Justinian is now the sole Emperor of Rome. He was a man who knew his history, and he was raised on the stories of the heroes of old. Rome was now a fracture of the size of the empire under Augustus, and he saw it as his divine mission to reunite the empire in its entirety. An ambition like this would not be cheap. He had already proved that he was a liberal spender, even though he had inherited a full treasury. Justinian had a remarkable ability to see the talents in other people, and promoting them to take advantage of their ability.
He found a man named John the Cappadocian, who was capable of squeezing coins out of rock, and appointed him as a sort of Prime Minister. John got to work immediately and put a stop the loopholes that the rich used to avoid paying taxes, and rooted out corruption. He also took pleasure in torturing rich people who he thought were holding out on him.
This provoked a noble outcry, but Justinian was unconcerned. After reforming the tax system, Justinian moved on to his next project, reforming the legal code. He had met an incredible lawyer named Tribonian, who was a walking encyclopedia of Roman law. Tribonian took up the task with fervor. In only 14 months he published the Corpus Juris Civilis, which had three parts, the Codex, the Digest, and the Institutes. This body of law became the foundation of later European law systems.
Justinian then turned his talent to foreign policy. Foreign ambassadors were flocking to Constantinople, and one diplomatic triumph followed another. The Vandals in North Africa were in Justinian's crosshairs since they were the ones who sacked Rome.
By far the empires largest threat was with Rome's traditional enemies, the Persians. They were led by King Khavad, who was a very formidable figure in his own right. Persian vassals started switching their allegiances to Rome. Khavad objected to this and invaded Asia minor. Justinian was forced to respond and he initially sent a small army that was only notable for the inclusion of one man who would soon become very famous, Belisarius.
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