Justinian III of Eroea

Justinian III
File:Official portrait of Emperor Justinian II.jpg
Emperor of Eroea
Reign	15 June 4102 – 27 October 4109
Coronation	3 December 4102
Predecessor	Justinian II
Successor	Amadeus II
Lord Primate of Yuntvar Lord Primate of Argnoria
Reign	15 June 4102 – 27 October 4109
Predecessor	Justinian II
Successor	Amadeus II
Born	Justinian Claudio Amadeus
Died	27 October 4109 (aged 69) Paltrey Estate, Argnoria, Eroea
Consort	Juliana
House	Meera
Father	Justinian II
Mother	Yvonne Yalan

Justinian III (Justinian Claudio Amadeus Meera; 2 February 4040 – 27 October 4109) was the Emperor of Eroea and Lord Primate of Yuntvar and Argnoria from 4102 until his death in 4109. He ascended to all three positions on the 15 June 4102, upon the death of his father, Justinian II. He is the third Monarch in the Justinian era, he is also considered to be the last Monarch in these era unless his son takes his father's name as his regnal name. Prior to the death of his father, he was known as Justinian Claudio.

Justinian Claudio was born on the 2 February 4040 in the Imperial Sanctum to Yvonne Yalan and Prince Justinian, later Empress consort Juliana and Emperor Justinian. He was born during the reign of his grandfather, Justinian I, the first Monarch of the Justinian era. His grandfather would go on to reign for another 22 years and thus, Justinian Claudio escaped much of the limelight that other Imperial Family members experienced, such as his father. He was well sheltered and often spent extended periods of time in The Westerlands with his mothers relatives. He was privately tutored from the age of 5 up to 12, before entering Westerdom Imperial Institute for Education. He stayed there for 6 years, before going on to study economics at the Eukatosia Colonial University - to date he is the only Eroean Monarch to be educated abroad. As his grandfather grew older, his ability to execute the office of Sovereign began to falter and thus on the 12 May 4061, his father was made High Steward of Eroea and thus the de facto head of state - this appointment propelled Justinian and his father to the forefront of Eroean politics.

With his father now the High Steward i.e. regent of the realm, it became increasingly difficult to execute the office of Lord Chamberlain. By convention, the position of Lord Chamberlain was held by the heir apparent of the realm, which Justinian Claudio was not. Regardless of this convention, Justinian Claudio was appointed to the position on the 3 June 4061. Justinian Claudio would lead the Imperial Council for nearly 2 years and this short period in politics would cultivate his particular disdain for such a lifestyle. He found the pressure, intimidation and morality of many members of Parliament a disgrace and he personally wanted nothing to do with it. During his time as Lord Chamberlain, the Imperial Council was largely neglected, with Norman Faër as Deputy Lord Chamberlain taking on much of the administrative responsibilities. The most notable piece of legislation drafted by the Imperial Council during Justinian Claudio's time as Lord Chamberlain was the Councillor Expenses and Subsidies Reform Act. This act analyzed the expenses of many councillors and made many changes to expenses allocations in an effort to reduce the bill for the Treasury. The act was stopped in the House of Councillors by the government of Augustus Wester, who felt it was an infringement of the sovereignty of Parliament. Such a comment drew great criticism from Justinian Claudio and his father and the High Steward overrode the Lord Councillor and passed the act into law on the 21 October 4062.

Justinian I passed away on the 11 March 4063 and his son, Justinian, ascended to the throne as Justinian II of Eroea. Justinian Claudio, upon hearing the news, immediately tendered his resignation as Lord Chamberlain. This defying of constitutional convention led to uproar among political circles. Justinian Claudio was asked to resume the position but was refused, instead, Norman Faër took the position as Lord Chamberlain. Justinian Claudio lived a secluded lifestyle after this, he did attend a number of private social events but rarely made appearances in public. Sometime during 4065, he met his future wife, Juliana Wester. They met at a social gathering in Westerdom and struck up a relationship. In 4069, it was announced that the two were dating after a long period of media speculation; in May 4073, the two released a formal announcement that the two were to wed on the 23 April 4073. They had their first son, Amadeus, in 4075. This was followed by Edward in 4079 and Avrina in 4080. Justinian would spend much of his time up until 4085 focused on his family in Paltrey Estate, which was purchased by Justinian Claudio in 4080. After 4085, Justinian Claudio became good friends with Arthur Hermang and served in his Cabinet as High Commissioner for the Treasury from 4085 until 4102. Upon resignation of Arthur Hermang, Justinian Claudio was not appointed to his successor's ministry, Joseph Xao; this was largely due to Justinian II coming down ill and doctors predicted the demise of the Crown was imminent. It proved these predictions were true and Justinian II passed away on the 15 June 4102, with his son Justinian Claudio being proclaimed Justinian III on the same day. The death of Justinian II came as a shock as only days prior he had attended to business of appointing Joseph Xao as Lord Councillor.

Justinian would go on to reign for 7 years from 4102 to 4109. His short reign was largely unimpressive, largely due to Justinian's rather ceremonial stance on the Monarchy. He did not believe it was his obligation to interfere in the nations affairs and instead preferred to attend social events, promotional gatherings for various charitable organizations and to act as the unifying embodiment of the empire. His reign was dominated by the premiership of Joseph Xao and for a portion of James Vice's time as Lord Councillor. Justinian is remembered fondly for his protection of the democratic institutions of the House of Councillors during the 4109 government suspension and for his charitable donations both during his time as Monarch and Crown Prince. His death on the 27 October 4109 came as a shock to many, but his doctors disclosed privately to his family that his over consumption of alcohol and visceral foods were causing serious harm to his health. His state funeral was held on the 9 November 4109 and was attended by 25,000 people and watched by approximately 4.3 billion people across Ut'un.