Document #1 “Having unified the two empires, Justinian set up a panel of legal experts to regulate Byzantium’s increasingly complex society. The panel combed through 400 years of Roman law…The panel created a single, uniform code known as the Justinian Code…While his scholars were creating the legal code, Justinian launched the most ambitious public building program ever seen in the Roman world. He rebuilt the crumbling fortifications of Constantinople…Church building; however, was his greatest passion…The crowning glory of his reign was Hagia Sophia, which means “Holy Wisdom” in Greek…He also built baths, aqueducts, law courts, schools, and hospitals…By the time the emperor was finished, the city teemed with an almost visible excitement. Beneath such excitement, a less obvious but vitally important activity took place: the preservation of Greco-Roman culture.”
- World History: Patterns of Interaction
Historical Context – refers to the historical circumstances that led to this historical development.
1. Explain the historical context for the creation of the Byzantine Empire.