Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter I The main literature on Justiniana Prima
- Chapter II An analysis of Novels XI and CXXXI
- Chapter III An analysis of Procopius of Caesarea's account of Justiniana Prima
- Chapter IV The history of Aquis in Justinian's times
- Chapter V The circumstances surrounding the establishment of the archbishopric of Justiniana Prima
- Chapter VI The history of Justiniana Prima after 535
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index of persons
- Index of geographical names
Chapter I - The main literature on Justiniana Prima
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 January 2018
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter I The main literature on Justiniana Prima
- Chapter II An analysis of Novels XI and CXXXI
- Chapter III An analysis of Procopius of Caesarea's account of Justiniana Prima
- Chapter IV The history of Aquis in Justinian's times
- Chapter V The circumstances surrounding the establishment of the archbishopric of Justiniana Prima
- Chapter VI The history of Justiniana Prima after 535
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index of persons
- Index of geographical names
Summary
Although Justiniana Prima was destroyed and forgotten as a city, the memory of its Church's tremendous importance endured in the tradition and titulature of the Archbishops of Ohrid, playing a significant prestigious role. Establishing the location of this centre became a subject of keen interest only in the early 1530s, when Procopius’ work De aedificiis was popularised as a result of printed editions being published. Issues related not directly to Justiniana Prima but more generally to the native country of Emperors Justin and Justinian were also included in discussions on problems concerning their origins. Modern academic research devoted either directly or indirectly to Justiniana Prima only sporadically refers to the older literature, mainly to the 18th-century works about the history of the Church in Illyricum. In discussions about the origin and history of this centre, the actual point of reference is usually the research from the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. Its present value is mainly due to the fact that it attempted to interpret issues practically unresolved until today and that it has a good opinion. The older literature should also sometimes be used in order to correctly understand theories which appeared in later works. This concerns not only surprising statements suggesting the existence of unknown sources or descriptions of events that supposedly took place in the history of Justiniana Prima, but most importantly misunderstandings which stem from a lack of historical analysis of the main accounts without which it is impossible to understand the historical role of this centre. As a result of this approach an artificial and distorted picture of the city and its significance was created and has been functioning since. If works do not contain any footnotes or precise references, then without a thorough analysis of the sources and literature it is difficult to get a grasp on the actual state of the research, and no names of outstanding historians guarantee that the information is reliable. In such situations the shortage of historiographical works on collecting and analysing studies about Justiniana Prima is particularly conspicuous. If they existed, such works would perhaps allow us to leave behind very old and, more importantly, outdated or erroneous beliefs.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Justiniana PrimaAn Underestimated Aspect of Justinian's Church Policy, pp. 23 - 46Publisher: Jagiellonian University PressPrint publication year: 2016