As a young man rising through his uncle’s palace service, Justinian had been a prominent supporter of the Blues. But by the time he was crowned emperor, he was trying to shift his position, treating all the factions with disdain.22 Both approaches were problematic: emperors who overindulged one faction fueled ill feeling between the rival groups, but those who withheld their support entirely often pushed the factions into one another’s arms. This was what Justinian achieved in the winter of a.d. 531/32. It nearly cost him his throne.
