?š Bold writing refers to the Works Cited page from which the information comes Justinian was a Byzantine emperor who helped revitalize the Byzantine Empire that would leave a lasting legacy for Western civilization. During the reign of Justinian, the Byzantine Empire was in a time of decline. With Justinian's visions, he was able to lay the foundation that would help the Byzantine Empire survive for many years to come. Justinian (Flavius ​​Petrus Sabbatius Justinianus) was born in 483 AD in Tauresium in Illyricum in the Balkans of what is now Central Europe. He was the grandson of Emperor Justin. His uncle Justin had transferred the duties of governing the Empire to his wife Lupicina and his nephew Justinian (Fortescue-Justinian I, Roman Emperor). Justinian worked hard and rose in his uncle's rule. He studied in Constantinople and became consul in 521. He married his wife Theodora in 523 (Refuge) and became head general of the Byzantine Empire in April 527. In the same year, his uncle Justin died and Justinian became the new emperor. (Fortescue-Justinian I, Roman Emperor). Justinian dreamed of restoring the Roman Empire in Europe, so he immediately set about protecting and expanding the weakened Byzantine Empire (Norwich- A Short History of Byzantium, 68). The only way Justinian could achieve his goal was to regain control over the western provinces that were once ruled by Rome (Fortescue- Justinian I, Roman Emperor). His first challenge to conquering the West was to end the war in the Persian Empire. The two empires had long been rivals in the Middle East and had often clashed (Norwich-A Short History of Byzantium, 27). During the 400s, both the Romans and Persians struggled to cope with invasions from outside groups. But in 502, the conflict reignited between them. From 502 to 505 the Byzantines, led by Justinian, fought the Persians and then again from 527 to 532. This revisited war conflict between the two rival empires ended when the Byzantines fought the Persians to a standstill and ordered them to accept a peace treaty (Whittow-Making of Byzantium, 41). With peace now in the East, Justinian appointed the general Belisarius to lead an army and reconquer the western Roman provinces (Fortescue-Justinian I, Roman Emperor). In 533, Belisarius' army defeated the Vandals and conquered the provinces of North Africa and sent their king, Gelimer, back to Constantinople as a prisoner. In 535 the Byzantines conquered Sicily and then moved to Italy (Norwich-A Short History of Byzantium,68-69).