Justin I (Latin: Justinus)

Justin I (February 2, 450 – August 1, 527, Constantinople) the Byzantine Emperor from 518 to 527.

King Gurgen of Kartli initiated clandestine negotiations with Justin I and, relying on promises of imperial assistance, organized an uprising against Iran (see Gurgen's Rebellion of 523). The emperor pledged to the Kartvelian monarch that "the Romans would never abandon the Iberians to the Persians"; however, at the critical juncture, the auxiliary force dispatched by the Byzantines proved so deficient in numbers that Gurgen was unable to engage the Iranian forces in open combat.

Justin I deployed military forces into Egrisi and resolved to fortify the region. Within the strongholds of Shorapani and Skanda, he replaced the local Egrisian guards with Byzantine soldiers, transferring the financial burden of their maintenance onto the Egrisian population. Eventually, the Egrisians refused to sustain this service. Consequently, the Byzantines were compelled to evacuate the fortifications, which the Iranians subsequently occupied without encountering military resistance. During this period, the King of Egrisi deceased, and his heir, Tsate I, was preparing to ascend the royal throne. Justin I assisted Tsate in securing his accession to the monarchy.

Sources: Procopius of Caesarea, in: Georgica: Notices of Byzantine Writers on Georgia, published by S. Kaukhchishvili, Vol. 2, Tbilisi, 1965; Vol. 5, Tbilisi, 1963.

Literature: ასათიანი ვ., ბიზანტიური ცივილიზაცია, თბ., 2006; საქართველოს ისტორიის ნარკვევები, ტ. 2, თბ., 1973.

L. Maniava