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The Nika riots (Greek: Στάσις τοῦ Νίκα, romanized: Stásis toû Níka), Nika revolt or Nika sedition took place against Byzantine emperor Justinian I in Constantinople over the course of a week in 532 AD.

They are often regarded as the most violent riots in the city's history, with nearly half of Constantinople being burned or destroyed and tens of thousands of people killed.

The Roman Empire had well-developed associations known as demes, which supported the different factions (or teams) to which competitors in certain sporting events belonged, especially in chariot racing. The factions were the Blues (Veneti), the Greens (Prasini), the Reds (Russati), and the Whites (Albati), although by the 6th century the only teams with any influence were the Blues and the Greens. 527–565) originally supported the Blues, although his support for the faction abated during the early years of his reign, taking a more neutral stance as he looked to limit the power of the factions. It may be no coincidence that when the emperor treated the factions more equally, they became more inclined to unite; indeed, Justinian's previous ardent support of the Blues made him seem biased and contributed to his waning control of the capital leading up to 532. When Justinian ignored their pleas, both factions united under the phrase "Nika" or "victory" and took to rioting (see Riots for more detail).

However, prior to the Nika riots of January 532, the pace of legal reforms had significantly slowed. Their almost unrestrained force, combined with any resentment they held against the Emperor, is believed to have led to the Nika riots of 532 AD.

The timeline provided for these riots is not exact, and it is derived from different sources, including one by John Malalas, and one by Procopius. Initially, the riots were unlikely to have had the end goal of deposing Justinian, with the early days of the riots being a more extreme show of typical factional vandalism and hooliganism that was exacerbated by the emotional response to the escaped Blue and Green criminals, with the aim to have the arrested rioters released. However, in the case of the Nika riots, the populace was not mollified by Justinian's hollow promises of change and were likely fueled by opportunistic senatorial intervention to shift focus to Justinian's deposition. It is believed that on January 14, the second day of the riots, Justinian, rather than negotiating political concessions, offered to host more races and games in an attempt to appease the rioters. Then, the troops led by Belisarius, Mundus, and Constantiolus stormed into the Hippodrome, with Belisarius capturing Hypatius and Pompeius while Mundus killed any remaining people indiscriminately, whether they were Blues or Greens.

However, the crushing of the Nika riots did not end the factions' violence.

It is the view of Mischa Meier that Justinian might have intentionally provoked the riots so that his political rivals within the senate, like Hypatius might reveal themselves to him. Evans posit the view that the riots had no single cause, and that factors such as Justinian's reforms, senatorial discontentment and the aggrievement of the Blues and Greens all contributed to the outbreak of the riots. Peter Sarris also offers the view that Justinian's shifting attitude towards the factions had ignited the riot, but the Constantinoplitan political class had exploited and exacerbated the riots as well. Koehn also re-examines the sequence of events and argues that Justinian may indeed have temporarily withdrawn from the palace during the height of the riots, interpreting this as evidence of the emperor’s limited control rather than deliberate strategy. Procopius provides an insider perspective from the palace while Malalas recounts the Nika riots as an outsider of the events in the city.

Procopius, "Justinian Suppresses the Nika Revolt, 532", from the Internet Medieval Sourcebook.

Quick Facts

• They are often regarded as the most violent riots in the city's history, with nearly half of Constantinople being burned or destroyed and tens of thousands of people killed.
• Their almost unrestrained force, combined with any resentment they held against the Emperor, is believed to have led to the Nika riots of 532 AD.
• However, the crushing of the Nika riots did not end the factions' violence.
• Evans posit the view that the riots had no single cause, and that factors such as Justinian's reforms, senatorial discontentment and the aggrievement of the Blues and Greens all contributed to the outbreak of the riots.
• However, prior to the Nika riots of January 532, the pace of legal reforms had significantly slowed.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Nika riots". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.