Tribonian facts for kids
Tribonian (born around 485, died 542) was a very important legal expert and advisor in the Byzantine Empire. He worked for Justinian I, who was the Emperor. Tribonian helped to update and organize the laws of the Roman Empire, which were used in the Byzantine Empire.
Early Life and Career
Tribonian was born in a place called Side, which is now in Turkey, around the year 500. He received a good education and became a lawyer. He worked in the courts before becoming an advisor to Emperor Justinian.
Justinian gave Tribonian important jobs. First, he became the magister officiorum, which means "Master of Offices." Later, in 529, he was made quaestor sacri palatii. This was a high position, like a chief legal officer for the Emperor.
Working on the Law Code
In 528, even before he became quaestor, Tribonian was chosen by Justinian to be part of a team. Their job was to create a new collection of imperial laws. This new law book was called the Codex Justinianeus. It was finished and published in 529.
After Tribonian became quaestor, Justinian gave him an even bigger task in 530. He wanted Tribonian to gather and organize all the writings from famous Roman legal experts. Justinian had two main goals for this huge project:
- To make lawsuits shorter by making the laws clearer.
- To create a textbook for law students in important cities like Beirut and Constantinople.
At the same time, Tribonian also worked on another part of Justinian's plan. He helped create a new textbook for students who were just starting law school. This book was based on an older one by a jurist named Gaius.
The new collection of legal writings, called the Digest, and the new student textbook, called the Institutes of Justinian, were both finished in December 533.
By 534, so many new laws had been made, and old ones had been made clearer, that Justinian decided they needed an updated version of the Codex. So, a second edition, called the Codex repetitae praelectionis, was published. This new version replaced the first one completely.
Later Years and Legacy
In 532, Tribonian was temporarily removed from his quaestor job. This happened because of accusations made against him during a big event called the Nika riots. However, he continued to work on the law projects. He was given his quaestor job back in 535 and stayed in that position until he died.
Tribonian kept helping Justinian write new laws. These new laws were called Novellae Constitutiones. Later, these new laws were combined with the Codex Justinianus, the Digest, and the Institutes. Together, these books formed what is known as the Corpus Juris Civilis. This collection became the foundation of many legal systems in Europe for centuries.
Tribonian passed away in 542, possibly from a disease like the plague. A modern writer named Tony Honoré described Tribonian's work by saying he was Justinian's main minister for laws and public information for almost twelve years. During this time, the three main parts of the Corpus Juris Civilis were created. Tribonian helped write most of Justinian's laws that we still have today. He also planned and led the work of the team that created the Digest, the Institutes, and the second Codex Iustinianus.
See also
In Spanish: Triboniano para niños
