Justinian

Justinian: The Sleepless One follows Justinian I from his provincial origins and advancement under his uncle Justin to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire. Determined to recover the western provinces lost to Germanic kingdoms, he sends Belisarius against the Vandals in North Africa and the Ostrogoths in Italy while his government reshapes Roman law, imperial taxation, religious policy and Constantinople itself. The novel sets that ambition against the Nika Riots, the rebuilding of Hagia Sophia, natural disaster and the plague that strikes the empire at the height of his power.

At the centre of the story is Justinian’s partnership with Theodora, who rises from the theatre and the margins of respectable society to become an empress with her own political authority. Their marriage gives the novel both its emotional core and its sharpest view of court politics, where Belisarius, Procopius and rival officials serve an emperor whose plans demand immense loyalty and sacrifice. After Theodora’s death, Justinian retreats further into government and work, giving meaning to the title “The Sleepless One” and leaving him to confront the human cost of his attempt to restore Rome.