John the Cappadocian
John the Cappadocian () (fl. 530s, living 548) was a praetorian prefect of the East (532–541) in the Byzantine Empire under Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565). He was also a patrician and the consul ordinarius of 538. Biography Both John the Lydian and Zacharias Rhetor report that John was a native of Caesarea, Cappadocia. Procopius, John Malalas, the Chronicon Paschale, and Zacharias called him "John the Cappadocian" for disambiguation reasons, as the name John ("Ioannes" in Greek and "Johannes" in Latin) was widely used by his time. John the Lydian and John Malalas at times mention him only as "the Cappadocian". John occasionally styled himself as "Flavius Marianus Michaelius Gabrielius Archangelus Ioannes", although most of these names were probably just honorifics, as by that time most individuals were known by a single name. His family connections are obscure and only two relatives are known with certainty. Those are his only daughter Euphemia and a kinsman called Ioannes Maxilloplumacius. Rise to power His contemporary historians were biased against him, particularly Procopius and John the Lydian, and their accounts are often coloured by their prejudices. Procopius calls John poorly educated, though he grudgingly admits the Cappadocian's great natural abilities led to his rise to prominence. He first appears in the sources as a scriniarius (notary) in the service of an unidentified magister militum. His administrative ideas reportedly attracted the attention of Emperor Justinian, resulting in his promotion to positions with financial responsibilities. From there, he gained enough favour to become a vir illustris and eventually the acting Prefect. There is a theory that his close relationship with Emperor Justinian may date to Justinian's service as magister militum praesentalis in the 520s, prior to his elevation to the Byzantine throne. John was appointed to lead the first commission on Emperor Justinian's new legal code, the Corpus Juris Civilis, and became Justinian's chief legal advisor. He was also appointed praetorian prefect of the East, giving him the power to introduce new taxes on the population. The new taxes were very unpopular, and the mob involved in the Nika riots of 532 demanded that both John the Cappadocian and the quaestor sacri palatii Tribonian be dismissed. Emperor Justinian did so, until the riots had been suppressed, after which he reinstated John as prefect and Tribonian as quaestor. After the riots, which had been supported by upper-class Senators, John, who had the same lower-class background as Justinian, became even more important in political affairs. John influenced Emperor Justinian's military decisions, helping to draft the Perpetual Peace with Khosrow I (531–579) and convincing Justinian not to empty the treasury with a large expedition against the Vandal kingdom in North Africa. John worked with the Byzantine emperor to reduce the size of the bureaucracy, both in Constantinople and in the provinces, developing a rudimentary meritocracy. Zacharias reports that the Cappadocian was widely feared for his influence on Emperor Justinian and a tendency to bring accusations against many people. He was reportedly aided by several flatterers in his service.