Steppe empires without emperors

“O Solomon, I have surpassed thee!” That is what Emperor Justinian I (527–565) reputedly exclaimed in admiration of his own foundation, the Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. ¹ Justinian’s reign is often referred to as an “era,” and he himself is hailed as “the Great” because of the grand scale of his construction activities and administrative reforms, as well as his military campaigns. The reign is also regarded as one of the last (if not the final) bright episodes in a 200-long period in European history called the “Dark Ages.” That catchphrase is supposed to reflect the complex and dynamic transformation of the social and economic structures within the East Roman Empire. As a result of a series of events that took place in the “long” 6th century, despite some unsurpassed cultural achievements, the Empire lost a good deal of territory, such as the recently (re)conquered central and north areas of Italy, now taken by the Lombards. ² Some have pushed the beginning of the so-called Dark Ages in the northern Balkans as early as the 5th century. ³ The main argument in favor of that idea is the collapse of several urban agglomerations such as Sirmium (now Sremska Mitrovica, in Serbia), Singidunum (now Belgrade) and Nicopolis ad Istrum (now Nikyup, near Veliko Tărnovo, in Bulgaria). ⁴ About a century later, Justinian the Great focused his construction activities on that same region of the northern Balkans in order to enhance the defense of the imperial frontier on the Danube. ⁵