# Justin — The Secret History character guide

> Justin in The Secret History by Procopius.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the Emperor Justin

**First appearance:** 0008-vi-ignorance-of-the-emperor-justin-and-his-stencilled-signature-and-how-his-nephew-justinian-was-the-virtual-ruler

## Snapshot

Justinian's uncle and predecessor on the throne, an emperor so illiterate he signed his name through a stencil while others ruled in his name.

## Who they are

Justin sits at the head of the empire but not at the center of its power, a figure whose ignorance is matched only by his willingness to be led. He is the doorway through which his nephew Justinian enters imperial authority, and the stencilled signature that lets others govern. His reign matters less for what he does than for whom he elevates, making him the quiet hinge on which the whole corrupt era turns.

## Relationships

### [Justinian](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/characters/justinian)

_family_

Justin is Justinian's uncle and predecessor as emperor, who adopted and elevated him to power.

### [Theodora](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/characters/theodora)

_family_

Justin is Theodora's father-in-law and emperor, with a strained relationship due to her low-born origins and influence.

### [Germanus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/characters/germanus)

_family_

Germanus is Justin's nephew, a loyal general and potential heir, with a close family bond.

### [Belisarius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/characters/belisarius)

_professional_

Belisarius served as a general under Emperor Justin, who trusted and favored him before Justinian's reign.

### [Arsenius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/characters/arsenius)

_rivalry_

Arsenius, a Samaritan leader, was a rebel and enemy of Emperor Justin's harsh anti-Samaritan policies.

### [Theodora](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/characters/theodora)

_family_

Justin is Theodora's father-in-law and emperor, with a strained relationship due to her low-born origins and influence.

## In the story

### [Ignorance of the Emperor Justin, and His Stencilled Signature, and How His Nephew Justinian Was the Virtual Ruler](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/chapters/vi-ignorance-of-the-emperor-justin-and-his-stencilled-signature-and-how-his-nephew-justinian-was-the-virtual-ruler)

Illiterate Illyrian farmer who became Emperor; used a stenciled signature due to inability to read or write; simple and bucolic, unable to govern effectively.

### [X: How Justinian Created a New Law Permitting Him to Marry a Courtesan on Her Promise to Repent Her Past; and the Truth About the Apparent Quarrels of a Happy Pair](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/chapters/x-how-justinian-created-a-new-law-permitting-him-to-marry-a-courtesan-on-her-promise-to-repent-her-past-and-the-truth-about-the-apparent-quarrels-of-a-happy-pair)

Doting and senile emperor, laughed at by subjects, used by Justinian to pass the marriage law.

### [XIX: How He Seized All the Wealth of the Romans and Threw It Away in the Sea and on the Barbarians](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/chapters/xix-how-he-seized-all-the-wealth-of-the-romans-and-threw-it-away-in-the-sea-and-on-the-barbarians)

Justinian's uncle, during whose reign Justinian began wasting the public funds.

### [XXIV: Unjust Treatment of the Soldiers, and How Justinian Tricked the “Students” Out of Their Pay by Threatening to Send Them to War](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/chapters/xxiv-unjust-treatment-of-the-soldiers-and-how-justinian-tricked-the-students-out-of-their-pay-by-threatening-to-send-them-to-war)

Under his reign, Justinian began selling commissions in the Scholarian guard.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/characters/justin
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/characters