Emperor Justin I, a career soldier with little knowledge of statecraft, has wisely surrounded himself with trusted advisors.

The most prominent of these, of course, is his nephew Flavius Petrus Sabbatius, whom he adopts as his son and invests with the name Iustinianus (Justinian).

Justin’s sister Vigilantia (born about 455) had married one Sabbatius and had two children: Petrus Sabbatius Justinian and Vigilantia (born about 490), who had married Dulcissimus and had Praejecta (born about 520), married to the senator Areobindus and Justin II (born about 520).

Vitalian, the general and erstwhile rebel, becomes consul in 520 and is shortly later murdered, probably on the orders of Justinian.

Relying upon the accounts of the historian Procopius, it often has been said that Justinian ruled the Empire in his uncle's name during the reign of Justin; however, there is much evidence to the contrary.

The information from the Secret History of Procopius was published posthumously.

Critics of Procopius (whose work reveals a man seriously disillusioned with his rulers) have dismissed his work as a severely biased source, being vitriolic and pornographic, but without other sources, critics have been unable to discredit some of the assertions in the publication.

However, contrary to the secret history, Justinian was not named as successor until less than a year before Justin's death.

He spends thirty-seven hundred pounds of gold during a celebration in 520.

Justin's reign is noteworthy for the resolution of the Acacian Schism between the eastern and western branches of the Christian church.

As a devout Catholic, Justin endorses Rome's view on the question of the dual nature of Christ and the more general principle of Roman supremacy.

This temporary eastern deferral to the western church will not endure, however.