Emperor Justinian and the Nea Church

Procopius

Buildings 5.6

ca. 560

Such were the works of the Emperor Justinian in Cilicia. And in Jerusalem he dedicated to the Mother of God a shrine with which no other can be compared. This is called by the natives the “New Church”; and I shall explain of what sort it is, first making this observation, that this city is for the most part set upon hills; however these hills have…

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The emperor Justinian (r. 527–565 CE) is associated with what is considered the third great wave of early Byzantine building projects in Palestine. In the aftermath of a Samaritan revolt in 529 CE, Justinian initiated a campaign to construct new churches and monasteries as part of a continuing effort to increase pilgrimages to lands sacred to Byzantine Christians. In 543 CE, he dedicated the Nea Church to the Virgin Mary. Emperor Justinian’s court historian, Procopius of Caesarea, provides a description of the construction process.

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