Persian military's fear that once the Roman army had conquered the west, they would turn east and strike down Persia. In order to prevent this, Khosrau preemptively struck Antioch.^[25] There were also pressure and unrest in both Arabia and Armenian who were both eager for war.^[14]

A year after his sack of Antioch, Khosrau brought his army north to Lazica on request of the Lazic King to fend off Byzantine raids into his territory. At the same time, Belisarius arrived in Mesopotamia and began attacking the city of Nisbis. Although Belisarius had greatly outnumbered the city garrison, the city was too well fortified and he was forced to ravage the country around the Nisbis subsequently getting recalled back west.^[14]

After successful campaigns in Armenia, Khosrau was encouraged once again to attack Syria. Khosrau turned south towards Edessa and besieged the city. Edessa was now a much more important city than Antioch was, but the garrison which occupied the city was able to resist the siege. The Persians were forced to retreat from Edessa, but were able to forge a five year truce with the Byzantine Empire. Four years into the five year truce, rebellion against Sassanian control broke out in Lazica. In response, a Byzantine army was sent to support the people of Lazica, effectively ending the established truce and thus continuing the Lazic Wars.^[14]

Lazic Wars[link]

The Lazic wars are intertwined with Khosrau's war with Justinian insomuch as there were many battles which overlapped each other, yet they are generally considered different wars. Whereas Khosrau's wars with Justinian were fought at the sake of fighting Romans, the Lazic wars were often fought on behalf of Lazic and Armenian citizens, or in defense of Sassanian outposts in Lazica.

The Caucasus region, especially northern Armenia, has always been a major area of Romano-Sassanian rivalry.^[26] The Lazic wars began when the Sassanians intervened on Byzantine encroachments on behalf of the King of Lazica. Khosrau was able to penetrate deep into Lazica and secure the fortress city of Petra, located on the coast of the Black Sea, which provided Persia with a strategic port.^[14]

Khosrau was forced to pull out of Lazica, leaving only a 1,500 man garrison in Petra to defend the territory while he went to deal with Belisarius in Mesopotamia.^[27] In 542, Justinian attempted to make a truce with Khosrau, but rather than sending peace delegates, Justinian sent a massive 30,000 man army into Armenia. Sassanian general Nabed's army of 4,000 was severely outnumbered and was forced to retreat to the town of Anglon in Armenia.^[27] The Byzantine army pursued the Sassanians into the town but to Byzantines' dismay, they walked into an ambush and were completely routed. This massive defeat in 543 gave Sassanians the offensive in the Lazic war as well as in the war against Justinian.^[22]

Justinian and Khosrau declared a five year truce in 545 but war continued to ravage the Caucasus region. An uprising of anti-Sassanian control struck the Lazica region in 547. In response, Justinian sent 8,000 troops in support of Lazic King Gubazes.^[27] A Byzantine-Lazic army besieged the city of Petra, holding a garrison of 1,500 Sassanian troops. As a result, 1,200 of the Sassanian soldiers were killed, but the Byzantine-Lazic coalition was soon forced to retreat when a relief army of 30,000 pro-Sassanian troop arrived.^[27]

In 549 the previous truce between Justinian and Khosrau was disregarded and full war broke out once again between Persians and Romans. The last major decisive battle of the Lazic wars came in 556 when Byzantine general Martin defeated a massive Sassanian force led by a Persian nakhvaegan (field marshal).^[28] Negotiations between Khosrau and Justinian opened in 556, leading to the establishment of a 51 year peace agreement in 561 in which Persians would leave Lazica in return for an annual payment of gold.^[14]

According to ancient historian Meander Protector, a minor official in Justinian's court, there were 12 points to the treaty, stated in the following passage:

War in the East[link]

With a stable peace agreement with the Byzantines in the west, Khosrau was now able to focus his attention on the eastern Hephthalites.^[30] Even with the growth of Persian military power under Khosrau's reforms, the Sassanians were still uneasy at the prospect of attacking the Hephthalite on their own and began to seek allies.^[30] Their answer came in the form of Turkic incursions into Central Asia.^[22] The movement of Turkic people into Central Asia very quickly made them natural enemies and competitors to the Hephthalites.^[30]

The Hephthalites were a strong military power but they lacked the organization to fight on multiple fronts.^[30] The Persians and the Turkic tribes made an alliance and launched a two pronged attack on the Hephthalites, taking advantage of their disorganization and disunity. As a result, the Turkic tribes took the territory north of the Oxus river, while the Persians annexed land to the south.^[14]

Friendly relations between Turks and Persians quickly deteriorated after the conquest of Hephthalite peoples. Both Turks and Persians wanted to dominate the Silk Road and the trade industry between the west and the far east.^[14] In 568 a Turkish embassy was sent to Byzantine to propose an alliance and two pronged attack on the Sassanian Empire. Fortunately for the Persians, nothing ever came from this proposal.^[31]

Campaign in Yemen Against Ethiopia[link]

In 522, before Khosrau's reign, a group of monophysite Ethiopians led an attack on the dominant Himyarites of southern Arabia. The local Arab leader was able to resist the attack, and appealed to the Sassanians for aid, while the Ethiopians subsequently turned towards the Byzantines for help. The Ethiopians sent another force across the Red Sea and this time successfully killed the Arab leader and replaced him with an Ethiopian man to be king of the region.^[14]

In 531, Justinian suggested that the Ethiopians of Yemen should cut out the Persians from Indian trade by maritime trade with the Indians. The Ethiopians never met this request because an Ethiopian general named Abraha took control of the Yemenite throne and created an independent nation.^[14] After Abraha's death one of his sons, Ma'd-Karib, went into exile while his half-brother took the throne. After being denied by Justinian, Ma'd-Karib sought help from Khosrau, who sent a small fleet and army under commander Vahriz to depose the current king of Yemen. After capturing the capital city San'a'l, Ma'd-Karib's son, Saif, was put on the throne.^[14]

Justinian was ultimately responsible for Sassanian maritime presence in Yemen. By not providing the Yemenite Arabs support, Khosrau was able to help Ma'd-Karib and subsequently established Yemen as a principality of the Sassanian Empire.^[32]

War With Justin II[link]

Justinian died in 565 and left Justin II to succeed the throne. In 555, The Sassanian governor of Armenia built a fire temple at Dvin and put to death a popular and influential member of the Mamikonian noble family. This execution created tremendous civil unrest and led to a revolt and massacre of the Governor and his personal guard in 571. Justin II took advantage of this revolt and used it as an excuse to stop paying annual payments to Khosrau, effectively putting an end to the 51 year peace treaty that was established ten years earlier. The Armenians were considered allies to the Byzantine Empire and a Byzantine army was sent into Sassanian territory and besieged Nisbis in 572.^[14]

Justin was succeeded by Tiberius, a high ranking military officer in 578.^[33] Khosrau invaded Armenia once again feeling that he had the upper hand, and was initially successful. Soon after, the tables turned and the Byzantines gained a lot of local support. Another truce was attempted to be made in 578, but was abandoned when the Sassanian's gained a great victory. The war turned again when Byzantine commander Maurice entered the field and captured many Sassanian settlements.^[14] The revolt came to an end when Khosrau gave amnesty to Armenia and brought them back into the Sassanian empire. Peace negotiations were once again brought back up, but abruptly ended with the death of Khosrau in 579.^[34]

Building Projects[link]

Khosrau's reign marked an expansion in building. Khosrau constructed a number of walls on his frontiers to protect from nomadic incursions as well as other enemies. On the southeast frontier he built a wall called the Wall of the Arabs in order to prevent Arab nomads from raiding his empire. In the northeast he built a wall to protect the interior of his empire from the Hephthalite and Turkish threat that was growing on his boarder.^[22] His wall building campaign was also extended into the Caucasus region where he built massive walls at Derbent.^[35]

After the conquest of Antioch in 541, Khosrau built a new city near Ctesiphon for the inhabitants he captured. He called this new city Weh Antiok Khusrau or literally, “better than Antioch Khosrau built this.”^[36] Local inhabitants of the area called the new city Rumagan, meaning “town of the Greeks” and Arabs called the city al-Rumiyya. Along with Weh Antiok, Khosrau built a number of fortified cities.^[17]

Khosrau I greatly improved the road system within the Sassanian empire. These roads greatly improved the quickness that the armies were able to move, increasing the efficiency of the military. This led to greater defense of the empire as well as much quicker transportation of military intelligence. Chains of stations were also built along the roads. This allowed couriers to travel much more quickly and have safe resting stops as well as provide travelers with shelter.^[14]

Philosopher King[link]

Khosrau I was known to be a great patron of philosophy and knowledge. An entry in the Chronicle of Séert reads:

Khosrau was very learned in philosophy, which he had studied, it is said, under Mar Bar Samma, bishop of Qardu, and under Paul the Persian Philosopher.^[37]

Khosrau I accepted refugees coming from the Eastern Roman Empire when Justinian closed the neo-Platonist schools in Athens in 529.^[22] He was greatly interested in Indian philosophy, science, math, and medicine. He sent multiple embassies and gifts to the Indian court and requested them to send back philosophers to teach in his court in return.^[38] Khosrau made many translations of texts from Greek, Sanskrit, and Syriac into Middle Persian.^[14] He received the title of “Plato's Philosopher King” by the Greek refugees that he allowed into his empire because of his great interest in Platonic philosophy.^[22]

Sassanian Plate depicting Khosrau I.

A synthesis of Greek, Persian, Indian, and Armenian learning traditions took place within the Sassanian Empire. One outcome of this synthesis created what is known as bimaristan, the first hospital that introduced a concept of segregating wards according to pathology. Greek pharmacology fused with Iranian and Indian traditions resulted in significant advances in medicine.^[38] According to historian Richard Frye, this great influx of knowledge created a renaissance during, and proceeding Khosrau's reign.^[39]

Intellectual games such as chess and backgammon demonstrated and celebrated the diplomatic relationship between Khosrau and a “great king of India.” The vizier of the Indian king invented chess as a cheerful, playful challenge to King Khosrau. When the game was sent to Iran it came with a letter which read: “As your name is the King of Kings, all your emperorship over us connotes that your wise men should be wiser than ours. Either you send us an explanation of this game of chess or send revenue and tribute us.”^[40] Khosrau's grand vizier successfully solved the riddle and figured out how to play chess. In response the wise vizier created the game backgammon and sent it to the Indian court with the same message. The King was not able to solve the riddle and was forced to pay tribute.^[40]

Academy of Gondishapur[link]

Khosrau I is known to have either founded or greatly expanded the Academy of Gondishapur, located in the city of Gundeshapur.^[41] As to the development of non-religious knowledge and research in Persia and apart from historical evidence given on such traditions in the preceding Persian Empires, there are reports on systematic activities initiated by the Sasanian court as early as in the first decades of Sasanian rule. The Middle Persian encyclopaedia Denkard states that during the reign of Shapur I writings of this kind were collected and added to the Avesta. And an atmosphere of vivid reflection and discussion at the early Sasanian court in the third century AD is reflected in such accounts.^[42] The foundation of the Academy of Gondishapur introduced the studies of philosophy, medicine, physics, poetry, rhetoric, and astronomy into the Sasanian court.^[43] According to some historical accounts, this famous learning center was built in order to provide a place for incoming Greek refugees to study and share their knowledge.^[38] Gundeshapur became the focal point of the combination of Greek and Indian sciences along with Persian and Aramaic traditions. The cosmopolitan which was introduced by the institution of Gondishapur became a catalyst for modern studies.

Legacy[link]

Although Khosrau's achievements were highly successful and helped centralize the empire, they did not last long after his death. The local officials and great noble families resented the fact that their power had been stripped away from them and began to regain power quickly after his death.^[14] Khosrau's reign had a major impact on Islamic culture and political life. Many of his policies and reforms were brought into the Islamic nation in their transformation from a decentralized oligarchical into an imperial empire.^[14]

There are a considerable amount of Islamic work that was inspired by the reign of Khosrau I, for example the Kitab al-Taj of Jahiz.^[17] There are a considerable amount of Islamic texts that refer to Khosrau's reign that it is sometimes hard to tell what is fact and what is fallacy.^[14]

His reign signifies the promotion and possibly even the creation of the Silk Road between ancient China, India, and the western world.^[38] Richard Frye makes the argument that Khosrau's rationale behind his numerous wars with the Byzantine empire as well as the eastern Hephthalites was to establish the Sassanian dominance on this trade route.^[14]

References[link]

• Addai Scher, ed., Histoire Nestorienne (Chronique de Séert), Patrologia Orientalis 7. 1910.
• Frye, Richard N. The Heritage of Persia. The World Publishing Company, 1963.
• Frye, Richard N. The Heritage of Persia. Costa Mesa: Mazda Publishers, 1993. 240-269.
• Howard-Johnston, James. “State and Society in Late Antique Iran,” in The Sassanian Era. Edited by Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis and Sarah Stewart. London: I.B. Tauris & Co 2008, 118-129.
• Dignas, Beate and Winter, Engelbert. Rome and Persia in Late Antiquity : Neighbours and Rivals. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2007
• Canepa, Matthew P. The Twos Eyes of Earth. Berkley: University of California 2009.
• Daryaee, Touraj. Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. London: I.B. Tauris & Co. 2009.
• Farrokh, Dr. Kaveh. Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War. Oxford: Osprey Publishing 2007.
• Frye, Richard R. “THE REFORMS OF CHOSROES ANUSHIRVAN ('OF THE IMMORTAL SOUL').” The History of Ancient Iran. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/med/fryehst.html
• Taylor, Gail Marlow. “The Physicians of Jundishapur.” e-Sasanika. 2010. http://www.humanities.uci.edu/sasanika/pdf/e-sasanika11-Taylor.pdf
• Meander Protector. Fragments 6.1-6.3. Translated by R.C. Blockey, edited by Khodadad Rezakhani. http://www.humanities.uci.edu/sasanika/pdf/Menander6-1.pdf

External links[link]

• Khosrau In Iran Science Island(In Persian)
• The Reforms of Khosrow Anushirvan
• Meander Protector Fragments 6.1-6.3
• The Physicians of Jundishapur

Notes[link]

Morton Feldman (January 12, 1926 – September 3, 1987) was an American composer, born in New York City.

A major figure in 20th century music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School of composers also including John Cage, Christian Wolff, and Earle Brown. Feldman's works are characterized by notational innovations that he developed to create his characteristic sound: rhythms that seem to be free and floating; pitch shadings that seem softly unfocused; a generally quiet and slowly evolving music; recurring asymmetric patterns. His later works, after 1977, also begin to explore extremes of duration.

Biography[link]

Feldman was born in Brooklyn, New York City into a family of Russian-Jewish immigrants from Kiev. His father was a manufacturer of children's coats.^[1][2] As a child he studied piano with Vera Maurina Press, who, according to the composer himself, instilled in him a "vibrant musicality rather than musicianship."^[3] Feldman's first composition teachers were Wallingford Riegger, one of the first American followers of Arnold Schoenberg, and Stefan Wolpe, a German-born Jewish composer who studied under Franz Schreker and Anton Webern. Feldman and Wolpe spent most of their time simply talking about music and art.^[4]

In early 1950 Feldman went to hear the New York Philharmonic give a performance of Anton Webern's Symphony, op. 21. After this work, the orchestra was going to perform a piece by Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Feldman left immediately before that, disturbed by the audience's disrespectful reaction to Webern's work.^[5] In the lobby he met John Cage, who was at the concert and had also decided to step out.^[6] The two composers quickly became good friends, with Feldman moving into the apartment on the second floor of the building Cage lived in. Through Cage, he met painters Richard Lippold (who had a studio next door), Sonia Sekula, Robert Rauschenberg, and others, and composers such as Henry Cowell, Virgil Thomson, and George Antheil.^[7]

With encouragement from Cage, Feldman began to write pieces that had no relation to compositional systems of the past, such as the constraints of traditional harmony or the serial technique. He experimented with non-standard systems of musical notation, often using grids in his scores, and specifying how many notes should be played at a certain time, but not which ones. Feldman's experiments with the use of chance in his composition in turn inspired John Cage to write pieces like the Music of Changes, where the notes to be played are determined by consulting the I Ching.

Feldman was commissioned to compose the score for Jack Garfein's 1961 film, Something Wild. However, after hearing the music for the opening scene, in which a character (played by Carroll Baker, incidentally also Garfein's wife) is raped, the director promptly withdrew his commission, opting to enlist Aaron Copland instead. The reaction of the startled director was said to be, "My wife is being raped and you write celesta music?"^[8]

Through Cage, Feldman met many other prominent figures in the New York arts scene, among them Jackson Pollock, Philip Guston and Frank O'Hara. He found inspiration in the paintings of the abstract expressionists,^[9] and throughout the 1970s wrote a number of pieces around twenty-minutes in length, including Rothko Chapel (1971, written for the building of the same name, which houses paintings by Mark Rothko) and For Frank O'Hara (1973). In 1977, he wrote the opera Neither with words by Samuel Beckett.

In 1973, at the age of 47, Feldman became the Edgard Varèse Professor (a title of his own devising) at the University at Buffalo. Prior to that time, Feldman had earned his living as a full-time employee at the family textile business in New York's garment district.

Later, he began to produce his very long works, often in one continuous movement, rarely shorter than half an hour in length and often much longer. These works include Violin and String Quartet (1985, around 2 hours), For Philip Guston (1984, around four hours) and, most extreme, the String Quartet II (1983, which is over six hours long without a break.) Typically, these pieces maintain a very slow developmental pace (if not static) and tend to be made up of mostly very quiet sounds. Feldman said himself that quiet sounds had begun to be the only ones that interested him. In a 1982 lecture, Feldman noted: "Do we have anything in music for example that really wipes everything out? That just cleans everything away?"

Feldman married the Canadian composer Barbara Monk shortly before his death. He died from pancreatic cancer in 1987 at his home in Buffalo, New York, after fighting for his life for three months.

Works[link]

See: List of compositions by Morton Feldman

Notable students[link]

References[link]

• Feldman, Morton. 1968. Give My Regards to Eighth Street, Artnews Annual. Included in Give my regards to Eighth Street: Collected Writings of Morton Feldman (2000), The Music of Morton Feldman, and elsewhere.
• Gagne, Cole, and Caras, Tracey. 1982. Interview with Morton Feldman. In: Soundpieces: Interviews with American Composers, 164–177. Metuchen, New Jersey: The Scarecrow Press Inc, 1982. Available online.
• Hirata, Catherin. 2002. Morton Feldman. In: Sitsky, Larry, ed. 2002. Music of the Twentieth-century Avant-garde. Greenwood Publishing Group.
• Revill, David. 1993. The Roaring Silence: John Cage – a Life. Arcade Publishing. ISBN 1-55970-220-6, ISBN 978-1-55970-220-1.
• Ross, Alex. 2006. American Sublime. The New Yorker, June 19, 2006. Available online.
• Zimmerman, Walter, ed. 1985. Morton Feldman Essays. Kerpen: Beginner.

Further reading[link]

• Eldred, Michael The Quivering of Propriation: A Parallel Way to Music, Section II.4.4 A musical subversion of harmonically logical time (Feldman) www.arte-fact.org 2010
• Feldman, Morton. Morton Feldman Says. Chris Villars, ed. London: Hyphen Press, 2006.
• Feldman, Morton. Morton Feldman in Middelburg. Lectures and Conversations. R. Mörchen, ed. Cologne: MusikTexte, 2008.
• Feldman, Morton. Give my regards to Eighth Street: Collected Writings of Morton Feldman. B.H. Friedman, ed. Cambridge, MA: Exact Change, 2000.
• Gareau, Philip. La musique de Morton Feldman ou le temps en liberté. Paris: L'Harmattan, 2006.
• Hirata, Catherin (Winter 1996). "The Sounds of the Sounds Themselves: Analyzing the Early Music of Morton Feldman", Perspectives of New Music 34, no.1, 6-27.
• Herzfeld, Gregor. "Historisches Bewusstsein in Morton Feldmans Unterrichtsskizzen", Archiv für Musikwissenschaft Vol. 66, no. 3, (Summer 2009), 218-233.
• Lunberry, Clark. “Departing Landscapes: Morton Feldman's String Quartet II and Triadic Memories.” SubStance 110: Vol. 35, Number 2 (Summer 2006): 17-50. (Available at http://www.cnvill.net/mftexts.htm [#105 on the list])

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Morton Feldman

• Morton Feldman Page
• Morton Feldman Photographs, 1939-1987 from UBdigit - Digital Collections - University at Buffalo Libraries
• Jan Williams Photos of Morton Feldman, 1974-1979 from UBdigit - Digital Collections - University at Buffalo Libraries
• Morton Feldman in conversation with Thomas Moore
• Morton Feldman: Structures for String Quartet (1951) by Lejaren Hiller
• GregSandow.com: Feldman Draws Blood Village Voice, June 16, 1980
• Morton Feldman profile at New Albion Records
• The New Yorker: The Critics at Large
• Morton Feldman at Pytheas Center for Contemporary Music
• (French) A biography of Morton Feldman, from IRCAM's website.

Listening[link]

• Art of the States: Morton Feldman three works by the composer
• UbuWeb: Morton Feldman featuring The King of Denmark
• Epitonic.com: Morton Feldman featuring tracks from Only – Works for Voice and Instruments
• In Conversation with John Cage, 1966, Part 1
• In Conversation with John Cage, 1966, Part 2
• In Conversation with John Cage, 1966, Part 3
• In Conversation with John Cage, 1966, Part 4
• In Conversation with John Cage, 1966, Part 5

Justinian I ( /dʒʌˈstɪniən/) (Latin: Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus Augustus, Ancient Greek: Φλάβιος Πέτρος Σαββάτιος Ἰουστινιανός) (c. 482 – 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.

One of the most important figures of Late Antiquity and the last Roman Emperor to speak Latin as a first language,^[1] Justinian's rule constitutes a distinct epoch in the history of the Eastern Roman Empire. The impact of his administration extended far beyond the boundaries of his time and domain. Justinian's reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized renovatio imperii, or "restoration of the Empire".^[2] This ambition was expressed by the partial recovery of the territories of the defunct Western Roman Empire. His general Belisarius swiftly conquered the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa, extending Roman control to the Atlantic Ocean. 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 barbarian control.

The prefect Liberius reclaimed most of southern Iberia, 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.^[3] 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.^[4]

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. His reign also marked a blossoming of Byzantine culture, and his building program yielded such masterpieces as the church of Hagia Sophia, which was to be the center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity for many centuries.

A devastating outbreak of bubonic plague (see Plague of Justinian) in the early 540s marked the end of an age of splendor. The Empire entered a period of territorial decline not to be reversed until the ninth century.

Procopius provides the primary source for the history of Justinian's reign. The Syriac chronicle of John of Ephesus, which does not survive, was used as a source for later chronicles, contributing many additional details of value. Both historians became very bitter towards Justinian and his empress, Theodora.^[5] Other sources include the histories of Agathias, Menander Protector, John Malalas, the Paschal Chronicle, the chronicles of Marcellinus Comes and Victor of Tunnuna.

Justinian is considered a saint amongst Orthodox Christians, and is also commemorated by some Lutheran Churches.^[6]

Life[link]

Summary[link]

The ancient town of Tauresium, the birthplace of Justinian I, located in today's Republic of Macedonia.

Monument in downtown of Skopje, close to his birth place

Justinian was born in Tauresium^[7] around 482.^[8] His Latin-speaking peasant family is believed to have been of Thraco-Roman or Illyro-Roman origins.^[9][10][11]

The cognomen Iustinianus which he took later is indicative of adoption by his uncle Justin.^[12] During his reign, he founded Justiniana Prima not far from his birthplace, today in South East Serbia.^[13][14][15] His mother was Vigilantia, the sister of Justin. Justin, who was in the imperial guard (the Excubitors) before he became emperor,^[16] adopted Justinian, brought him to Constantinople, and ensured the boy's education.^[16] As a result, Justinian was well educated in jurisprudence, theology and Roman history.^[16] Justinian served for some time with the Excubitors but the details of his early career are unknown.^[16] Chronicler John Malalas, who lived during the reign of Justinian, tells of his appearance that he was short, fair skinned, curly haired, round faced and handsome. Another contemporary chronicler, Procopius, compares Justinian's appearance to that of tyrannical Emperor Domitian, although this is probably slander.^[17]

When Emperor Anastasius died in 518, Justin was proclaimed the new Emperor, with significant help from Justinian.^[16] During Justin's reign (518–527), Justinian was the Emperor's close confidant. Justinian showed much ambition, and it has been thought that he was functioning as virtual regent long before Justin made him associate Emperor on 1 April 527, although there is no conclusive evidence for this.^[18] As Justin became senile near the end of his reign, Justinian became the de facto ruler.^[16] Justinian was appointed consul in 521, and later commander of the army of the east.^[16][19] Upon Justin I's death on 1 August 527, Justinian became the sole sovereign.^[16]

Tremissis of Emperor Justinian.

As a ruler, Justinian showed great energy. He was known as "the Emperor who never sleeps" on account of his work habits. Nevertheless, he seems to have been amenable and easy to approach.^[20] Justinian's family came from a lowly and provincial background, and therefore he had no power base in the traditional aristocracy of Constantinople. Instead, he surrounded himself with men and women of extraordinary talent, whom he selected not on the basis of aristocratic origin, but on the basis of merit.

Around 525 he married in Constantinople his mistress Theodora, who was by profession a courtesan about 20 years his junior. Justinian would have, in earlier times, been unable to marry her because of her class, but his uncle Emperor Justin I had passed a law allowing intermarriage between social classes. ^{[21] [22]} Theodora would become very influential in the politics of the Empire, and later emperors would follow Justinian's precedent in marrying outside the aristocratic class. The marriage caused a scandal, but Theodora would prove to be very intelligent, "street smart", a good judge of character and Justinian's greatest supporter. Other talented individuals included Tribonian, his legal adviser; Peter the Patrician, the diplomat and longtime head of the palace bureaucracy; his 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 general Belisarius.

Justinian's rule was not universally popular; early in his reign he almost lost his throne during the Nika riots, and a conspiracy against the Emperor's life by dissatisfied businessmen was discovered as late as 562.^[23]

Justinian was struck by the plague in the early 540s but recovered. Theodora died in 548, perhaps of cancer,^[24] at a relatively young age; Justinian outlived her by almost twenty years. Justinian, who had always had a keen interest in theological matters and actively participated in debates on Christian doctrine,^[25] became even more devoted to religion during the later years of his life. When he died, on 14 November of the year 565,^[8] he left no children. He was succeeded by Justin II, who was the son of his sister Vigilantia, and married to Sophia, the niece of Empress Theodora. Justinian's body was entombed in a specially built mausoleum in the Church of the Holy Apostles.

Legislative activities[link]

The Barberini Ivory, which is thought to portray either Justinian or Anastasius I

Justinian achieved lasting fame through his judicial reforms, particularly through the complete revision of all Roman law,^[26] something that had not previously been attempted. The total of Justinian's legislature is known today as the Corpus juris civilis. It consists of the Codex Iustinianus, the Digesta or Pandectae, the Institutiones, and the Novellae.

Early in his reign, Justinian appointed the quaestor Tribonian to oversee this task. The first draft of the Codex Iustinianus, a codification of imperial constitutions from the 2nd century onward, was issued on 7 April 529. (The final version appeared in 534.) It was followed by the Digesta (or Pandectae), a compilation of older legal texts, in 533, and by the Institutiones, a textbook explaining the principles of law. The Novellae, a collection of new laws issued during Justinian's reign, supplements the Corpus. As opposed to the rest of the corpus, the Novellae appeared in Greek, the common language of the Eastern Empire.

The Corpus forms the basis of Latin jurisprudence (including ecclesiastical Canon Law) and, for historians, provides a valuable insight into the concerns and activities of the later Roman Empire. As a collection it gathers together the many sources in which the leges (laws) and the other rules were expressed or published: proper laws, senatorial consults (senatusconsulta), imperial decrees, case law, and jurists' opinions and interpretations (responsa prudentum).

Tribonian's code ensured the survival of Roman law. It formed the basis of later Byzantine law, as expressed in the Basilika of Basil I and Leo VI the Wise. The only western province where the Justinianic code was introduced was Italy (after the conquest, by the so-called Pragmatic Sanction of 554),^[27] from where it was to pass to Western Europe in the 12th century and become the basis of much European law code. It eventually passed to Eastern Europe where it appeared in Slavic editions, and it also passed on to Russia.^[28] It remains influential to this day.

He passed laws to protect prostitutes from exploitation and women being forced into prostitution. Rapists were treated severely. Women charged with major crimes should be guarded by other women to prevent sexual abuse. After a woman got widowed, her dowry should be returned and a husband could not take on a major debt without his wife giving her consent twice.^[29]

Nika riots[link]

Justinian's habit of choosing efficient, but unpopular advisers nearly cost him his throne early in his reign. In January 532, partisans of the chariot racing factions in Constantinople, normally divided among themselves, united against Justinian in a revolt that has become known as the Nika riots. They forced him to dismiss Tribonian and two of his other ministers, and then attempted to overthrow Justinian himself and replace him by the senator Hypatius, who was a nephew of the late emperor Anastasius. While the crowd was rioting in the streets, Justinian considered fleeing the capital, but he remained in the city on the stirring words of Theodora (according to Procopius, she said "For an Emperor to become a fugitive is not a thing to be endured...I hold with the old saying that the purple makes an excellent shroud".) In the next two days, he ordered the brutal suppression of the riots by his generals Belisarius and Mundus. Procopius relates that 30,000^[30] unarmed civilians were killed in the Hippodrome. On Theodora's insistence, and apparently against his own judgment,^[31] Justinian had Anastasius' nephews executed.^[32]

The destruction that had taken place during the revolt provided Justinian with an opportunity to tie his name to a series of splendid new buildings, most notably the architectural innovation of the domed Hagia Sophia.

Military activities[link]

One of the most spectacular features of Justinian's reign was the recovery of large stretches of land around the Western Mediterranean basin which had slipped out of Imperial control in the 5th century.^[33] As a Christian Roman emperor, Justinian considered it his divine duty to restore the Roman Empire to its ancient boundaries. Although he never personally took part in military campaigns, he boasted of his successes in the prefaces to his laws and had them commemorated in art.^[34] The re-conquests were in large part carried out by his general Belisarius.^[35]

War with the Sassanid Empire, 527–532[link]

From his uncle, Justinian inherited ongoing hostilities with the Sassanid Empire.^[36] In 530 a Persian army was defeated at Dara, but the next year saw the defeat of Roman forces under Belisarius near Callinicum. When king Kavadh I of Persia died (September 531), Justinian concluded an "Eternal Peace" (which cost him 11,000 pounds of gold)^[37] with his successor Khosrau I (532). Having thus secured his eastern frontier, Justinian turned his attention to the West, where Arian Germanic kingdoms had been established in the territories of the former Western Roman Empire.

Conquest of North Africa, 533–534[link]

An older Justinian; mosaic in Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna (possibly a modified portrait of Theodoric).

The first of the western kingdoms Justinian attacked was that of the Vandals in North Africa. King Hilderic, who had maintained good relations with Justinian and the North African Catholic clergy, had been overthrown by his cousin Gelimer in 530. Imprisoned, the deposed king appealed to Justinian.

In 533, Belisarius with a fleet of 92 dromons escorting 500 transports, landed at Caput Vada (modern Ras Kaboudia) in modern Tunisia with an army of about 15,000 men, as well as a number of barbarian troops. They defeated the Vandals, who were caught completely off-guard, at Ad Decimum on 14 September 533 and Tricamarum in December; Belisarius took Carthage. King Gelimer fled to Mount Pappua in Numidia, but surrendered the next spring. He was taken to Constantinople, where he was paraded in a triumph. Sardinia and Corsica, the Balearic Islands, and the stronghold Septem near Gibraltar were recovered in the same campaign.^[38]

An African prefecture, centered in Carthage, was established in April 534,^[39] but it would teeter on the brink of collapse during the next 15 years, amidst warfare with the Moors and military mutinies. The area was not completely pacified until 548,^[40] but remained peaceful thereafter and enjoyed a measure of prosperity. The recovery of Africa cost the empire about 100,000 pounds of gold.^[41]

War in Italy, first phase, 535–540[link]

As in Africa, dynastic struggles in Ostrogothic Italy provided an opportunity for intervention. The young king Athalaric had died on 2 October 534, and an usurper, Theodahad, had imprisoned queen Amalasuntha, Theodoric's daughter and mother of Athalaric, on the island of Martana in Lake Bolsena, where he had her assassinated in 535. Thereupon Belisarius with 7,500 men^[42] invaded Sicily (535) and advanced into Italy, sacking Naples and capturing Rome on 9 December 536. By that time Theodahad had been deposed by the Ostrogothic army, who had elected Vitigis as their new king. He gathered a large army and besieged Rome from February 537 to March 538 without being able to retake the city.

Justinian sent another general, Narses, to Italy, but tensions between Narses and Belisarius hampered the progress of the campaign. Milan was taken, but was soon recaptured and razed by the Ostrogoths. Justinian recalled Narses in 539. By then the military situation had turned in favour of the Romans, and in 540 Belisarius reached the Ostrogothic capital Ravenna. There he was offered the title of Western Roman Emperor by the Ostrogoths at the same time that envoys of Justinian were arriving to negotiate a peace which would leave the region north of the Po River in Gothic hands. Belisarius feigned to accept the offer, entered the city in May 540, and reclaimed it for the Empire.^[43] Then, having been recalled by Justinian, Belisarius returned to Constantinople, taking the captured Vitigis and his wife Matasuntha with him.

War with the Sassanid Empire, 540–562[link]

Modern or early modern drawing of a medallion celebrating the reconquest of Africa, c. 535

Belisarius had been recalled in the face of renewed hostilities by the Persians. Following a revolt against the Empire in Armenia in the late 530s and possibly motivated by the pleas of Ostrogothic ambassadors, King Khosrau I broke the "Eternal Peace" and invaded Roman territory in the spring of 540.^[44] He first sacked Beroea and then Antioch (allowing the garrison of 6,000 men to leave the city),^[45] besieged Daras, and then went on to attack the small but strategically significant satellite kingdom of Lazica near the Black Sea, exacting tribute from the towns he passed along his way. He forced Justinian I to pay him 5,000 pounds of gold, plus 500 pounds of gold more each year.^[45]

Belisarius arrived in the East in 541, but, after some success, was again recalled to Constantinople in 542. The reasons for his withdrawal are not known, but it may have been instigated by rumours of disloyalty on behalf of the general reaching the court.^[46] The outbreak of the plague caused a lull in the fighting during the year 543. The following year Khosrau defeated a Byzantine army of 30,000 men,^[47] but unsuccessfully besieged the major city of Edessa. Both parties made little headway, and in 545 a truce was agreed upon for the southern part of the Roman-Persian frontier. After that the Lazic War in the North continued for several years, until a second truce in 557, followed by a Fifty Years' Peace in 562. Under its terms, the Persians agreed to abandon Lazica in exchange for an annual tribute of 400 or 500 pounds of gold (30,000 solidi) to be paid by the Romans.^[48]

War in Italy, second phase, 541–554[link]

While military efforts were directed to the East, the situation in Italy took a turn for the worse. Under their respective kings Ildibad and Eraric (both murdered in 541) and especially Totila, the Ostrogoths made quick gains. After a victory at Faenza in 542, they reconquered the major cities of Southern Italy and soon held almost the entire peninsula. Belisarius was sent back to Italy late in 544, but lacked sufficient troops. Making no headway, he was relieved of his command in 548. Belisarius succeeded in defeating a Gothic fleet with 200 ships.^{[citation needed]} During this period the city of Rome changed hands three more times, first taken and depopulated by the Ostrogoths in December 546, then reconquered by the Byzantines in 547, and then again by the Goths in January 550. Totila also plundered Sicily and attacked the Greek coastlines.

Finally, Justinian dispatched a force of approximately 35,000 men (2,000 men were detached and sent to invade southern Visigothic Spain) under the command of Narses.^[49] The army reached Ravenna in June 552, and defeated the Ostrogoths decisively within a month at the battle of Busta Gallorum in the Apennines, where Totila was slain. After a second battle at Mons Lactarius in October that year, the resistance of the Ostrogoths was finally broken. In 554, a large-scale Frankish invasion was defeated at Casilinum, and Italy secured for the Empire, even though it would take Narses several years to reduce the remaining Gothic strongholds. At the end of the war, Italy was garrisoned with an army of 16,000 men.^[50] The recovery of Italy cost the empire about 300,000 pounds of gold.^[41]

Other campaigns[link]

Spanish Visigothic gold tremisses in the name of emperor Justinian I, 7th century. The Christian cross on the breast defines the Visigothic attribution. British Museum.

In addition to the other conquests, the Empire established a presence in Visigothic Spain, when the usurper Athanagild requested assistance in his rebellion against king Agila I. In 552, Justinian dispatched a force of 2,000 men; according to the historian Jordanes, this army was led by the octogenarian Liberius.^[51] The Byzantines took Cartagena and other cities on the southeastern coast and founded the new province of Spania before being checked by their former ally Athanagild, who had by now become king. This campaign marked the apogee of Byzantine expansion.

During Justinian's reign, the Balkans suffered from several incursions by the Turkic and Slavic peoples who lived north of the Danube. Here, Justinian resorted mainly to a combination of diplomacy and a system of defensive works. In 559 a particularly dangerous invasion of Sklavinoi and Kutrigurs under their khan Zabergan threatened Constantinople, but they were repulsed by the aged general Belisarius.

Results[link]

Emperor Justinian reconquered many former territories of the Roman Empire, including Italy, Dalmatia, Africa, and southern Hispania.

Justinian's ambition to restore the Roman Empire to its former glory was only partly realised. In the West, the brilliant early military successes of the 530s were followed by years of stagnation. The dragging war with the Goths was a disaster for Italy, even though its long-lasting effects may have been less severe than is sometimes thought.^[52] The heavy taxes that the administration imposed upon its population were deeply resented. While the final victory in Italy and the conquest of the coast of southern Spain significantly enlarged the area over which the Empire could project its power and influence, and while they must have contributed to the Empire's prestige, most of the conquests proved ephemeral. The greater part of Italy would be lost to the invading Lombards three years after Justinian's death (568), the newly founded province of Spania was completely recovered by the Spanish Visigoths in 624 under the leadership of Suintila, and within a century and a half Africa would be forever lost for the empire to the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates during the Muslim conquests.

Events of the later years of the reign showed that Constantinople itself was not safe from barbarian incursions from the north, and even the relatively benevolent historian Menander Protector felt the need to explain the Emperor's failure to protect the capital from the weakness of his body in his old age.^[53] In his efforts to renew the Roman Empire, Justinian dangerously stretched the resources of the Roman Empire while failing to take into account the changed realities of 6th-century Europe.^[54] Paradoxically, the grand scale of Justinian's military successes probably contributed in part to the Empire's subsequent decline.^[55]

Religious activities[link]

Justinian saw the orthodoxy of his empire threatened by diverging religious currents, especially Monophysitism, which had many adherents in the eastern provinces of Syria and Egypt. Monophysite doctrine had been condemned as a heresy by the Council of Chalcedon in 451, and the tolerant policies towards Monophysitism of Zeno and Anastasius I had been a source of tension in the relationship with the bishops of Rome. Justin reversed this trend and confirmed the Chalcedonian doctrine, openly condemning the Monophysites. Justinian, who continued this policy, tried to impose religious unity on his subjects by forcing them to accept doctrinal compromises that might appeal to all parties, a policy which proved unsuccessful as he satisfied none of them.

Near the end of his life, Justinian became ever more inclined towards the Monophysite doctrine, especially in the form of Aphthartodocetism, but he died before being able to issue any legislation which would have elevated its teachings to the status of dogma. The empress Theodora sympathized with the Monophysites and is said to have been a constant source of pro-Monophysite intrigues at the court in Constantinople in the earlier years. In the course of his reign Justinian, who had a genuine interest in matters of theology, authored a small number of theological treatises.^[56]

Religious policy[link]

Justinian I, depicted on an AE Follis coin

As with his secular administration, despotism appeared also in the Emperor's ecclesiastical policy. He regulated everything, both in religion and in law.

At the very beginning of his reign, he deemed it proper to promulgate by law the Church's belief in the Trinity and the Incarnation; and to threaten all heretics with the appropriate penalties;^[57] whereas he subsequently declared that he intended to deprive all disturbers of orthodoxy of the opportunity for such offense by due process of law.^[58] He made the Nicaeno-Constantinopolitan creed the sole symbol of the Church,^[59] and accorded legal force to the canons of the four ecumenical councils.^[60] The bishops in attendance at the Second Council of Constantinople in 553 recognized that nothing could be done in the Church contrary to the emperor's will and command;^[61] while, on his side, the emperor, in the case of the Patriarch Anthimus, reinforced the ban of the Church with temporal proscription.^[62] Justinian protected the purity of the church by suppressing heretics. He neglected no opportunity for securing the rights of the Church and clergy, for protecting and extending monasticism. He granted the monks the right to inherit property from private citizens and the right to receive solemnia or annual gifts from the Imperial treasury or from the taxes of certain provinces and he prohibited lay confiscation on monastic estates.

Although the despotic character of his measures is contrary to modern sensibilities, he was indeed a "nursing father" of the Church. Both the Codex and the Novellae contain many enactments regarding donations, foundations, and the administration of ecclesiastical property; election and rights of bishops, priests and abbots; monastic life, residential obligations of the clergy, conduct of divine service, episcopal jurisdiction, etc. Justinian also rebuilt the Church of Hagia Sophia (which cost 20,000 pounds of gold),^[63] the original site having been destroyed during the Nika riots. The new Hagia Sophia, with its numerous chapels and shrines, gilded octagonal dome, and mosaics, became the centre and most visible monument of Eastern Orthodoxy in Constantinople.

Religious relations with Rome[link]

From the middle of the fifth century onward increasingly arduous tasks confronted the emperors of the East in ecclesiastical matters. For one thing, the radicals on all sides felt themselves constantly repelled by the creed adopted by the Council of Chalcedon to defend the biblical doctrine of the nature of Christ and bridge the gap between the dogmatic parties. The letter of Pope Leo I to Flavian of Constantinople was widely considered in the East as the work of Satan; so that nobody cared to hear of the Church of Rome. The Emperors, however, had a policy of preserving the unity between Constantinople and Rome; and this remained possible only if they did not swerve from the line defined at Chalcedon. In addition, the factions in the East which had become stirred up and disaffected because of Chalcedon needed restraining and pacifying. This problem proved the more difficult because, in the East, the dissenting groups exceeded supporters of Chalcedon both in numerical strength and in intellectual ability. Tension from the incompatibility of the two aims grew: whoever chose Rome and the West must renounce the East, and vice versa.

Consular diptych displaying Justinian's full name (Constantinople 521)

Justinian entered the arena of ecclesiastical statecraft shortly after his uncle's accession in 518, and put an end to the Monophysite schism that had prevailed between Rome and Constantinople since 483. The recognition of the Roman see as the highest ecclesiastical authority^[64] remained the cornerstone of his Western policy. Offensive as it was to many in the East, nonetheless Justinian felt himself entirely free to take a Despotic stance toward the popes such as Silverius and Vigilius. While no compromise could ever be accepted by the dogmatic wing of the church, his sincere efforts at reconciliation gained him the approval of the major body of the church. A signal proof was his attitude in the Theopaschite controversy. At the outset he was of the opinion that the question turned on a quibble of words. By degrees, however, Justinian came to understand that the formula at issue not only appeared orthodox, but might also serve as a conciliatory measure toward the Monophysites, and he made a vain attempt to do this in the religious conference with the followers of Severus of Antioch, in 533.

Again, Justinian moved toward compromise in the religious edict of 15 March 533,^[65] and congratulated himself that Pope John II admitted the orthodoxy of the imperial confession.^[66] The serious blunder that he had made at the beginning by abetting a severe persecution of the Monophysite bishops and monks and thereby embittering the population of vast regions and provinces, he remedied eventually. His constant aim now remained to win over the Monophysites, yet not to surrender the Chalcedonian faith. For many at court, he did not go far enough: Theodora especially would have rejoiced to see the Monophysites favored unreservedly. Justinian, however, felt restrained by the complications that would have ensued with the West. But in the condemnation of the Three Chapters Justinian tried to satisfy both the East and the West, but succeeded in satisfying neither. Although the pope assented to the condemnation, the West believed that the Emperor had acted contrary to the decrees of Chalcedon. Though many delegates emerged in the East subservient to Justinian, many, especially the Monophysites, remained unsatisfied; all the more bitter for him because during his last years he took an even greater interest in theological matters.

Suppression of religions[link]

Justinian was one of the first Roman Emperors to be depicted wielding the cross on the obverse of a coin.

Justinian's religious policy reflected the Imperial conviction that the unity of the Empire unconditionally presupposed unity of faith; and it appeared to him obvious that this faith could be only the Orthodox (Nicaean). Those of a different belief had to recognize that the process of consolidation, which imperial legislation had effected from the time of Constantius II, would now vigorously continue. The Codex contained two statutes^[67] which decreed the total destruction of paganism, even in private life; these provisions were zealously enforced. Contemporary sources (John Malalas, Theophanes, John of Ephesus) tell of severe persecutions, even of men in high position.

Perhaps the most noteworthy event occurred in 529 when the Neoplatonic Academy of Athens was placed under state control by order of Justinian, effectively strangling this training-school for Hellenism. Paganism was actively suppressed. In Asia Minor alone, John of Ephesus claimed to have converted 70,000 pagans.^[68] Other peoples also accepted Christianity: the Heruli,^[69] the Huns dwelling near the Don,^[70] the Abasgi,^[71] and the Tzanni in Caucasia.^[72]

The worship of Amun at Augila in the Libyan desert was abolished;^[73] and so were the remnants of the worship of Isis on the island of Philae, at the first cataract of the Nile.^[74] The Presbyter Julian^[75] and the Bishop Longinus^[76] conducted a mission among the Nabataeans, and Justinian attempted to strengthen Christianity in Yemen by despatching a bishop from Egypt.^[77]

The civil rights of Jews were restricted^[78] and their religious privileges threatened.^[79] Justinian also interfered in the internal affairs of the synagogue.^[80], and he encouraged the Jews to use the Greek Septuagint in their synagogues in Constantinople.^[81]

The Emperor had much trouble with the Samaritans, resisting conversion to Christianity and repeatedly in insurrection. He opposed them with rigorous edicts, but yet could not prevent hostilities towards Christians from taking place in Samaria toward the close of his reign. The consistency of Justinian's policy meant that the Manicheans too suffered severe persecution, experiencing both exile and threat of capital punishment.^[82] At Constantinople, on one occasion, not a few Manicheans, after strict inquisition, were executed in the emperor's very presence: some by burning, others by drowning.^[83]

Architecture, learning, art and literature[link]

Justinian was a prolific builder; the historian Procopius bears witness to his activities in this area.^[84] Under Justinian's patronage the San Vitale in Ravenna, which features two famous mosaics representing Justinian and Theodora, was completed.^[16] Most notably, he had the Hagia Sophia, originally a basilica style church that had been burnt down during the Nika riots, splendidly rebuilt according to a completely different ground plan, under the architectural supervision of Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. According to Procopius, Justinian stated at the completion of this edifice, "Solomon I have outdone thee" (in reference to the 1st Jewish temple). This new cathedral, with its magnificent dome filled with mosaics, remained the centre of eastern Christianity for centuries.

Another prominent church in the capital, the Church of the Holy Apostles, which had been in a very poor state near the end of the 5th century, was likewise rebuilt.^[85] Works of embellishment were not confined to churches alone: excavations at the site of the Great Palace of Constantinople have yielded several high-quality mosaics dating from Justinian's reign, and a column topped by a bronze statue of Justinian on horseback and dressed in a military costume was erected in the Augustaeum in Constantinople in 543.^[86] Rivalry with other, more established patrons from the Constantinopolitan and exiled Roman aristocracy (like Anicia Juliana) may have enforced Justinian's building activities in the capital as a means of strengthening his dynasty's prestige.^[87]

Justinian also strengthened the borders of the Empire from Africa to the East through the construction of fortifications, and ensured Constantinople of its water supply through construction of underground cisterns (see Basilica Cistern). To prevent floods from damaging the strategically important border town Dara, an advanced arch dam was built. During his reign the large Sangarius Bridge was built in Bithynia, securing a major military supply route to the east. Furthermore, Justinian restored cities damaged by earthquake or war and built a new city near his place of birth called Justiniana Prima, which was intended to replace Thessalonica as the political and religious center of the Illyricum.

In Justinian's era, and partly under his patronage, Byzantine culture produced noteworthy historians, including Procopius and Agathias, and poets such as Paul the Silentiary and Romanus the Melodist flourished during his reign. On the other hand, centers of learning as the Platonic Academy in Athens and the famous law school of Beirut^[88] lost their importance during his reign. Despite Justinian's passion for the glorious Roman past, the practice of choosing Roman consul was allowed to lapse after 541.^[89]

Economy and administration[link]

Gold coin of Justinian I (527–565 CE) excavated in India probably in the south, an example of Indo-Roman trade during the period.

As was the case under Justinian's predecessors, the Empire's economic health rested primarily on agriculture. In addition, long-distance trade flourished, reaching as far north as Cornwall where tin was exchanged for Roman wheat.^[90] Within the Empire, convoys sailing from Alexandria provided Constantinople with wheat and grains. Justinian made the traffic more efficient by building a large granary on the island of Tenedos for storage and further transport to Constantinople.^[91] Justinian also tried to find new routes for the eastern trade, which was suffering badly from the wars with the Persians.

One important luxury product was silk, which was imported and then processed in the Empire. In order to protect the manufacture of silk products, Justinian granted a monopoly to the imperial factories in 541.^[92] In order to bypass the Persian landroute, Justinian established friendly relations with the Abyssinians, whom he wanted to act as trade mediators by transporting Indian silk to the Empire; the Abyssinians, however, were unable to compete with the Persian merchants in India.^[93] Then, in the early 550s, two monks succeeded in smuggling eggs of silk worms from Central Asia back to Constantinople,^[94] and silk became an indigenous product.

Gold and silver were mined in the Balkans, Anatolia, Armenia, Cyprus, Egypt and Nubia.^[95]

Scene from daily life on a mosaic from the Great Palace of Constantinople, early 6th century

At the start of Justinian I's reign he had inherited a surplus 28,800,000 solidi (400,000 pounds of gold) in the imperial treasury from Anastasius I and Justin I.^[41] Under Justinian's rule, measures were taken to counter corruption in the provinces and to make tax collection more efficient. Greater administrative power was given to both the leaders of the prefectures and of the provinces, while power was taken away from the vicariates of the dioceses, of which a number were abolished. The overall trend was towards a simplification of administrative infrastructure.^[96] According to Brown (1971), the increased professionalization of tax collection did much to destroy the traditional structures of provincial life, as it weakened the autonomy of the town councils in the Greek towns.^[97] It has been estimated that before Justinian I's reconquests the state had an annual revenue of 5,000,000 solidi in AD 530, but after his reconquests, the annual revenue was increased to 6,000,000 solidi in AD 550.^[41]

Throughout Justinian's reign, the cities and villages of the East prospered, although Antioch was struck by two earthquakes (526, 528) and sacked and evacuated by the Persians (540). Justinian had the city rebuilt, but on a slightly smaller scale.^[98] Some consider Justinian the "Last of the Romans," for he was the last Roman Emperor to speak Latin.

Despite all these measures, the Empire suffered several major setbacks in the course of the 6th century. The first one was the plague, which lasted from 541 to 543 and, by decimating the Empire's population, probably created a scarcity of labor and a rising of wages.^[99] The lack of manpower also led to a significant increase in the number of "barbarians" in the Byzantine armies after the early 540s.^[100] The protracted war in Italy and the wars with the Persians themselves laid a heavy burden on the Empire's resources, and Justinian was criticized for curtailing the government-run post service, which he limited to only one eastern route of military importance.^[101]

In art and popular culture[link]

In the Divine Comedy, Dante meets the spirit of Justinian in the Heaven of Mercury, among the other blessed souls whose earthly ambitions were imperfectly aligned with the Divine Will.

Justinian was portrayed by Orson Welles in the 1968 German film Kampf um Rom I, directed by Robert Siodmak.

Notes[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Iustinianus I

References[link]

• This article incorporates text from the Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religion.

Primary sources[link]

• Procopii Caesariensis opera omnia. Edited by J. Haury; revised by G. Wirth. 3 vols. Leipzig: Teubner, 1976-64. Greek text.
• Procopius. Edited by H. B. Dewing. 7 vols. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press and London, Hutchinson, 1914–40. Greek text and English translation.
• Procopius, The Secret History, translated by G.A. Williamson. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1966. A readable and accessible English translation of the Anecdota.
• Elizabeth Jeffreys, Michael Jeffreys, Roger Scott et al. 1986, The Chronicle of John Malalas: A Translation, Byzantina Australiensia 4 (Melbourne: Australian Association for Byzantine Studies) ISBN 0-9593626-2-2
• Edward Walford, translator (1846) The Ecclesiastical History of Evagrius: A History of the Church from AD 431 to AD 594, Reprinted 2008. Evolution Publishing, ISBN 978-1-889758-88-6. [2]

Bibliography[link]

• Bury, J. B. (1958). History of the later Roman Empire, Vol. 2. New York (reprint).
• Cameron, Averil et al.(eds.). The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. 14, Second Edition, Cambridge 2000.
• Cumberland Jacobsen, Torsten. The Gothic War. Westholme 2009.
• Evans, James Allan. The Emperor Justinian and the Byzantine Empire. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005 (hardcover, ISBN 0-313-32582-0).
• Garland, Lynda. Byzantine empresses: women and power in Byzantium, AD 527–1204. London, Routledge, 1999.
• Maas, Michael (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Justinian, Cambridge 2005.
• Meier, Mischa. Das andere Zeitalter Justinians. Kontingenzerfahrung und Kontingenzbewältigung im 6. Jahrhundert n. Chr. Göttingen, 2003.
• Meier, Mischa. Justinian. Herrschaft, Reich, und Religion. Munich, 2004.
• Moorhead, John. Justinian, London 1994.
• Rosen, William. Justinian's Flea: Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe, Viking Adult, 2007. ISBN 978-0-670-03855-8.
• Rubin, Berthold (1960). Das Zeitalter Iustinians. Berlin. – German standard work; partially obsolete, but still useful.
• Sarris, Peter. Economy and society in the age of Justinian. Cambridge, 2006.
• Ure, PN (1951). Justinian and his Age. Penguin, Harmondsworth.
• Vasiliev, A. A. History of the Byzantine Empire, 324–1453. Second edition. Madison, 1952.
• Ancient Warfare magazine, Vol. IV, Issue 3 (Jun/Jul, 2010), was devoted to "Justinian's fireman: Belisarius and the Byzantine empire", with articles by Sidney Dean, Duncan B. Campbell, Ian Hughes, Ross Cowan, Raffaele D'Amato, and Christopher Lillington-Martin.

External links[link]

• St Justinian the Emperor Orthodox Icon and Synaxarion (14 November)
• The Anekdota ("Secret history") of Procopius in English translation.
• The Buildings of Procopius in English translation.
• The Roman Law Library by Professor Yves Lassard and Alexandr Koptev
• Lecture series covering 12 Byzantine Rulers, including Justinian – by Lars Brownworth
• Media related to Justinian I at Wikimedia Commons
• De Imperatoribus Romanis. An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors
• Reconstruction of column of Justinian in Constantinople
• Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Graeca with analytical indexes
• Preface to the Digest of Emperor Justinian
• Annotated Justinian Code (University of Wyoming website)

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: The article lacks structure and needs more background information (as well as sources).. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (December 2011)

This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (December 2011)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2011)

There are many people in history who are commonly appended with the phrase "the Great", or who were called that or an equivalent phrase in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes such as e Bozorg and e azam in Persian and Urdu respectively.

In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to be a colloquial version of the Old Persian title "Great King". This title was first used by the conqueror Cyrus II of Persia.^[1]

The Persian title was inherited by Alexander III of Macedon (336–323 BC) when he conquered the Persian Empire, and the epithet "Great" eventually became personally associated with him. The first reference (in a comedy by Plautus)^[2] assumes that everyone knew who "Alexander the Great" was; however, there is no earlier evidence that Alexander III of Macedon was called "the Great".

The early Seleucid kings, who succeeded Alexander in Persia, used "Great King" in local documents, but the title was most notably used for Antiochus the Great (223–187 BC).

Later rulers and commanders began to use the epithet "the Great" as a personal name, like the Roman general Pompey. Others received the surname retrospectively, like the Carthaginian Hanno and the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great. Once the surname gained currency, it was also used as an honorific surname for people without political careers, like the philosopher Albert the Great.

As there are no objective criteria for "greatness", the persistence of later generations in using the designation greatly varies. For example, Louis XIV of France was often referred to as "The Great" in his lifetime but is rarely called such nowadays, while Frederick II of Prussia is still called "The Great". A later Hohenzollern - Wilhelm I - was often called "The Great" in the time of his grandson Wilhelm II, but rarely later.

Rulers[link]

• Abbas I of Persia (1571–1629), Shah of Iran
• Akbar (1542–1605), ruler of the Mughal Empire of South Asia, mainly India
• Alain I of Albret (1440–1522), French aristocrat
• Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), King of Macedonia, Persia, Greece, Egypt, and all of Mesopotamia
• Alexander I of Georgia (1386–1446), King of Georgia
• Alfonso III of León (c. 848-910), King of León, Galicia and Asturias
• Alfred the Great (848/849-899), King of Wessex
• Antiochus III the Great (c. 241–187 BC), ruler of the Seleucid Empire
• Ashoka the Great (c. 304–232 BC), Indian emperor of the Maurya dynasty
• Ashot I of Iberia “the Great”(died 826/830), presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia),
• Askia Mohammad I (c. 1442–1538), ruler of the Songhai Empire
• Bhumibol Adulyadej (born 1927), King of Thailand
• Bolesław I Chrobry (967-1025), sometimes called "the Great", first King of Poland
• Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the following section)
• Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (1736–1809), founder and ruler of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (in what is now Thailand)
• Cnut the Great (c. 985 or 995-1035), King of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden
• Casimir III the Great (1310–1370), King of Poland
• Catherine the Great (1729–1796), Empress of Russia
• Chandragupta II (reigned 375-413/415), also known as Vikramaditya, ruler of the Gupta empire in India
• Charlemagne (died 814), King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans
• Chulalongkorn (1853–1910), King of Siam (now Thailand)
• Chlothar II (584-629), King of Neustria and King of the Franks
• Conrad, Margrave of Meissen (c. 1097-1157), Margrave of Meissen
• Constantine I (c. 272-337), Roman emperor
• Cyaxares the Great (c. 625-585 BC), third king of Media
• Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BC or 576 BC–530 BC), founder and ruler of the Persian or Achaemenid Empire
• Darius the Great (550 – 486 BC), third ruler of the Persian Empire
• Devapala (died 850), ruler of the Pala Empire in the Indian subcontinent
• Dionysius I, Greek tyrant of Syracuse^[3]
• Ferdinand I of León and Castile (c. 1015–1065), King of León and Count of Castile
• Frederick the Great (1712–1786), King of Prussia
• Genghis Khan (1162?-1227), founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire
• Gero (c. 900–965), ruler of Marca Geronis, a very large march in Europe
• Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1594–1632), King of Sweden, founder of the Swedish Empire, and noted military leader
• Gwanggaeto the Great, King of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea^[4][5]
• Hanno the Great, the name of three leaders of Carthage, in the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd centuries BC
• Henry I, Duke of Burgundy (946–1002)
• Henry IV of France (1553–1610), King of France and King of Navarre
• Herod the Great (73/74 BC-4 BC), King of Judea
• Hugh the Great (898-956), Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris
• Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France
• Hugh I, Count of Vermandois (1057–1101)
• Humphrey I de Bohun (died c. 1123), Anglo-Norman aristocrat
• Ivan III of Russia (1440–1505), Tsar of Russia
• John I of Portugal (1358–1433), King of Portugal and the Algarve
• John II of Aragon (1398–1479), King of Aragon and, through his wife, King of Navarre
• Justinian I (483-565), Byzantine Emperor
• Kamehameha I (c. 1758-1819), first King of Hawai'i
• Kanishka (died c. 127), ruler of the Kushan Empire in Central Asia and parts of India
• Kvirike III of Kakheti (1010–1029), King of Kakheti in eastern Georgia
• Kublai Khan (1215–1294), Mongol ruler in the 13th century and Emperor of China; founder of the Yuan Dynasty
• Llywelyn the Great (c. 1172–1240), Prince of Gwynedd and de facto ruler of most of Wales
• Louis I of Hungary (1326–1382), King of Hungary, Croatia and Poland
• Mangrai the Great (1238–1317), Lanna, northern Thailand
• Emperor Meiji (1852–1912), Emperor of Japan
• Mircea I of Wallachia (1355–1418)
• Mithridates II of Parthia (died 88 BC), ruler of the Parthian Empire (in present day Iran)
• Mithridates VI of Pontus (134 BC–63 BC), ruler of Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom
• Mstislav I of Kiev (1076–1132), Grand Prince of Kievan Rus
• Naresuan (1555–1605), King of Ayutthaya
• Narai (1633–1688), King of Ayutthaya (in what is now modern Thailand)
• Odo the Great (died c. 735), Duke of Aquitaine
• Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (912-973)
• K'inich Janaab' Pakal (603-683), ruler of the Mayan city-state of Palenque
• Parakramabahu I of Polonnaruwa (1123–1186), King of Sri Lanka
• Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia (died 1075), King of Croatia
• Peter the Great (1672–1725), Tsar of Russia
• Peter III of Aragon (1239–1285), King of Aragon and King of Sicily
• Pompey (106 BC-48 BC), military and political leader of the late Roman Republic, rival of Julius Caesar
• Radama I (1793–1828), first king of greater Madagascar
• Raja Raja Chola I (c. 947-1014), Indian emperor of the Cholas.^[6][7][8]
• Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014–1044), Tamil King of India
• Ramesses II (reigned 1279 BC – 1213 BC), considered the greatest pharaoh of Ancient Egypt
• Ram Khamhaeng (around 1237 to 1247-1298), King of Sukhothai (in present day Thailand)
• Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona (1082–1131), also Count of Provence and various other counties
• Rhodri the Great (c. 820–878), King of Gwynedd (in present day Wales)
• Roman the Great (after 1160-1205), Grand Prince of Kiev
• Saladin (c. 1138-1193), Kurdish Sultan of Egypt and Syria, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, and victor over the Crusaders
• Samudragupta (c. 335–375), ruler of the Gupta empire in the Indian subcontinent
• Sancho III of Navarre (c. 992-1035), King of Kingdom of Navarre
• Sargon of Akkad (died c. 2215 BC), ruler of the Akkadian Empire
• Sejong the Great (1397–1450), Korean king^[9]
• Shapur II (309-379), king of the Sassanid Empire, Persia
• Simeon I of Bulgaria (864/865-927), ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire
• Stephen III of Moldavia (1433–1504), Prince of Moldavia (Romania)
• Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia (c. 1308-1355), King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks
• Taksin (1734–1782), King of the Thonburi Kingdom (Thailand)
• Tamar (1160-1123), Queen of the Georgian Empire
• Timur (1336–1405), better known as Tamerlane, founder of the Timurid Dynasty
• Theobald II, Count of Champagne (1090–1151), Count of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV, Count of Champagne and of Brie
• Theodoric the Great (454-526), King of the Ostrogoths, regent of the Visigoths and a viceroy of the Byzantine Empire
• Theodosius I (347-395), Roman emperor
• Tigranes the Great (140-55 BC), Emperor of Armenia
• Tiridates III of Armenia (285-339), King of Armenia
• Umar (c. 586 to 590–644), second caliph of the Muslim Empire
• Valdemar I of Denmark (1131–1182), King of Denmark
• Valentinian I (364-375), Roman Emperor
• Vladimir I of Kiev (c. 958-1015), ruler of Kievan Rus
• Vytautas (c. 1350-1430), archduke of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy
• William I, Count of Burgundy (1020–1087), Count of Burgandy and Mâcon
• William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969-1030), also Count of Poitou
• Xerxes I (519-465 BC), King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire (Persia)
• Yu the Great (c. 2200-2100 BC), legendary ruler in ancient China

Religious figures[link]

• Abraham the Great of Kashkar (ca. 492-586), monk and saint of the Assyrian Church of the East
• Abraham Kidunaia (died c. 366, hermit, priest, and Christian saint of Mesopotamia
• Albertus Magnus (1193/1206–1280), medieval German philosopher and theologian
• Anthony the Great (c. 251–356), early Christian saint of Egypt
• Babai the Great (c. 551–628), Assyrian church leader
• Basil of Caesarea (330-379), Greek bishop and theologian
• Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the previous section)
• Euthymius the Great (377-473), abbot and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint
• Gertrude the Great (1256-c. 1302), German Benedictine, mystic, theologian and Roman Catholic saint
• Pope Gregory I (c. 540-604)
• Hiyya the Great, 3rd-century rabbi, Palestine
• Pope John Paul II (1920–2005)
• Pope Leo I (c. 391 or 400-461)
• Macarius of Egypt (c. 300-391), Egyptian hermit
• Pope Nicholas I (c. 800-867)
• Photius I of Constantinople (c. 810–c. 893), Eastern Orthodox saint and Patriarch of Constantinople
• William of Maleval (died 1157), founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites

Other[link]

• Beli Mawr, a figure in medieval Welsh literature and genealogies
• Emmy the Great, folk singer
• Matteo Rosso the Great, Roman politician and father of Pope Nicholas III
• Prokop the Great, Hussite general in Bohemia

See also[link]

• Epithet
• List of monarchs by nickname
• List of nicknames of European Royalty and Nobility: G-I
• James, son of Zebedee, also known as James the Greater, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus
• Ajax (mythology), called Ajax the Greater
• Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, whose common honorific "Mahatma" means "Great Soul"

Notes[link]

Prophet Muhammad Prophet, Messenger, Apostle, Witness, Bearer of Good Tidings, Warner, Reminder, Caller, Announcer.
Common calligraphic representation of Muhammad's name
Born	Muḥammad ibn `Abd Allāh c. (570-04-26)26 April 570 Mecca (Makkah), Arabia (now Saudi Arabia)
Died	8 June 632(632-06-08) (aged 62) Yathrib, Arabia (present-day Medina, Hejaz, Saudi Arabia)
Cause of death	Illness (high fever)
Resting place	Tomb under the Green Dome of Al-Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina, Hejaz, Saudi Arabia
Other names	See Names of Muhammad
Ethnicity	Arab
Religion	Islam
Spouse	Wives: Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (595-619) Sawda bint Zamʿa (619-632) Aisha bint Abi Bakr (619-632) Hafsa bint Umar (624-632) Zaynab bint Khuzayma (625-627) Hind bint Abi Umayya (629-632) Zaynab bint Jahsh (627-632) Juwayriya bint al-Harith (628-632) Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan (628-632) Rayhana bint Zayd (629-631) Safiyya bint Huyayy (629-632) Maymuna bint al-Harith (630-632) Maria al-Qibtiyya (630-632)
Children	Sons: al-Qasim, `Abd-Allah, Ibrahim Daughters: Zainab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthoom, Fatimah Zahra
Parents	Father: `Abd Allah ibn `Abd al-Muttalib Mother: Aminah bint Wahb
Relatives	Ahl al-Bayt
Further articles from Category:Muhammad Life In Mecca · Hijra · In Medina · Conquest of Mecca · Wives · Family tree Career Qur'an · Hadith · Early reforms under Islam · Diplomacy · Military · Persecution by Meccans · Migration to Abyssinia · Farewell pilgrimage Miracles Isra and Mi'raj · Relics · Splitting of the moon · Al-Masjid al-Nabawi Views by subject Jewish · Christian · Slavery Succession Farewell sermon · Saqifah · Pen and paper · Family · Companions · History Praise Durood · Na'at · Mawlid · Haḍra · Madih nabawi · Ya Muhammad Perspectives Islamic · Jewish · Bible · Medieval Christian · Historicity · Criticism · Prophetic biography · Depictions · Films · Depictions in film v t e

Muhammad (c. 26 April 570 – 8 June 632;^[1] also transliterated as Mohammad, Mohammed, or Muhammed; Arabic: محمد‎), full name: Muhammad Ibn `Abd Allāh Ibn `Abd al-Muttalib (Arabic: محمد بن عبدالله بن عبد المطلب ‎) was a leader from Mecca who unified the tribes of Arabia into a single religious polity under Islam. He is believed by Muslims and Bahá'ís to be a messenger and prophet of God. Muslims believe that Islam was not his own invention but was revealed by God,^[2][3] and most consider him to be the last prophet of God^{[4][n 1]} Muslims thus consider him the restorer of an uncorrupted original monotheistic faith (islām) of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other prophets.^[5][6][7]

Born in 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca,^[8][9] he was orphaned at an early age and brought up under the care of his uncle Abu Talib. He later worked mostly as a merchant, as well as a shepherd, and was first married by age 25.^[10] Being in the habit of periodically retreating to a cave in the surrounding mountains for several nights of meditation and prayer, he later reported that it was there, at age 40,^[8][11] that he received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him (lit. islām) is the only way (dīn)^{[n 2]} acceptable to God, and that he himself was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as other Islamic prophets.^[7][12][13]

Muhammad gained few followers early on,^[14] and was met with hostility from some Meccan tribes; he and his followers were treated harshly. To escape persecution, Muhammad sent some of his followers to Abyssinia^[15] before he and his remaining followers in Mecca migrated to Medina (then known as Yathrib) in the year 622.^[16] This event, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar, which is also known as the Hijri Calendar. In Medina, Muhammad united the tribes under the Constitution of Medina,.^[16] After eight years of fighting with the Meccan tribes, his followers, who by then had grown to 10,000, conquered Mecca. Muhammad destroyed the symbols of paganism in Mecca^[17] and then sent his followers out to destroy all of the remaining pagan temples throughout Eastern Arabia.^[18][19]

In 632, a few months after returning to Medina from The Farewell Pilgrimage, Muhammad fell ill and died. By the time of his death, most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam, and he had united the tribes of Arabia into a single Muslim religious polity.^[20][21]

The revelations (or Ayah, lit. "Signs [of God]")—which Muhammad reported receiving until his death—form the verses of the Quran, regarded by Muslims as the “Word of God” and around which the religion is based. Besides the Quran, Muhammad’s life (sira) and traditions (sunnah) are also upheld by Muslims. They discuss Muhammad and other prophets of Islam with reverence, adding the phrase peace be upon him whenever their names are mentioned.^[22] While conceptions of Muhammad in medieval Christendom and premodern times were largely negative, appraisals in modern history have been far less so.^[13][23]

Names and appellations in the Quran[link]

The name Muhammad written in Thuluth, a script variety of Islamic calligraphy.

The name Muhammad means "Praiseworthy" and occurs four times in the Quran.^[24] The Quran addresses Muhammad in the second person not by his name but by the appellations prophet, messenger, servant of God ('abd), announcer (bashir)^{[Quran 2:119]}, witness (shahid),^{[Quran 33:45]} bearer of good tidings (mubashshir), warner (nathir),^{[Quran 11:2]} reminder (mudhakkir),^{[Quran 88:21]} one who calls [unto God] (dā‘ī),^{[Quran 12:108]} light personified (noor)^{[Quran 05:15]}, and the light-giving lamp (siraj munir)^{[Quran 73:1]}. Muhammad is sometimes addressed by designations deriving from his state at the time of the address: thus he is referred to as the enwrapped (al-muzzammil) in Quran 73:1 and the shrouded (al-muddaththir) in Quran 74:1.^[25] In the Quran, believers are not to distinguish between the messengers of God and are to believe in all of them (Sura Al-Baqara 2:285). God has caused some messengers to excel above others 2:253 and in Sura Al-Ahzab 33:40 He singles out Muhammad as the "Seal of the Prophets".^[26] The Quran also refers to Muhammad as Aḥmad "more praiseworthy" (Arabic: أحمد‎, Sura As-Saff 61:6).

Sources for Muhammad's life[link]

Quran[link]

A folio from an early Quran, written in Kufic script (Abbasid period, 8th–9th century).

The Quran is the central religious text of Islam and Muslims believe that it represents the words of God revealed to Muhammad through the archangel Gabriel.^[27][28][29] Although it mentions Muhammad directly only four times,^[30] there are verses which can be interpreted as allusions to Muhammad's life.^{[13][n 3]} The Quran however provides little assistance for a chronological biography of Muhammad, and many of the utterances recorded in it lack historical context.^[31][32]