Justinian and Theodora’s Virtue

Justinian and Theodora were married emperors and empresses that ruled the

Byzantine Empire together. They brought a Golden Age upon it because of their long and

eventful reign, use of the throne for the people and for God, and their unstoppable power as a

team. They are great leaders who deserve their title because of their victorious reforms and

their valuable traits.

Firstly, a thing that makes them great is their reforms, which made great significance

and proved their power. For example, the trusted website Britannica states, “The long reign of

Justinian resulted in attempts to recover lost western provinces from barbarian control, the

codification of Roman law, & construction of Hagia Sophia.” Conquering lost lands, making

clarified laws, and constructing grand buildings help the Empire by giving it wealth and

power, restoring it’s order and structure, eliminating confusion, and amplifying art, religion,

and culture. This proves his passion and enthusiasm to be a good and successful leader to his

people and place by reviving all the mentioned aims. Another example is, “Theodora is

remembered as one of the first rulers to recognize the rights of women, passing strict laws to

prohibit the traffic in young girls and altering the divorce laws to give greater benefits to

women,” also according to the esteemed website Britannica. Theodora’s care and concern for

female rights proves her love for the Empire and her desire to make it the finest possible for

all to live and thrive in. It shows her fulfillness for her duty as an empress to mind the

people’s welfare by taking into consideration people’s troubles and knowing firsthand what

female struggles were and abolishing them, instead of overlooking everything but herself, as

did leaders before and after her. These reforms were the emperor’s way of doing their duty,

and they are what makes an emperor great and noteworthy, therefore meaning that Theodora

and Justinian were great and worthy leaders.

 The imperial duo had valuable traits that were useful to the empire. For example,

“His practical intelligence is reflected in famous public works, such as the rebuilding of

whole cities destroyed by earthquakes, as well as fortifications and defenses on the extensive

frontiers. It also included important buildings such as the magnificent Church Hagia Sophia,”

says Social and Behavioral Scientist Daniela Zaharia from University of Bucharest at

ScienceDirect. This proves his practical intelligence because he was strategically building

these public works to maintain sturdiness, as shown in rebuilding the destroyed cities, protect

the Empire, as shown when building defenses, and increase in grandeur and religious culture,

as shown in the Hagia Sophia, all of which show his ministration for the Empire in clever

ways. Another example is Theodora’s determination and influentiality. “In 532, some of

Justinian's opponents turned a riot between rival sport fans into a widespread rebellion

against his policies. As Justinian prepared to flee the city, Theodora refused to leave. Her

courageous determination to stay and fight the rebels inspired Justinian,” says the World

History Textbook. Making her pivotal decision be carried out, convincing Justinian plus a

whole government, and changing a whole plan, proves how she can manipulate the decisions

of Justinian and the rest of the officials, which makes her an influential person. That is

convenient for the empire, because she was wise, her decisions were effectively considered

and had neat outcomes. These traits resulted in many great reforms and outcomes, were

effective in ruling and made an emperor efficient and coordinated, therefore meaning that

greatness, regiment, and sturdiness were flowing through the Empire during the reign of

Justinian and Theodora’s reign.

In conclusion, Justinian and Theodora’s thriving reforms and integral traits

strengthened and advanced the Byzantine Empire, made positive changes that lasted an

extensive amount--some even being implemented in the modern world. This speech was to

prove that they are great, noteworthy leaders who brought honor to the Byzantine Empire.
They deserve to be remembered for their outstanding mark, and I propose they should not be

considered guilty and should be declared innocent.