Justinian and Theodora: Rebuilding the Roman Empire, 527-565 | Calm Bedtime History

It is January 532, in the imperial box above the Hippodrome of Constantinople. Below you, thirty thousand spectators chant the name of their favourite chariot colour, green against blue, as the emperor Justinian watches with his empress. Theodora at his side was born to a bear-keeper and a dancer, raised among the factions whose cheers now shake the marble seats. Within days, these same voices will call for the emperor's head, and the city will burn.