Justin II in the context of "Caesaropapism"

Tiberius II Constantine (Latin: Tiberius Cōnstantīnus; Ancient Greek: Τιβέριος Κωνσταντῖνος, romanized: Tibérios Kōnstantĩnos; died 14 August 582) was Eastern Roman emperor from 574 to 582. Tiberius rose to power in 574 when Justin II, during an abatement in a period of severe mental illness, proclaimed him caesar and adopted him as his own son. In 578, the dying Justin II gave him the title of augustus, thus making Tiberius co-emperor alongside him. Tiberius became sole ruler less than two weeks later, assuming the regnal name of "Constantine" under which he reigned until his death.

Aelia Sophia (Greek: Σοφία) (c. 530 – c./aft. 601) was Byzantine empress as the wife of Emperor Justin II. Sophia participated in the governance of the empire; she took an interest in the financial and foreign policies, and served as regent alongside Tiberius II during Justin's incapacity from 573 until 578.

Maestà [maeˈsta], the Italian word for 'majesty', designates a classification of images of the enthroned Madonna with the child Jesus, the designation generally implying accompaniment by angels, saints, or both. The Maestà is an extension of the "Seat of Wisdom" theme of the seated "Mary Theotokos", "Mary Mother of God", which is a counterpart to the earlier icon of Christ in Majesty, the enthroned Christ that is familiar in Byzantine mosaics. Maria Regina is an art historians' synonym for the iconic image of Mary enthroned, with or without the Child.

In the West, the image seems to have developed from Byzantine precedents such as the coin of Constantine's Empress Fausta, crowned and with their sons on her lap and from literary examples, such as Flavius Cresconius Corippus's celebration of Justin II's coronation in 565. Paintings depicting the Maestà came into the mainstream artistic repertory, especially in Rome, in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, with an increased emphasis on the veneration of Mary. The Maestà was often executed in fresco technique directly on plastered walls or as paintings on gessoed wooden altar panels.

The Cross of Justin II (also known as Crux Vaticana, Latin for "Vatican Cross") is a processional cross dating from the sixth century that is kept in the Treasury in St. Peter's Basilica, in Vatican City. It is also one of the oldest surviving claimed reliquaries of the True Cross, if not the oldest. It is a crux gemmata or jewelled cross, silver-gilt and adorned with jewels in gold settings, given to the people of Rome by the Emperor of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, Justin II, who reigned from 565 to 578 in Constantinople, and his wife, the Empress Sophia.

The cross bears a Latin inscription reading: ligno quo Christus humanum subdidit hostem dat Romae Iustinus opem et socia decorem which is commonly mistranslated as "For the wood [of the cross] with which human Christ was overcome by the enemy, Justin [and his consort?] give Rome this wealth and decoration" A more accurate reading is: "With the wood with which Christ conquered man's enemy, Justin gives his help to Rome and his wife offers the ornamentation." To mark the end of restoration and conservation work on the cross, it was placed on display in the main Basilica of Saint Peter's from November 2009 to April 12, 2010.