Justin II

Justin II (c. 520–578), nephew of Justinian I and husband of Sophia, was curopalates at his uncle's court. He succeeded the childless Justinian in 565, inheriting an overextended empire. He ended subsidies to the Avars and Persians: in 568 the Lombards invaded Italy and overran the Po valley, and in 572 his refusal of tribute to Khosrow I reopened war with Persia; the fall of Dara in 573 drove him mad.

In 574 he adopted Tiberius and named him Caesar, after which Tiberius ruled with Empress Sophia. In 578, in a lucid moment, Justin crowned Tiberius co-emperor and died.