Accession Justinian I died childless on 14 November 565. , the
praepositus sacri cubiculi, seems to have been the only witness to his dying moments, and claimed that Justinian had designated Justin, his nephew, as his heir in a deathbed decision. This sidelined another relative and candidate for the throne, also named
Justin, who was son of
Germanus, cousin of Justinian. Modern historians suspect Callinicus may have fabricated the last words of Justinian to secure the succession for his political ally. As historian
Robert Browning observed: "Did Justinian really bring himself in the end to make a choice, or did Callinicus make it for him? Only Callinicus knew." In any case, Callinicus started alerting those most interested in the succession, originally various members of the
Senate. Then they jointly informed Justin and Sophia, offering the throne. Justin accepted after the traditional token show of reluctance, and with his wife Sophia, he was escorted to the
Great Palace of Constantinople. The
Excubitors blocked the palace entrances during the night, and early in the morning,
John Scholasticus,
Patriarch of Constantinople, crowned the new
Augustus. Only then was the death of Justinian and the succession of Justin publicly announced in the
Hippodrome of Constantinople. Justin's
coronation was written in detail by
Corippus in his panegyric
In laudem lustini Augusti minoris (In praise of Justin the Younger). Both the Patriarch and
Tiberius,
commander of the Excubitors, had been recently appointed, with Justin having played a part in their respective appointments, in his role as Justinian's
curopalates. It is thus seen that they were willing to elevate their patron and ally to the throne. Justin's first address to the senate contained criticisms of Justinian: "Let the world rejoice that whatever was not done or put into practice because of our father's old age has been corrected in the time of Justin." In the speech, he vowed to repay debts, restore the emptied treasury and promised not to confiscate senatorial properties.
Early reign In the early days of his reign, Justin took a sharp about-turn from his uncle's policies. He repaid the treasury's debts and took a more reconciliatory stance toward the
senatorial class. On 1 January 566, he became a
consul, thereby reviving a post Justinian had discontinued since 541. Justin and Sophia initially promised to make peace with Justin's cousin and rival to the throne,
Justin (son of
Germanus), but had him assassinated in Alexandria not long after. According to a hostile source, the imperial couple kicked his severed head. . Scene from the 12th century
Manasses Chronicle. In 566 he reversed Justinian's ban on divorce by mutual consent, arguing that it resulted in spouses hating each other.
Administration and financial policy After Justin paid off the debts, he burned the bonds of the treasury. He additionally remitted his subjects' tax arrears back to 560. The contemporary
John of Ephesus notes a rumour that his successor
Tiberius II discovered piles of money Justin and Sophia gathered, possibly meaning that his reign generated a surplus. He conceded greater control to the provincial elites. In 569, he allowed them to nominate their own
governors, and if the nominees pleased the court, eliminated their appointment fees, resulting in decreased imperial oversight of the provinces.
Foreign policy He discontinued Justinian's practice of buying off potential enemies. Immediately after his accession, Justin halted the payment of subsidies to the
Avars, ending a truce that had existed since 558. This move upset the delicate balance of power in the
Pannonian Basin, since the Avar elites were forced to seek new sources of wealth to maintain their position and client networks. At first, this was agreeable for the Romans, since the Avars decided to raid the
Franks instead of going into the Roman territory. But after the Avars and the neighbouring tribe of the
Lombards had combined to
destroy the
Gepids, from whom Justin had obtained the Danube fortress of
Sirmium and the Gepid treasury, Avar pressure caused the Lombards to migrate West, and in 568 they invaded
Italy under their king
Alboin. They quickly overran the
Po Valley, and within a few years acquired a vast share of the
Italian peninsula. The Avars themselves crossed the Danube in 573 or 574, when the Empire's attention was distracted by troubles on the Persian frontier. They were only placated by the payment of a subsidy of 80,000
solidi by Justin's successor Tiberius. The North and East frontiers were the main focus of Justin's attention. Justin began to cement an alliance with the
Turks, the new
Central Asian power that threatened both the Avars and
Persia from the mid 6th century. In line with his policies against subsidies, he rejected
Arab demands of payments. In 572 his refusal to pay tribute to the Persians in combination with overtures to the Turks led to
a war with the Sassanid Empire. After two disastrous campaigns, in which the Persians under
Khosrow I overran
Syria and
captured the strategically important fortress of
Dara, Justin became inflicted with a severe mental illness. During his incapacitation, his wife Sophia reversed his tributary policy by attaining a one-year truce from Persia with a payment of 45,000 gold coins. This was followed by a three-year truce when Tiberius reached an agreement to pay 30,000 coins annually. Further negotiations had the Romans recognizing Persian dominance of
Eastern Armenia and
Iberia, though the wars continued in
Armenia. coin of Justin II minted in Carthage. Helmeted and cuirass-wearing facing bust, holding shield Monogram; cross above, 100 below Shortly after the
smuggling of silkworm eggs into the Byzantine Empire from
China by
Nestorian Christian monks, the 6th-century Byzantine historian
Menander Protector writes of how the
Sogdians attempted to establish a direct trade of
Chinese silk with the Byzantine Empire. After forming an alliance with the Sassanid ruler Khosrow I to defeat the
Hephthalite Empire,
Istämi, the Göktürk ruler of the
Western Turkic Khaganate, was approached by Sogdian merchants requesting permission to seek an audience with the Sassanid king of kings for the privilege of traveling through Persian territories in order to trade with the Byzantines. Istämi refused the first request, but when he sanctioned the second one and had the Sogdian embassy sent to the Sassanid king, the latter had the members of the embassy poisoned to death. His foreign policy has received unfavorable modern assessments. In 1937, historian Previte-Orton criticized Justin as lacking realism, having overestimated Roman strength against foreign enemies. Peter Sarris also suggests that some of Justin II's actions, such as abandoning anti-corruption measures implemented by Justinian, and gifting his senatorial friends tax handouts worsened the empire's situation. According to
Warren Treadgold, contemporaries blamed Justin's arrogance and parsimony for the disaster that the empire faced at the hands of the Persians. == Succession and death ==