What is the significance of Justinian's Code in the Byzantine Empire?

• A. It established Christian unity across the empire.
• B. Systematized Roman law; preserved legal principles; influenced later civil law traditions in Europe.
• C. It created a new capital city for the empire.
• D. It reduced the size of the Byzantine Empire significantly.

Answer: (B)

Codifying and preserving law is the main idea tested. Justinian’s Code, part of the larger Corpus Juris Civilis, organized centuries of Roman legal material into a coherent, accessible system—the Codex, the Digest, the Institutes, and the Novellae. This unified legal framework helped standardize judicial decisions across the Byzantine Empire and reinforced imperial authority. Its lasting impact is that Roman legal principles were preserved and translated into a form that medieval and early modern Europe used to build civil-law traditions in many countries. The Code did not create Christian unity, establish a new capital city, or shrink the empire, so those outcomes aren’t what’s highlighted by its significance.