title: Roberto Baggio

text: Baggio was initially a regular squad member under Dino Zoff, appearing as a substitute in two UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying matches, and in a 2–0 win against Wales in 1998, setting up a goal for Vieri; and in a 1–1 draw against Belarus in 1999. Baggio made a starting appearance in a 0–0 friendly draw against Norway in 1999, creating several chances, helping to set-up a goal which was ruled offside, and hitting the post from a free-kick. However, he was later dropped from the squad after Inter's poor 1998–99 season, and he was not called up for UEFA Euro 2000 due to his limited playing time during the 1999–2000 season, and accusations made against his fitness. Zoff centred his squad around younger offensive players, such as Francesco Totti, Alessandro Del Piero, Stefano Fiore, Marco Delvecchio, Filippo Inzaghi and Vincenzo Montella. Baggio was voted Italy's "Player of the Century" in 2000.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: Baggio was controversially excluded from Italy's 2002 World Cup squad by coach Giovanni Trapattoni, who believed him to not have fully recovered from the serious injury he had sustained during the season. Although he was initially keen to include Baggio in the final 23-man list, he ultimately excluded him from the squad; Baggio had made a direct appeal to him prior to the tournament by writing him a letter. Fans and pundits criticised the omission, as Italy were eliminated by co-hosts South Korea in the round of 16.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: Many fans hoped to see him play for Italy at Euro 2004, or with the 2004 Olympic squad that eventually managed a bronze medal, but this was not to be the case. However, he was given an international send-off by Trapattoni at age 37 in a friendly match against Spain on 28 April 2004, in which he wore the number 10 shirt for the final time, as well as the captain's armband for part of the match. Although Baggio entertained the crowd with his creativity and skill, he was unable to score, despite winning a free-kick from which Vieri's equalising goal arose. The match finished 1–1 and Baggio was given a standing ovation after being substituted off for Fabrizio Miccoli. This was Baggio's 56th and final match for Italy, and it was the first time an Italian footballer's career had been celebrated this way since Silvio Piola retired.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: Baggio is the only Italian player ever to score in three World Cups with nine career World Cup goals, putting him equal with Christian Vieri and Paolo Rossi as Italy's top World Cup goalscorers. Despite his performances for Italy in the 1990, 1994, and 1998 World Cups, he never played for Italy in the UEFA European Championships, and is currently the Italian player with the most caps without playing in a European Championship.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: Described as a "fantasista", "trequartista", "mezzapunta", or "rifinitore" throughout his career in the Italian media, due to his role on the pitch and creative playing style, Baggio was a world class playmaker with an eye for goal, who was renowned for his elegance, grace, fluidity, vision, creativity, ability to read the game, crossing accuracy, and passing ability, which made him an excellent assist provider; however, he usually played as a second striker throughout his career, as he was known for scoring goals as well as creating them. This led Michel Platini to describe him as a "9 and a half", namely a player whose role lay half-way between that of a forward and a midfielder, as he was not a true number 9 (the shirt number usually associated with a striker), due to his creative ability, but he scored more than a number 10 (the shirt number commonly associated with an advanced playmaker), a description which often saw him identified with the role of an inside forward. He also stated that Baggio's playing style coincided with the re-emergence of the attacking midfielder in Italy during the early 2000s; indeed, he served as an inspiration to many future players.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: Baggio was a tactically versatile player, with a good understanding of the game, and was comfortable attacking on either flank or through the centre of the pitch; this allowed him to operate anywhere along the front-line. His preferred position was in a free playmaking role behind the forwards, as a creative attacking midfielder, although he was rarely deployed in this position throughout his career due to the prevalence of the 4–4–2 formation, in which he usually functioned either as a main striker, or more frequently in a supporting role as a deep-lying forward. It was only in later years that he was able to play in this free role more frequently. He was also occasionally deployed out of position as a left winger in an attacking trident, as a wide midfielder, or even in central midfield as a "mezzala" or deep-lying playmaker on rarer instances. During the lead-up to the 1994 World Cup, he was also initially employed by Italy's manager Arrigo Sacchi as a centre-forward, in a role known in Italian football jargon as "centravanti di manovra" (which literally translates to "manoeuvring centre-forward"), which was a precursor to the modern false-nine role; in this position, Baggio was expected to link-up with other players and create chances for them, in addition to creating space with his movement by dropping deep into midfield, and allowing the team's wingers to cut inside and make attacking runs into the centre.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: A prolific goalscorer, Baggio was an accurate finisher from both inside and outside the area, and was known for his accurate bending shots and composure in front of goal, rather than his power. Due to his excellent technique, he was a precise volleyer, and he had a penchant for scoring from chip shots. Moreover, he was also a set piece specialist, who was highly regarded for his ball delivery from dead-ball situations, as well as his precision from direct free-kicks and his ability to curl the ball, which earned him a reputation as one of the best free kick takers of his generation. His free-kick technique influenced several other players who came to be renowned for their prowess from dead-ball situations, such as Alessandro Del Piero and Andrea Pirlo. During his time with Juventus, his free kick technique was described as a cross between that of Maradona's, Zico's, and Platini's, as at the time, his ball-striking technique was thought to resemble Platini's, although, like Zico and Maradona, he preferred to take free kicks from close range, usually from a distance of around 20 to 16 metres from the goal, or even just outside the area, and to have the ball touched by a teammate first before striking it. Despite his decisive miss in the 1994 World Cup final shootout, Baggio was also a penalty kick specialist.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: Although naturally right-footed, Baggio was comfortable using either foot, and often began dribbling with his left foot. Not particularly imposing physically, or in the air, due to his diminutive stature and slender physique, he was known however for his pace and acceleration over short distances, which, along with his movement, positioning, anticipation, technical ability, quick feet, low centre of gravity, and resulting agility, allowed him to lose his markers when making offensive runs into the area, both on and off the ball. Regarded as one of the greatest dribblers ever, and as one of the most technically accomplished players of all-time, Baggio possessed an excellent first touch, and was renowned for his skilful dribbling, ball control and balance, as well as his spatial awareness, speed of thought and execution, reactions, close control at speed, and ability to beat opponents with flair, tricks, body feints, or sudden changes of pace or direction, both in one-on-one situations, or during individual dribbling runs. Zico once described Baggio as "technically flawless," while in 2004, Sacchi stated: "Baggio is creativity, flair, unpredictability, intuition, harmony." In 2016, Rob Smyth of "The Guardian" praised Baggio for his "instinctive intelligence," when commenting on his playing style, also describing him as a "conductor" on the pitch "who knew when and how to change the tempo of an attack."


title: Roberto Baggio

text: Considered by pundits to be a highly promising prospect in his youth, Baggio later established himself as one of the best players of his generation, and as one of Italy's greatest players ever; Baggio is regarded by many in the sport, including his former Milan manager Fabio Capello, as the best Italian footballer of all-time, and by many in the sport, as one of the greatest players in the history of the game. Italian journalist Gianni Brera, who had observed both Giuseppe Meazza and Gianni Rivera, stated that Baggio was the best Italian player he had ever seen. During his time at Juventus, the club's former chairman, Gianni Agnelli, referred to Baggio as an "artist", comparing his elegance to the painter "Raffaello", while he described the emerging talent Alessandro Del Piero as "Pinturicchio". In a 2011 interview with "La Gazzetta dello Sport", Del Piero stated that Baggio, along with Zinedine Zidane, was the best player with whom he had ever played, a view shared by Baggio's fellow former Juventus teammate Angelo Peruzzi and his former Brescia teammate Pep Guardiola in 2010, as well as his former Inter teammate Javier Zanetti in 2020, while Matthew Le Tissier named Baggio as his best ever opponent in 2012. In 2017, Baggio's former teammate Ravanelli instead labelled Baggio as the greatest player of all time. In 1993, Giampiero Boniperti stated that he believed that Baggio was "already one of the greatest number tens ever." In 2018, Cathal Kelly of "The Globe and Mail" described Baggio playing in the 1994 World Cup as "the best player in the world" at the time, while "The Guardian" described him as "[t]he definitive player of the decade", also adding that "the 1990s belonged to Il Divin Codino", and labelled him as "probably the finest player in the world between 1992 and 1995." In 2015, Les Carpenter of "The Guardian" described Baggio as "perhaps the greatest player of his time," while his colleague Emmet Gates dubbed him "the best player of his generation." In 2010, Marco Gori of "TuttoMercatoWeb" labelled Baggio as "one of the best footballers in history." Throughout his career, pundit Gianni Brera compared his playing style to that of Italian former footballer Giuseppe Meazza, while manager Trapattoni instead compared Baggio's technical characteristics to other former number 10s such as Zico, Platini, and Juan Alberto Schiaffino.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: In 2017, Baggio received praise from numerous sporting figures and pundits ahead of his 50th birthday, with Stefano Edel of "La Gazzetta di Mantova" describing Baggio as "the Italian Maradona", and echoing Sacchi's words prior to the 1994 World Cup, when he compared Baggio's importance to Italy with that of Maradona to Argentina. Zico described him as "one of the best players in the history of Italian football", while Tommaso Pellizzari of "Il Corriere della Sera" called him "the greatest pure talent of Italian football." James McHie of "Calciomercato.com" instead named him as Italy's greatest player, calling him "the greatest player [...] to pull on the Azzurri shirt", a view shared by Stefano Discreti of "Mediaset", who called Baggio "the best Italian footballer of all time" in 2019. Also in 2017, Giuseppe Bergomi described Baggio as "extraordinary" and as a "pure talent", who was "devastating when he played because he was capable of deciding games on his own." In 2004, Gianni Rivera described him as "one of the greatest Italian footballers ever." In 2019, Marco Gentile of "Il Giornale" described Baggio as "one of the best Italian [...] players in the history of football", and also as "one of the best players in the history of world football." In 2020, Luca Stamerra of "Eurosport" described him as one of the "best number 10s in the history of this sport." In 2019, his former Italy manager Dino Zoff listed Baggio as one of the best players he ever coached, while his former Fiorentina manager Sven-Göran Eriksson named him as the most talented player he had ever coached alongside Wayne Rooney in 2021, commenting: "He had everything: incredible technique, vision, pace." In 2019, author Paolo Condò ranked Baggio among the greatest players of all time, a view shared by Emmanuel Amunike in 2020 as well as Roberto Mancini and John Keilman of the "Chicago Tribune", who both described Baggio as one of the "all-time greats" in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Former RAI commentator Bruno Pizzul, who served as a pundit for the Italy national team's World Cup matches between 1986 and 2002, named Baggio as his favourite player, and as one of the best footballers he ever saw, among both Italian and non-Italian players. In 2020, Matteo Marani of "La Stampa" dubbed Baggio as "one of the purest expressions of talent that world football has produced", also adding "Roberto was the game of football in its pureness. The beauty of one of his technical gestures, the polished movements, the speed of thought. Throughout his career he painted football, filling the eyes of those who were passionate about this sport and not only of the fans of the clubs whose shirts he wore. Vicenza, Fiorentina, Juventus, Milan, Bologna, Inter, Brescia and the Italian national team enjoyed his talent, his strength and his goals. Roberto Baggio is undoubtedly one of the names that made football great."


title: Roberto Baggio

text: Known for his dislike of the defensive, physical and tactical nature of Italian football in the 1990s, Baggio drew criticism from certain pundits and some of his managers for his limited defensive work-rate when possession was lost, as well as the fact that the athletic part of his game was not his main focus during training sessions in his youth, while in his later career, his physical ailments often forced him to train independently with a personal fitness coach and physiotherapist, rather than with his team; as such, Baggio's Milan manager Capello believed that he was not capable of playing for 90 minutes, due to the precarious physical condition of his knees. Luigi Simoni, one of his Inter managers, lauded Baggio for his work-rate in training, stating in 2009 that he would do up to six or seven hours of gym work a day under his tenure, a view which was also shared by Baggio's former Bologna teammate Daniele Carnasciali in 2013. Carlo Mazzone and Gianni De Biasi, his managers at Brescia, as well as his former teammates Luca Toni and Emanuele Filippini, also praised Baggio for his discipline, professionalism, and dedication in training during his time with the club, with De Biasi calling him "an example." Known to be an introvert in the media, due to his quiet private life and reluctance to give interviews, some in the sport, including Gianni Rivera, argued that Baggio lacked leadership qualities on the pitch, despite having served as captain for both Juventus and Brescia. His personality is thought to have limited him from being more successful, in particular with larger clubs, with some pundits instead arguing that he excelled more with smaller teams; others instead believed that he had a difficult character due to his disagreements with several of his managers throughout his career, although he was generally regarded as a "correct" and co-operative player by officials, and as a classy and well-behaved footballer in the media. Mazzone also said of him: "Baggio was one of the greatest Italian football players of all time. But I can tell you this, he was an even greater man. He was quiet, polite, respectful, humble. He never let his great talent weigh on anyone else. He was a friend who helped me win games on a Sunday." In 1995, Fabio Capello described Baggio as a player who was "decisive." His former teammate Andrea Pirlo instead commented that "[Baggio] was a silent leader, and above all, he was a leader on the pitch. When he played for the team, he made you win the games", also later describing him as a player who "carried his teammates."


title: Roberto Baggio

text: Despite his talent, success, popularity with the fans, and reputation as one of the greatest players of all time, critical reception of Baggio was occasionally divided throughout his career; this was in part due to his recurring injury struggles, as well as the fact that tactically certain managers struggled to find a suitable playing position for him. His role as a playmaker between the midfield and forward lines, as well as his skilful and creative playing style, were often regarded as being obsolete in modern football, in which managers often favoured the use of the 4–4–2 formation and a more athletic approach to the game; moreover, while Baggio was not an outright forward, he was also thought to lack the stamina to play in midfield, which made him less suited to this particular system, and occasionally led him to be excluded by his managers, although he was ultimately able to adapt to playing as a forward effectively. Baggio's unique playing position, style, and approach to the game, combined with his talent, limited work-rate, and injury struggles, led him to have both many admirers and several detractors. Maradona once described Baggio as "a genius" but also as "a great player who was never able to fulfil his entire potential", something with which Michel Platini concurred, while Pelé instead called him a "legend." A 1994 article on Baggio by "The Independent" stated: "Among professionals, [Baggio] is regarded as the best", quoting Ryan Giggs, who said: "You look to Roberto Baggio, and you realise what a good player looks like." However, the newspaper also went on to say that "Baggio's is a brittle influence. There are no half measures in his play. He is either brilliant, or he disappears, looking confused and unhappy. Since Juventus's whole pattern of play depends on him, his disappearances can be tricky. The press has interpreted his inconsistency as a lack of commitment."


title: Roberto Baggio

text: In 2015, "The Daily Telegraph" accused him of going "missing in big games." In 2020, Daniel Story of "Planet Football" stated he believed that Baggio was one of the most underrated players of the past 30 years. In 2016, Luke Chandley of "The Huffington Post" described Baggio as "Italian football's great oxymoron", noting: "For all the skill he possessed going forward, he was the opposite of the reputation given to Italian football spanning across his whole career. Italian football was defensive know-how and structured play." His former manager Arrigo Sacchi believed that Baggio was often misused by his coaches, and that he would have been an even greater player had he been born abroad, a view which was also held by journalist Mattia Losi, who felt that Baggio would have been more appreciated had he been born in Brazil or Argentina, rather than in a country with a football legacy like Italy's, which often failed to recognise young local talent, and Emmet Gates, who said in 2013 that "Baggio unfortunately was born in the wrong country, or rather, he was born in Italy at the wrong time." Regarding this contrast and Baggio's overall career, Tim Collings of "The Guardian" described him as "Italy's greatest player of fantasia" in 2004 but also wrote: "Baggio's record, as a player for club and country, fails to match his reputation. He is less known for his acts of great success than for his injuries, his misfortunes and his courage; he is an artist in sport whose work is appreciated but no longer used in modern currency. Baggio's career is filled by cameos of sublime skill, particular games when his imagination and ability enabled his team to transcend all normal expectations. Yet the lasting memory will be of his missed penalty in the shootout at the end of the 1994 World Cup final in Pasadena."


title: Roberto Baggio

text: In 2017, Antonio Martelli of "La Presse" described Baggio as "one of the greatest Italian players of all time maybe the best of the last thirty years", and as "an "authentic champion who could have been even greater without a series of extremely severe knee injuries that undermined his career since its dawning", a view shared by Raffaele Di Fusco, who said "who knows what he could have become without all of those injuries", and also Renzo Ulivieri, who stated that "if he had had fewer injuries, he would have won more." In 2018, Greg Murray of "Football Italia" described Baggio as "one of the greatest football players of all time" but also lamented that "we never saw him at full fitness and are fortunate we got to enjoy him at all." He summarised Baggio's career with the following: "It is perhaps one of football’s great injustices that Il Divin Codino is best known globally for his penalty miss in the Final of the 1994 World Cup against Brazil. For fans of Serie A, Baggio is recognised as the best of his generation, despite a career that was blighted by injury and clashes with his Coaches." He also added: "Retiring in 2004, it has been suggested that Baggio was a victim of the era in which he lived. As player with transcendent creativity, but physically fragile, he struggled to fit into his Coaches’ plans during a time when tactics and hard work were everything. Had he been born in the current era, where players are far more protected, he would perhaps have achieved even more. It's heart-breaking to think what we missed out on, but we’re also grateful to have experienced the Divine Ponytail at all."


title: Roberto Baggio

text: Baggio's career was affected by many serious injuries, which led to a gradual loss of speed and mobility as his career progressed, as well as increasing weight-gain in the final years of his career, which eventually forced him to undergo a training regime in order to build muscle mass in his legs and prolong his career during his time at Brescia; his continual physical struggles ultimately led him to retire in 2004, which he later described as a "liberation." Since suffering his first series of career-threatening injuries with Vicenza and Fiorentina in 1985 and 1986, respectively, he was prone to persistent knee problems in particular, which often limited his playing time; injuries led certain pundits, such as Benedetto Ferrara of "La Repubblica" in 2010, to label Baggio as a "superfine talent" but who was also "inconsistent." In 1995, Maurizio Crosetti, Ferrara's colleague, had previously described Baggio as "fragile." Regarding the injuries that threatened his career as a youngster, and which haggled him until he retired, Baggio wrote in his 2001 autobiography that "all of my professional career, I played it with a leg and a half. Thousands of hours of work to keep alive a leg which, if it were up to her, would diminish each day. I played it without being fully all right, ever, because if I were to play matches only when I felt one-hundred percent I would play three matches a year." Despite the numerous physical impairments he faced throughout his career, Baggio also stood out for his longevity, and was able to maintain a consistently high level of performance even in the final years of his career with Brescia into his late 30s. In 2004, Sacchi praised Baggio for his strength of character, which he believed even surpassed his talent, as it allowed him to overcome his injuries and physical struggles, and ultimately "win [his] personal battles against bad luck." In 2017, Capello noted that Baggio had the extraordinary willpower to carry on playing despite his physical struggles. Baggio attributes his inner strength to Buddhism.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: Widely considered to be one of the greatest footballers of all-time, Baggio came fourth in the 1999 FIFA Player of the Century internet poll, and was ranked 16th in "World Soccer's" list of the 100 greatest footballers of the 20th century, the highest ranked Italian player; in IFFHS's election for the best player of the 20th century in the same year, he was elected the ninth-best Italian player and the 53rd-best European player of the Century. He was voted Italy's player of the century in 2000. In 2002, Baggio was elected to the FIFA World Cup Dream Team, and in 2003, he was the inaugural winner of the Golden Foot award, awarded for ability and personality. In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players, and was voted 24th in the online UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll, celebrating the best European footballers of the past 50 years. In 2010, Baggio was named one of the 50 greatest Juventus legends. In 2011, he was the first footballer to be inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame. In a 2014 FIFA poll, Baggio was voted the ninth-greatest number 10 of all-time, and later that year he was ranked 24th in "The Guardian"'s list of the 100 greatest World Cup players of all-time, ahead of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: In 2015, journalists of "La Gazzetta dello Sport" elected the greatest Italian player of all time, with Baggio finishing in second place behind only Gianni Rivera; in a fan poll that was subsequently organised by the newspaper, Baggio was instead voted as the greatest Italian footballer of all time, while Majid Mohamed of "UEFA" ranked him as the twentieth-best player ever not to have won the UEFA Champions League. That same year, "The Daily Telegraph" also included Baggio at number 12 in their list of "The top 20 overrated football players of all time." "FourFourTwo" placed Baggio at number 52 in their 2017 list of the "100 Greatest Footballers Ever" and also named Baggio in 2019 as the sixth best player never to win the UEFA Champions League. In July 2019, the same magazine ranked Baggio at number ten in their list of the "101 greatest football players of the last 25 years." In 2020, Jack Gallagher of 90min.com placed Baggio at number nine in his list of "The 50 Greatest Footballers of All Time", while Sky Sports ranked him as the fifth-best player ever never to have won the Champions League or European Cup.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: Baggio played in 16 World Cup matches for Italy; the Republic of Ireland is the only nation against which he played more than once. He is the joint-highest Italian goalscorer of all-time in the World Cup, with nine goals, alongside Paolo Rossi and Christian Vieri. Baggio is the only Italian to have scored in three World Cups (two goals in 1990, five in 1994 and two in 1998). Three of his World Cup goals were scored in the group stage and six were scored during knockout matches. Baggio is the joint fourth-highest scorer for Italy with 27 goals in 56 appearances, with a 0.48 goal per match average. With Baggio, Italy was always eliminated from the World Cup in penalty shootouts: in 1990, in the semi-finals against Argentina; in 1994, in the final against Brazil; and in 1998, in the quarter-finals against France.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: Despite his decisive penalty miss in the 1994 World Cup final shoot-out, Baggio is statistically one of the greatest penalty kick specialists in Italian football history, as he scored 85% of his career penalties with only 19 misses, scoring 108 out of 127 penalties in official matches, the most in Italian football history. Baggio scored 10 with Vicenza, 25 with Fiorentina, 38 with Juventus, 5 with Milan, 11 with Bologna, 1 with Inter Milan, 11 with Brescia and 7 with Italy (from 7 attempts, the most goals scored from the spot by a member of the national team). 68 of his penalties were scored in Serie A, from 83 attempts, with an 82% conversion rate, one of the best records in Serie A history. In Serie A, Baggio scored 17 penalties for Fiorentina (from 19 attempts), 25 for Juventus (from 28 attempts), 3 for Milan (from 5 attempts), 11 for Bologna (from 11 attempts), 1 for Inter Milan (from 2 attempts), and 11 for Brescia (from 18 attempts). Baggio has scored penalties for six different Serie A clubs. Four of his fifteen misses in Serie A were then scored on rebounds. Behind Totti, Baggio has scored the most penalties in Serie A history. Of his other penalties, 8 were scored in Serie C (from 8 attempts), 8 in European competitions (from 9 attempts), and 17 in the Coppa Italia (from 20 attempts). In shoot-outs, Baggio converted three of four career penalties: one in the UEFA Cup with Fiorentina, and the other two with Italy at the World Cup; in World Cup shootouts, Baggio scored twice (1990 and 1998), with his only miss in 1994.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: Although he never won the Serie A top goalscorer title, Baggio is currently the seventh all-time highest scorer in Serie A, with 205 goals in 452 appearances. Of these goals, 96 were decisive (either equalisers or match winners). Alongside Totti, Baggio has also scored the fourth-highest number of free-kicks in Serie A with 21 goals; ahead of him are only Alessando Del Piero, Andrea Pirlo, and Siniša Mihajlović. Of his open play goals in Serie A, 84 were with his right foot, 26 with his left, and 6 were headers. He also assisted 123 goals in Serie A. He is the fourth-highest scoring Italian in all competitions, behind Del Piero, Giueseppe Meazza and Silvio Piola, with 318 professional career goals in 699 appearances. Alongside Totti and Alberto Gilardino, he has scored against the most different clubs (38) in Serie A. With eight hat-tricks in Serie A, he has also scored the joint-tenth most hat-tricks in the history of the Italian league, alongside Amedeo Amadei, Giampiero Boniperti, Hernán Crespo, and Marco van Basten.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: In August 2010, Baggio was appointed president of the technical sector of the Italian Football Federation, replacing his former Italy national team manager Azeglio Vicini. On 23 January 2013, Baggio stepped down from the position, stating the federation had ignored his ideas about improving the system and focusing on youth talent, which prompted him to resign.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: Baggio obtained his Italy Category 2 Coaching License (UEFA A License) in mid-2011, which made him eligible to coach Lega Pro teams, or work as vice-coach in Serie A and Serie B. On 5 July 2012, Baggio obtained his Category 1 UEFA Pro Coaching Licence at Coverciano, which officially allows him to coach a professional Serie A club.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: After his career threatening injury in 1985, Baggio, formerly a Roman Catholic, converted to Buddhism, practicing Nichiren Buddhism, and is a member of the Soka Gakkai International Buddhist organisation. The captain's armband that he wore throughout his career bore the colours of this religious school (blue, yellow, and red) and the Japanese motto "We win. We must win" in ideograms of the language. Despite his conversion, he married his long-time girlfriend Andreina Fabbi in 1989 in a traditional Roman Catholic ceremony. They have a daughter, Valentina (1990), and two sons, Mattia (1994) and Leonardo (2005).


title: Roberto Baggio

text: Between 1991 and 2012, Baggio was the owner of a sporting goods store in Thiene, Vicenza, called "Baggio Sport", which he was eventually forced to close due to losses as a result of the 2008 recession.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: In 2001, Baggio wrote an autobiography entitled "" (literally "A Door in the Sky", also known as "A Goal in the Sky"), including details about his career, childhood, religion, personal life and rifts with managers. It won the award for best football book at the 2002 Serie A Awards.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: Baggio has close ties with Argentina; he speaks Spanish and owns a ranch property in Rivera, where he enjoys hunting wild game. In March 2008, he gave a lengthy interview with "La Gazzetta Dello Sport", in which he revealed that he came to support Argentine club Boca Juniors due to their passionate fanbase.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: On 16 October 2002, Baggio was named a Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Through the organisation, Baggio helped to fund hospitals, raise money for the victims of the Haiti earthquake, contribute to tackling bird flu, and was involved in the Burmese pro-democracy movement, which supported the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her release from prison. Baggio was awarded the 2010 Man of Peace title in Hiroshima, presented by the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in recognition of his charitable work and contribution to social justice and peace.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: On 8 October 2008, Baggio appeared in a charity match between Milan and Fiorentina, which had been organised in honour of his former Fiorentina teammate Stefano Borgonovo to raise money for his foundation, his treatment and for ALS research. In 2014, Baggio was one of the many celebrities to take part in the "ALS Ice Bucket Challenge" to raise awareness about the disease and funds for ALS research.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: On 1 September 2014, Baggio took part in the "Match for Peace", which was played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, with the proceeds being donated to charity. Baggio set up Juan Iturbe's goal and scored from a Diego Maradona assist. On 25 October 2014, Baggio inaugurated in Milan the opening of the largest Buddhist temple in Europe.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: In 1994, Italian satirist Corrado Guzzanti parodied Baggio's advertisement for Italian Petrol Company IP prior to the 1994 World Cup. Italian poet Giovanni Raboni composed the sonnet "Lode a Baggio" in a tribute to him. He has been referenced in several songs, such as "Baggio, Baggio" by Lucio Dalla, and "Marmellata n. 25" by Cesare Cremonini.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: Baggio has featured in two Italian commercials which reference his infamous penalty miss in the 1994 World Cup final. The first was made for WIND in 2000, and shows Baggio scoring the final penalty to win the tournament. The second, made for Johnnie Walker in 2001, showed how he managed to conquer his grief from the miss by believing in himself and scoring the equalising penalty against Chile in the 1998 World Cup. He has featured in several Diadora commercials, as he endorsed their products. In July 2017, Diadora teamed up with Baggio once again to launch the new Signature Match Winner RB Capsule Collection.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: Baggio is popular in Japan, and has held close ties with the country since his conversion to Buddhism. He has endorsed several Japanese football video games, such as Human Entertainment's "", and Sega's "Virtua Pro Football" and "Let's Make a Soccer Team!". An animated version of himself appeared in the Japanese football cartoon "Captain Tsubasa", best known in Italy as "Che Campioni: Holly & Benji".


title: Roberto Baggio

text: In the Channel 4 sitcom "Father Ted", Baggio (and Alessandro Costacurta) is mentioned during the 1995 episode "Grant Unto Him Eternal Rest" by Father Dougal McGuire (portrayed by Ardal O'Hanlon), who, when prompted to say the last rites in Latin, ends up saying the footballers' names. (This stems from Graham Linehan and O'Hanlon being fans of "Football Italia"). In the music video for the 2010 World Cup song "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" by Shakira, footage of Baggio's goal against Spain and his penalty miss from the 1994 World Cup are shown.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: Throughout his career, Baggio has been nicknamed the "Divin' Codino" ("Divine Ponytail" in Italian, a reference to the iconic hairstyle he wore for a large part of his career as well as his playing ability and Buddhist beliefs) and Robi, or Roby, by his fans. An alter-ego of his is referenced in the Italian children's comics of "Mickey Mouse" and "Duck Tales" (Topolino) in the volume "Topolino e il Giallo alla World Cup" in which he is known as Roberto Paggio. In 2011, Italian sports newspaper "La Gazzetta dello Sport" issued a collection of DVDs entitled "Io Che Sarò Roberto Baggio" recounting his career. Baggio's impact on football has been celebrated with the release of an online game called "Baggio's Magical Kicks", in which players try to replicate his accuracy on free-kicks and penalties. In 2015, the arcade game company Konami announced Baggio would feature in their football video game "Pro Evolution Soccer 2016" as one of the new myClub Legends. On 3 August 2018, EA Sports announced on their official Twitter account that Baggio would feature in EA Sports' football video game "FIFA 19" as one of the new Ultimate Team Icons.


title: Roberto Baggio

text: In 2019, Netflix announced the development of a documentary on Roberto Baggio in partnership with Mediaset. In March 2021, Netflix released the trailer of a docudrama film on Baggio's career, entitled "", which was released on 26 May 2021; Andrea Arcangeli portrayed Baggio.


title: Justinian I

text: Justinian I (; , ; ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Eastern Roman emperor from 527 to 565.


title: Justinian I

text: His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized "renovatio imperii", or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was expressed by the partial recovery of the territories of the defunct Western Roman Empire. His general, Belisarius, swiftly conquered the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa. Subsequently, Belisarius, Narses, and other generals conquered the Ostrogothic kingdom, restoring Dalmatia, Sicily, Italy, and Rome to the empire after more than half a century of rule by the Ostrogoths. The praetorian prefect Liberius reclaimed the south of the Iberian peninsula, establishing the province of Spania. These campaigns re-established Roman control over the western Mediterranean, increasing the Empire's annual revenue by over a million "solidi". During his reign, Justinian also subdued the "Tzani", a people on the east coast of the Black Sea that had never been under Roman rule before. He engaged the Sasanian Empire in the east during Kavad I's reign, and later again during Khosrow I's reign; this second conflict was partially initiated due to his ambitions in the west.


title: Justinian I

text: A still more resonant aspect of his legacy was the uniform rewriting of Roman law, the "Corpus Juris Civilis", which is still the basis of civil law in many modern states. His reign also marked a blossoming of Byzantine culture, and his building program yielded works such as the Hagia Sophia.


title: Justinian I

text: Justinian was born in Tauresium, Dardania, around 482. A native speaker of Latin (possibly the last Roman emperor to be one), he came from a peasant family believed to have been of Illyro-Roman or of Thraco-Roman origin. The cognomen "Iustinianus", which he took later, is indicative of adoption by his uncle Justin. During his reign, he founded Justiniana Prima not far from his birthplace. His mother was Vigilantia, the sister of Justin. Justin, who was commander of one of the imperial guard units (the Excubitors) before he became emperor, adopted Justinian, brought him to Constantinople, and ensured the boy's education. As a result, Justinian was well educated in jurisprudence, theology, and Roman history. Justinian served as a "candidatus", one of 40 men selected from the "scholae palatinae" to serve as the emperor's personal bodyguard. The chronicler John Malalas, who lived during the reign of Justinian, describes his appearance as short, fair-skinned, curly-haired, round-faced, and handsome. Another contemporary historian, Procopius, compares Justinian's appearance to that of tyrannical Emperor Domitian, although this is probably slander.


title: Justinian I

text: When Emperor Anastasius died in 518, Justin was proclaimed the new emperor, with significant help from Justinian. During Justin's reign (518–527), Justinian was the emperor's close confidant. Justinian showed a lot of ambition, and it has been thought that he was functioning as virtual regent long before Justin made him associate emperor on 1 April 527, although there is no conclusive evidence of this. As Justin became senile near the end of his reign, Justinian became the "de facto" ruler. Following the general Vitalian's assassination presumed to be orchestrated by Justinian or Justin, Justinian was appointed consul in 521 and later commander of the army of the east. Upon Justin's death on 1 August 527, Justinian became the sole sovereign.


title: Justinian I

text: As a ruler, Justinian showed great energy. He was known as "the emperor who never sleeps" for his work habits. Nevertheless, he seems to have been amiable and easy to approach. Around 525, he married his mistress, Theodora, in Constantinople. She was by profession an actress and some twenty years his junior. In earlier times, Justinian could not have married her owing to her class, but his uncle, Emperor Justin I, had passed a law lifting restrictions on marriages with ex-actresses. Though the marriage caused a scandal, Theodora would become very influential in the politics of the Empire. Other talented individuals included Tribonian, his legal adviser; Peter the Patrician, the diplomat and long-time head of the palace bureaucracy; Justinian's finance ministers John the Cappadocian and Peter Barsymes, who managed to collect taxes more efficiently than any before, thereby funding Justinian's wars; and finally, his prodigiously talented generals, Belisarius and Narses.


title: Justinian I

text: Justinian's rule was not universally popular; early in his reign he nearly lost his throne during the Nika riots, and a conspiracy against the emperor's life by dissatisfied businessmen was discovered as late as 562. Justinian was struck by the plague in the early 540s but recovered. Theodora died in 548 at a relatively young age, possibly of cancer; Justinian outlived her by nearly twenty years. Justinian, who had always had a keen interest in theological matters and actively participated in debates on Christian doctrine, became even more devoted to religion during the later years of his life. He died on 14 November 565, childless. He was succeeded by Justin II, who was the son of his sister Vigilantia and married to Sophia, the niece of Theodora. Justinian's body was entombed in a specially built mausoleum in the Church of the Holy Apostles until it was desecrated and robbed during the pillage of the city in 1204 by the Latin States of the Fourth Crusade.


title: Justinian I

text: Justinian achieved lasting fame through his judicial reforms, particularly through the complete revision of all Roman law, something that had not previously been attempted. The total of Justinian's legislation is known today as the "Corpus juris civilis". It consists of the "Codex Justinianeus", the "Digesta" or "Pandectae", the "Institutiones", and the "Novellae".


title: Justinian I

text: Early in his reign, Justinian had appointed the "quaestor" Tribonian to oversee this task. The first draft of the "Codex Justinianeus", a codification of imperial constitutions from the 2nd century onward, was issued on 7 April 529. (The final version appeared in 534.) It was followed by the "Digesta" (or "Pandectae"), a compilation of older legal texts, in 533, and by the "Institutiones", a textbook explaining the principles of law. The "Novellae", a collection of new laws issued during Justinian's reign, supplements the "Corpus". As opposed to the rest of the corpus, the "Novellae" appeared in Greek, the common language of the Eastern Empire.


title: Justinian I

text: The "Corpus" forms the basis of Latin jurisprudence (including ecclesiastical Canon Law) and, for historians, provides a valuable insight into the concerns and activities of the later Roman Empire. As a collection it gathers together the many sources in which the "leges" (laws) and the other rules were expressed or published: proper laws, senatorial consults ("senatusconsulta"), imperial decrees, case law, and jurists' opinions and interpretations ("responsa prudentium").


title: Justinian I

text: Tribonian's code ensured the survival of Roman law. It formed the basis of later Byzantine law, as expressed in the "Basilika" of Basil I and Leo VI the Wise. The only western province where the Justinianic code was introduced was Italy (after the conquest by the so-called Pragmatic Sanction of 554), from where it was to pass to Western Europe in the 12th century and become the basis of much Continental European law code, which eventually was spread by European empires to the Americas and beyond in the Age of Discovery. It eventually passed to Eastern Europe where it appeared in Slavic editions, and it also passed on to Russia. It remains influential to this day.


title: Justinian I

text: He passed laws to protect prostitutes from exploitation and women from being forced into prostitution. Rapists were treated severely. Further, by his policies: women charged with major crimes should be guarded by other women to prevent sexual abuse; if a woman was widowed, her dowry should be returned; and a husband could not take on a major debt without his wife giving her consent twice.


title: Justinian I

text: Family legislation also revealed a greater concern for the interests of children. This was particularly so with respect to children born out of wedlock. The law under Justinian also reveals a striking interest in child neglect issues. Justinian protected the rights of children whose parents remarried and produced more offspring, or who simply separated and abandoned their offspring, forcing them to beg.


title: Justinian I

text: Justinian's habit of choosing efficient, but unpopular advisers nearly cost him his throne early in his reign. In January 532, partisans of the chariot racing factions in Constantinople, normally rivals, united against Justinian in a revolt that has become known as the Nika riots. They forced him to dismiss Tribonian and two of his other ministers, and then attempted to overthrow Justinian himself and replace him with the senator Hypatius, who was a nephew of the late emperor Anastasius. While the crowd was rioting in the streets, Justinian considered fleeing the capital by sea, but eventually decided to stay, apparently on the prompting of his wife Theodora, who refused to leave. In the next two days, he ordered the brutal suppression of the riots by his generals Belisarius and Mundus. Procopius relates that 30,000 unarmed civilians were killed in the Hippodrome. On Theodora's insistence, and apparently against his own judgment, Justinian had Anastasius' nephews executed.


title: Justinian I

text: The destruction that took place during the revolt provided Justinian with an opportunity to tie his name to a series of splendid new buildings, most notably the architectural innovation of the domed Hagia Sophia.


title: Justinian I

text: One of the most spectacular features of Justinian's reign was the recovery of large stretches of land around the Western Mediterranean basin that had slipped out of Imperial control in the 5th century. As a Christian Roman emperor, Justinian considered it his divine duty to restore the Roman Empire to its ancient boundaries. Although he never personally took part in military campaigns, he boasted of his successes in the prefaces to his laws and had them commemorated in art. The re-conquests were in large part carried out by his general Belisarius.


title: Justinian I

text: From his uncle, Justinian inherited ongoing hostilities with the Sassanid Empire. In 530 the Persian forces suffered a double defeat at Dara and Satala, but the next year saw the defeat of Roman forces under Belisarius near Callinicum. Justinian then tried to make alliance with the Axumites of Ethiopia and the Himyarites of Yemen against the Persians, but this failed. When king Kavadh I of Persia died (September 531), Justinian concluded an "Eternal Peace" (which cost him 11,000 pounds of gold) with his successor Khosrau I (532). Having thus secured his eastern frontier, Justinian turned his attention to the West, where Germanic kingdoms had been established in the territories of the former Western Roman Empire.


title: Justinian I

text: The first of the western kingdoms Justinian attacked was that of the Vandals in North Africa. King Hilderic, who had maintained good relations with Justinian and the North African Catholic clergy, had been overthrown by his cousin Gelimer in 530 A.D. Imprisoned, the deposed king appealed to Justinian.


title: Justinian I

text: In 533, Belisarius sailed to Africa with a fleet of 92 dromons, escorting 500 transports carrying an army of about 15,000 men, as well as a number of barbarian troops. They landed at Caput Vada (modern Ras Kaboudia) in modern Tunisia. They defeated the Vandals, who were caught completely off guard, at Ad Decimum on 14 September 533 and Tricamarum in December; Belisarius took Carthage. King Gelimer fled to Mount Pappua in Numidia, but surrendered the next spring. He was taken to Constantinople, where he was paraded in a triumph. Sardinia and Corsica, the Balearic Islands, and the stronghold Septem Fratres near Mons Calpe (later named Gibraltar) were recovered in the same campaign.


title: Justinian I

text: In this war, the contemporary Procopius remarks that Africa was so entirely depopulated that a person might travel several days without meeting a human being, and he adds, "it is no exaggeration to say, that in the course of the war 5,000,000 perished by the sword, and famine, and pestilence."


title: Justinian I

text: An African prefecture, centered in Carthage, was established in April 534, but it would teeter on the brink of collapse during the next 15 years, amidst warfare with the Moors and military mutinies. The area was not completely pacified until 548, but remained peaceful thereafter and enjoyed a measure of prosperity. The recovery of Africa cost the empire about 100,000 pounds of gold.


title: Justinian I

text: As in Africa, dynastic struggles in Ostrogothic Italy provided an opportunity for intervention. The young king Athalaric had died on 2 October 534, and a usurper, Theodahad, had imprisoned queen Amalasuintha, Theodoric's daughter and mother of Athalaric, on the island of Martana in Lake Bolsena, where he had her assassinated in 535. Thereupon Belisarius, with 7,500 men, invaded Sicily (535) and advanced into Italy, sacking Naples and capturing Rome on 9 December 536. By that time Theodahad had been deposed by the Ostrogothic army, who had elected Vitigis as their new king. He gathered a large army and besieged Rome from February 537 to March 538 without being able to retake the city.


title: Justinian I

text: Justinian sent another general, Narses, to Italy, but tensions between Narses and Belisarius hampered the progress of the campaign. Milan was taken, but was soon recaptured and razed by the Ostrogoths. Justinian recalled Narses in 539. By then the military situation had turned in favour of the Romans, and in 540 Belisarius reached the Ostrogothic capital Ravenna. There he was offered the title of Western Roman Emperor by the Ostrogoths at the same time that envoys of Justinian were arriving to negotiate a peace that would leave the region north of the Po River in Gothic hands. Belisarius feigned acceptance of the offer, entered the city in May 540, and reclaimed it for the Empire. Then, having been recalled by Justinian, Belisarius returned to Constantinople, taking the captured Vitigis and his wife Matasuntha with him.


title: Justinian I

text: Belisarius had been recalled in the face of renewed hostilities by the Persians. Following a revolt against the Empire in Armenia in the late 530s and possibly motivated by the pleas of Ostrogothic ambassadors, King Khosrau I broke the "Eternal Peace" and invaded Roman territory in the spring of 540. He first sacked Beroea and then Antioch (allowing the garrison of 6,000 men to leave the city), besieged Daras, and then went on to attack the Byzantine base in the small but strategically significant satellite kingdom of Lazica near the Black Sea as requested by its discontented king Gubazes, exacting tribute from the towns he passed along his way. He forced Justinian I to pay him 5,000 pounds of gold, plus 500 pounds of gold more each year.


title: Justinian I

text: Belisarius arrived in the East in 541, but after some success, was again recalled to Constantinople in 542. The reasons for his withdrawal are not known, but it may have been instigated by rumours of his disloyalty reaching the court.


title: Justinian I

text: The outbreak of the plague coupled with a rebellion in Persia brought Khosrow I's offensives to a halt. Exploiting this, Justinian ordered all the forces in the East to invade Persian Armenia, but the 30,000-strong Byzantine force was defeated by a small force at Anglon. The next year, Khosrau unsuccessfully besieged the major city of Edessa. Both parties made little headway, and in 545 a truce was agreed upon for the southern part of the Roman-Persian frontier. After that, the Lazic War in the North continued for several years: the Lazic king switched to the Byzantine side, and in 549 Justinian sent Dagisthaeus to recapture Petra, but he faced heavy resistance and the siege was relieved by Sasanian reinforcements. Justinian replaced him with Bessas, who was under a cloud after the loss of Rome in 546, but he managed to capture and dismantle Petra in 551. The war continued for several years until a second truce in 557, followed by a Fifty Years' Peace in 562. Under its terms, the Persians agreed to abandon Lazica in exchange for an annual tribute of 400 or 500 pounds of gold (30,000 "solidi") to be paid by the Romans.


title: Justinian I

text: While military efforts were directed to the East, the situation in Italy took a turn for the worse. Under their respective kings Ildibad and Eraric (both murdered in 541) and especially Totila, the Ostrogoths made quick gains. After a victory at Faenza in 542, they reconquered the major cities of Southern Italy and soon held almost the entire Italian peninsula. Belisarius was sent back to Italy late in 544 but lacked sufficient troops and supplies. Making no headway, he was relieved of his command in 548. Belisarius succeeded in defeating a Gothic fleet of 200 ships. During this period the city of Rome changed hands three more times, first taken and depopulated by the Ostrogoths in December 546, then reconquered by the Byzantines in 547, and then again by the Goths in January 550. Totila also plundered Sicily and attacked Greek coastlines.


title: Justinian I

text: Finally, Justinian dispatched a force of approximately 35,000 men (2,000 men were detached and sent to invade southern Visigothic Hispania) under the command of Narses. The army reached Ravenna in June 552 and defeated the Ostrogoths decisively within a month at the battle of Busta Gallorum in the Apennines, where Totila was slain. After a second battle at Mons Lactarius in October that year, the resistance of the Ostrogoths was finally broken. In 554, a large-scale Frankish invasion was defeated at Casilinum, and Italy was secured for the Empire, though it would take Narses several years to reduce the remaining Gothic strongholds. At the end of the war, Italy was garrisoned with an army of 16,000 men. The recovery of Italy cost the empire about 300,000 pounds of gold. Procopius estimated 15,000,000 Goths died.


title: Justinian I

text: In addition to the other conquests, the Empire established a presence in Visigothic Hispania, when the usurper Athanagild requested assistance in his rebellion against King Agila I. In 552, Justinian dispatched a force of 2,000 men; according to the historian Jordanes, this army was led by the octogenarian Liberius. The Byzantines took Cartagena and other cities on the southeastern coast and founded the new province of Spania before being checked by their former ally Athanagild, who had by now become king. This campaign marked the apogee of Byzantine expansion.


title: Justinian I

text: During Justinian's reign, the Balkans suffered from several incursions by the Turkic and Slavic peoples who lived north of the Danube. Here, Justinian resorted mainly to a combination of diplomacy and a system of defensive works. In 559 a particularly dangerous invasion of Sklavinoi and Kutrigurs under their khan Zabergan threatened Constantinople, but they were repulsed by the aged general Belisarius.


title: Justinian I

text: Justinian's ambition to restore the Roman Empire to its former glory was only partly realized. In the West, the brilliant early military successes of the 530s were followed by years of stagnation. The dragging war with the Goths was a disaster for Italy, even though its long-lasting effects may have been less severe than is sometimes thought. The heavy taxes that the administration imposed upon Italian population were deeply resented.


title: Justinian I

text: The final victory in Italy and the conquest of Africa and the coast of southern Hispania significantly enlarged the area of Byzantine influence and eliminated all naval threats to the empire, which in 555 reached its territorial zenith. Despite losing much of Italy soon after Justinian's death, the empire retained several important cities, including Rome, Naples, and Ravenna, leaving the Lombards as a regional threat. The newly founded province of Spania kept the Visigoths as a threat to Hispania alone and not to the western Mediterranean and Africa.


title: Justinian I

text: Events of the later years of his reign showed that Constantinople itself was not safe from barbarian incursions from the north, and even the relatively benevolent historian Menander Protector felt the need to attribute the Emperor's failure to protect the capital to the weakness of his body in his old age. In his efforts to renew the Roman Empire, Justinian dangerously stretched its resources while failing to take into account the changed realities of 6th-century Europe.


title: Justinian I

text: Justinian saw the orthodoxy of his empire threatened by diverging religious currents, especially Monophysitism, which had many adherents in the eastern provinces of Syria and Egypt. Monophysite doctrine, which maintains that Jesus Christ had one divine nature rather than a synthesis of divine and human nature, had been condemned as a heresy by the Council of Chalcedon in 451, and the tolerant policies towards Monophysitism of Zeno and Anastasius I had been a source of tension in the relationship with the bishops of Rome. Justin reversed this trend and confirmed the Chalcedonian doctrine, openly condemning the Monophysites. Justinian, who continued this policy, tried to impose religious unity on his subjects by forcing them to accept doctrinal compromises that might appeal to all parties, a policy that proved unsuccessful as he satisfied none of them.


title: Justinian I

text: Near the end of his life, Justinian became ever more inclined towards the Monophysite doctrine, especially in the form of Aphthartodocetism, but he died before being able to issue any legislation. The empress Theodora sympathized with the Monophysites and is said to have been a constant source of pro-Monophysite intrigues at the court in Constantinople in the earlier years. In the course of his reign, Justinian, who had a genuine interest in matters of theology, authored a small number of theological treatises.


title: Justinian I

text: As in his secular administration, despotism appeared also in the Emperor's ecclesiastical policy. He regulated everything, both in religion and in law. At the very beginning of his reign, he deemed it proper to promulgate by law the Church's belief in the Trinity and the Incarnation, and to threaten all heretics with the appropriate penalties, whereas he subsequently declared that he intended to deprive all disturbers of orthodoxy of the opportunity for such offense by due process of law. He made the Nicaeno-Constantinopolitan creed the sole symbol of the Church and accorded legal force to the canons of the four ecumenical councils. The bishops in attendance at the Council of Constantinople (536) recognized that nothing could be done in the Church contrary to the emperor's will and command, while, on his side, the emperor, in the case of the Patriarch Anthimus, reinforced the ban of the Church with temporal proscription. Justinian protected the purity of the church by suppressing heretics. He neglected no opportunity to secure the rights of the Church and clergy, and to protect and extend monasticism. He granted the monks the right to inherit property from private citizens and the right to receive "solemnia", or annual gifts, from the Imperial treasury or from the taxes of certain provinces and he prohibited lay confiscation of monastic estates.


title: Justinian I

text: Although the despotic character of his measures is contrary to modern sensibilities, he was indeed a "nursing father" of the Church. Both the "Codex" and the "Novellae" contain many enactments regarding donations, foundations, and the administration of ecclesiastical property; election and rights of bishops, priests and abbots; monastic life, residential obligations of the clergy, conduct of divine service, episcopal jurisdiction, etc. Justinian also rebuilt the Church of Hagia Sophia (which cost 20,000 pounds of gold), the original site having been destroyed during the Nika riots. The new Hagia Sophia, with its numerous chapels and shrines, gilded octagonal dome, and mosaics, became the centre and most visible monument of Eastern Orthodoxy in Constantinople.


title: Justinian I

text: From the middle of the 5th century onward, increasingly arduous tasks confronted the emperors of the East in ecclesiastical matters.


title: Justinian I

text: Justinian entered the arena of ecclesiastical statecraft shortly after his uncle's accession in 518, and put an end to the Acacian schism. Previous Emperors had tried to alleviate theological conflicts by declarations that deemphasized the Council of Chalcedon, which had condemned Monophysitism, which had strongholds in Egypt and Syria, and by tolerating the appointment of Monophysites to church offices. The Popes reacted by severing ties with the Patriarch of Constantinople who supported these policies. Emperors Justin I (and later Justinian himself) rescinded these policies and reestablished the union between Constantinople and Rome. After this, Justinian also felt entitled to settle disputes in papal elections, as he did when he favored Vigilius and had his rival Silverius deported.


title: Justinian I

text: This new-found unity between East and West did not, however, solve the ongoing disputes in the east. Justinian's policies switched between attempts to force Monophysites and Miaphysites (who were mistaken to be adherers of Monophysitism) to accept the Chalcedonian creed by persecuting their bishops and monks – thereby embittering their sympathizers in Egypt and other provinces – and attempts at a compromise that would win over the Monophysites without surrendering the Chalcedonian faith. Such an approach was supported by the Empress Theodora, who favoured the Miaphysites unreservedly. In the condemnation of the "Three Chapters", three theologians that had opposed Monophysitism before and after the Council of Chalcedon, Justinian tried to win over the opposition. At the Fifth Ecumenical Council, most of the Eastern church yielded to the Emperor's demands, and Pope Vigilius, who was forcibly brought to Constantinople and besieged at a chapel, finally also gave his assent. However, the condemnation was received unfavourably in the west, where it led to new (albeit temporal) schism, and failed to reach its goal in the east, as the Monophysites remained unsatisfied – all the more bitter for him because during his last years he took an even greater interest in theological matters.


title: Justinian I

text: Justinian's religious policy reflected the Imperial conviction that the unity of the Empire presupposed unity of faith, and it appeared to him obvious that this faith could only be the orthodoxy (Chalcedonian). Those of a different belief were subjected to persecution, which imperial legislation had effected from the time of Constantius II and which would now vigorously continue. The "Codex" contained two statutes that decreed the total destruction of paganism, even in private life; these provisions were zealously enforced. Contemporary sources (John Malalas, Theophanes, and John of Ephesus) tell of severe persecutions, even of men in high position.


title: Justinian I

text: The original Academy of Plato had been destroyed by the Roman dictator Sulla in 86 BC. Several centuries later, in 410 AD, a Neoplatonic Academy was established that had no institutional continuity with Plato's Academy, and which served as a center for Neoplatonism and mysticism. It persisted until 529 AD when it was finally closed by Justinian I. Other schools in Constantinople, Antioch, and Alexandria, which were the centers of Justinian's empire, continued.In Asia Minor alone, John of Ephesus was reported to have converted 70,000 pagans, which was probably an exaggerated number. Other peoples also accepted Christianity: the Heruli, the Huns dwelling near the Don, the Abasgi, and the Tzanni in Caucasia.


title: Justinian I

text: The worship of Amun at the oasis of Awjila in the Libyan desert was abolished, and so were the remnants of the worship of Isis on the island of Philae, at the first cataract of the Nile. The Presbyter Julian and the Bishop Longinus conducted a mission among the Nabataeans, and Justinian attempted to strengthen Christianity in Yemen by dispatching a bishop from Egypt.


title: Justinian I

text: The civil rights of Jews were restricted and their religious privileges threatened. Justinian also interfered in the internal affairs of the synagogue and encouraged the Jews to use the Greek Septuagint in their synagogues in Constantinople.


title: Justinian I

text: The Emperor faced significant opposition from the Samaritans, who resisted conversion to Christianity and were repeatedly in insurrection. He persecuted them with rigorous edicts, but could not prevent reprisals towards Christians from taking place in Samaria toward the close of his reign. The consistency of Justinian's policy meant that the Manicheans too suffered persecution, experiencing both exile and threat of capital punishment. At Constantinople, on one occasion, not a few Manicheans, after strict inquisition, were executed in the emperor's very presence: some by burning, others by drowning.


title: Justinian I

text: Justinian was a prolific builder; the historian Procopius bears witness to his activities in this area. Under Justinian's reign, the San Vitale in Ravenna, which features two famous mosaics representing Justinian and Theodora, was completed under the sponsorship of Julius Argentarius. Most notably, he had the Hagia Sophia, originally a basilica-style church that had been burnt down during the Nika riots, splendidly rebuilt according to a completely different ground plan, under the architectural supervision of Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. According to Pseudo-Codinus, Justinian stated at the completion of this edifice, "Solomon, I have outdone thee" (in reference to the first Jewish temple). This new cathedral, with its magnificent dome filled with mosaics, remained the centre of eastern Christianity for centuries.


title: Justinian I

text: Another prominent church in the capital, the Church of the Holy Apostles, which had been in a very poor state near the end of the 5th century, was likewise rebuilt. The Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, later renamed Little Hagia Sophia, was also built between 532 and 536 by the imperial couple. Works of embellishment were not confined to churches alone: excavations at the site of the Great Palace of Constantinople have yielded several high-quality mosaics dating from Justinian's reign, and a column topped by a bronze statue of Justinian on horseback and dressed in a military costume was erected in the Augustaeum in Constantinople in 543. Rivalry with other, more established patrons from the Constantinopolitan and exiled Roman aristocracy might have enforced Justinian's building activities in the capital as a means of strengthening his dynasty's prestige.


title: Justinian I

text: Justinian also strengthened the borders of the Empire from Africa to the East through the construction of fortifications and ensured Constantinople of its water supply through construction of underground cisterns (see Basilica Cistern). To prevent floods from damaging the strategically important border town Dara, an advanced arch dam was built. During his reign the large Sangarius Bridge was built in Bithynia, securing a major military supply route to the east. Furthermore, Justinian restored cities damaged by earthquake or war and built a new city near his place of birth called Justiniana Prima, which was intended to replace Thessalonica as the political and religious centre of Illyricum.


title: Justinian I

text: In Justinian's reign, and partly under his patronage, Byzantine culture produced noteworthy historians, including Procopius and Agathias, and poets such as Paul the Silentiary and Romanus the Melodist flourished. On the other hand, centres of learning such as the Neoplatonic Academy in Athens and the famous Law School of Berytus lost their importance during his reign.


title: Justinian I

text: As was the case under Justinian's predecessors, the Empire's economic health rested primarily on agriculture. In addition, long-distance trade flourished, reaching as far north as Cornwall where tin was exchanged for Roman wheat. Within the Empire, convoys sailing from Alexandria provided Constantinople with wheat and grains. Justinian made the traffic more efficient by building a large granary on the island of Tenedos for storage and further transport to Constantinople. Justinian also tried to find new routes for the eastern trade, which was suffering badly from the wars with the Persians.


title: Justinian I

text: One important luxury product was silk, which was imported and then processed in the Empire. In order to protect the manufacture of silk products, Justinian granted a monopoly to the imperial factories in 541. In order to bypass the Persian landroute, Justinian established friendly relations with the Abyssinians, whom he wanted to act as trade mediators by transporting Indian silk to the Empire; the Abyssinians, however, were unable to compete with the Persian merchants in India. Then, in the early 550s, two monks succeeded in smuggling eggs of silk worms from Central Asia back to Constantinople, and silk became an indigenous product.


title: Justinian I

text: At the start of Justinian I's reign he had inherited a surplus 28,800,000 "solidi" (400,000 pounds of gold) in the imperial treasury from Anastasius I and Justin I. Under Justinian's rule, measures were taken to counter corruption in the provinces and to make tax collection more efficient. Greater administrative power was given to both the leaders of the prefectures and of the provinces, while power was taken away from the vicariates of the dioceses, of which a number were abolished. The overall trend was towards a simplification of administrative infrastructure. According to Brown (1971), the increased professionalization of tax collection did much to destroy the traditional structures of provincial life, as it weakened the autonomy of the town councils in the Greek towns. It has been estimated that before Justinian I's reconquests the state had an annual revenue of 5,000,000 "solidi" in AD 530, but after his reconquests, the annual revenue was increased to 6,000,000 "solidi" in AD 550.


title: Justinian I

text: Throughout Justinian's reign, the cities and villages of the East prospered, although Antioch was struck by two earthquakes (526, 528) and sacked and evacuated by the Persians (540). Justinian had the city rebuilt, but on a slightly smaller scale.


title: Justinian I

text: Despite all these measures, the Empire suffered several major setbacks in the course of the 6th century. The first one was the plague, which lasted from 541 to 543 and, by decimating the Empire's population, probably created a scarcity of labor and a rising of wages. The lack of manpower also led to a significant increase in the number of "barbarians" in the Byzantine armies after the early 540s. The protracted war in Italy and the wars with the Persians themselves laid a heavy burden on the Empire's resources, and Justinian was criticized for curtailing the government-run post service, which he limited to only one eastern route of military importance.


title: Justinian I

text: During the 530s, it seemed to many that God had abandoned the Christian Roman Empire. There were noxious fumes in the air and the Sun, while still providing daylight, refused to give much heat. The extreme weather events of 535–536 led to a famine such as had not been recorded before, affecting both Europe and the Middle East. These events may have been caused by an atmospheric dust veil resulting from a large volcanic eruption.


title: Justinian I

text: The historian Procopius recorded in 536 in his work on the Vandalic War "during this year a most dread portent took place. For the sun gave forth its light without brightness … and it seemed exceedingly like the sun in eclipse, for the beams it shed were not clear".


title: Justinian I

text: The causes of these disasters are not precisely known, but volcanoes at the Rabaul caldera, Lake Ilopango, Krakatoa, or, according to a recent finding, in Iceland are suspected,


title: Justinian I

text: Seven years later in 542, a devastating outbreak of Bubonic Plague, known as the Plague of Justinian and second only to Black Death of the 14th century, killed tens of millions. Justinian and members of his court, physically unaffected by the previous 535–536 famine, were afflicted, with Justinian himself contracting and surviving the pestilence. The impact of this outbreak of plague has recently been disputed, since evidence for tens of millions dying is uncertain.


title: Justinian I

text: In July 551, the eastern Mediterranean was rocked by the 551 Beirut earthquake, which triggered a tsunami. The combined fatalities of both events likely exceeded 30,000, with tremors felt from Antioch to Alexandria.


title: Justinian I

text: In the "Paradiso" section of the "Divine Comedy", Canto (chapter) VI, by Dante Alighieri, Justinian I is prominently featured as a spirit residing on the sphere of Mercury. The latter holds in Heaven the souls of those whose acts were righteous, yet meant to achieve fame and honor. Justinian's legacy is elaborated on, and he is portrayed as a defender of the Christian faith and the restorer of Rome to the Empire. Justinian confesses that he was partially motivated by fame rather than duty to God, which tainted the justice of his rule in spite of his proud accomplishments. In his introduction, "Cesare fui e son Iustinïano" ("Caesar I was, and am Justinian"), his mortal title is contrasted with his immortal soul, to emphasize that "glory in life is ephemeral, while contributing to God's glory is eternal", according to Dorothy L. Sayers. Dante also uses Justinian to criticize the factious politics of his 14th Century Italy, divided between Ghibellines and Guelphs, in contrast to the unified Italy of the Roman Empire.


title: Justinian I

text: Justinian is a major character in the 1938 novel "Count Belisarius", by Robert Graves. He is depicted as a jealous and conniving Emperor obsessed with creating and maintaining his own historical legacy.


title: Justinian I

text: Justinian appears as a character in the 1939 time travel novel "Lest Darkness Fall", by L. Sprague de Camp.


title: Justinian I

text: "The Glittering Horn: Secret Memoirs of the Court of Justinian" was a novel written by Pierson Dixon in 1958 about the court of Justinian.


title: Justinian I

text: Justinian occasionally appears in the comic strip "Prince Valiant", usually as a nemesis of the title character.


title: Justinian I

text: Justinian's Crown is a historical artifact claimed by the Byzantine Empire in the popular 2004 computer strategy game "Crusader Kings 3", by Paradox Development Studio.


title: Justinian I

text: Procopius provides the primary source for the history of Justinian's reign, but his opinion is tainted by a feeling of betrayal when Justinian became more pragmatic and less idealistic (Justinian and the Later Roman Empire by John W. Barker). He became very bitter towards Justinian and his empress, Theodora. The Syriac chronicle of John of Ephesus, which survives partially, was used as a source for later chronicles, contributing many additional details of value. Other sources include the writings of John Malalas, Agathias, John the Lydian, Menander Protector, the Paschal Chronicle, Evagrius Scholasticus, Pseudo-Zacharias Rhetor, Jordanes, the chronicles of Marcellinus Comes and Victor of Tunnuna. Justinian is widely regarded as a saint by Orthodox Christians, and is also commemorated by some Lutheran churches on 14 November.


title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

text: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a dystopian action-adventure novel by American author Suzanne Collins. It is a spin-off and a prequel to "The Hunger Games" trilogy. It was released on May 19, 2020, by Scholastic. An audiobook of the novel read by American actor Santino Fontana was released simultaneously with the printed edition. The book received a virtual launch due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A from Lionsgate is set to be released on November 17, 2023.


title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

text: Set in the universe of "The Hunger Games", 64 years before the first installment, the book follows young Coriolanus Snow, who is far from the callous president seen in the original trilogy. The Snow family was once one of the richest in the Capitol prior to the war that resulted in the creation of the Hunger Games ten years earlier. Coriolanus "Coryo" is now an orphan living with his grandmother and cousin, Tigris, in an apartment they cannot afford, without the money to purchase food or clothes.


title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

text: Based on his academic excellence at the Academy, the Capitol's most prestigious high school, Coriolanus is chosen to mentor a tribute in the upcoming tenth Hunger Games. He is assigned the District 12 female tribute, Lucy Gray Baird, member of a traveling musician group known as the Covey, who were forced into District 12 after the war began. Lucy Gray sparks the Capitol's attention after slipping a hidden snake into the clothing of Mayfair, the mayor's cruel daughter, who had arranged for her to be chosen as tribute because of jealousy about a boy named Billy Taupe, as well as singing during the reaping. Coriolanus is determined to make a good impression, since his success in the games will most likely guarantee the monetary prize he needs in order to attend the University.


title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

text: Coriolanus decides to meet Lucy Gray at the train station where the tributes are set to arrive, and accidentally ends up with them in their transport vehicle. Some of the tributes consider killing him, but are dissuaded by Lucy Gray when she warns them that their families would likely be punished. The transport vehicle drops the stunned Coriolanus and the tributes in the Capitol Zoo. He and Lucy Gray seize the opportunity to put on a show and begin earning the sympathy of the Capitol's citizens.


title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

text: Coriolanus starts sneaking Lucy Gray food from the Academy, as the Capitol isn't feeding the tributes. The other mentors follow suit, including Sejanus Plinth, a boy disgusted by the Games. Sejanus was originally from District 2, until his father bought the family's way into the Capitol after siding with them and building a munitions empire during the war. The arrangement ends when one mentor, Arachne Crane, is murdered by her tribute after taunting her with food. Clemensia, Coriolanus‘s classmate, is distraught by the murder, leaving him to complete an essay on ways to increase viewership for the games - which they were supposed to do together - by himself. He presents the essay to Head Gamemaker Volumnia Gaul, proposing a betting scheme and sponsorship of the tributes to engage the people of the Capitol in the outcome of the Games. Dr. Gaul drops the essay into a tank of genetically modified snakes. Coriolanus is forced to retrieve a few pages of the essay from the enclosure but is ignored by the snakes. However, they attack Clemensia when she reaches in, proving that Coriolanus was the sole author of the project since the snakes did not recognize her scent in the paper. Clemensia is severely poisoned and hospitalized.


title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

text: During a tour of the arena, undetected bombs explode, killing several tributes and mentors. Lucy Gray considers escaping in the chaos, but decides to help an injured Snow, saving his life. Despite the bad publicity this generates, the Games begin, with many tributes quickly dying from starvation, disease, or injuries, while Dr. Gaul enacts Coriolanus‘s proposals within the Games. Sejanus, resentful of both the Capitol and the Games, enters the Arena at night intending to die as a martyr but, under the orders of Dr. Gaul, Coriolanus is sent to extract him. He convinces him to leave, explaining that his suicide would not be seen by anyone due to the footage being altered and that he could make more of a change if he decided to live. As they leave, they are attacked by a group of tributes who had noticed them. In the ensuing chase, Coriolanus is forced to bludgeon one of the tributes to death in self-defense, marking his first ever killing of another human.


title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

text: While in the lab, Coriolanus notices a tank of the same genetically modified snakes he and Clemensia encountered being transported. Suspecting that they are going to be dropped in the arena (though the lab assistants tell him otherwise), he drops a handkerchief with Lucy Gray's scent inside the tank to accustom the snakes to her.


title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

text: As Coriolanus expects, the genetically modified snakes are dropped into the arena. They attack several tributes except Lucy Gray, surrounding and climbing on her but not biting. Eventually, after several days, Lucy Gray is the victor of the Games thanks to a compact full of rat poison Coriolanus had given her earlier, and the handkerchief he had used to accustom the snakes to her. At a celebration party at the Academy, Coriolanus is confronted with the evidence that implicates him in cheating in the Games and stealing food from the Academy. Facing punishment and public humiliation, he is forced to become a Peacekeeper in District 12.


title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

text: Coriolanus reunites with Lucy Gray in District 12, and begins to develop romantic feelings for her. He discovers that Sejanus, now a fellow Peacekeeper, plans to help District 12 residents escape to a place north of District 12, which is rumored to be beyond the Capitol's control. Coriolanus surreptitiously sends word - and a jabberjay that recorded the evidence - to Dr. Gaul in the Capitol. Lucy Gray's former lover Billy Taupe and Mayfair, overhear a conversation between Sejanus and a rebel named Spruce, and are subsequently shot dead by Spruce and Coriolanus (who stumbled upon the meeting with Lucy Gray) to prevent them from blowing their cover. The Covey discovered the bodies soon after their concert. A few days later, Spruce is found severely injured and eventually dies, while Sejanus is arrested by the Peacekeepers and hanged for treason, leaving Lucy Gray and Coriolanus as the only remaining witnesses of the murders. Lucy Gray tells Coriolanus that she is going to escape to the North and he decides to leave with her, despite being offered a spot in officer training school in District 2.


title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

text: On their way to the North, Coriolanus accidentally finds the hidden guns used to shoot Billy Taupe and Mayfair. Coriolanus realizes that with the evidence in hand, he could bury what had happened and make a new life for himself. Worried that Lucy Gray had discerned that he was responsible for Sejanus's death, since he sent incriminating evidence against him to Dr. Gaul, he tries to kill her but she disappears. Coriolanus shoots in all directions, but it is left uncertain whether she managed to escape. After dumping the incriminating weapons into a lake, Coriolanus returns to District 12 and is sent back to the Capitol, where Dr. Gaul explains that she had arranged for him to be sent to District 12 so he could obtain more experience and ultimately come to terms with her view of human nature as inherently violent. Coriolanus is given a spot at the university under her tutelage. He is effectively adopted (though over 18) by Sejanus's father Strabo, who is unaware of the role he played in Sejanus's death, and pays for Coriolanus‘s university fees.


title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

text: In the epilogue, Dean Highbottom, the dean of the Academy, reveals he had developed the idea of the Hunger Games simply as a cruel, but theoretical, idea for a school project with Coryo's father, Crassus. Crassus would later present the idea to Dr. Gaul, making the Games a reality and causing animosity between Highbottom and Crassus. Thoroughly tired of Highbottom's obstructive actions, as well as the Dean's opposition and hatred of him, Coriolanus slips some poison into Highbottom's drugs, starting the trademark killings that would fuel his rise to power. In the mean time, Coriolanus implements many of his ideas into future Hunger Games as a Gamemaker. Having either died or possibly escaped the country of Panem, Lucy Gray is never seen or heard from again.


title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

text: "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" has received generally positive reviews from critics. Upon release day, critics had an overall mixed reception to the novel, but it has undergone a positive reappraisal in the years since. The review aggregator website Book Marks, which assigns individual ratings to book reviews from mainstream literary critics, indicated that the novel received a cumulative "Positive" rating based on 19 reviews.


title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

text: "The Guardian" praised the book: "Collins's themes of friendship, betrayal, authority and oppression, as well as the extra layers of lore about mockingjays and Capitol's history, will please and thrill." Similarly, Time stated that Collins shines most "as she weaves in tantalising details that lend depth to the gruesome world she created in the original series." Kirkus Reviews gave it a starred review, saying the book is "both a tense, character-driven piece and a cautionary tale."


title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

text: Meanwhile, "The Telegraph" criticized it as "not the most promising opening [fans expected]" and that Collins should "stick to plucky heroes and dazzling plot-twists. When it comes to writing the murkiest backwaters of the human psyche, Collins is fathoms out of her depth." "Entertainment Weekly" said of the storytelling: "The storytelling itself trends desperate at times. Chapters close on violent cliffhangers that edge into parody" and that "there are too many folk music interludes [and] some ludicrous franchise callbacks" but overall it "is a major work with major flaws, but it sure gives you a lot to chew on," ultimately giving it a grade of B−.


title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

text: In August 2017, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer expressed interest in spin-offs of "The Hunger Games", with intentions to create a writers' room to explore the concept.


title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

text: In June 2019, Joe Drake, Chairman of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, announced that the company is working with Collins with regards to an adaptation of "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes". By April 2020, Collins and Lionsgate confirmed that plans were underway for the film's development. Casting had not yet begun, but director Francis Lawrence has been confirmed to return after his success with "The Hunger Games" trilogy. The film’s writer will be Michael Arndt, with Nina Jacobson and author Suzanne Collins as producers.


title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

text: In August 2021, Lionsgate chairman Joe Drake revealed that the film was in pre-production with filming expected to begin in early 2022 for a targeted release of "either late fiscal 2023 or early 2024." On April 28, 2022, it was announced that the film will release on November 17, 2023.


title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

text: On May 16, 2022, it was announced that Tom Blyth had been cast as the young President Snow. On May 31, Rachel Zegler was cast as Lucy Gray Baird. On June 15, Josh Andrés Rivera was cast as Sejanus Plinth. On June 22, Hunter Schafer was cast as Tigris. On June 27, Jason Schwartzman was cast as Lucretius "Lucky" Flickerman. In July, Peter Dinklage was reported to have been cast as Dean Highbottom.


title: Selvaraghavan

text: Selvaraghavan is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor who has directed and acted predominantly Tamil films. His directorial debut had with "Thulluvadho Ilamai" (2002) but his father is credited for business reasons, which stars his brother Dhanush K. Raja, Selvaraghavan went on to make a series of romantic drama films with "Kadhal Kondein" (2003) (also starring Dhanush) and "7G Rainbow Colony" (2004) before also venturing into coming-of-age films "Pudhupettai" (2006) and "Mayakkam Enna" (2011), both starring Dhanush. He has also ventured into making science fiction and fantasy films, such as depicting a fantasy Chola kingdom in "Aayirathil Oruvan" (2010) and a parallel universe in "Irandam Ulagam" (2013). He has been critically acclaimed for his directorial skills.


title: Selvaraghavan

text: Selvaraghavan was born to film director Kasthuri Raja and Vijayalakshmi. He has a brother, Dhanush, who is an actor, and two sisters, who are both doctors. In his youth, one of his eyes was removed after he developed retinal cancer.


title: Selvaraghavan

text: On 15 December 2006, he married actress Sonia Agarwal, with whom he had previously worked with on three films. After their two-year marriage, Sonia Agarwal and Selvaraghavan filed for divorce with mutual consent in a Chennai family court on 9 August 2009.


title: Selvaraghavan

text: Selvaraghavan married Gitanjali Raman on 19 June 2011, daughter of former Advocate General of Tamil Nadu P. S. Raman. Gitanjali had worked as his assistant director in "Mayakkam Enna". The couple have a daughter named Leelavathi born on 20 January 2012, and a son born on 7 October 2013 named Omkar. The couple were blessed with their third child, a baby boy on 7 January 2021 who they named Rishikesh


title: Selvaraghavan

text: Despite coming from a family from the film industry, Selvaraghavan and his sisters were persuaded by their parents to seek a career with an academic background. He subsequently went on to attain a BEng. in Mechanical Engineering, though his exam performances were unremarkable and he acknowledges he was "never going to become one of the best". During his studies, he engaged part-time in different career paths in a process he describes as "soul-searching", before finding satisfaction as a writer. After he graduated in 1997, he approached producers to fund his screenplay writing, but was unsuccessful and often remained at home as an unemployed graduate. His family faced financial pressures in the early 2000s with his father being out of work, and subsequently they decided to put their remaining earnings into a venture titled "Thulluvadho Ilamai" (2002), which Selvaraghavan had written. Featuring his brother Dhanush in his first role, alongside Sherin and Abhinay, the film told the coming-of-age story of six high school students and featured a hit soundtrack by Yuvan Shankar Raja. After taking a small opening, the film began to get teen audiences to cinema halls for its adolescent themes, while also being publicised in quarters as a "soft porn" film. It subsequently went on to become a sleeper hit and won positive reviews from critics for breaking the stereotypes of Tamil films. After release, Selvaraghavan stated that he had also directed the film, but was forced to credit his more established film-maker father Kasthuri Raja as the sole director, in order to help the project find a distributor.


title: Selvaraghavan

text: Following the success of the previous film, the team chose to collaborate again with the psychotic romantic thriller "Kaadhal Kondein" (2003), credited as Selvaraghavan's first film. The venture, produced by his home production, also marked the first collaboration of Selvaraghavan with cinematographer Arvind Krishna, whom he would later associate with regularly. Selvaraghavan had written the script for the film in the late 1990s and had first narrated the story to Dhanush in their shared bedroom at home, before asking him to play the lead role of Vinod after the success of "Thulluvadho Illamai". The story explores the mind of a youth who is mentally and physically abused in his childhood. The lack of a mother's love haunts the protagonist throughout the film as the girl of his infatuation is killed. Becoming a psychopath, he desperately tries to woo his newly found lady love and his efforts culminate in a thrilling climax. The film opened in July 2003 to unanimously positive reviews, with a reviewer from "The Hindu" noting: "his story, screenplay, dialogue and direction are focused and hit the bull's eye straightway — hardly missing the mark." The film subsequently went on to become a blockbuster and provided career breakthroughs for both Selvaraghavan and Dhanush in the Tamil film industry. Since its release, the film has been remade into several Indian languages, while Selvaraghavan was briefly associated with the Hindi remake to be produced by Boney Kapoor in 2004, but the project did not eventually materialise.


title: Selvaraghavan

text: Selvaraghavan's next venture was another juvenile love story, "7G Rainbow Colony", which saw him collaborate with Yuvan Shankar Raja and Arvind Krishna again. He revealed that the film's inspiration came from his college days when he had been fascinated with a Punjabi girl called Ruchika, during his education in KK Nagar. He based several of the scenes on real-life happenings with his friends, revealing that the film was "75% biographical" and the lead character was an "average guy" like himself, who "no one would make a film on". He cast Ravi Krishna, son of the film's producer A. M. Rathnam, in the leading role after a successful screen test while choosing to retain Sonia Agarwal as the lead actress, due to her Punjabi origin. The film opened in October 2004 to positive reviews, with a critic from Sify.com noting: "Unlike other contemporary film-makers running after superstars and making formula films, Selvaraghavan pushes the cinematic envelope and brings savvy freshness to the form, hitherto unexplored". Another reviewer from Rediff.com added: "Selvaraghavan has once again displayed his skill making a movie that is touching without being mushy, and believable because of its realism", noting that ""7G Rainbow Colony" remains with you, disturbs you and lingers like the glowing embers of a fire long burnt." Consequently, the film and its dubbed Telugu version went on to become amongst the most profitable films of the year.


title: Selvaraghavan

text: Selvaraghavan later committed to begin work on a Hindi version of the film starring Vivek Oberoi in 2007, but the venture subsequently did not materialise. While making "7G Rainbow Colony", Selvaraghavan began pre-production work on a gangster film titled "Pudhupettai" – unrelated to his later film – and planned to cast Suriya, Dhanush, Silambarasan, Jayam Ravi, Ravi Krishna and Genelia D'Souza in the lead roles. The film however did not develop into production.


title: Selvaraghavan

text: In 2004, he began pre-production on another gangster film titled "Kasimedu" for producer Salem A. Chandrasekharan, which would feature Ajith Kumar, Dhanush and Bharath in the leading roles. The film was later cancelled, and the director became involved in a legal tussle in 2010 for failing to return his advance payments for the project. He later also tried to make the film during 2005 with Vijay in the lead role for producer Ramesh Babu, with the producer again bringing up legal proceedings in late 2016 about the failure to return an advance. Likewise, another project titled "Doctors" featuring Dhanush and Sonia Agarwal was shelved after a photo shoot had been held. The following year, he began work on a different gangster film titled "Oru Naal Oru Kanavu" for Lakshmi Movie Makers with Dhanush and Sonia Agarwal, based on the gang culture of North Chennai. The title was later changed to "Pudhupettai" (2006), with Sneha also selected to play the role of prostitute. Featuring acclaimed technical work by Yuvan Shankar Raja and Arvind Krishna again, the film told the story of a slum kid's growth into a notorious gangster. Talking about the making of the film, Selvaraghavan called it "an experiment" and stated it had "one of the most complicated screenplays", while revealing he was more nervous with the final product in comparison to his previous ventures. It also became the first Tamil film to be shot in Super 35 mm instead of the Cinemascope format, as well to be released in digital format. The film opened to negative reviews in July 2006, with a reviewer from Sify.com adding it was "heartbreakingly disappointing and is nowhere in the league of his earlier films", citing that it "doesn't unfold quickly and moves at snail pace, puffs and pants with too many characters, subplots and quite long for a gangster genre film". A reviewer from The Hindu also added "Selvaraghavan dishes out a protracted bloodbath and somehow you feel he has let you down", while the critic at Rediff.com stated that "coming from a director like Selvaraghavan, Puthupettai is unbelievable. He loses grip over the plot and the narration goes haywire". It went on to have an average run at the box office despite taking a grand opening, with Selvaraghavan suggesting the excessive bloodshed scenes may have kept family audiences away.