One Sixteenth

Justinian and Theodora

Connor's narration today on the Byzantine Empire/Justinian and Theodora, verbatim and unedited:

The Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the part of Rome that survived - the Eastern Roman Empire. The Byzantine Empire was big and powerful, and built stuff more beautiful than even the Romans. They also had the most powerful catapult ever.

Emperor Justinian started out as a farmer with his parents, then he decided to go to school in Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Then, he decided to work in the army. Then, he became emperor. He read in a book about Rome, and he decided to try and capture Rome back. He captured some of the Roman Empire back, including Italy. He got the city of Rome, but the course of the battle destroyed it completely.

Then he had a problem. Each different country that he owned had different laws. Like in one, somebody who robbed you would be put to death, and in another somebody who robbed you would have to pay. So then he decided to make a set of laws for everybody to follow, called the Code of Justinian. And here is a couple of stuff he wrote:

• If somebody steals from you, you would have to pay back four times the value of that thing.

• Everybody could fish in any river.

• If you're cutting down a tree and somebody's walking by, you tell them not to come over or a limb might fall on them. If you do give them the warning then it's not your fault, but if you don't give a warning and they walk under a tree, it's your fault.

The Empress was Theodora. She used to be in the circus, and then she decided to not work in the circus. One day she was carrying a basket full of yarn home when she heard someone say "Make way for the royal army!" And then, at that time, Justinian was still in the army. She saw Justinian and Justinian saw her, and eventually, after awhile, they fell in love and married each other.