A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

680 JUSTINUS. JUSTINUS.
short time, and did more than could have been ex- tinian I.), a general of great distinction and popopected under such circumstances. He was shut larity in the army, but justly suspected by Justinian
up for some time in the important fortress of Dara. I. and Justin II., on account of his ambition and
Reinforced by the contingents'of the Lazians and faithlessness. In A. D. 551 he held a command
other Caucasian nations, he suddenly sallied forth, in the army against the Slavonians, and shared its
laid siege to Nisibis, and offered battle to Chosroes, defeat in the battle of Adrianople. He was more
who approached with an army of 100,000 men. fortunate against the Persians in Colchis, over
At this critical moment Acacius arrived from Con- whom he obtained a complete victory on the river
stantinople with an order for Ma-rcian to hasten Phasis (555), in consequence of which he was
directly to the capital, and surrender the command entrusted with the command in chief, which had
to him. Marcian obeyed, but no sooner was he been taken from Martinus. Some time after lie
gone than the whole Greek army disbanded, as discovered the secret designs of the khan of the
Acacius was known to be destitute of all military Avars, who had sent an embassy to Constantinople
talent. The consequence was that Syria was under the pretext of making a treaty of alliance,
ravaged by the Persians with fire and sword, and while their real object was the purchase of arms,
Dara, the bulwark of the empire, was taken by and the stores which they were secretly sending
Chosroe's, after a long and gallant resistance. When into Avaria were consequently taken from them by
this news reached Constantinople, Justin showed Justin, who commanded on the Avarian frontiers
all the' symptoms of insanity,'and his mental dis- (the Danube). The accession of his cousin Justin
order increased so much as to make him unfit for proved fatal to him: they had made an agreement
any business (574). The entire government now that, after the expected death of Justinian, the
devolved upon the empress Sophia. son of Germanus should be Caesar, while the other
Two years previously Alboin had been assas- Justin, the son of Vigilantia, was to reign as
sinated, shortly after he had taken Pavia, where Augustus. But no sooner was the latter seated on
his successor Clepho took up his residence. This the throne, than Justin, the subject of this article,
king was slain a short time after his accession, but was recalled from the Danube, and after having
the Longobards, nevertheless, maintained them- been detained a short time at Constantinople, was
selves in the greater part of Italy. These events sent as governor (Dux and Augustalis) to Alexanwere coincident with a war against the Avars, who dria, where he was, however, treated like a prisoner,
worsted the Greek commander Tiberius, a great and, shortly after his arrival, treacherously assassigeneral at'the head of a bad army. The state of nated while asleep. His murder caused several of
the empire was so critical that Sophia persuaded his friends to conspire against the emperor, as is
Justin to adopt Tiberius and to make him Caesar. narrated in the life of Justin II. (Theophan. p.
The emperor followed the advice, and in 574 the 198, 204-210, ed. Paris; Agathias, ii. 18, iii. 2,
new Caesar was presented to the senate. Sophia 17-23, iv. 13-22; Procop. Bell. GotA. iii. 32;
acted wisely in buying a truce of one year from the Evagrins, v. 1, 2.) [W. P.]
Persians for the sum of 45,000 pieces of gold, JUSTI'NUS, son of Mauricius. [MAuRICIUS.]
which was soon afterwards prolonged for three JUSTI'NUS, the historian. We possess a work
years, by an annual tribute of 30,000 pieces. But entitled Justini Historiarum Pklilippicarumn Libri
this truce did not include Armenia, and thus XLIV., in the preface to which the authorinforms us
Chosroes set out in 576, or more probably as early that his book was entirely derived from the Unias 574, with a large army to extend the frontiers versal History (totius Or bis Historias), composed in
of his realm in the north-west. With great ex- Latin by Trogus Pompeius. Before proceeding,
ertions and sacrifices Tiberius succeeded in raising therefore, to consider the former, it is necessary
an army of 150,000 foreign mercenaries, with to inquire into the contents and character of the
whom he despatched Justinian, the emperor's cousin, more important and voluminous archetype.
against the Persians, thus leaving Italy unprotected From the statement of Trogus Pompeius himself,
and Greece open to the inroads of the Slavonians. as preserved by Justin (xliii. 5), we learn that his
The details of this remarkable campaign are nar- ancestors traced their origin to the Gaulish tribe of
rated in the lives of Tiberius and Justinian. Jus- the Vocontii, that his grandfather received the
tinian obtained splendid victories, and sent 24 citizenship of Rome from Cn. Pompeins during the
elephants to Constantinople; but he sustained in war against Sertorius, that his paternal uncle colrhis turn severe defeats, and was succeeded in the manded a squadron of cavalry in the army of the
supreme command by Mauricius, who, in 578, same general in the last struggle with Mithridates,
penetrated as far as the Tigris. The war was still and that his father served under C. Caesar (i. e.
raging with unabated fury, when Justin, whose the dictator), to whom he afterwards became
mental sufferings were increased'by an ulcer on his private secretary. It is hence evident that the
leg, felt his dissolution approaching, and conse- son must have flourished under Augustus; and
quently created Tiberius Augustus on the 26th of since the recovery of the standards of Crassus from
September, 578, and had him crowned and publicly the Parthians was recorded towards the close of
acknowledged as his successor. Justin died on the his history, it is probable that it may have been
5th of October following; the best action of his published not long after that event, whicl took
life was the choice of his successor. (Corippus, De place B. c. 20. Our knowledge of this production
Laud. Justini; Evagrius, v. 1-13; Theophan. p. is derived from three sources which, taken in com198, &c.; Cedren. p. 388, &c.; Zonaras, vol. ii. bination, afford a considerable amount of informp. 70, &c.; Glycas, p. 270, &c.; Const. Manasses, ation with regard to the nature and extent of the
p. 68, &c.; Joel, p. 173, in the Paris edit.; Paul. undertaking. 1. A few brief fragments quoted by
Diacon. ii. 5, &c., iii. 11, 12; Theophylact. iii. 9, (Pliny?), Vopiscus, Jerome, Augustin, Orosius,
&c.:; Menander, in Excerpt. Legation.) [W. P.] Priscian, Isidorus, and others down to John of
JUSTI'NUS, the elder son of Germanus (see Salisbury and Matthew of Westminster. 2. The
the' genealogical table prefixed to the life of Jus- Excerpts of Justin. 3. A sort of epitome found ill