Justinian I ascended to the imperial throne in Constantinople during 527. He arranged for a new collection of imperial constitutions known as the Codex Justinianus six months after his accession.
The Corpus Juris Civilis comprised four distinct parts: the Codex, the Digest, the Institutes, and the Novellae. The first edition of the Code was completed by the 7th of April 529, while the Digest commission finished its work within three years by 533.
Numerous provisions secured Christianity as the state religion of the empire uniting church and state. Anyone not connected to the Christian church ceased to be considered a citizen under these laws.
Constantine Harmenopoulos created a short version called Hexabiblos in six books during 1345. He was a judge from Thessaloniki who simplified the massive Basilika for practical application.
A complete sixth-century copy known as Littera Florentina survived in Amalfi before moving to Pisa around 1070. Pepo taught Justinian's text at Bologna followed by Irnerius who developed a new teaching technique involving glosses.
Fred H. Blume used superior editions for translations of Code and Novels. A new English translation based on Blume's work published October 2016 by Cambridge University Press.