On Jan. 13, A.D. 532, riots exploded in Constantinople, nearly destroying Emperor Justinian I's regime. Ruling for only a few years, Justinian's decision to fight for his throne owes much to the resolve of his wife, Theodora.
By the mid-6th century, the subjects of the Byzantine empire, with its capital at Constantinople, still considered themselves to be Romans, despite that they spoke Greek rather than Latin, and that the whole of Italy and much of the former western empire lay in the hands of German barbarians. When Justinian I became emperor in 527, he dreamed of reconquering Italy and the other lands of the west for the empire.
He also inherited a bloated, corrupt imperial system and bureaucracy, and a hostile frontier to the south and east. The Sassanid Persian empire continually threatened the border with the Byzantine empire, and, after much ebb and flow, a fragile peace was concluded in 531. The peace required Justinian to pay the Persians a considerable sum, stretching Constantinople's finances to the limit.
Rather than consolidate his victory in the east and offer some measure of tax relief at home, Justinian decided that the time had come to prepare an army for the reclamation of the western empire. The project was to be headed by his best general, Belisarius. Few outside of the military shared Justinian's dream of reconquering the west, however, and the taxes that must support such a vast undertaking left many subjects decidedly unhappy.
In the book “The Savior Generals: How Five Great Commanders Saved Wars That Were Lost — From Ancient Greece to Iraq,” historian Victor Davis Hanson wrote: “Throughout the summer and fall of 531, dissent most often surfaced through two factions that often acted as little more than armed gangs. The so-called Greens were identified with civil servants, tradesmen and the commercial interests of the eastern provinces. The establishment part of the nobles and wealthy, with all the pretensions of the Graeco-Roman aristocracy, made up the more influential core of the rival Blues. The two opposing umbrella groups … were odd conglomerations of horse racing fans, political pressure groups, mafia-like patronage organizations and Christian zealots all in one.”
Occasionally, the antics of these groups would lead to violence after games, not unlike the occasional bad behavior after modern football games, though in Constantinople murders were not uncommon. After a particularly deadly outbreak of violence following a game in late 531, an assortment of ringleaders, Blue and Green, were sentenced to death.
When the last two condemned men — a Blue and a Green — were to be hung, the ropes snapped and their lives were saved. As the two men were spirited away and granted sanctuary in a church, the two factions, each with their own grievances with the emperor, made common cause and demanded that the two men be pardoned. Justinian was unwilling to use the army to disperse the mob, lest it escalate the situation.
The mob also called for Justinian to fire his most trusted advisers, John the Cappadocian, the minister responsible for taxes, and Tribonian, a minister working on a new legal code. As reformers, the two ministers were working to make the empire less corrupt. This did not sit well with the Greens, who saw the civil service as their trough, nor the Blues, who saw easy access to government jobs as their preserve. Justinian reluctantly dismissed the ministers.
Attempting to distract the crowd from their political agitation, Justinian ordered new games for Jan. 13. Sitting in the imperial box in the Hippodrome, Justinian no doubt hoped the thrill of the races would calm the people's anger. Traditionally, both sides tried to out-yell one another by screaming the word “Nika!” (“Conquer!”) before the name of their favorite athlete. Not long after the games began, however, both sides, 30,000 imperial subjects, screamed “Nika!” toward the emperor, imbuing the word with a sinister tone.
In the book, “Lost to the West: The Forgotten Byzantine Civilization That Rescued Western Civilization,” historian Lars Brownworth wrote: “The crowd spilled out into the streets, looking for ways to vent their frustration. Finding the palace impregnable, they stormed the city prisons, swelling their numbers with freed convicts. Justinian … sent out the imperial police, but by now things were slipping completely out of control. … The mob erected barricades in the streets. Hooligans set fire to shops, and before long the wind had spread it ….”
Justinian remained in the palace, unsure what to do next. Hanson compared his indecision to Joseph Stalin's political paralysis following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. Finally, the emperor gave the order to have his ships prepared at the docks. He was going to flee. It was at this point that his wife made a firm declaration.
Born around A.D. 500, Theodora had been an actress and possible prostitute, though the ancient world frequently equated the two professions rightly or wrongly. The 18th century British historian Edward Gibbon noted in his “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” that “She neither danced, nor sung, nor played on the flute; her skill was confined to the pantomime arts; she excelled in buffoon characters.” Gibbon also noted that her beauty was much talked about and admired, “the subject of more flattering praise, and the source of more exquisite delight.”
Brownworth related Theodora's objection to her husband's order to flee: “I do not care whether or not it is proper for a woman to give brave counsel to frightened men; but in moments of extreme danger, conscience is the only guide. Every man who is born into the light of day must sooner or later die; and how can an Emperor ever allow himself to become a fugitive. … But consider first whether, when you reach safety, you will not regret that you did not choose death in preference. As for me, I stand by the ancient saying: royalty makes the best shroud.”
Theodora's exhortation stiffened the emperor's resolve, and he determined to put down the mob with force. Justinian ordered Belisarius to take command of Scandinavian mercenaries who happened to be in the city, and the general marched his force to the Hippodrome, where many of the insurrectionists had remained. Another loyalist commander, Narses, surrounded the Hippodrome and blocked the exits, while at the same time bribing certain prominent Blues in the rabble to stand down and go home.
When Belisarius' force entered the Hippodrome, they were charged by the mob. Lacking heavy weapons and armor, however, the insurrectionists were soon cut down by the soldiers. The killing went on for some time, and when it ended, an army of looters descended upon the Hippodrome, grabbing what they could from the pockets of the dead revolutionaries. Among the dead was Hypatius, the man the mob had declared as the new emperor.
Within days of the outbreak of violence, the riots were over. Justinian was seen as decisive and uncompromising, and he soon brought back John the Cappadocian and Tribonian, who waged a new bureaucratic war against the Blues and the Greens from their offices, taxing them to the limit and making certain that they were too busy to engage in another round of violence and disloyalty.
Large sections of the city had been destroyed by fire, and some estimates say as many as 30,000 people had been killed. This allowed Justinian to rebuild the city to his liking, including the creation of the Hagia Sophia, The Church of Holy Wisdom. Theodora, the woman who most likely saved Justinain's regime, died from natural causes in 548. Belisarius, Justinian's best general, ended his life out of favor, poor and blind. He died in 565. Justinian died a few months later.
Cody K. Carlson holds a master's in history from the University of Utah and teaches at Salt Lake Community College. An avid player of board games, he blogs at thediscriminatinggamer.com. Email: ckcarlson76@gmail.com