Justinian's Indecision

How Social Networks Shaped Imperial Policy

Since the time of Eduard Schwartz, scholars have tended to treat ecclesiastical policy under the influence of Justinian as inconsistent and even capricious. This book argues that such an image of Justinian, although seeming to provide a coherent narrative concerning the emperor’s character, falls apart when the details are scrutinized.

Be the first to review this product

Publisher: Gorgias Press LLC

SKU (ISBN): 978-1-4632-4227-5

Formats *

Publication Status: In Print

Series: Gorgias Studies in Classical and Late Antiquity28

Publication Date: Feb 26,2021

Interior Color: Black

Trim Size: 6 x 9

Page Count: 282

Languages: English

ISBN: 978-1-4632-4227-5

$120.00

Qty:

Ship to

Shipping Method

Name

Estimated Delivery

Price

No shipping options

Since the time of Eduard Schwartz, scholars have tended to treat ecclesiastical policy under the influence of Justinian as inconsistent and even capricious. To this day Justinian is depicted as a pragmatist, ready to support different and even contradictory confessions in an effort to see the unity of his Empire. Given his fast changing position on the Theopaschite confession, the alternating patronage and persecution of the supporters of Severus, his simultaneous support of Chalcedon and rejection of those restored by the council, along with his sometimes flattering and sometimes harsh treatment of the bishops of Rome, it is little wonder that the emperor might seem fickle. This book argues that such an image of Justinian, although seeming to provide a coherent narrative concerning the emperor’s character, falls apart when the details of each of these episodes are scrutinized. Of particular importance is considering what Justinian was able to know, when he was able to know it, and how he had to account for the interests of other actors in order to advance his consistent goal of achieving lasting unity between East and West under a banner of a Cyrillian Chalcedonianism.

Overview
Reviews
Contact Us
About the Author
Table Of Contents

Your name *

Your email *

Subject: *

Enquiry *

	Contributor	Biography
	JoshuaPowell	Joshua McKay Powell (Ph.D., University of Kentucky) teaches Latin language and literature in Atlanta, Georgia. His research interests include Late-Antique History, Patristics, and Platonism.

Table of Contents (v)
Acknowledgments (ix)
Abbreviations (xi)
Introduction (1)
The Context of Imperial Administration (6)
Networks, Symbols, and Social Boundaries (10)
An Overview of This Work (17)
A Note on Nomenclature (19)
Chapter 1. Resolving the Acacian Schism (21)
The Acacian Schism under Anastasius: An Uncomfortable Conversation (21)
Vitalian as Champion of Orthodoxy (28)
Delegation and Negotiation under Justin (38)
The Expectation of Reciprocity (56)
Conclusion: Reconciliation and Connections (58)
Chapter 2. The Deacon Dioscorus and the Power of Position (61)
The Theopaschite Controversy as Paradigm of Justinianic Policy Making (61)
The Theopaschite Formula (65)
The Theopaschite Formula Rejected (73)
Two Sudden Changes of Heart (99)
Conclusion: Connections and Influence (107)
Chapter 3. The Court’s Anti-Chalcedonians (109)
The Colloquium of 532 (109)
Severans at the Court (129)
The Arrival of Agapetus (139)
The Council of 536 (144)
Conclusion: Influence and Association (146)
Chapter 4. Heretics, Living or Dead (149)
The Three Chapters and Origenism (150)
Unitas Facta Est Ecclesiarum (161)
Origenism and Origenisms (167)
Origenism in Sixth-Century Sources (176)
From Symbolic Boundaries to Social Boundaries (199)
Conclusion: Association and Condemnation (216)
Chapter 5. To Loose and to Double Bind (219)
Who Was Vigilius? (220)
The Three Chapters Condemnation becomes a Controversy (228)
Vigilius in a Double Bind (239)
Conclusion: Condemnation and Character (249)
Conclusion. Justinian’s Decision (253)
Bibliography (257)
Primary Sources (257)
Secondary Sources (260)
Index (265)

Customers who bought this item also bought

Jacob of Sarug's Homilies on Paul

Recognized as a saint by both Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian Christians alike, Jacob of Sarug (d. 521) produced many narrative poems that have rarely been translated into English. Of his reported 760 metrical homilies, only about half survive. Part of a series of fascicles containing the bilingual Syriac-English editions of Saint Jacob of Sarug’s homilies, this volume contains two of his homilies on Paul. The Syriac text is fully vocalized, and the translation is annotated with a commentary and biblical references. The volume is one of the fascicles of Gorgias Press’s Complete Homilies of Saint Jacob of Sarug, which, when complete, will contain all of Jacob’s surviving sermons.

$33.00

Living the Quran with Joy and Purpose

The current volume is an annotated translation of selections from a noteworthy Muslim theologian Said Nursi (1876-1960) on the Quranic theme of oneness of God (tawhid). Given the scarcity of theological themes in Islamic literature in English as well as the lack of studies on Said Nursi, who wrote in Ottoman Turkish, the book is an important contribution to the field. It offers a contemporary peek into the view that faith in God could be profoundly meaningful and fulfilling spiritual path.

$45.00

Intellectual Currents and the Practice of Engagement

The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw a great increase in the use of the printed word and the press by non-European actors to express and disseminate ideas and to participate in the intellectual life of both their home societies and a wider international context. This book examines the French-language writings of Ottoman and Algerian writers between 1890 and 1914.

$106.00

In and Around Maimonides

In and Around Maimonides presents eight highly focused studies on Moses Maimonides and those around him.

$110.00