Justa (or Justasa and Justasus) was elected by

Samaritans Samaritans (; ; he, שומרונים, translit=Šōmrōnīm, lit=; ar, السامريون, translit=as-Sāmiriyyūn) are an ethnoreligious group who originate from the ancient Israelites. They are native to the Levant and adhere to Samari ...

as their king during the 484 AD Samaritan revolt. Following his ascent in Samaria, he moved on

Caesarea Caesarea () ( he, קֵיסָרְיָה, ), ''Keysariya'' or ''Qesarya'', often simplified to Keisarya, and Qaysaria, is an affluent town in north-central Israel, which inherits its name and much of its territory from the ancient city of Caesare ...

, where a noteworthy Samaritan community lived. There, many Christians were killed and the church of St. Procopius was destroyed. Justa celebrated the victory with games in the circus. According to

John Malalas John Malalas ( el, , ''Iōánnēs Malálas''; – 578) was a Byzantine chronicler from Antioch (now Antakya, Turkey). Life Malalas was of Syrian descent, and he was a native speaker of Syriac who learned how to write in Greek later in ...

, Asclepiades, the ''dux Palaestinae'' (commander of the province's

Limes Arabicus The ''Limes Arabicus'' was a desert frontier of the Roman Empire, running north from its start in the province of Arabia Petraea. It ran northeast from the Gulf of Aqaba for about at its greatest extent, reaching northern Syria and forming part ...

troops), whose units were reinforced by the Caesarea-based ''Arcadiani'' of ''lestodioktes'' (police chief) Rheges, defeated Justa, killed him and sent his head to the

Eastern Roman Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as l ...

Zeno Zeno ( grc, Ζήνων) may refer to: People * Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Philosophers * Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes * Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 BC), ...

References

Year of birth unknown 5th-century Byzantine people 5th-century monarchs in the Middle East 5th-century executions by the Byzantine Empire Ancient Samaritan people Byzantine rebels Executed Byzantine people People executed by decapitation {{Byzantine-bio-stub

See also

References