482: Birth of Flavius Petrus Sabbatius, later emperor Justinian I, at Tauresium in the Dardania region of Illyria (Illyricum).
493: Establishment of the Kingdom of Italy by the Ostrogoth Theodoric.
497: approximately: Birth of Theodora, later empress and wife (525) of Justinian I, in Constantinople or Paphlagonia.
519: Akakian schism. A temporary rift (484-519) between the churches of Constantinople and Rome, so named after the patriarch Akakios.
524-527:Erection of the church of S. Polyeuktos in Constantinople by Anicia Juliana, descendant of an aristocratic family.
526-547: Erection of the church of S. Vitale in Ravenna, in Northern Italy. In the mosaics in the apse, Justinian and Theodora are represented.
526: August 30rd: Death of the Ostrogoth king Theodoric the Great. He was buried in his stone mausoleum in Ravenna.
527: April 1st: Justinian I becomes co-emperor, after the decision of his uncle, emperor Justin I.
527: August 1st: Death of emperor Justin I. Justinian remains sole emperor and initiates a plan to reclaim the Western Roman state and so reinstate an ecumenical Christian empire.
527-536: Erection of the church of the Sts Sergios and Bakchos in Constantinople.
527-565: Procopios of Caesarea - an historian and officer of Justinian times- gives his major historican work, the "Wars", and the "Buildings".
527-528: Condemnation of the heresy of Monophysitism by Justinian.
529: Justinian promulgates the legal compilation "Codex Justinianus".
529: The emperor Justinian I closes the Schools of Athens.
532: "Eternal" peace with the Persians, signed by Justinian and Chosroes I.
532, January 13th: The Nika riot in Constantinople.
532-537: Hagia Sophia and St. Irene burns down during the Nika riot in Constantinople. Beginning of the reconstruction works. Consecration of Hagia Sophia on 537, December 21st. Justinian himself exclaimed in admiration: "Solomon, I've surpassed you".
533: November 21st: Justinian promulgates the legal compilations "Institutes" and "Novellae".
533: December 16th: Justinian promulgates the legal compilation "Digest". 533-534: The Byzantines recapture North Africa.
534: Moesia and Thrace destroyed by Slav raids.
535-555: Recapture of Italy and partial recapture of Spain by the Byzantine army.
536: The Franks occupy Provence; Persians plunder Antioch.
536-550: Erection of the church of Holy Apostles in Constantinople by empress Theodora, which became the cemetery for her and for many following emperors.
540: Chosroes I breaks the 532 peace treaty by invading Syria, Armenia, Iberia, and Lazika.
540: approximately: Erection of the Basilica B in Philippi, in Eastern Macedonia (near the modern city of Kabala).
541: Erection of the monastery of Saint Symeon Stylite in Telanissos, near Antioch.
547: Consecration of S. Vitale in Ravenna by the archbishop Maximian.
548 June 28th: Death of the empress Theodora in Constantinople, possibly from gangrene or cancer. She was buried in the church of Holy Apostles in Constantinople.
548-565: Justinian builts Saint Catherine's monastery on Mount Sinai, after his wife Theodora's death.
549: Decoration with mosaics of the church of S. Apollinare (in Classe) in Ravenna.
553: The Fifth Ecumenical Council in Constantinople, condemned monophysitism and tried to bring the faithful of the Eastern provinces closer to orthodoxy.
558: Bulgarians and Slavs move down to the end of the Trace peninsula (Callipolis).
560-570: Beginning of Slav raids into Byzantine territories.
564: Establishment of the Byzantine fortress at Qasr ibn Wardan, in the Syrian desert.
565: Bissigoth rule in Spain.
565 November 14th: Death of Justinian I. Justin II becomes emperor (November 15th). Beginning of the Byzantine-Persian wars.
565-751: The Longobards occupy part of Italy.
582: Beginning of raids from Avars and Slavs.