Justinian commissions a uniform rewriting of Roman law, 529 CE, supervised by Tribonian 529–534 CE – and to be known through the ages as “the Justinian Code” Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of Civil Law).

The title Corpus Juris Civilis sounds magisterial, but unfortunately it incorporates, as well, severe restrictions and discriminations against the Jews (“Servitus Judaeorum”). Thus, about two hundred years after the Roman Empire began morphing to Christianity, anti–Judaism now gets enshrined into Roman law itself.

These now–codified [Church-inspired] Roman Empire discriminations, [“they (the Jews) shall enjoy no honors”]would severely impact Jews throughout Europe for many hundreds of years. Among other abominations, using Hebrew at all was forbidden and reciting the core–prayer the Shema (“Hear O, Israel, the Lord is our god, the Lord is One…”) was totally banned in particular. Among its more Machiavellian features: A Jew who converted to Christianity was entitled to inherit his or her father’s estate, to the exclusion of the still–Jewish siblings.

540 CE: JUSTINIAN’S PLAGUE

The Bubonic Plague rampages throughout Justinian’s empire and surrounding Europe. In many areas 50 percent of the population dies (estimates range up to 100 million dead). Jews were often blamed and harassed or killed as a consequence. This was a dire saga in Jewish history.

Justinian suppresses all non–Christians, including the Jews. The Jews of Borium (in Italy), who had politically challenged his military policies, are forcibly converted.