Justin II

Justin II, who died on 4 October 578, served as eastern Roman emperor from 565 to 578, the nephew of Justinian I and husband of Sophia, niece of Justinian's wife Theodora; his parents were Vigilantia and Dulcidio. He inherited a greatly enlarged but overextended empire, with far fewer resources than Justinian I had commanded, and his reign marked a policy shift toward ceasing tributary payments and taking an aggressive stance toward neighboring powers. That policy rekindled conflict with the Sasanian Empire in 572 and, with the outbreak of the Byzantine-Lombard wars in 568, cost the Romans much Italian territory over the following decades; his war against Persia was generally unsuccessful. His later reign was dominated by severe mental illness following his military defeats, and he elevated Tiberius as Caesar in 574 and eventually adopted him as his son; Justin II is described as the last person to rule the entire Italian peninsula until Napoleon. With Sophia he had a daughter, Arabia, and possibly a son, Justus.