Hello everyone and welcome to the history of Byzantium, Episode 54, Justinian II.

Justinian II was born in 669 in Constantinople. He was the eldest son of Constantine IV and

his wife Anastasia. When he was five his father successfully overcame Muay'h's most threatening

assault on Byzantium and so spent the rest of his childhood in relative security and comfort.

The noises from those around him would have indicated that the immense pressure the empire had been

under for the past 50 years was finally easing. As you know, Justinian was crowned co-emperor with his

father in 681 and would have been well aware that his two uncles had had their noses slit by his

father's orders to ensure that he would rule alone. When Constantine IV died four years later,

the throne of Byzantium was once again filled by a man aged under 21. At 16, Justinian II became

emperor of the Romans. Both Constants II and Constantine IV had shown admirable maturity in taking

on such a pressurised role at such a young age. Clearly their education or their advisors had prepared

them well for the task of becoming emperor. Justinian II is not an exception to that rule. He too

would take to imperial office like the proverbial duck to water. However, he lacked the caution

or the modesty that came with the empire's reduced circumstances. That's why I began his

introduction by noting that between his fifth and fifteenth birthdays, the Byzantines were not

faced with serious Arab invasions. His formative years perhaps lulled him into a false sense of

security about the true state of the Roman world. We should all be grateful really that Constantine

IV decided to break with family tradition by naming his son Justinian rather than Constantine

or Heraclius. However, this too may have had an unfortunate impact on the young emperor's mind.

Whether he was reading Procopius' histories or touring the Ahir Sophia, the young Vassilefs

seems to have taken on board the achievements of his namesake and decided that no better model

existed for his own time on the throne than that of Justinian I.

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