Why did the rebellions begin in the justinian empire?

Answer 1

There was just one rebellion against Justinian I (or the Great), the Nika riots.They were probably caused by popular anger about new taxes and by Justinian's autocratic style of rule. As the riots developed, they were manipulated by members of the aristocracy who were opposed to Justinian. They, were unhappy about Justinian's lack of support for the aristocracy, some reforms which strengthened his power and the new taxes, but also about the. The rioters demanded the dismissal of John the Cappadocian, the chief minister of state, who had introduced the new taxes and Tibonian, who had been part of a commission which had compiled a new legal code (the Codex Justinianus) and was had been put in charge compiling and harmonizing the writings of classical Roman jurists which was going to shorten litigation (by clarifying the law), and provide textbooks for the law schools. They then proclaimed, Hypatius, a nephew of former Emperor Anastasius I, as emperor. Hypatius had not wanted to rebel. He was connected by marriage to the Anicii, an aristocratic clan Justinian considered fleeing Constantinople, but his wife Theodora persuaded him to fight and he deployed the imperial troops against the rioters. About thirty thousand rioters were reportedly killed.

These riots were based on the four factions (teams) which contested the chariot races, the Blues, the Reds, the Greens, and the Whites. These races were very popular and most peoples supported one of them. These factions had become the focus of social, political and theological issues as they were the only outlet through which dissent or grievances could be voiced. Political factions and street gangs became associated with the factions of he races and which were backed by aristocratic families of Constantinople. They often used to press political demands and to try to influence the policies of the emperors. In this period only the Blues and the Greens held political influence. Justinian supported the Blues and his opponents supported the Greens.

In 531 some members of the Blues and Greens were arrested for murder in connection with deaths that occurred during rioting after a recent chariot race. Most of them were hanged. In January 532 a member of the Blues and one of the Greens escaped and took refuge in a church. The church was surrounded by an angry crowd. Faced with the possibility of major unrest in the city, Justinian scheduled a chariot race to be held three days later and commuted the sentences to imprisonment. At the race the crowd shouted insults at Justinian. By the end of the day the crowd stopped supporting either the Blues or the Greens and shouted about a unified Nika! (Win!), and attacked the imperial palace, which was besieged for five days. During the riots fires destroyed much of the city.