Justin II (Latin: Iustinus; Ancient Greek: Ἰουστῖνος, romanized: Ioustînos; died 4 October 578) was Eastern Roman emperor from 565 until 578. He was the nephew of Justinian I and the husband of Sophia, the niece of Justinian's wife Theodora.
Justin II inherited a greatly enlarged but overextended empire, with far fewer resources at his disposal compared to Justinian I. He ended the payment of tributes and adopted a hardline stance against the empire's neighbours, which resulted in both the rekindling of war with the Sassanid Empire in 572, and the initiation of the Byzantine-Lombard wars in 568, which by its end in 750 cost the Romans much of their territory in Italy.[2] His war against the Persians was generally unsuccessful, and his later reign was marked by severe mental illness.