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akitku β An Emperor
#justinian #medieval #byzantine #emperor #roman #byzantineempire
Published: 2019-09-26 11:44:47 +0000 UTC; Views: 14324; Favourites: 381; Downloads: 0
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This is my very belated prize for Ediacar from....a year ago? I'm so ashamed! Anyway, Ediacar graciously forgave my lateness and even offered to respond in artwork! So here, by his wish, is Justinian II, the infamous Roman Emperor whose extravagant building projects and the tax policies used to fund them, got him deposed and his nose cut off. Only to return some time later to exact vengeance on everyone who had slighted him. Which, according to him was pretty much everybody if I understand correctly...Most portraits of him depict him during his second rule, old, mutilated and bitter, and sporting a flashy golden nose prosthetic. I can totally see the appeal of that (c'mon, a gold nose? how creepy and cool is that?) but I decided to take a slightly different approach and depicted him as the overly-ambitious teenage emperor who tries to follow in the footsteps of his illustrious namesake, Justinian I.Β
Gah, I spent so many days (and layers of this!) Hope you like my humble offering Ediacar !!!Β
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Comments: 53
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He was a stylish one! 
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Cool! I'm glad you chose this emperor; I'm a (very qualified) "fan" of Justinian II. I've always wanted to do a 3D render of him standing at the gates of Constantinople, demanding to be let in, and the guards above muttering "It's that damn Justinian again - I thought we got rid of him." But I haven't yet developed the ability to design 3D Byzantine armor.
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Brilliant work. I have to ask at this point, what brushes do you use?
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Thank you!!! I use the oil paint and gouache brushes in Clip Studio Paint
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this a beautiful drawing of justinian II, the byzantine emperor in all his glory, and in his youth, before he would be horribly mutilated after his enemy would usurp the throne.
i like how you've drawn a young, and beautiful version of the emperor, with a youthful face, an ambitious face expression and he also has a nice relaxed pose on his throne, while all of his items, from his byzantine crown, to his purple+red royal outfit, with the imperial signs+symbols, (along with a nice quilt image of a byzantine scene, stitched on the front part of his purple robe/mantle), everything is nicely drawn, with good pose, with great shading/lighting effects, with good colours, and a big ammount of realism in it.
needless to say, i love this drawing of yours, and you've drawn him in a great way.
excellent work!
also, i will add a few bits of info for the other commenters/viewers below:
the emperor that you see, has a unique crown+purple outfit, which signifies that he is a byzantine king, of the eastern roman empire, aka=byzantium.
the greeks truly held that part of the empire alive from its formation on 323 A.D. up to 1453 A.D., and thats not a small feat to achieve.
emperor justinian II the rhinotmitos= (''the one with chopped nose'') was indeed a notable and interesting figure in the byzantine history.
many people are still impressed by his determination to return back to the throne, especially after his enemies chopped his nose off, so that he could not rule byzantium, for a king needed to be ''whole'' in order to rule by the law.
OK, thats all, keep up the great work, my friend!
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Gosh, thank you so much for the awesome comment! I'm very glad you like the picture. I thought it would be interesting to have him in this youthful version. Glad you liked it too!Β And I'm so glad you noticed the details like the imperial purple of his clothing and so on!
About the name, I don't think the whole Byzantine/Roman/East Roman discussion is very productive. Personally I'm happy to use all three terms and I think all of them are in some sense true and in some sense not. I think there is no point into analyzing them too much. As long as we understand what we mean, it's enough! 
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Aww! Gorgeous image of Justinian! Love it so much!Β Β
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Thank you so much dear!!!
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Ooo Justinian II!Β I remember him!Β He with the gold nose!Β Didn't he also strangle somebody?Β I recall the dude being in hot water for most of his reign.Β Β
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Yup, thatβs the guy!!!
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I had a hunch when I suggested about drawing him in his teens that you'd go with that instead of his more classical depictions (that are later fabrications concocted in Italy -which is weird considering Justinian sided more with Rome than Constantinople in ecclesiological issues, well, that's debatable during the council in Trullo, but certainly not in the 710s maybe due to some resentment about the patriarchal administration...). Overall, the fact that he still had allies when he returned to the capital shows that he wasn't that resented by his subjects, even in the aristocracy and many of the actions of his second reign betrays a much more cool-headed person instead of a revenge obsessed madman (but indeed, all these down to earth considerations are secondary in face of the awesomeness of the legend of a mad tyrant "who caused great harm and sorrow to the roman people").
Anyway, that looks absolutely fantastic! It really looks like you outdid yourself with this one! And I love how you made it somewhat like a reflection of my own drawing of him (don't know if that's intentional though 
(btw why scarify yourself like that? I'm the one responsible for taking a year to actually proceed with the prize ^^)
I'm trying to find time to do my own part asap, though I'd be lying if I said it's gonna happen very soon, lots of stressful assignments and presentations these days (which is also why I took so long to properly comment, sorry ) but I've got an idea that I think you'll find rather amusing Β
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Yeah, I thought it is a pretty cool suggestion (I guess I'm a bit predictable!
I'm so glad you like it! It was an awesome topic so thank you!! And you are right of course, I did want it to resemble your piece showing him. I thought it would be cool (besides I trust your depictions in terms of accuracy so I like to draw inspiration from them!!)Β
Take all the time you need! There is no hurry! That said I'm VERY curious what your idea is!!Β
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Eh, I certainly can't throw the stone since that's the angle I want to go for with my @ΓΉ%&2Β΅$ comic that I can never manage to work on!
But before that, your drawing! (can I hate you for making me draw a pachyderm? )
Well, I certainly wouldn't go as far as to call him 'successful'. If one day I were to write a monograph on him, I'd probably conclude with something like 'much like empress Irene a century later, the failure of Justinian's reign doesn't come from a lack of proficiency but from an inability to let go when he should have of what he considered his birth right.'
The biggest grievance to have on him is certainly his deposition of Apsimar, who kinda was the best emperor Rhomania had between 695 and 717 (at least the most """""successful""""" given the circumstances).
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Well I certainly am looking forward to new updates of your comic! So if you want to start with that, no worries! And sorry about the elephant...you know, if you want I can just come up with a new theme - I mean, I do realize that's a pretty evil one...sorry!Β
Interesting! Being an amateur I never feel confident enough to give assessments, so it's cool to read someone else's. I like that in history books. Obviously, it's just one man's (or woman's) interpretation, but still a lot of fun to read.Β
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a year actually. I double-checked now.Β
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A portrait fitting of an emperor Iβd say (though I must also confess that the chance to draw a golden nose seems tempting...even if I am wondering how it stayed on) I also think that this choice was better simply because the aforementioned nose could have really made or broken the portrait. Itβs a portrait within a portrait as thereβs also that artwork on his clothing there
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Thank you! Well it's not really clear he actually had the golden nose. He certainly was mutilated because it was supposed to make him unfit to rule. But whether he actually had the prosthetic isn't obvious. It might have been a myth fabricated later. But there are quite many portrayals of him with the prosthetic. My favorite is this one because it actually shows how the nose might have stayed on :
Β
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Wow, this is amazing! What sumptuous detail! I love his expression too, and the billowing curtain behind him plus the incense. You sense his energy, but also a sense of foreboding about things to come!
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Thank you so much!!! I'm so glad you like it! Also, my work is usually called 'simple' so it means so much to hear that the details are good! 
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Ah thank you so much!!!Β
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Great job! I know nothing of this particular Roman Emperor- though the style of the crown etc. looks quite Byzantine.Β The only noseless ruler, in a sense, that I do know about , was Marietta de Petras, the mistress of John 11 of Cyprus, who was the mother of James 11 . There is a story that Marietta's nose was bitten off by Helena Palaiologina, John's fourteen year old Byzantine wife, who was jealous of her beauty.Β Evidently not only the head that wears the crown, but anyone associated with him (or her) lies uneasily!
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You're right. He ruled at the end of the 7th and beginning of 8th century, so the period we usually refer to as Byzantine.Β
Being noseless was supposed to be a particular problem for a Byzantine emperor because being mutilated made him unsuitable to rule, technically.Β
Ah, it's interesting that you mention Helena. History of Cyprus is usually so obscure that no one knows about it. Interesting thing is that in many early cultures, Byzantium included, nose mutilation or the removal of a nose was a punishment reserved for a)treason b) adultery. So it might have been more of a calculated cruelty rather than a sudden burst of anger that made Helena do what she did. (Though I only heard the version of her ordering Marietta's nose to be cut, not actually biting it off! The latter is of course, much more frightening and surreal).Β
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The thing that made it credible was the fact that a) Helena was fourteen, and b) a Byzantine princess. The fury might have been at the fact of Marietta's having had a child ( and thus, as it turned out, a possible heir) by her husband. Can one try to imagine a court in Cyprus where a solidly entrenched mistress might wield a great deal of influence, where, initially, there was no one to whom Helena could say, 'Do thus and so', as she had undoubtedly been doing for all of her fourteen years. Imagine the frustration! The tantrums!
But this is, as you say, speculation, and it may well be that it simply made a better story!
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im sorry to bust in on this conversation, but the reason as to why this roman emperor doesnt seem recognizable is because he was a byzantine emperor.
you see, when the roman empire first established its rule in the prime of its power, it had two major divisions on its central lands:
the roman west, and the greek east.
eventually, after the conquest of the greeks and their incorporation into the roman empire, the 2 sides stay together for a long time, when, eventually the religious schism between the 2 major (christianic) factions (the catholics VS the orthodox), and after the schism, two ''roman empires'' existed:
1) the western roman empire, which was the latin/roman west part of the empire, and technically was the first rome, and
2)the eastern roman empire, which was the greek east part of the empire, and it formed the ''second rome'', especially after the fall of the western roman empire by odoacer on 476 A.D.
the emperor that you see, has a unique crown+purple outfit, which signifies that he is a byzantine king, of the eastern roman empire, aka=byzantium.
the greeks truly held that part of the empire alive from its formation on 323 A.D. up to 1453 A.D., and thats not a small feat to achieve.
emperor justinian II the rhinotmitos= (''the one with chopped nose'') was indeed a notable and interesting figure in the byzantine history.
many people are still impressed by his determination to return back to the throne, especially after his enemies chopped his nose off, so that he could not rule byzantium, for a king needed to be ''whole'' in order to rule by the law.
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My friend, you are preaching to the Pope.
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still, did you liked my historical analysis to the situation?
and it wasnt meant just for you, but also for everyone, including akitku, the great artist of this pic.
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As far as my own knowledge of the period goes, it is strictly anecdotal, so my opinion is quite by the by. What I meant to convey is that I have never met anyone as knowledgeable about the historical basis of her paintings as akitku Β . It's OK, you weren't to know.Β
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Aww, thank you so much for such flattering words!!!
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Just the facts, Ma'am; just the facts
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Ooh, that is so cool! I love his clothes! Very well detailed and opulent! The smoke from the incense gives the piece a interesting atmosphere, and I like the effect it has on the scene. Very well done!
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Thank you so much!!! I had so much fun working on his clothes. It took ages. I'm not good with clothes but a Roman Emperor should be properly dressed after all!
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Of course! Can't let our appearances slip even though Rome is under enemy control. I know everyone just calls these Emperors "Byzantines," but I like it so much when people just call them Roman. I mean, that's what they were, really.
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Magnificent. His face shows his faults clearly.
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Thank you!!β Iβm so glad you think so!!Β
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Great work! You did great job creating a sense of 'Byzantine' atmosphere and aesthethics while at the same time using modern art medium - well done! I hopeΒ Ediacar will like this!
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Thank you so much!!! I hope so too!!Β
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