Justinian
Emperor, Soldier, Saint
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Justinian
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Narrated by:
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Mark Elstob
About this listen
The definitive life story of the Roman Emperor who shaped modern times.
In this groundbreaking new biography of Justinian, Peter Sarris gives us an intimate insight into both the Emperor and the man. We meet a man who from the humblest beginnings, rose to become ruler of much of the known world achieving an almost god-like status. An emperor who infused even the most mundane tasks with spiritual and religious significance. A gifted administrator obsessed with detail. A middle aged lover who fell for a dancing girl and changed the law so he could marry her, ruling with Empress Theodora by his side for over twenty years. A brilliant military strategist who was never a soldier. The challenges he faced - climate change, battles over culture and identity, the first recorded global pandemic -and many of the solutions he found to address them still resonate with us today. And his legacy remains all around us, in the massive building programme of which the most beautiful manifestation is surely Hagia Sophia; in our legal systems through the codification of the Corpus juris civilis; and in our culture and history by making a fundamental contribution to both the formation of Christendom and the emergence of Islam. In this tour de force Peter Sarris shows us that in all his complexity and contradictions Justinian was, in many ways, a very modern Emperor.
2024, London Hellenic Society, John D. Criticos Prize, Winner
2024, The Runciman Award (Anglo Hellenic Society), Long-listed
©2023 Peter Sarris (P)2023 Hodder & Stoughton LimitedListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
Magnificent. A vivid and authoritative biography of one of Rome's most fascinating rulers, Justinian is also a vibrant portrait of an entire world - a resurgent Roman Empire suddenly devastated by tragedy (Kyle Harper, author of THE FATE OF ROME)
Justinian's long life mirrored that of ancient Rome itself: both rose from lowly origins to supreme power, survived revolt and conquered rivals, crafted laws and erected mighty monuments, only to be worn down by insurgents, invaders, and plagues. In a stunning tour de force, Sarris brings one of history's most momentous dramas back to life (Walter Scheidel, author of THE GREAT LEVELER)
Effortlessly erudite, lucidly written, with a sharp eye for the telling detail, Sarris has written the great biography of the greatest of the Byzantine emperors (Rory Stewart)
Spectacularly good: a wonderfully colourful biography of the man who remade the Roman Empire.
Peter Sarris plunges us deep into a world of imperial conflict, religious paranoia, pandemics and climate change, while never losing sight of the extraordinary character at its heart.
Based on decades of scholarship, this is the definitive history of the emperor and his times, and a thrilling testament to the glories of Byzantium (Dominic Sandbrook, author of WHO DARES WINS)
A majestic, sparkling account of one of the most important rulers in history. Meticulously researched, beautifully written, filled with insights, this is modern history writing at its finest (Peter Frankopan, author of THE SILK ROADS)
Justinian looms so large in the landscape of the ancient Mediterranean that it is almost impossible to take his measure. Yet Peter Sarris has done so convincingly, offering a lucid and persuasive account of a ruler as invested in the mechanics of government as in waging wars of conquest. A remarkable achievement (Kate Cooper, Professor of History at Royal Holloway and author of QUEENS OF A FALLEN WORLD)
Superb and gripping. Epic historical biography that brings the emperor to life with analysis and empathy and a work of scholarship filled with new ideas and revelations (Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of THE WORLD: A FAMILY HISTORY OF HUMANITY)
The author's passion for the subject and his respect for Justinian is clear throughout, keeping the reader engaged until the very end (British Archaeology)
Saint or Demon King
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Justinian features heavily in most general surveys of Byzantium of necessity but he is such an important and pivotal figure that he deserves a clear and well researched biography like this one.
It’s worth re-reading the introduction after completing the book because the author has stated his case concisely and cogently: Elsewhere he states that: ‘Had he died in 542, Justinian would have been considered a brilliant … emperor’ and very roughly that is the case he makes with both conviction and elegance. Sarrs’s research and use of the many and c
Various documentary resources other than Procopius ensures a balanced account with well chosen detail about his subject’s achievements in civil and religious life: the chapter on ‘the sleepless emperor’ is enlightening. The survey on buildings cries out for illystrations or even a PDF, beautifully written and clear as it is, but perhaps the most valuable of many insights in thus wonderful book is the author!s forensic treatment of Procopius , the historian of Belasarius’ military campaigns who seriously muddied the waters with his scandalous and highly entertaining demolition of Justinian and his dubious wife which is also to be found here on Audible.
The opening chapter on theological disputes in the 4th century is a model of clarity and balance, a standard which the author maintains throughout his account of Justinian’s rather chequered policy of holding to what commentators usually term ‘orthodoxy’ but which emerges here as Orthodoxy, with the capital O.
Sarris rightly emphasises that Justinian’s lasting achievement has proved to be the law codes; together with his buildings and town planning his genius subsisted in his choice of project managers, although Sarris argues a trifle mischievously that when Justinian interfered in anything himself things often went wrong , and his interpretation of parts of Procopius to that effect is hilarious.
Even for a listener unfamiliar with Byzantine history this audiobook should provide both knowledge and entertainment: its 15 hours passed very quickly and the reading is sympathetic and serves a wonderful text well enough.
Everything history should be!!!
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Great Narrator, and a great biography on Justinian I
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Good title, poor audio quality
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