# After Justinian, Everything Fell Apart

## Метаданные

- **Канал:** Knowledgia
- **YouTube:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjM5DEUKG-Q
- **Источник:** https://ekstraktznaniy.ru/video/40559

## Транскрипт

### Segment 1 (00:00 - 05:00) []

Justinian had spent a lifetime stitching the Roman world back together. Winning Italy, holding Africa, and keeping Persia at bay. But empires don't collapse only from defeat. Sometimes they collapse from success that costs too much. Exhausted armies, empty coffers, and frontiers that all needed saving at once became his biggest burdens. In the west, the new conquests began to crack. In the east, Persia watched for weakness. In the Balkans, raiders tested the Danube line. Everyone was against the Roman Empire. During the reign of Justinian, the Roman Empire had expanded back into its former territory in the west and reclaimed the eternal city itself, while also fighting two major wars with Persia and defending the Balkans. However, Justinian's nephew and the new emperor Justin II would soon find himself embroiled in new conflicts at a time when the empire's military and resources were being stretched thin by commitments on many different frontiers. Nowhere would the problems resulting from this be more evident than in the newly conquered provinces of the west, which all came under attack nearly simultaneously in this period from enemies both old and new. Rise of Justin. Like emperors in the past, Justin's first task was to consolidate his power in Constantinople. There was a possible contender for the imperial purple in the form of Marcian, another nephew of Justinians. But as he was in distant Africa at the time, Justin was ideally placed to seize power. The new emperor entered the capital's great palace guarded by the excubtoriz and their commander the Tiberius where he was crowned by the patriarch John Scholasticus. And with his position secure, Justin officially announced his predecessor's death and appeared before the people of Constantinople at the Hippodromeome. One of Justin's most immediate concerns was economic. Roman resources had been heavily strained over the course of Justinian's reign when many military campaigns had been fought with the emperor claiming that we found the treasury burdened by many debts and reduced to utter exhaustion. Despite this, he had enough faith in the empire's economy to cancel any taxes that had been left unpaid since 560 AD or even earlier. A generous move that suggests the state was not in dire need for money in spite of the pressures of the past years and some concerns among contemporaries. He would also need to continue dealing with the ongoing religious issues over Christianity, particularly the conflicts between the Calcedonians and Monophysites. Justin attempted to foster unity between the different sides of the church and succeeded in winning over moderate elements of these factions but had difficulty satisfying their more extreme followers which would ultimately lead to Justin continuing the religious policy of opposing the monophysites which was continued by his successors as well. Fall of the Gipedes. Before we jump back into the story, I want to quickly mention our sponsor, the book by Hungry Minds. Since we spend our time exploring and talking about history, this is basically the perfect companion, a beautifully illustrated guide to the inventions and discoveries that actually made civilizations work in the first place. It feels like a visual museum of human innovation, and it constantly sparks new ideas for episodes like this one. The book is basically a captivating illustrated encyclopedia, one of humankind's greatest inventions and discoveries. And what I like about it is how premium it feels in person. The illustrations blend engineering drawings with medieval art styles. Printed on premium matte art paper with a laminated hard cover, it looks like a collector piece on a desk or shelf. Inside you get over 400 informative pages covering 180 topics and 23 chapters that mix not only history, but science, art, and design without feeling dry or too simple. It's also entertaining because there's a hidden quest inside so you can hunt for clues while you read it. raised 2. 3 million plus on Kickstarter and Indiegogo involved 50 plus professionals and was published in Italian by Marcilio Artee in 2023. If you want your own copy, click on my link in the description or scan the QR code on screen and use code 10 for a

### Segment 2 (05:00 - 10:00) [5:00]

discount. Though Justin's dealings with the Empire's internal workings are important, like his predecessor, his reign would largely be remembered for its foreign conflicts. Within a week of his rise to power, Justin was visited by a delegation from the Avars and their Kagan, Buan, who were a people similar to the Huns, centered on the great Hungarian plane north of the Danube, and were famed for their cavalry. The Avars had come into contact with Rome during the 550s AD and received annual subsidies from the empire for much of the late 6th century who was willing to simply buy them off to avoid a major confrontation. At the same time, the empire still had to deal with the Gipedes led by King Kunimund who controlled the major city of Serium in Panonia and parts of the great Hungarian plain. Lastly, the Lumbards, a Germanic people, had moved just south and west of the Danube into Panonia under their leader Albuine and were in conflict with the Gipedes. The Kagan Buan arrived in Constantinople to resume the payments of subsidies begun under Justinian, but the new emperor refused. There was however no immediate reaction from the Avars and Rome's attention for now turned towards the Capedes where in 567 AD Kunimons requested Roman assistance against the Lombards in exchange for control of Sir Mume. Once the Lombards were defeated, however, Kunimons refused to honor his part of the treaty which had dire consequences for the Gipedes. The Lombards now turned to the Avars for help which led to Kunimund yet again requesting Roman help and offering Sir Mium in return. However, once the Romans were in possession of Sir Mium, they left the Gapedes to the mercy of the Lombards and Devars who crushed them in short order and destroyed their kingdom. Kuniman was killed and his head turned into a drinking cup by the Lombard leader Albuine who added insult to injury by forcing Kuniman's daughter Rosamunda to marry him. Justin's western wars. The Lombards, however, would not merely be satisfied with the bloody victory over the Gapedes, and their attention now turned towards one of the most vulnerable frontiers of the Roman Empire in Italy. Since Narcles's victory over the Ostrogoths and Franks, the region had been peaceful and was in the process of recovering from many years of warfare. Italy also had the number of troops assigned to it greatly reduced since the end of major operations in the area and combined these two factors left it exposed to a largecale attack. The Lombards invaded northern Italy in 568 AD and began to make rapid progress, meeting very little Roman resistance. Others also sensed that the western provinces were vulnerable and Rome's enemies quickly started to take advantage of this. The Avars attempted to expand their own power by attacking Sir Mium, injuring the Roman commander Bonus in battle. The Po Valley fell to the Lombards by the following year with the notable exception of Tikkinum whose garrison continued to hold out. At the same time, the Visigoths under King Leo Vile also attacked the Roman provinces in Spain. While in Africa, there was renewed war with the Moors. In Sir Mium, Bonus was replaced by Tiberius, who briefly continued the Avar war until the two sides negotiated a peace treaty in 571 AD. Tikkinum also finally fell in 572 AD to the Lombards while the Visigoths managed to capture the city of Malaga, Acedona, and Cordoba, but would ultimately also make peace with Rome that same year and leave the empire in control of a part of Spain. In Italy, the situation continued to deteriorate as the Lumbards had expanded southwards. However, the political unity of the invaders was shattered in 573 AD when Rosimond led an uprising against Albuine, reportedly after the brutal Lombard king had requested that she drink from the cup made of her father's skull. Alboine was killed and his successor KFTF was similarly assassinated just one year later, which led the Lombards fracturing into many smaller duchies. Some of these Lombard dukes ruled in northern Italy where their invasion had

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first begun. Others moved south with their followers where the duchies of Spaltum and Benventum emerged as prominent powers. Though no longer a united kingdom, the Lombards would remain a strong force in Italy for a long time which was now divided between them and the territory that remained under Roman control. Here the Lombards started to gradually assimilate into the local Italian population, intermaring with them and being influenced by their culture. The old western capital of Ravena, as well as Rome itself, remained in the empire's hands, as did a thin corridor connecting the two cities, along with holdouts in Lagura, Naples, and part of southern Italy and all of Sicily. With the western provinces being a secondary concern for Justin, resources were never allocated there to drive the Lombards out during his reign. This was likely in part influenced by the renewed conflict with Persia in the east and the defense of the Balkans, which were the emperor's main focus. The loss of so much hardworn territory to the Lumbards was undoubtedly a blow to the Romans, made more unfortunate by the timing of the invasion when Italy was steadily recovering from the Gothic War, depriving the empire of the many possible opportunities and resources Italy could have afforded in its entirety. Nevertheless, the areas that did remain under Roman rule would begin to show signs of recovery and prosperity. Southern Italy, for instance, retained pottery industries that exported wares across a wide area, and in general had a more complex and wealthier system of trade than the areas now under Lumbard rule, which left the region as possibly the richest in the former Roman West, still under the empire's control. Meanwhile, the city of Rome, while not fully recovering to the same level of prosperity it once enjoyed, would once again become a wealthy center of commerce by the 7th century AD. And Justin even sent a shipment of grain from Egypt to the city to help relieve a famine. Thus, despite the pressure from the Lombards and the region's exhaustion after years of warfare, many parts of Italy would continue to remain in Roman control and prove to be productive parts of the empire again. Justin's Eastern conflicts. Meanwhile, Justin was also engaged in a new major war with Persia, as well as the arrival of a new third party in the ongoing rivalry of the two empires. These were the Turks, another people who would come to play a prominent role in Roman history. The Turks arrived from Central Asia while moving westward under Caesoulis and made contact with both empires, but ultimately formed an alliance with Rome in 568 AD after the Persians poisoned a Turkish delegation. As for the Persian war, this new conflict began in 572 AD when the emperor refused to pay the annual subsidy agreed in the peace treaty 10 years prior, similar to how he acted with the Avars. There were also continued tensions between the two empires over their influence in the Caucuses where Persia's position had recently become more unstable after a revolt in Armenia as well as trouble in Mesopotamia where Sariss drives allies to both sides were in a state of rivalry. These factors precipitated another hard-fought war in the east which would last for many years. The new war with Persia had at first begun well as the Romans under the magister Militum Perorientum Marcian pushed into Mesopotamia and laid siege to the city of Nissibus in 573 AD. However, when Marcian failed to take the city quickly, he was replaced and the operation abandoned. after which a Persian counterattack that same year conducted by two armies raided the wealthy province of Syria and besieged Dara at the same time. The latter operation being led by King Kusro in person. After a lengthy siege, the city fell to a Persian army for the first time. Justin's mental health had unfortunately started to also decline and news of the fall of Dra had further exacerbated this and caused the emperor to begin going insane. His faculties fell to the point where he sometimes had to be physically restrained to prevent him from causing violence. However, Justin continued to have some lucid

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moments and was still aware that he was ill. This also led to Justin's wife, the Empress Sophia, becoming a prominent figure in the Imperial Court, as her husband was increasingly unfit to rule. She is said to have had a calming effect on the emperor and was much more involved in the Empire's affairs than most empresses, where she proved to be a capable ruler. In one of his moments of clarity, Justin appointed his trusted commander Tiberius as Caesar in 574 AD, making him as a preferred heir and wisely handing the reigns of the state over to someone who was mentally fit to bear the burden. This in effect marked the beginning of the reign of Tiberius II as he began to directly run the empire's affairs only consulting with Justin when his illness allowed. The main focus of the new Caesar Tiberius was the war with Persia while attempting to resolve the situation with the Avars through diplomacy. This period also saw the frontier in Italy with the Lombards become more settled as both sides accepted the new status quo in the region for now. While in distant Crimea, the Turks suddenly repudiated their old alliance with Rome and took the city of Bosporus. In Persia, however, the situation continued to improve for Rome as Tiberius sent is Kome Excubator Maurice to the frontier in 577 AD. who campaigned against the Persians with much success. The following year also saw the death of the mentally ill Justin II. His last act being to formally proclaim his chosen successor as Augustus. The next period of Roman history under his rule and that of his successors would be characterized by a long period of almost constant warfare on the Eastern frontier combined with threats to the empire's stability from within which would push Rome to its limits.