ABSTRACT
Contrary to the dominant opinion that John Lydus espoused the Roman senatorial stance expecting the emperor to be subjected to the same laws as everyone else, Lydus and many of his contemporaries actually combined such senatorial expectations with the old precepts of Greek political philosophy. According to the latter, it was the ruler's virtue and philosophy that put him above positive laws by molding his conduct and turning him into “animated law” for all. By fusing the two distinct theories of rulership, the sixth-century intellectual and administrative elite developed a new imperial identity for Byzantium.
