TRIBONIANUS

The Architect of Justice. The Most Dangerous Man in Constantinople. The Mastermind of the Laws that Rule Us Today.
Behind the grandeur of Emperor Justinian and the iron will of Empress Theodora stood one man with a mind like a labyrinth: Tribonianus.

In an era of plague, riots, and religious upheaval, Tribonianus achieved the impossible. He took three centuries of chaotic, contradictory Roman laws and distilled them into the Corpus Iuris Civilis-a legal masterpiece that survived the fall of empires to become the foundation of the Western world.

But who was the man behind the scrolls?

To his admirers, he was a genius of unparalleled eloquence and memory. To his enemies, he was a corrupt pagan, a master manipulator, and a man who sold justice to the highest bidder. Narrowly escaping execution during the bloody Nika Riots, he returned to power to complete a task that should have taken decades in just a few years.

In TRIBONIANUS: The Emperor's Lawyer, Cornelis van Houte brings the 6th-century Mediterranean to vivid life. From the gilded halls of the Great Palace to the smoke-filled streets of a burning Constantinople, discover the story of:

• The Legal Titan: How one lawyer saved Roman law from total oblivion.
• The Political Survivor: The secrets of a man who thrived under the most demanding imperial couple in history.
• The Last Pagan: The mystery of his faith in an age of forced conversions.