Justinian was a Roman emperor between 527 to 565. He is considered as one of the best Roman emperors who worked tirelessly to expand the Byzantine empire. Justinian was a very well educated man and he is known for his work ethic as an emperor who never sleeps.
The Justinian Code
One of the important creations of Justinian is the Justinian Code. Justinian had witnessed that people of different levels and women are taken for granted and are forced into various kinds of slavery and punishment. The emperor wanted one system of law for all people in the kingdom and this was a revolutionary thought process at that time. So, he told all his priests, philosophers, knights, and commissioners to put down righteous paths that can be made into laws on various aspects such as marriage, power, crime, trade laws, and more.
They also wanted to write down the laws that began in ancient Rome, the laws called the Twelve Tables. Once they had written down all the laws and made sure that laws did not conflict with each other, they gave this body of law a name. They called it Codex Justiananus, the Justinian Code.
Many countries in the world have used the Justinian code as the basis for their own laws. The men who wrote the American Bill of Rights used the Justinian code as a basis or starting point to write the Bill of Rights.
The Justinian Law of Innocent Until Proven Guilty
One of the laws in Justinian’s Code stated a person is innocent until proven guilty. Can you think of any country today that has this same law? If you said the United Kingdom, you are right. Many countries have this law including the United States, France, Germany, India, and Belgium.
Justinian Law and the Roman Church
Justinian’s laws helped consolidate the hierarchy of the Roman church. As seen below, he is one of the first emperors who was shown on a coin holding a cross.
Justinian’s great contribution was to collect all the laws together with reasoning in one book. There is no doubt that one of the most underappreciated, albeit vitally important, documents in history is the Justinian’s Code of Laws. The Justinian Code did not make the Empire more powerful but it did make it easier to govern by massively simplifying and rationalizing the legal system.
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