Justinian's Pragmatic Sanction

Date: August 13, 554 • Location: Rome, Italy

Emperor Justinian I issues a Pragmatic Sanction in which he organises the renewed Roman rule over the recently re-conquered Italy. All privileges granted to Romans under the Gothic rule until 538 are confirmed, confiscated estates restored and the participation of the Roman Church in civil government increased.

Justinian I, also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized renovatio imperii. This ambition was expressed by the partial recovery of the territories of the defunct Western Roman Empire.