Justinian I

Justinian I (Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Justinianus) the Great [May 11, 482, Tauresium (Upper Macedonia) – November 14, 565, Constantinople], the Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565, a venerated saint.

He was raised by his uncle, Emperor Justin I, and received a brilliant education. He implemented numerous administrative and legal reforms. As a result of his wars of reconquest (533–555), he brought the entire Mediterranean basin under Byzantine hegemony.

Throughout his reign, Justinian I waged war against Sasanian Iran. One of the primary theaters of this military conflict was the South Caucasus, specifically the Kingdom of Egrisi (Lazica). Prompted by the threat of Sasanian Iranian raids, he initiated the fortification of Egrisi and stationed Byzantine garrisons within its strongholds (Skanda, Shorapani, Tskhum-Sebastopolis [Sukhumi], and Pityunt [Pitsunda]). He established a strategos equipped with a garrison and corresponding administrative authority in Petra (modern Tsikhisdziri). He elevated the fortress of Petra to the status of a city and named it after himself. Justinian I was the first to subjugate Chaneti [Tzanica] to the Byzantine Empire. He introduced Christianity in Abazgia (Abkhazia), constructed a church for the population, instituted liturgical services, and established direct imperial governance there to counterbalance the authority of the Egrisi monarchy. He was extensively engaged in military fortificational construction throughout Egrisi.

Sources: Georgica: Notices of Byzantine Writers on Georgia, published by S. Kaukhchishvili, Vol. 2, Tbilisi, 1965.

Literature: საქართველოს ისტორიის ნარკვევები, ტ. 2, თბ., 1973; წმიდანთა ცხოვრება, ტ. 4, თბ., 2003.

N. Lomouri