No More Learning

In Dardania
S" alone, Justinian's native country, Procopius enumerates more than one
hundred and fifty castella besides such great posts as Justiniana Prima,
Sardica and Naissus. Fortifications were even constructed on the shore
^ of the Sea of Marmora and the Archipelago. To protect Constantinople
Anastasius had built the Long Wall in 512. It ran from the Sea of
Marmora to Selymbria on . the Black Sea. Similar long walls covered the
Thracian Chersonesus, barred the passes of Thermopylae, and cut across
the Isthmus of Corinth. Fortresses were also raised in Thessaly and
northern Greece. Thus the whole of the Balkan peninsula formed a
vast entrenched camp. On the side of the Euxine long walls protected
the approaches to Cherson, and the strong castle of Petra Justiniana
defended Lazica. Then several lines of fortresses were drawn up from
Trebizond to the Euphrates. In Armenia there was Theodosiopolis
(now Erzeroum), Kitharizon and Martyropolis; in Mesopotamia Amida,
Constantina, Dara, called "the rampart of the Roman Empire," and
another Theodosiopolis; Circesium was on the Euphrates and Zenobia
and Palmyra on the borders of the desert. Added to these there were
the intermediate castella which connected the big fortresses. A little to
the rear, in the second line, were Satala, Coloneia, Nicopolis, Sebaste,
Melitene, "the bulwark of Armenia," Edessa, Carrhae, Callinicum in
Osrhoene, Sura, Hierapolis, Zeugma in the Euphrates district, and
Antioch after the catastrophe of 540. These made a formidable field
C. MED. H. VOL. II. CH. II. 3


## p. 34 (#66) ##############################################

34 Justinian s Diplomacy
for warfare. It is certain that all these buildings do not date from
Justinian's reign, but he must have the credit of combining them all
into a sure and splendid defensive system.
Military methods alone were not employed for the defence of the
Empire in the East. The imperial diplomacy was putting forth all its
powers to that end, and displayed wonderful skill and ingenuity in the
task. The Empire always possessed a great influence over the bar-
barians settled on the Roman frontiers. They were proud when their
services and good faith won for them the approval of the basileus. They
gladly placed their forces at his disposal when they received the annual
subsidy (annona), and became the auxiliaries and vassals of the Empire,
bearing the name of foederati. Their chiefs felt themselves honoured
when they received the splendid insignia of their commands from the
hands of the basileus. They gladly adorned themselves with titles culled
from the hierarchy of the palace, and hastened to declare themselves to be
"Slaves of the imperial Majesty. " Constantinople and the Court dazzled
their simple minds, they flocked there gladly, and it was easy for the
Emperor by the mere splendour of their reception to impress them with
a great idea of the strength of the monarchy. During the whole
of Justinian's reign the Sacred Palace was filled with a never-ending
succession of strange and barbaric sovereigns. Heruls, Huns, Gepidae,
Avars, Saracens, Axumitae, Lazi, Iberians, men of every race and of every
land, with their wives and children and their retinue in picturesque
garments, filled the capital with a babel of all the tongues in the
universe. They were loaded with honours, presents, and magnificent
demonstrations of affection, and returned to their native wilds dazzled
by the spectacle of the imperial majesty. Naturally they felt them-
selves only too happy to be allowed to serve this basileus who gave
so warm a welcome to his faithful servitors, and recompensed them so
generously.
Thus by the clever distribution of favours and money the Emperor
was able to maintain a fringe of barbarian clients on all his frontiers.
At the same time the authorities at Byzantium never forgot that the
fickle and perfidious allies might prove to be dangerous servants because
of their indiscipline, faithlessness and greed. The imperial diplomacy
watched them with an eagle eye, skilfully treating them with a mixture
of sternness and leniency; and endeavouring tfi render them harmless by
the policy of setting them against each other, and fostering rivalry and
hatred amongst them^XJustinian maintained a possible rival to every
barbarian king, he had always a hostile people waiting his word to
descend on every other people. The Lombards menaced the Gepidae,
the Utigurs the Kotrigurs, the Avars the Huns. Thus, as Agathias
wrote, " so long as the barbarians destroyed each other, the Emperor was
always victor without drawing his sword, no matter what was the end of


## p. 35 (#67) ##############################################

Justinian's Diplomacy 35
the struggle. " Formerly Rome had found the same methods necessary
to govern the barbarians. Byzantium was able to add to the Roman
traditions the influence which she wielded because of her propagation of
Christianity. \Her missionaries worked for the consolidation of the
imperial power as effectively as her diplomatists. They opened a road
for politicians, and prepared new territories for Byzantine influence and
civilisation. Thanks to them conversions increased everywhere, from
the plains of southern Russia to the Abyssinian plateau, and from the
Caucasus Mountains to the oases of the Sahara.
By means of Christianity Byzantine influence spread beyond the
boundaries of the Empire in Justinian's reign, and many were the peoples
affected by it; Huns from the Cimmerian Bosphorus, Souanians, Abasgi,
Apsilians from the Caucasus district, Alans, and Sabirian Huns, Tzani
from the upper Euphrates, Arabs from Syria, Himyarites from Yemen,
Nobadae and Blemmyes from the upper Nile, Berbers from the oases of
the Sahara, and Heruls from Moesia.
By these means Justinian was able to checkmate his enemies. In the
East he sought amongst the Sabirian Huns for allies against the Sassanid
monarchy, because they could rush upon the Persian realm from the
north. He also went to the Arabs of the Syrian desert because they
might make useful diversions from the south, and he formed them into
a unique State, under the phylarchiw Harith the Ghassanid(531). Not
content with this, he went yet further and made friends among the Arabs
on the Yemen and in the Ethiopian kingdom of Axum. In the West
he skilfully managed to sow discord amongst the tribes who crowded on
the Danube frontier, checking the Bulgars by the Huns, the Huns by the
Antae, and the Antae and Utigurs by the Avars. He scattered money
and lands liberally amongst them all, loading their ambassadors with
silken robes and golden chains, in return for which he only asked them
to supply Byzantium with soldiers. In this way he settled the Lombards
in Pan noma, the Heruls in Dacia, and the Kotrigur Huns in Thrace.
He offered the Avars lands suitable for settlement on the Save, and
similarly managed to procure a number of vassals on all the frontiers of
the Empire. On the Danube there were the Heruls, Gepidae, Lombards,
Huns and Antae; on the borders of Armenia, the Lazi and Tzani; on
the Syrian frontier the crowd of Arab tribes; in Africa the Berber
inhabitants of Byzacena, Numidia and Mauritania.
Thus with wonderful skill Justinian exercised the difficult art of
ruling barbarians, and he did it from the depth of his palace and capital.
Contemporaries waxed eloquent in praise of the prudence, the fairness
and delicacy displayed by the Emperor in carrying out this policy, and
in celebrating that evfiovXLa by which, according to Menander, "he
would have destroyed the barbarians without fighting if he had lived
long enough. 11 However this policy was not without its dangers. UJy
displaying the riches of the Empire to the barbarians, and by lavishly
ch. ii. 3—2
t^


## p. 36 (#68) ##############################################

36 Defects of Justinian's Diplomacy
distributing money and lands amongst them, their demands were
naturally increased enormously, and their invasions provoked\ Procopius
very wisely observed that " once they had tasted Byzantine"wealth it was
impossible to keep them from it, or to make them forget the road to it. "
The obvious antidote for the dangers of this course of diplomacy was a
strong military organisation. Procopius again wrote "there is no other
way of compelling the barbarians to keep faith with Rome except by the
fear of the imperial armies. " Justinian understood this quite well.
Unfortunately, in proportion as the West again absorbed the resources
and attention of the Empire, lack of money led to the disorganisation
of those military institutions which had been formed to protect the East.
Corps of limitanei were disbanded, the fighting force of the troops of the
line in Syria was diminished, strong positions were left undefended,
often bereft of garrisons altogether, and Justinian's excellent network of
fortresses no longer sufficed to keep out the barbarians. The Emperor
seemed to prefer diplomatic action by itself to the practical military
precautions that he had applied so actively at the beginning of his reign.
He thought it more clever to buy off the invaders than to beat them by
force of arms, he considered it cheaper to subsidise the barbarians than
to maintain a large army on a war footing; he found it more agreeable
to direct a subtle diplomacy than great military operations, and he never
realised that the first result of his policy was to encourage the barbarians
in rr>t,iirn\ .
This was the fundamental defect of Justinian's foreign policy in the
East. It rested on a skilful combination of military force and diplomacy.
As long as the balance was maintained between these two elements
equilibrium was secured, the end aimed at was attained, and the Empire
was well defended and comparatively safe. But when this balance was
upset, everything went wrong at once. The Slavs appeared at Hadrianople,
the Huns under the walls of Constantinople, while the Avars assumed a
threatening attitude and regions of the Balkans were terribly ravaged.
Procopius was justified when he reproached Justinian with having "wasted
the riches of the Empire in extravagant gifts to. the barbarians," and in
his assertion that the Emperor's rash generosity only incited them to
return perpetually "to sell the peace for which they were always well
paid. " The historian goes on to explain that "after them came others,
who made a double profit, from the rapine in which they indulged and
from the money with which the liberality of the prince always furnished
them. Thus the evil continued with no abatement, and there was no
escape from the vicious circle. "
This mistaken policy cost the Empire dear. Nevertheless, it was
founded on a right principle, and some of the results which it
produced were not to be despised, in connexion with the defence of
territory, the development of commerce, or the spread of civilisation.
Justinian's mistake—specially during the last years of his reign—lay in


## p. 37 (#69) ##############################################

Domestic Government 37
the fact that he carried the system to excess. When he allowed the
army to become disorganised and fortresses to fall into ruin he bereft
his diplomacy of the force that was necessary to support his plans.
When he ceased to awe the barbarians he found himself at their mercy.
III.
The domestic government of the East took up as much of Justinian's
attention as the defence of the territory. /The urgent need for adminis-
trative reform in the, midst of a serious religious crisis provided ample
food for his anxiety,
In Byzantium lie salej)fjpublic offices was an ancient custom, and
this venality led to deplorable results. The governors expected to recoup
themselves from the province for the expenses which they incurred in
obtaining their posts, and to enrich themselves to as great an extent as
possible while they held them. The other agents in so corrupt an
administration only followed the governor's example, when they pillaged
and crushed the district to their heart's content. The__financial system
was oppressive and exacting; justice was sold or partially administered,
and deep misery and general insecurity was the natural result. The
people left the country, the towns were emptied, the fields deserted, and
agriculture abandoned. While those who were strong or rich enough to
defend themselves managed to escape the exactions of the tax-collector,
the great proprietors maintained troops of armed men in their pay, and
ravaged the country, attacked people and seized land, sure of immunity
from the magistrates. Everywhere murder, brigandage, agitation and
risings abounded, and last and most serious result of all the disorders,
thej-eturnsj>f thejaxfis-from the exhausted provinces were but scanty.
Justinian calculated that only one-third of the taxes imposed really
reached the treasury, and the misery of the subjects destroyed the source
of the public wealth. It will be easy to understand why the Emperor felt
so much concern at affairs in the East, if we add that the laws abounded
in contradictions, obscurities and useless prolixity, which gave rise to
very long law-suits, and furnished an opportunity for the j udges to give
arbitrary decisions, or to decide matters to suit their own convenience.
Justinian, as we know, had the qualities that go to make a good
administrator. He loved order, he had a sincere wish to do good work,
and a real care for the well-being of his subjects. With an authoritative
disposition and absolutist tendencies, he combined a taste for adminis-
trative centralisation. But above all, his vast projects left him incessantly
in need of large sums of money. He saw that the best way to ensure
the regularity of the returns was to protect those who paid from the
functionaries who ruined them; and thus in furthering the well-being
and quiet of his subjects the Emperor was also serving the best interests


## p. 38 (#70) ##############################################

38 Justinians Legislation [533-636
of the fisc. Moreover it satisfied Justinian's pride to maintain the
tradition of the great Roman Emperors by being a reformer and
legislator. For these various reasons from the time of his accession
he undertook a double work. In order to give the Empire certain and
unquestionable laws he had legislative monuments drawn up under
i Tribonian's direction, which are known as Justinian's Code (529), the
Digest (533), the Institutes (533), and completed by the series of Novellae
. (534-565).
The details of Justinian's legislative work will be found in another
chapter. All that is done here is to indicate their place in the reign as
a whole and in the general policy of the Emperor. After the great crisis
of the Nika riot had clearly shewn him the public discontent and the
faults of Ihe government, he promulgated juie two great ordinances of
April 535. By these two documents Justinian laid down the principles
of his administrative reform and shewed his functionaries the new duties
which he expected of them. rThe sale of offices was abolished. To take
all pretext for exploiting the population from the governors, their salaries
were raised, while their prestige was increased in order to remove from
them the temptation to yield to the demands of powerful private persons.
But before all things, the Emperor wished his agents to be scrupulously
honest, and was always urging them to keep their "hands clean. " He
gave minute instructions to his magistrates, and bade them render
the same justice to all, keep a watchful eye on the conduct of their
subordinates, protect the subjects from all vexations, hinder the en-
croachments of the great, ensure the maintenance of order by frequent
progresses, and govern, in fact, "paternally. " But above all he bade
them neglect nothing that might defend the interests of the fisc, and
increase its resources. To pay in the taxes regularly was the first duty
of a good officer, as the first duty of a taxpayer was to acquit himself
regularly and completely of the whole sum due. Furthermore, to ensure
the carrying out of his plans, Justiniait requested the bishops to inspect
the conduct of the magistrates; and he invited anyone who wished to
make complaints to come to Constantinople, and lay his grievances at
the feet of the sovereign. )
During the years 535 and 536 a series of special measures was added
to the general enactments. Their object wasQp strengthen the local
government and to ensure obedience to the central power. ■ In the fourth
century the traditional method of conducting the administration was to
multiply provincial districts, to complicate an endless hierarchy of officials
and to separate civil and military authority. Justinian made a deter-
mined break in these pedantic traditions. He desired to simplify the
administration, to have fewer provinces but to have them better organ-
ised. He also wished to diminish the number of officials, to give those
that remained better salaries, and to make them stronger, and more
dependent on the central government. To further this end he reduced


## p. 39 (#71) ##############################################

535-539] The Administration 39
the number of circumscriptions, by uniting couples of them or by grouping
them more reasonably. (He suppressed the useless vicarii, who had been
intermediaries between the provincial governors and the praetorian
praefect, and he reunited the civil and military authority in the hands
of the same officials in a great number of provinces. (He created praetors
in Pisidia, Lycaonia, Pamphylia and Thrace; counts in Isauria, Phrygia
Pacatiana, Galatia, Syria and Armenia; an administrative moderator
in the Hellespont; a proconsul to govern Cappadocia. The Emperor
adorned all these officials with the high-sounding title of Justiniani, and
they united authority over the troops stationed in their circumscription
to their competence in civil matters. This was a great innovation and
was fraught with serious consequences in the administrative history of
the Byzantine Empire.
The reorganisation of the judicial administration completed these
useful measures. Justinian desired that justice should be administered
with more speed and security in these provinces. In order to avoid the
obstruction of business in the courts of the capital he made(a series of
courts of appeal midway between the court of the provincial governor
and that of the praetorian praefect and the quaestor^ Thus appeals
were made easier and less burdensome to the subjects) and at the same
time Constantinople was freed from the crowd of litigants who had
flocked there, and who, since they were discontented and idle, were only
too ready to join the ranks of thieves or agitators.
One of the great difficulties confronting the government was the police
of the capital. Praetors of the people were instituted there in 535, to
judge cases of theft, adultery, murder, and to repress disturbances. In
589 another magistrate, the quaesitor, was established, to rid the city of
the crowd of provincials who obstructed it with no valid excuse. At the
same time, probably owing to Theodora's initiative, the guardians of
public morals were reorganised, and rigorous mandates were issued to
check excessive gambling, impious blasphemy and the scandal caused by
infamous persons who did not wait for night to hide their deeds.
To those who had been driven to vice by need rather than choice pro-
tection was also given against the lenones who took advantage of them.
The Empress1 charity was exercised to provide a refuge for these
unfortunate girls, in the convent of Repentance (^rdvoia) established
by her wish in an old imperial palace on the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus.
But above all the various factions were closely watched, the games in the
circus were suppressed for several years, and the tranquillity of the capital
was undisturbed for at least fifteen years.
This administrative work was completed by the great impetus which
was given to the public works. In the instructions to his officials
Justinian had commended to their attention the maintenance of roads,
bridges, walls and aqueducts, and had promised large supplies for such
purposes. In consequence new roads were everywhere made to facilitate
CH. II.


## p. 40 (#72) ##############################################

40 The City of Constantinople [532-664
communication, wells and reservoirs were established along them so that
caravans might be supplied with water; bridges spanned the rivers, and
the course of the streams was controlled. Schemes were carried out in
order to supply drinking-water to the great towns in the Empire, and
many public baths were built. After the disaster of 540 Antioch
was rebuilt with unheard-of luxury. It was plentifully supplied with
aqueducts, sewers, baths, public squares, theatres, and in fact with
"everything which testifies to the prosperity of a town. " After the
earthquakes of 551 and 554 the Syrian towns rose from their ruins more
splendid than ever, thanks to Justinian's munificence. The Empire was
covered with new cities built at the prince's wish, and bearing, to please
him, the surname of "Justiniana. " Tauresium, the modest village in
which the Emperor was born, became a great city in this way with the
name of Justiniana Prima. It was populous and prosperous, "truly
worthy of a badleus. "" Constantinople, which had been partly destroyed
by the fire of 532, was rebuilt with incomparable magnificence. The
church of St Sophia was begun in 532 under the direction of Isidore
of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles, and finished in 537; the Sacred
Palace with the Choice vestibule was built in 538 and completely lined
with mosaics and marbles, while the great throne-room or Cormstorium
was dazzling with the shimmer of precious metals. There were also
the great square of the Augusteum, in the centre of which stood an
equestrian statue of Justinian and which was surrounded on every side
by splendid monuments; the long porticoes which stretched from the
imperial residence to the forum of Constantine; the church of the Holy
Apostles, begun by Theodora in 536 and completed in 550; and the
numerous hostels and hospitals founded by Justinian and Theodora,
together with palaces and basilicae; all these attested the luxurious
taste and magnificent pride of the Emperor. To this day the splendid
reservoirs of Jerebatan-Serai and Bin-bir-Direk (the thousand and one
columns) shew the trouble that was taken to supply the capital with
drinking-water; and the churches of St Irene, and SS. Sergius and
Bacchus, above all St Sophia, that miracle of stability and boldness,
of purity of line and brightness of colour, remain as incomparable
witnesses to Justinian's grandeur1.
A solid economic prosperity justified so many expensive splendours.
In order to develop industry and commerce in his Empire Justinian gave
great attention to economic questions. He set himself to free the
Byzantine merchants from the tyranny of middlemen who had oppressed
them and to open fresh fields for their enterprise. As a matter of fact,
in the sixth century Byzantium did not obtain exotic commodities
and precious materials for her luxury straight from the countries
which produced them. The land routes by which the products of the
1 A fuller account of the city will be given in Vol. iv.
V -.


## p. 41 (#73) ##############################################

530-554] Trade 41
Far East were brought to the Mediterranean from China through the
oases of Sogdiana, and the sea routes by which precious stones,
spices and silk were brought from Ceylon to the ports on the
Persian Gulf, were in the hands of Persia. Persia not only guarded
these routes jealously, but also regulated with special severity the
exportation of silk, which was indispensable to the Byzantines. Justinian -
determined to remedy this state of things. In the Black Sea, the ports
of the Crimea, Bosporus and Cherson made, with the south of Russia,
a splendid district for barter; besides this Byzantium, situated at the
mouth of the Black Sea, carried on a brisk trade with Lazica. But, from
the Sea of Azof, as well as from Colchis, the Caspian could be reached,
and then if a northerly direction were taken the oases of Sogdiana could
be reached without crossing Persian territory. Another route offered
itself more to the south. The Syrian and Egyptian merchants set out
from Aila on the Gulf of Akabah to work the shores of the Red Sea, and
then extended their operations as far as the ports of Himyar on the east,
and the great Ethiopian port of Adoulis on the west. But Adoulis kept
up widespread relations with the whole of the Asiatic East, and her
ships, like those of the Arabs of Yemen, went as far as Ceylon, the great
emporium for India. Thanks to these routes, Justinian thought that he
could divert the trade of which the Persians had the monopoly from the
usual routes. During 530 or 581 strange negotiations took place with
the Himyarites and the Court of Axum, with the object of persuading
those peoples to agree with the Emperor's plans, and to bring the
products of the Far East straight to the Red Sea. The "King of
Kings" of Axum readily agreed to do so; but the Persians had the
upper hand in the Indian ports, and they would not allow themselves to
be deprived of their profits. The peace therefore of 582 restored the
transactions between the Empire and the Sassanid monarchy to their
ordinary footing. ^,
However, thanks to the importation of raw silk, which became once
more regular, the Syrian manufactures were flourishing. The rupture
with Persia in 540 brought about a grave crisis for them, and Justinian
only made matters worse by the unwise measures which he took. In his
excessive love of regulations he attempted to fix the price of raw silk, by _-
a law which enforced a maximum price. He hoped thus to substitute a
monopoly of the manufactures of the State for the ruined private industry.
The Syrian industry was seriously injured by these measures. Luckily
the cultivation of si Ik . worms did much to repair the disasters. The eggs
of the worms were brought into the Empire from the country of Serinda
by two missionaries, between 552 and 554. The silk industry soon
recovered when raw material could be obtained more cheaply, although
Byzantium was not successful in freeing herself completely from Persia.
On the whole, however, Byzantine commerce was flourishing.
Alexandria was a splendid port, and grew rich by exporting corn,


## p. 42 (#74) ##############################################

42 Justinian's Exactions [535-565
while her merchants travelled as far as the Indies. Syria found a
market for her manufactures as far away as China. But above all,
Constantinople, with her incomparable situation between Europe and
Asia, was a wonderful mart, towards which, according to a contemporary,
the ships of the world's commerce sailed, freighted with expectation.
Her numerous industrial societies, and the active commerce in silver
i carried on there with wealthy bankers, increased her riches still further;
and seeing the prosperity of his capital, Justinian was able, with his
usual optimism, to congratulate himself on "having given another
flower to the State by his splendid conceptions. '"
But in spite of the Emperor's good intentions, his administrative
reform miscarried. From 535 until the end of the reign Justinian was
constantly obliged to renew his ordinances, think out new measures and
blame the zeal of his officials. In the great ordinance of 556 he was
forced to repeat everything which he had laid down twenty years earlier.
From the statements of the public documents themselves we learn that
the peace continued to be disturbed, the officials continued to steal openly
"in their shameful love of gain "; the soldiers continued to pillage, the
financial administration was more oppressive than ever; while justice was
slow, venal and corrupt, as it had been before the reform.
More and more Justinian needed money. He needed it for his wars
of conquest, for his buildings, for the maintenance of his imperial luxury,
and for the expenses of his policy with regard to the barbarians. Thus
after having ordered that the subjects of the Empire should be treated
leniently, and having declared that he would be content with the
\existing taxes, he was himself forced to create new dues, and to exact
Tfcne returns with a merciless severity. Worse still, thanks to the
financial distress against which he struggled, he was obliged to tolerate
all the exactions of his officials.
As long as money came to the treasury,
'no one troubled to enquire how it was obtained: and as it had been
necessary to yield to the venality of the public offices, so the only course
was to appear as blind to the dealings of the administration as to the
sufferings of the subjects. Besides, a corrupt example was set in high
quarters. John of Cappadocia, brutal and covetous as he was, speculating
on everything, stealing from everyone, still maintained the Emperor's credit
in a wonderful way until 541 "by his constant labours to increase the public
revenue. " Peter Barsymes who succeeded him in 548 was the prince's
chief favourite until 559, in spite of his shameless traffic in the magis-
tracies, and his scandalous speculation in corn, simply because he was
able, in some degree, to supply money for all Justinian's needs. The
provincial officials followed the lead of their chiefs, and even rivalled
them in exactions and corruption, while the Emperor looked the other
way. The financial tyranny had reached such a pitch by this time that
a contemporary tells us that "a foreign invasion seemed less formidable
to the taxpayers than the arrival of the officials of the fisc. " The misery


## p. 43 (#75) ##############################################

527-565] The Church 43
suffered was terrible enough to justify the sinister fact recorded by John
Lydus, "The tax-gatherers could find no more money to take to the
Emperor, because there were no people left to pay the taxes. " Justinian's
administrative system had woefully miscarried.
In common with all the Emperors who had occupied the throne of
the Caesars since the time of Constantine, Justinian gave much attention
to the Church, as niueh—for political reasons as because of his zeal for
orthodoxy. His autocratic disposition was unable to realise that
anything could be exempt from the prince's inspection in a well-
regulated monarchy. He claimed therefore to exercise his authority
not only with regard to ecclesiastics—the greatest included—but
further, when questions of discipline or dogma arose his word was never
lacking. He wrote somewhere that "good order in the Church is the
prop of the Empire. '" He spared nothing which might lead to this good
order. (Both Justinian's Code and the Novellae abound in laws dealing
with the organisation of the clergy, the regulation of their moral life,
the foundation and administration of religious houses, the government
of ecclesiastical property and the control of the jurisdiction to which
clerics were liable. During his whole reign Justinian claimed the right
to appoint and dispossess bishops, to convoke and direct councils, to
sanction their decisions, and to amend or abolish their canons. Since he
enjoyed theological controversies, and had a real talent for conducting
them, he was not deterred by pope, patriarchs and bishops, from setting
himself up as a doctor of the Church, and as an interpreter of the
Scriptures. In this capacity he drew up confessions of faith and hurled
forth anathemas. ""!
In exchangerfor the mastery which he assumed over it,£he extended
his special protection to the Church. A crowd of religious buildings,
churches, convents and hospitals sprang up in every part of the Empire,
thanks to the Emperor's generosity. Throughout the monarchy the
bishops were encouraged to make use of the government's authority and
resources to spread their faith as well as to suppress heresy. Justinian
believed that the first duty of a sovereign was "to keep the pure
Christian faith inviolate, and to defend the Catholic and Apostolic
Church from any harm. " He therefore employed the most severe
measures against anyone who wished to injure or introduce changes into
the unity of the Church. Religious intolerance was transformed into
a public virtue^
From the beginning of his reign Uustinian promulgated the severest
laws against heretics in 527 and 528. They were excluded from holding
any public office, and from the liberal professions. Their meetings were
forbidden and their churches shut. They were even deprived of some of
their civil rights, for the Emperor declared that it was only right that
orthodox persons should have more privileges in society than heretics,
for whom "to exist is sufficient. " The pagans, Hellenes as they
CH. II.


## p. 44 (#76) ##############################################

44 Justinian's Religious Policy [527-566
were called, were persecuted by the enforcement of these general rules;
Justinian endeavoured, above all things, to deprive them of education,
and he had the University of Athens closed in 529; at the same time
ordering wholesale conversions. ^)
Missions were frequently sent to the Monophysites of Asia by
John, bishop of Ephesus, who called himself "the destroyer of idols
and the hammer of the heathen" (542). Those sanctuaries which
were not yet closed, that of Isis at Philae and that of Amnion in the
oasis of Augila, were shut by force, and nothing remained of paganism
but an amusement for a few men of leisure, or a form of political oppo-
sition in the shape of secret societies. The Jews fared no better, and
the Samaritan revolt in 529 made their position still worse. Other
sects which refused to conform, Manichaeans, Montanists, Arians and
Donatists, were persecuted in the same way. Religious intolerance
accompanied the imperial restoration in the West. In Africa, as in
Italy, Arians were spoiled for the benefit of Catholics, their churches
were destroyed or ruined, and their lands confiscated. . /the Mono-
physites alone profited by comparative toleration, because . they engrossed
more of Justinian^s attention, since they were stronger and more numerous
than the others. 1
Justinian had been thrown into the arms of Rome at the beginning
of his reign, partly by the orthodox restoration effected by Justin, and
jaartly by his own desire to maintain friendly relations with the Papacy;
(adesire due to political interests as well as to religious zeal. | Resounding
confessions of faith testified to the purity of his belief and'his profound
respect for Rome, while his measures against heretics proved the sincerity
of his zeal. Justinian spared nothing in his efforts to conciliate the
Roman Church, and we find inserted with evident satisfaction in
Justinian's Code pontifical letters, which praise his efforts to maintain
"the peace of the Church and the unity of religion,11 and assert that
"nothing is finer than faith in the bosom of a prince. '"
However,/if concord with Rome was a necessary condition of the
establishment and maintenance of the imperial domination in the Wesy
the Monophysites had to be reckoned with in the East. In spite of the
persecutions of Justin's reign, they were still strong and numerous within
the Empire. They were masters of Egypt, where the monks formed
a fanatical and devoted army at the disposal of their patriarch. In
Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, Osrhoene and Armenia they held
important posts, and found protectors even in the capital itself; and
their furious opposition to the Council of Chalcedon and the Roman
doctrines was the more dangerous since under the guise of religion they
displayed those separatist tendencies, which had long been hostile
towards Constantinople in both Egypt and Syria. Justinian had to
choose between the horns of a dilemma, between the restoration of
political and moral unity in the East by the sacrifice of peace with


## p. 45 (#77) ##############################################

529-537] Dealings with the Monophysites 45
Rome—the course followed by Zeno and Anastasius, and advised by
Theodora—and the maintenance of friendly relations with the West at
the price of meeting the Eastern Monophysite opposition with force.
Justin had pursued this policy and Justinian had carried it on. But
now, placed as he was between^the Pope and the Empress, he found
a change of policy necessary, f A middle course seemed fraught with
least difficulty, so he tried to find a neutral position which would allow
him to recede from the Council of Chalcedon sufficiently to satisfy
the dissidents, and so, without sacrificing his orthodoxy, to extinguish
an opposition which troubled the Emperor as much as the theologian.
This was the fundamental idea underlying his religious policy, in spite
~s>»of variations, hesitations and contradictions. Theodora suggested it to
lim, and it would have proved a fruitful conception if time had been
allowed the Empress to finish her work; in any case it was an idea
worthy of an Emperor. \
From the time of his accession Justinian had busied himself in the
attempt to find some common ground with the Monophysites. In 529
or 530, on Theodora's advice he recalled the fugitive or proscribed monks
from exile, as a pledge of his good intentions. He invited to Constan-
tinople Severus, the ex-patriarch of Antioch, for whom the Empress
professed a passionate admiration, to seek with him for a way which might
lead to an agreement. In 588 he arranged a conference in the capital
"to restore unity," at wnich the heretics were to be treated with complete
kindness and unalterable patience. Soon afterwards, in order to satisfy
the Monophysites, he imposed on the orthodox clergy, after the theo-
paschite quarrel, a declaration of faith that has rightly been called
"a new Henotikon. " Further, he allowed the Monophysites complete
liberty to spread their teaching, and not only in the capital but in the
Sacred Palace itself heresy increased, thanks to the open protection of
Theodora. When, in 535, the patriarchal throne became vacant,
Epiphanius' successor was Anthemius, bishop of Trebizond, a prelate
secretly attached to the Monophysite cause. Under the influence of
Severus, who was in the capital, and a guest at the palace, the new
patriarch pursued the policy approved by the religious leaders of the
East, that is the same that Zeno and Anastasius had followed; while
Theodora actively helped, and the Emperor gave a tacit consent.
But the orthodox position was restored by several events. In March
536 the energetic pope Agapetus came to Constantinople and boldly
deposed Anthemius; the jpouncil of Constantinople anathematised the
heretics with no uncertain pronouncement soon after (May 536), while
the apostolic legate Pelagius acquired in the following years consider-
able influence over Justinian. Towards the^j"^ "f 537 _jje,rsecution
of the Monophysites broke, out again: bonfires were lighted in Syria,
Mesopotamia and Armenia, and it was boasted that heresy had been
rooted out by severity and tortures*) Even Egypt, the Monophysite


## p. 46 (#78) ##############################################

46 Jacob Baradaeus [527-550
stronghold, was not spared. The patriarch Theodosius, one of
Theodora's proteges, was torn from his see, driven into exile (538)
and replaced by a prelate fitted to inspire respect for orthodoxy by
means of terror. Egypt bent under his iron hand. Even the monks
accepted the Council of Chalcedon; and Justinian and Pelagius flattered
themselves that they had beaten down heresy (540).
Although the Emperor returned to the Roman side in the dispute,
he had no intention of giving up for that reason the supreme authority
which he considered his due, even over the Papacy. Silverius, successor
of Agapetus, had made the great mistake of allowing himself to be
elected by Gothic influence just when Theodora wanted her favourite,
the deacon Vigilius, to be elevated to the pontifical throne. Belisarius
accepted the uncongenial task of paying off imperial grudges towards
the new pope. In March 537 Silverius was arrested, deposed, and sent
into exile on an imaginary charge of treason. Vigilius was unanimously
elected in his place under pressure from Byzantium (29 March 537).
The Empress counted on her protege to carry out her revenge for
the repulse of 536. But once installed, Vigilius made delays, and in
spite of Belisarius'' summons to carry out his promises, finally refused to
accomplish any of the plans expected of him. At the same time,
Monophysitism was spreading in the East in spite of the severity of the
edicts of 541 and 544. Justinian had taken what he thought to be the
wise measure of assembling the heretical leaders in Constantinople, where
they would be in his power, and under the eye of the police. But
Theodora soon procured a return to court favour for the exiles. The
Emperor willingly made use of their enthusiastic zeal, and sent them to
convert the pagans of Nubia (540), to struggle with those of Asia Minor
(542) and to establish Christianity amongst the Arabs of Syria (543).
Theodora did still more. Thanks to her efforts Jacob Baradaeus, who
had been secretly consecrated bishop of Edessa (543), was able to continue
the work of reorganising the Monophysite Church throughout the East.
Active and indefatigable, in spite of the harshness of the enraged police
who dogged his track, he was able to reconstruct the scattered com-
munities in Asia, Syria and Egypt, to give them bishops and even
a leader in the patriarch whom he ordained at Antioch in 550. It was
owing to him that a new Monophysite Church was founded in a few
years, which took the name of its great founder, and henceforth called
itself Jacobite.
This unexpected revival changed Justinian's plans once more. Again
his old dream of unity seemed to him to be more than ever necessary for
the safety of the State as well as for the good of the Church. iThus, when
Theodore Askidas, bishop of Caesarea, drew his attention, among the
writings approved by the Council of Chalcedon, to those of the three
men Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrrhus, and Ibas of Edessa,
as notoriously tainted with Nestorianism, he was easily persuaded that


## p. 47 (#79) ##############################################

543-65i] Pope Vigilius 47
to condemn the Three Chapters would be to create an easy and
orthodox way to dissipate the Monophysite distrust of the Council
"renewed and purified. ,, And since Pelagius was no longer there to
counterbalance Theodora's influence, and as the heretics joyfully welcomed
any scheme which injured the authority of Chalcedon,Ahe Emperor
pronounced the anathema against the Three Chapters by an edict
of 543ft
It^va
vas still necessary to obtain the adhesion of the Papacy; but this
did not trouble the Emperor. It was essential to remove the pope from
his Roman surroundings, which were hostile to the designs of the Greek
theologians, and to put him in the Emperor's power. Therefore Vigilius
was carried off from Rome in the midst of a display of the troops
(November 545) and transported under escort to Sicily, whence he
travelled slowly towards Constantinople. He arrived at the beginning
of 547, and soon yielded to the importunities of the basileux, the energetic
summons of Theodora, and the subtle entreaties of the court theologians.
He promised "to set their minds at rest" by condemning the Three
Chapters, and he published his Judication on Easter Eve 548. fThis,
while formally maintaining the authority of the Canons of Chalcedon,
condemned no less clearly the persons and writings of the three guilty
doctors. This was Theodora's last triumph. When she died soon after
(June 548) she could think that her highest hopes were realised, in the
humiliation of the Apostolic See and the constant progress of the
Monophysite Church,
When the news o/ these events, at Constantinople spread to the West,
there was a general protest against Vigilius' conduct in Africa, Dalmatia
and Illyricum. Justinian was unmoved. By an imperial edict bearing
the date of 551 he solemnly condemned the Three Chapters a second
time, and set himself to overcome all opposition by the use of force.
The most recalcitrant bishops in Africa were deposed, and the rest
appeased by means of intrigues; and since Vigilius, alarmed at what he
had done, insistently clamoured for an oecumenical council to settle the
dispute, strong measures were taken against him. In the month of
August 551 the church of St Peter in Hormisda, where he had taken
refuge, was entered by a band of soldiers, who dragged the clerics
composing the pontifical train from the sanctuary. Vigilius was clinging
to the altar pillars; he was seized by the feet and the beard, and the
ensuing struggle was so desperate that the altar was pulled over and fell,
crushing the pope beneath it. At the sight of this dreadful occurrence
the assembled crowd cried out in horror, and even the soldiers hesitated.
The Praetor decided to beat a retreat; the plan had miscarried. But
the pope was nothing more than the Emperor's prisoner. Surrounded
by spies, fearing for his liberty, even for his life, Vigilius decided to flee.
On a dark night (23 Dec. 551) he escaped from the Placidian Palace
with a few faithful followers, and sought refuge in the church of


## p. 48 (#80) ##############################################

48 Pope Vigilius [553-555
St Euphemia at Chalcedon, the same place where the Council had
been held for which Vigilius was suffering martyrdom.
Justinian was afraid that he had gone too far: and he resumed
negotiations. Not without difficulty nor without another attempt to
use force, he persuaded the pontiff to return to Constantinople, and
brought forward the idea of a Council once more/After various hindrances
this great assembly, known as the Fifth Oecumenical Council, opened
(5 May 558) in the church of St Sophia. /A few African prelates,
chosen with great care, were the only representatives of the West; the
pope refused to take part in the debates, in spite of all entreaties: and
while the Council accomplished its task, obedient to the Emperor's
commands, he tried to make a pronouncement on the question in dispute
on his own authority by the Constitutvm of 14 May 553. While he
completely abandoned the doctrines of Theodore of Mopsuestia, he
refused to anathematise him, and shewed himself even more indulgent
towards Ibas and Theodoret, saying that all Catholics should be contented
with anything approved by the Council of Chalcedon. Unfortunately
for Vigilius he had bound himself by frequent vows and by written and
formal agreements to condemn the Three Chapters at Justinian's wish.
At the Emperor's instigation the Council ignored the pontiff's recanta-
tion. To please the prince it even erased the name of Vigilius from the
ecclesiastical diptychs; and then, the Three Chapters having been
condemned in a long decree, the fathers separated, 2 June 553.
Violence was again used to enforce the decisions of the Council.
Particular severity was used towards those clerics who had supported
Vigilius in his resistance. They were exiled or imprisoned, so that the
pontiff, deserted and worn out, and fearing that a successor to him
would be appointed in newly-conquered Rome, gave way to the
Emperor's wish and solemnly confirmed the condemnation of the Three
Chapters by the Constitutum of February 554. The West however still
persisted in its opposition. The authorities flattered themselves on
having reduced the recalcitrants by floggings, imprisonment, exile and
depositions. They were successful in Africa and Dalmatia, but in Italy
there was a party amongst the bishops, led by the metropolitans of Milan
and Aquileia, who flatly refused to remain in fellowship with a pope who
"betrayed his trust" and "deserted the orthodox cause," and in spite of
the efforts of the civil authorities to reduce the opposition, the schism
lasted for more than a century.
The Papacy emerged from this long struggle cruelly humiliated.
After Silverius, Vigilius had experienced in full measure the severity of
the imperial absolutism. His successors, Pelagius (555) and John III
(560), elected under pressure from Justinian's officials, were nothing more
than humble servants of the basileus, in spite of all their struggles.
Their authority was discredited in the entire West by the affair of the
Three Chapters, shaken in Italy by the schism, and still further lessened


## p. 49 (#81) ##############################################

527-568] General Results 49
by the privileges that the imperial benevolence granted to the church of
Ravemia, since that town was the capital of reconquered Italy. By
paying this price, by cruelly wounding the Catholic West, and recalling
the Monophysites, Justinian hoped until his dying day that he had
obtained the results which were the aim of his religious policy, and had
restored peace to the East. "Anxious," wrote John of Ephesus, "to
carry out the wishes of his dead wife in every detail," he increased the
number of conferences and discussions after 548, in order to reconcile
the Monophysites: while he had such a great wish to find some common
ground with them that to satisfy them he slipped into heresy on the eve
of his death. In an edict of 565 he declared his adherence to the
doctrine of the Incorruptkolae, the most extreme of all the heretics, and
as usual he used force against the prelates who made any resistance.
Thus until the end of his life Justinian had consistently endeavoured to
impose his will upon the Church, and to break down all opposition.
Until the end of his life also he had sought to realise the ideal of unity
which inspired and dominated the whole of his religious policy. But
nothing came of his efforts; the Monophysites were never satisfied with
the concessions made to them, and upon the whole this great theological
undertaking, this display of rigour and arbitrariness, produced no results
at all or results of a deplorable nature.
IV.
It remains to be seen what were the consequences of Justinian's
government in the East, and what price he paid, specially during the last
years of his reign, for this policy of great aims and mediocre or unskilful
measures.
A secret defect existed in all Justinian's undertakings, which destroyed
the sovereign's most magnificent projects, and ruined his best intentions.
This was the disproportion between the end in view and the financial
resources available to realise it. Enormous, in fact inexhaustible
supplies were needed, for the drain on them was immense; to satisfy the
needs of a truly imperial policy, to meet the cost of wars of conquest, to
pay the troops, and for the construction of fortresses; to maintain the
luxury of the Court and the expense of buildings, to support a com-
plicated administration and to dispense large subsidies to the barbarians.
When he ascended the throne Justinian had found in the treasury the
sum of 320,000 pounds of gold, more than £ 14,400,000 sterling, which
had been accumulated by the prudent economy of Anastasius. This
reserve fund was exhausted in a few years, and henceforth for the rest of
his long reign, the Emperor suffered from the worst of miseries, the lack
of money. Without money the wars which had been entered upon
with insufficient means dragged on interminably. Without money the
C. MED. II. VOL. II. CH. II. 4


## p. 50 (#82) ##############################################

50 Justinian's last years [548-565
unpaid army became disorganised and weak. Without money to main-
tain an effective force and provision the posts, the badly defended frontier
gave way under the assault of the barbarians, and, to get rid of them,
recourse was had to a ruinous diplomacy, which did not even protect the
Empire against invasions. Without money the attempted administrative
reform had to be abandoned, and the vices of an openly corrupt adminis-
tration to be condoned. Without money the government was driven to
strange expedients, often most unsuitable to its economic as to its
financial policy. To meet expenses the burden of taxation was increased
until it became almost intolerable; and as time passed, and the dis-
proportion between the colossal aims of the imperial ambition and the
condition of the financial resources of the monarchy became greater, the
difficulty of overcoming the deficit led to even harsher measures. "The
State," wrote Justinian in 552, "greatly enlarged by the divine mercy
and led by this increase to make war on her barbaric neighbours, has
never been in greater need of money than to-day. 11 Justinian exercised
all his ingenuity to find this money at any sacrifice, but in spite of real
economies—amongst others the suppression of the consulship (541)—by
which he tried to restore some proportion to the Empire^ budget, the
Emperor could never decide to curtail his luxury, or his building opera-
tions, while the money which had been collected with such difficulty was
too often squandered to please favourites or upon whims. Therefore
a terrible financial tyranny was established in the provinces, which
effected the ruin of the West already overwhelmed by war, of the Balkan
peninsula ravaged by barbarians, and of Asia fleeced by Chosroes. The
time came when it was impossible to drag anything from these exhausted
countries, and seeing the general misery, the growing discontent and
the suspicions which increased every day, contemporaries asked, with
a terrified stupor, "whither the wealth of Rome had vanished. " Thus
the end of the reign was strangely sad.
The death of Theodora (June 548), while it deprived the Emperor
of a vigorous and faithful counsellor, dealt Justinian a blow from which
he never recovered. Henceforth, as his age increased—he was 65 then—
the defects of his character only became more prominent. His irresolu-
tion was more noticeable, while his theological mania was inflamed. He
disregarded military matters, finding the direction of the wars which he
had so dearly loved tiresome and useless; he cared more for the exercise
of a diplomacy, often pitifully inadequate, than for the prestige of arms.
Above all, he carried on everything with an ever-increasing carelessness.
Leaving the trouble of finding money at any cost to his ministers, to
Peter Barsymes the successor of John of Cappadocia, and to the quaestor
Constantine, the successor of Tribonian, he gave himself up to religious
quarrels, passing his nights in disputations with his bishops. As
Corippus, a man not noted for severity towards princes, wrote "The
old man no longer cared for anything; his spirit was in heaven. 11


## p. 51 (#83) ##############################################

551-565] Death of Justinian 51
Under these circumstances, everything was lost. The effective force
of the army, which ought to have numbered 645,000 men, was reduced
to 150,000 at the most in 555. No garrisons defended the ramparts of
the dilapidated fortresses, "Even the barking of a watch-dog was not
to be heard" wrote Agathias, somewhat brutally. Even the capital,
inadequately protected by the wall of Anastasius, which was breached
in a thousand places, only had a few regiments of the palatine guard—
soldiers of no military worth—to defend it, and was at the mercy of
a sudden attack. Added to this, successive invasions took place in
Illyricum and Thrace; the Huns only just failed to take Constantinople
in 558, while in 562 the Avars insolently demanded land and money
from the Emperor.
Then there was the misery of earthquakes, in 551 in Palestine,
Phoenicia and Mesopotamia, in 554 and 557 at Constantinople. It
was in 556 that the scourge of famine came, and in 558 the plague,
which desolated the capital during six months. Above all there was
the increasing misery caused by the financial tyranny. During the last
years of the reign the only supplies came from such expedients as the
debasement of the coinage, forced loans and confiscations. The Blues
and Greens again filled Byzantium with disturbances: in 553, 556, 559,
560, 561,562 and 564 there were tumults in the streets, and incendiarism
in the town. In the palace the indecision as to a successor led to
continual intrigues: already the nephews of the basileus quarrelled
over their heritage. There was even a conspiracy against the Emperor's
life, and on this occasion Justinian's distrust caused the disgrace of
Belisarius once more for a few weeks (562).
Thus when the Emperor died (November 565) at the age of 83
years, relief was felt throughout the Empire. In ending this account
of Justinian's reign the grave Evagrius wrote, "Thus died this prince,
after having filled the whole world with noise and troubles: and having
since the end of his life received the wages of his misdeeds, he has gone
to seek the justice which was his due before the judgment-seat of hell. "
He certainly left a formidable heritage to his successors, perils menacing
all the frontiers, an exhausted Empire, in which the public authority
was weakened in the provinces by the development of the great feudal
estates, in the capital by the growth of a turbulent proletariat, susceptible
to every panic and ready for every sedition. The monarchy had no
strength with which to meet all these dangers. In a novel of Justin II
promulgated the day after Justinian's death we read the following, word
for word—"We found the treasury crushed by debts and reduced to
the last degree of poverty, and the army so completely deprived of all
necessaries that the State was exposed to the incessant invasions and
insults of the barbarians. "
It would, however, be unjust to judge the whole of Justinian's reign
by the years of his decadence. Indeed, though every part of the work


## p. 52 (#84) ##############################################

62 Services of Justinian
of the Byzantine Caesar is not equally worthy of praise it must not be
forgotten that his intentions were generally good, and worthy of an
Emperor. There is an undeniable grandeur in his wish to restore the
Roman traditions in every branch of the government, to reconquer the
lost provinces, and to recover the imperial suzerainty over the whole
barbarian world. In his wish to efface the last trace of religious quarrels
he shewed a pure feeling for the most vital interests of the monarchy.
In the care which Justinian took to cover the frontiers with a continuous
network of fortresses, there was a real wish to assure the security of his
subjects; and this solicitude for the public good was shewn still more
clearly in the efforts which he made to reform the administration of the
State. Furthermore, it was not through vanity alone, or because of
a puerile wish to attach his name to a work great enough to dazzle
posterity, that Justinian undertook the legal reformation, or covered
the capital and Empire with sumptuous buildings. In his attempt
to simplify the law, and to make justice more rapid and certain, he
undoubtedly had the intention of improving the condition of his
subjects: and even in the impetus given to public works we can
recognise a love of greatness, regrettable in its effects perhaps, but
commendable all the same because of the thought which inspired it.
Certainly the execution of these projects often compared unfavourably
with the grandiose conceptions which illuminated the dawn of Justinian's
reign. But however hard upon the West the imperial restoration may
have been, however useless the conquest of Africa and Italy may have
been to the East, Justinian none the less gave the monarchy an
unequalled prestige for the time being, and filled his contemporaries
with admiration or terror. Whatever may have been the faults of his
diplomacy, none the less by that adroit and supple combination of
political negotiations and religious propaganda he laid down for his
successors a line of conduct which gave force and duration to Byzantium
during several centuries. And if his successes were dearly bought by
the sufferings of the East and the widespread ruin caused by a despotic
and cruel government, his reign has left an indelible mark in the history
of civilisation. The Code and St Sophia assure eternity to the memory
of Justinian.


## p. 53 (#85) ##############################################

53
CHAPTER III.
ROMAN LAW.
Roman Law is not merely the law of an Italian Community which
existed two thousand years ago, nor even the law of the Roman Empire.
It was, with more or less modification from local customs and ecclesi-
astical authority, the only system of law throughout the Middle Ages, and
was the foundation of the modern law of nearly all Europe.