Editing Justinian I (section)

===Architecture, learning, art and literature===
[[File:Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Justinianus 02.JPG|thumb|Consular [[diptych]] displaying Justinian's full name (Constantinople 521)]]

Justinian's reputation as a prolific builder is attested in the works of Procopius, [[Paul the Silentiary]], John Malalas and [[Pseudo-Zacharias Rhetor]].<ref>See Procopius, ''Buildings''.</ref> Under Justinian's reign, the [[Basilica of San Vitale|San Vitale]] in Ravenna, which features two famous mosaics representing Justinian and Theodora, was completed under the sponsorship of Julius Argentarius.<ref name=dotma>Robert Browning. "Justinian I" in ''[[Dictionary of the Middle Ages]]'', volume VII (1986).</ref> Most notably, he had the [[Hagia Sophia]], originally a [[basilica]]-style church that had been burnt down during the [[Nika riots]], splendidly rebuilt according to a completely different ground plan, under the architectural supervision of [[Isidore of Miletus]] and [[Anthemius of Tralles]]. On 26 December 537, according to Pseudo-Codinus, Justinian stated at the completion of this edifice: "Solomon, I have outdone thee" (in reference to the first Jewish temple). The church had a second inauguration on 24 December 562, after several reworks made by [[Isidore the Younger]]. This new cathedral, with its magnificent dome filled with mosaics, remained the centre of eastern Christianity for centuries.<ref>{{cite book|last=Barker|first=John W.|title=Justinian and the Later Roman Empire|date=1966|page=183|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LiJljEXvwAoC&pg=PA183|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|isbn=9780299039448|access-date=9 August 2023|archive-date=7 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307051544/https://books.google.com/books?id=LiJljEXvwAoC&pg=PA183|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Hagia Sophia (228968325).jpeg|thumb|upright=1.25|The current structure of [[Hagia Sophia]] in [[Istanbul]]. Construction began by order of Justinian in AD 532—537]]

Another prominent church in the capital, the [[Church of the Holy Apostles]], which had been in a very poor state near the end of the 5th century, was likewise rebuilt.<ref>Vasiliev (1952), p. 189</ref> The Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, later renamed [[Little Hagia Sophia]], was also built between 532 and 536 by the imperial couple.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bardill|first=Jonathan|date=2017|title=The Date, Dedication, and Design of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus in Constantinople|journal=Journal of Late Antiquity|language=en|volume=10|issue=1|pages=62–130|doi=10.1353/jla.2017.0003|issn=1942-1273|doi-access=free}}</ref> Works of embellishment were not confined to churches alone: excavations at the site of the [[Great Palace of Constantinople]] have yielded several high-quality mosaics dating from Justinian's reign, and a [[Column of Justinian|column topped by a bronze statue]] of Justinian on horseback and dressed in a military costume was erected in the [[Augustaeum]] in Constantinople in 543.<ref>Brian Croke, "Justinian's Constantinople", in Michael Maas (ed.), ''The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Justinian'' (Cambridge 2005), pp. 60–86 (p. 66)</ref> Rivalry with other, more established patrons from the Constantinopolitan and exiled Roman aristocracy might have enforced Justinian's building activities in the capital as a means of strengthening his dynasty's prestige.<ref>See Croke (2005), pp. 364 ff., and Moorhead (1994).</ref>

Justinian also strengthened the borders of the Empire from Africa to the East through the construction of fortifications and ensured Constantinople of its water supply through construction of underground [[cisterns]] (see [[Basilica Cistern]]). To prevent floods from damaging the strategically important border town [[Dara (Mesopotamia)|Dara]], [[Dara Dam|an advanced arch dam]] was built. During his reign the large [[Sangarius Bridge]] was built in [[Bithynia]], securing a major military supply route to the east. Furthermore, Justinian restored cities damaged by earthquake or war and built a new city near his place of birth called [[Justiniana Prima]], which was intended to replace [[Thessalonica]] as the political and religious centre of [[Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum|Illyricum]].{{sfn|Turlej|2016|pp=47–86}}

In Justinian's reign, and partly under his patronage, Byzantine culture produced noteworthy historians, including Procopius and [[Agathias]], and poets such as [[Paul the Silentiary]] and [[Romanus the Singer|Romanus the Melodist]] flourished. On the other hand, centres of learning such as the Neoplatonic Academy in Athens and the famous [[Law School of Berytus]]<ref>Following a terrible earthquake in 551, the school at Berytus was transferred to Sidon and had no further significance after that date. (Vasiliev (1952), p. 147)</ref> lost their importance during his reign.{{sfn|Bury|1958|p=369}}