THE CHRISTIAN ROMAN EMPIRE AND THE FOUNDATION OF THE TEUTONIC KINGDOMS
CHAPTER XVI
THE EASTERN PROVINCES FROM ARCADIUS TO ANASTASIUS
BY the death of Theodosius the Eastern throne passed to his incapable
elder son, Arcadius, then 17 years old, while the practical administration was
in the hands of the praetorian praefect,
Rufinus of Aquitaine, a man of vigor and ability who in the pursuit of ambition
and avarice was not limited by scruples. Under these circumstances a conflict
was likely to arise between Rufinus and Stilicho, who was the guardian of the
Western Emperor Honorius, and husband of Theodosius' niece, who also asserted
that Theodosius had on his death-bed committed both his sons to his care.
Rufinus proposed to counterbalance the advantage which his rival possessed in
his connection with the imperial family by marrying Arcadius to his own
daughter; but, unfortunately for him, he had a rival at Court in the eunuch
Eutropius, a former slave who had risen to the position of praepositus sacri cubiculi;
who now profited by the praefect's absence to thwart his scheme. Lucian, whom
Rufinus had made count of the East, had refused a request of Eucherius, the
Emperor's great-uncle; and, upon Arcadius complaining of this, the praefect, to
show his own loyalty, made a hasty journey to Antioch and put Lucian to a cruel
death. Meanwhile Eutropius induced Arcadius to betroth himself to Eudoxia,
daughter of Bauto the Frank, who had been brought up
by a son of Promotus, an enemy of Rufinus; who thus
had the mortification of seeing his master united not to his own daughter but
to one who from her upbringing would be bitterly opposed to him (27 Apr. 395).
395-396] Murder of Rufinus
The inferiority of Rufinus was increased by the fact that the best of
the Eastern troops had accompanied Theodosius to the West, and of these only
some of the less efficient had been sent back. The Visigothic foederati had
however returned to Moesia; and their leader Alaric, who was now proclaimed
king, was quick to profit by the weakness of the government. Professing
indignation at not being appointed magister
militum, he invaded Thrace and advanced to Constantinople, while Rufinus,
having also to meet an incursion of Caucasian Huns into Asia Minor and Syria
(July), where Antioch was threatened and Old Tyre abandoned by its citizens,
had no forces to oppose to him. He therefore went to the Gothic camp, and,
after some negotiations, Alaric withdrew to Macedonia, and after a check from
local forces at the Peneus passed into Thessaly.
Stilicho, who, besides desiring to overthrow Rufinus, wished to reunite eastern
Illyricum to the Western power, treated this as a pretext for interference;
and, starting in early spring, he marched with considerable forces to Thessaly,
and met the Goths in a wide plain. Probably, however, he did not wish to crush
them; and, after some months had been spent in skirmishes or negotiations,
Rufinus, who feared Stilicho more than Alaric, sent him in the Emperor's name
an order to evacuate the dominions of Arcadius and send back the Eastern
troops. To break openly with the East at this time did not suit Stilicho's
purpose; and, as the Eastern forces, which comprised a large Gothic contingent,
were devoted to him, he could attain his primary object in another way. He
therefore returned at once, while the Eastern army under Gainas the Goth
marched to Constantinople. In accordance with custom the Emperor, accompanied
by Rufinus, came out to meet the troops, and the soldiers, at a signal from
Gainas, fell upon the praefect and cut him in pieces (27 Nov.).
The Emperor's chief adviser was now Eutropius, who appropriated a large
part of Rufinus' property and procured the banishment of the two most
distinguished generals in the East, Abundantius and Timasius (396), while he
entrusted positions of power to such obscure men as Hosius the cook and Leo the
wool-comber. He also gained much obloquy by selling offices, though as the
prices were fixed and there was no system of public loans, this was only a
convenient method of raising money. As a eunuch, he could not hold any state office;
but for this he partly compensated by transferring some of the powers of the praefect to the master of the offices
and by interfering in matters altogether outside the functions of a
chamberlain. Thus he is said to have acted as a judge, probably on a special
commission, and to have gone on embassies to the Goths and Huns, from which he
returned with military pomp. Finally he was made a patrician and assumed the
consulship (399), though his name was not admitted to the Western Fasti. At first
he was necessarily on good terms with the army, and therefore with Stilicho;
but he was no more inclined than Rufinus had been to allow the Western regent
to direct Eastern affairs, and the previous position therefore soon recurred.
After Stilicho’s retreat Greece lay at Alaric’s mercy, for, perhaps
because the army was too much under Stilicho's influence, no force was sent
against him, and through the unguarded Thermopylae he marched plundering into
Boeotia. Thebes indeed was too strong to take, and Athens he entered only under
a capitulation. Megara however was taken, and, the Isthmus being left
undefended, Corinth, Argos, and Sparta also. During 396 Peloponnesus lay under
his heel; but early in 397 Stilicho, secure in the support of the Eastern army,
thought that the time had come for another campaign. This time he came by sea
to Corinth, and, marching westwards, blockaded the Goths at Pholoe in Elis. But Eutropius opened negotiations with Gildo, count of Africa, whose
loyalty had long been doubtful, to induce him to transfer his allegiance to
Arcadius; and, the threatening state of affairs making it necessary for
Stilicho to return, he allowed Alaric to withdraw to Epirus, probably on the
understanding that he would keep the Eastern Court occupied. Eutropius however
preferred to satisfy him by the post of magister
militum in Illyricum, and on these terms peace was concluded. Such being
the relations between the two Courts, it is not surprising to find that some of
the eunuch's enemies conspired with the Gothic soldiers, the allies of
Stilicho, against his life, and that, with the fate of Rufinus before him, he
tried to prevent such plots by a law of extraordinary severity (4 Sept.).
Perhaps for the same reason that no army was sent against Alaric no support was
given to Gildo; but his revolt occupied Stilicho's attention during most of
398. The pacification of Africa was however soon followed by Eutropius' fall.
Rebellion
of Tribigild [397-399
Gainas, now magister militum,
had been strengthening his own position by filling the army with Goths from
Moesia; and in spring 399 an opportunity for action presented itself.
Tribigild, commander of the Gothic colonists in Phrygia, having been refused a donative by Eutropius, revolted and ravaged the country,
upon which Eutropius offered the money; but Tribigild raised his demands and
insisted upon the eunuch's deposition. Gainas, with Leo, the satellite of
Eutropius, was sent against him; but, while Leo advanced toward the disturbed
district, Gainas remained at the Hellespont. Tribigild on hearing of Leo's
approach marched through Pisidia into Pamphylia, where a large part of his army was cut to pieces
by a rustic force under Valentinus, a citizen of Selga, and the rest blockaded between the Eurymedon and the Melas. Leo
moved to the support of the local force: but, as he was too indolent and
dissolute to maintain discipline, Tribigild was able by an unexpected attack to
make his way through, while the disorderly force scattered in all directions,
Leo himself perishing in the flight. Tribigild then returned to Phrygia, which
he again plundered. Nor was he the only enemy with whom the Empire had to
contend; for, besides the constant incursions of the desert tribes into Egypt
and Libya, the Huns were ravaging Thrace, and Vram Shapuh of Armenia was, at the instigation of the Persian
king, attempting to annex the five satrapies north of the Tigris.
399-403]
Fall of Eutropius and Overthrow of Gainas
Accordingly Gainas with much show of reason represented to Arcadius that
his best course was to grant Tribigild’s demand; and,
as Eudoxia urged the same, his consent was easily obtained. Eutropius was
deposed from his office, and, though he had abolished by legal enactment the
right of sanctuary possessed by the churches, fled to the altar of St Sophia,
where the bishop, John Chrysostom, who owed his appointment to the eunuch, made
use of his presence to preach on the vanity of earthly things, but resisted all
attempts to remove him. Finally he left the church on a promise that his life
should be spared, but was deprived of property and honors, and banished to
Cyprus (July or Aug.). As however Gainas insisted upon the necessity of his
death, he was, on the pretext that the promise applied only to Constantinople,
brought back to Chalcedon, tried on a charge of using imperial ornaments, and
beheaded.
The fall of Eutropius had been effected by a combination between Eudoxia
and Gainas; and during the absence of the Goth, who had returned to Phrygia,
the Empress secured the appointment of Aurelianus to the praefecture in preference to his
brother Caesarius, who was supported by Gainas. After Eutropius' death she
further had herself proclaimed Augusta (9 Jan. 400); and by an innovation which
called forth a protest from Honorius her busts were sent round the provinces
like those of emperors. But Gainas had not designed to set Eudoxia in the place
of Eutropius; accordingly he sent Tribigild, with whom he had joined forces, to Lampsacus, while he himself returned to Chalcedon,
and demanded the surrender of three of the principal supporters of the empress,
Aurelianus the praefect, Saturninus an ex-consul, and Count John, her chief favorite.
Resistance was useless; and Aurelianus and Saturninus crossed to Chalcedon,
while John hid himself, probably in a church; but his hiding-place was
discovered, and the bishop’s enemies afterwards asserted that he had betrayed
him. The three men were ordered to prepare for death; but, when the executioner’s
sword was at their necks, Gainas stayed his hand and had them conveyed by sea
towards the Adriatic, perhaps intending to place them in the hands of Stilicho
or Alaric. He next demanded a meeting with the Emperor; which took place at
Chalcedon, where they gave mutual oaths of good faith in the church of St Euphemia. Both the Gothic leaders then crossed to Europe.
Caesarius was made praefect, and in consequence of the recent troubles was
compelled to increase the taxation; but in systematizing the sale of offices by
limiting the tenure of each he seems to have performed an act of advantage to
the State and justice to the purchasers. Meanwhile Gainas was so distributing
the Roman troops in the city as to place them at the mercy of the Goths; and
then, thinking his will law, he asked that a church within the walls should be
given to the Arians. This time however the strong orthodoxy of Arcadius and the
influence of the bishop caused the demand to be refused. The violent hostility
aroused by these events made men believe that the Goths intended to attack the
palace; while they on their side were seized with a panic which led them to
expect an attack from forces which did not exist. Accordingly Gainas, alleging
ill-health, retired to the suburban church of St John, instructing his men to
come out singly and join him. After the greater part had left the city, a
trivial occurrence brought on a scuffle between the Goths and the citizens, who
attacked the already panic-stricken barbarians with any weapons they could
find, and at last the gates were shut, and the Goths, enclosed within the city,
without cohesion and without leaders, offered little resistance and were
mercilessly massacred, while Arcadius found courage to declare Gainas a public
enemy and send his guards to support the populace. Next day the survivors, who
had fled to a church that the bishop had given to the orthodox Goths, were
surrounded by the soldiers; and, though none dared to attack them in the
church, the roof was stripped off and burning wood thrown in until all
perished, in spite of the appeals of Caesarius for a capitulation (12 July).
The Roman troops were now collected and placed under Fravitta, a loyal
pagan Goth who had distinguished himself in the time of Theodosius. The
attempts of Gainas on the Thracian cities failed, Tribigild was killed, and
lack of provisions compelled the Goths to withdraw to the Chersonese in order
to cross to Asia; but Fravitta had already placed a fleet on the Hellespont to
intercept them. They were however forced to attempt the passage in rafts, and,
these being sunk, most of them were drowned, while Gainas with the survivors
retreated across the Danube, where he was attacked and killed by Uldin the Hun (23 Dec.), who sent his head to
Constantinople, where it was carried through the city (3 Jan. 401). Shortly
before the victory Aurelianus and the other hostages escaped from their guards
in Epirus, and returned to the capital; and early in 401 Caesarius was deposed
and imprisoned, and Aurelianus restored. Some deserters and fugitive slaves,
who continued to ravage Thrace, were put down by Fravitta. But he was accused
of not pressing his advantage against the Goths, and, though acquitted,
incurred Eudoxia's enmity, and afterwards fell a victim to the machinations of
her satellites.
Stilicho’s hopes of directing Eastern affairs through the army were thus
destroyed; and soon afterwards the government was delivered from Alaric, who,
having exhausted eastern Illyricum, invaded Italy, and after an indecisive
battle at Pollentia (402) was established in western Illyricum as magister militum, probably on the
understanding that he would help Stilicho to annex eastern Illyricum when
opportunity arose. In other directions things went less fortunately. By the
annihilation of the Goths the East was left almost without an army; and the
Isaurian robbers terrorized eastern Asia Minor and Syria, where they took
Seleucia (Feb. 403), and even crossed to Cyprus. Arbazacius the Armenian indeed gained some successes; but he was suspected of corruption
and recalled, though by the influence of the empress he escaped punishment
(404).
403-408] Banishment of John Chrysostom
The chief power in the State was now Eudoxia; but there was one man who
dared to oppose her, John Chrysostom. As early as 401 he offended her by
complaining of some act of oppression; and not only was he constantly preaching
against the prevailing luxury and dissipation among the ladies of fashion of
whom she was leader, but he used the names "Herodias" and
"Jezebel," and in one of his sermons employed the word “adoxia”, with an
application that could not be mistaken. His popularity was so great that she
would hardly have attacked him on this ground alone; but, with the help of the
ecclesiastical jealousy of the bishop of Alexandria and the discontent which
his high-handed proceedings in the cause of discipline aroused among some of
the clergy, she procured his deposition (c. July 403). Popular clamor however
and a building collapse in the imperial chamber frightened her into recalling
him after a few days and excusing herself by throwing the blame upon others.
This reconciliation did not last long. Two months later a statue of Eudoxia was
erected on a spot adjoining the church of St Irene during divine service, and
John, regarding the festivities as an insult to the church, preached a violent
sermon against those responsible for them, which the empress took as an attack
upon herself. The bishops were therefore again assembled; but the proceedings
were protracted, and Arcadius, who in religious matters had something like a
will of his own, was hard to move. On 20 June 404 however the bishop was
finally expelled. That night some of his fanatical partisans set fire to St
Sophia, which was destroyed with the adjoining Senate-house: in which many
ancient works of art perished.
Less than four months afterwards Eudoxia died from a miscarriage (6
Oct.); and the period of active misrule from which the East had suffered since
395 came to an end. The praefecture was now entrusted
to the capable hands of Anthemius: but the government had still no force to
repress the incursions of the Libyan tribes or the Isaurian brigands, whose
raids continued to the end of the reign. The relations with the West had been
further embittered by the affair of John Chrysostom; and, while Stilicho lived,
a good understanding was impossible. After delays not easy to explain Stilicho
prepared to carry out his compact with Alaric, and, as an earnest of his
intention, closed the ports against Eastern ships, while Alaric invaded Epirus.
But, hearing that the usurper Constantine had crossed to Gaul, Stilicho again
postponed his Eastern expedition, and Alaric in anger evacuated the dominions
of Arcadius and threatened Italy. At this juncture Arcadius died (1 May 408),
leaving a son, Theodosius, aged seven, who since 10 Jan. 402 had been his
father's colleague, and three (perhaps four) daughters; and Stilicho, thinking
the time come to carry out his old project of bringing the East under his rule,
proposed to send Alaric to Gaul and go himself to Constantinople as the
representative of Honorius; but a hostile party secured the Emperor's ear, and
he was put to death (Aug. 408). The ports were then opened and amity restored.
Administration
of Anthemius [408-414
The care of the Emperor's person was in the hands of Antiochus, a eunuch
with Persian connections; but the direction of affairs fell to Anthemius, whose
chief adviser was the sophist Troilus; and the period of his administration was
one of the most fortunate in the history of the East. The danger from the West
had been removed by Stilicho's fall; and on the eastern side the best relations
were maintained with Yezdegerd the Persian king, with whom a commercial treaty
was made. The military power of the Empire had suffered too much to be quickly
restored; but we hear no more of Isaurian raids, and it was found possible to
send a small force to support Honorius against Alaric. It was only however by a
combination with subject tribes that the Huns were driven across the Danube,
while their tributaries the Sciri were captured in vast numbers, and enslaved
or settled as coloni in Asia Minor (409). To prevent such incursions the fleet on the Danube was
strengthened (412). Other salutary measures were the relief given to the
taxpayers of Illyricum and the East (413-14), the restoration of the
fortifications of the Illyrian cities (412), and the re-organization of the
corn supply of Constantinople (409). But the work for which the name of
Anthemius was most remembered is the wall built from the Propontis to the
Golden Horn to enclose the portion of the city that had grown up outside the
wall of Constantine, a wall which substantially exists to this day (413).
In 414 the administration of Anthemius came to an end, probably by
death; and on 4 July Pulcheria, the daughter of Arcadius, was proclaimed
Augusta, a title that had not been granted to an emperor’s sister since
Trajan's time; and henceforth, though only two years older than Theodosius, she
exercised the functions of regent, and her bust was placed in the Senate-house
with those of the emperors (30 Dec.). At the same time Antiochus was removed
from the palace.
414-420]
Regency of Pulcheria
The Court of Pulcheria was a strange contrast to her mother's. For
political rather than religious reasons she took a vow of perpetual virginity
and induced her sisters to do the same, and the princesses spent their time in
spinning and devout exercises. She herself was a ready speaker and writer in
Greek and Latin; and she had her brother trained in rhetoric, as well as
horsemanship and the use of arms, in ceremony and deportment, and the
observances of religion. Hence he grew up a strict observer of ecclesiastical
rules, a fair scholar with a special interest in natural science and medicine,
a keen huntsman, an excellent penman, exemplary in private life, mild and
good-tempered; but, as everything likely to make him a capable ruler was
excluded from his education, the Emperor remained all his life a puppet in the
hands of his sister, his wife, and his eunuchs.
The transference of the regency to a girl of 15 could not be effected
without a change in the methods of administration; and it is therefore not
surprising to find the government accused of fiscal oppression, while the sale
of offices, which was restricted under Anthemius, became again a matter of
public notoriety. In Alexandria, which, being almost equally divided between
Christians, Jews, and heathens, was always turbulent, the change gave occasion
for a serious outbreak. After prolonged rioting between Jews and Christians the
bishop Cyril instigated his followers to expel the Jews. This the praefect
Orestes reported to the Emperor, while Cyril sent his own account; and, Orestes
refusing to yield, some fanatical monks attacked and stoned him. The chief
perpetrator was tortured to death, whereupon Cyril treated him as a martyr, and
both parties appealed to Constantinople. It now came to be believed among
Cyril's partisans that Orestes was acting under the influence of the celebrated
mathematician and philosopher, Hypatia, who was in
constant communication with him: accordingly a party of parabolani (sick-attendants)
pulled her from her chariot, dragged her into the church called Caesarium, and
beat or scraped her to death with tiles (Mar. 415). At first the government
acted with some vigor. No personal punishment was inflicted, but the parabolani were
limited to 500, and the selection made subject to the approbation of the Augustal and praetorian praefects,
while they were forbidden to appear in the council-house or law-courts or at
public spectacles (29 Sept. 416). It was not long however before the influence
or bribes of Cyril procured the restoration of the freedom of selection (3 Feb.
418). The increase of anti-pagan feeling was also shown by a law excluding
pagans from high administrative office and from the army (7 Dec. 416). Other
disturbances were the rebellion of Count Plintha in
Palestine (418), an attack on the city praefect Aetius (23 Feb. 419), and a
mutiny in the East (420). In Armenia, Yezdegerd having appointed his brother as
king, the Roman portion of the country was definitely annexed and placed under
a count (415-16).
It was now time for Theodosius to marry; and it was Pulcheria’s object to prevent the choice of a wife with powerful connections, who would be
likely to endanger her ascendancy. She had by some means made the acquaintance
of Athenais, daughter of the Athenian sophist
Leontius, a woman of high education and literary ability, who had come to
Constantinople through a dispute with her brothers about their father's
property. As a friendless girl dependent on herself, yet fitted by education
for the part of an empress, she seemed exactly suited for the purpose. The
Augusta therefore introduced her to Theodosius, who declared himself willing to
make her his wife; Athenais made no objection to
accepting Christianity, and was baptized under the name of Eudocia, Pulcheria
standing sponsor; and on 7 June 421 the marriage was celebrated. The new
empress bore no malice against her brothers, but summoned them to Court, where
one became praefect of Illyricum and
the other master of the offices; in this however she perhaps showed worldly
wisdom rather than Christian charity. After the birth of a daughter she
received the title of Augusta (2 Jan. 423).
Persian War [421-441
About the time of the marriage the peace with Persia was broken.
Yezdegerd had always shown himself friendly to the Christians; but at the end
of his reign the fanatical act of a bishop drove him to severe measures. Some
Christians fled to Roman territory, and when their surrender was refused, the
position became so critical that permission was given to the inhabitants of the
exposed provinces to fortify their own lands (5 May 420). After Yezdegerd’s
violent death (late in 420) a more extended persecution was begun by Warahran
V; and the Court of Constantinople began the war by sending the Alan Ardaburius
through Roman Armenia into Arzanene, where he defeated the Persian Narsai (Aug. or Sept 421), who retreated to Nisibis.
Ardaburius with numerous prisoners advanced to Amida to prevent an invasion of
Mesopotamia; and here, as the prisoners were starving, Bishop Acacius melted the church plate, ransomed them with the
price, gave them provisions, and sent them home. Ardaburius then besieged
Nisibis, and Warahran prepared to march to its relief, while he sent Al Mundhir, sheikh of Al Hira, to
invade Syria. Many of the Arabs were however drowned in the Euphrates, and the
rest defeated by the general Vitianus. On the king's
approach Ardaburius burnt his engines and retreated, and the Persians, crossing
the frontier, vainly attacked Rhesaina for over a
month; but, though the Romans gained some successes, no decisive victory was
obtained, and Theodosius thought it best to propose terms. Warahran was also
inclined for peace; but, wishing to gain a success first, he ordered an attack
upon a Roman force, while he kept the ambassador with him. The Romans were
surprised; but during the battle another division under Procopius, the
son-in-law of Anthemius, unexpectedly appeared, and the Persians, taken on both
sides, were defeated. Warahran then took up the negotiations in earnest; and,
on his undertaking to stop the persecution and each party binding itself not to
receive the Arab subjects of the other, peace was made for 100 years (422).
This victory was celebrated by Eudocia in an epic poem. It was probably a
result of the transference of troops from Europe to meet the Persians that the
Huns this year invaded Thrace, though in consequence of the prudent measures of
Anthemius the Danubian frontier was rarely violated
before 441. The provinces had however not recovered from the calamities of
Arcadius' time, and constant remissions of taxation were necessary.
421-441] Elevation of Valentinian III
The relations with the West were again disturbed through the refusal of
Theodosius to recognize the elevation of Constantius (421); and when, after the
death of Honorius (Aug. 423) the obscure John was proclaimed emperor in
prejudice of the claims of the young Valentinian the son of Placidia, there was
an open breach. When John’s envoys arrived to ask for recognition, Theodosius
threw them into prison. Placidia now received anew the title of Augusta (424),
which Theodosius had before ignored, Valentinian was declared Caesar at
Thessalonica, mother and son were sent to Italy with a large army under
Ardaburius, his son Aspar, and Candidianus; and, John
having been overthrown, Valentinian was invested with the empire (Oct. 425).
The concord between the two divisions of the Empire was confirmed by the
betrothal of Valentinian to Theodosius' daughter Eudoxia, and the victory
celebrated by the building of the Golden Gate, through which the emperors made
their formal entries into Constantinople. In 431, when Placidia needed
assistance against the Vandals, an army under Aspar was sent to Africa; but
Aspar returned three years later without success, probably after an
understanding which made him ever after a friend of the Vandals.
In 427 some Ostrogoths who had seceded from the Huns were settled in
Thrace, and other tribes were received in 433; while a raid was made by the
Huns, and a more serious attack only prevented by abject submission to their
demands (434). At sea a pirate fleet entered the Propontis, but in 438 the
pirate Contradis was captured. At home stones were
thrown at Theodosius in a riot after a famine in 431, and there were bitter
complaints of the extortion of the eunuchs.
Two matters of internal administration deserve special mention—the
codification of the law (438), and the foundation of a university at
Constantinople as a counterpoise to the schools of Athens (27 Feb. 425). In
this university there were 28 professors of Greek and Latin grammar and rhetoric,
and two of law, but only one of philosophy, and all other public teaching in
the city was forbidden.
Eudocia was at first of necessity subservient to her sister-in-law; but
that she would always accept this position was not to be expected. A difference
appeared at the time of the synod of Ephesus (431), when Pulcheria was
victorious; but afterwards her influence declined, and at last a palace
intrigue drove her to retire from court. Under Eudocia’s patronage a large share in the administration fell to Cyrus, an Egyptian poet
and philosopher, who became city-praefect in 435, and in 439 combined this
office with the praetorian praefecture. Cyrus was the
first praefect who published decrees in Greek, and he also distinguished
himself by renovating the buildings of the city, especially by an extension of
the sea-wall to join the wall of Anthemius, which the capture of Carthage by
the Vandals had made desirable (439). Antiochus, the emperor's old guardian,
was restored to favour and made praepositus.
Fall of
Eudocia [437-460
The capture of Carthage caused the dispatch of a fleet to Sicily in 441:
but in consequence of an irruption of Huns into
Illyricum the force was recalled in 442 and peace made; but not before the
expedition had led to a war with Persia. Under the capable direction of
Anatolius, the magister militum per Orientem, the defence of the eastern frontier had been
strengthened by stricter rules of discipline in the army (25 Feb. 438) and by
the building of the fortress of Theodosiopolis in Armenia. This last the new
king, Yezdegerd II, probably considered a menace; and he therefore took
advantage of the troubles in the West to begin war, crossing the frontier from
Nisibis and sacking several towns, while another force raided Roman Armenia
(441). He was however hampered by bad weather and threatened by the Ephthalites
beyond the Caspian; hence, though the Romans had no army to oppose to him,
Anatolius and Aspar by a large sum of money and a promise to surrender some
Christian refugees persuaded him to make a truce for a year. As the troubles
with the Ephthalites continued, this was followed by a definite peace on the
terms that neither party should build a fort within a certain distance of the
frontier, and the Romans should renew an undertaking made by Jovian to
contribute to the defences of the Caucasian Gates. One of the last acts of
Cyrus was to provide that the Armenian frontier lands should be held on
condition of supplying horses, wagons, and pikemen for the army (26 June 441).
After her daughter’s marriage (21 Oct. 437), for which Valentinian came
to Constantinople, Eudocia went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem (438), and on the
way gained much popularity at Antioch by a speech in which she boasted of her
Greek blood. She returned in 439; and meanwhile some hostile influence seems to
have been at work, for in 440 Paulinus, ex-master of
the offices, was beheaded at Caesarea in Cappadocia on suspicion, as was
popularly believed, of an intrigue with her, and soon afterwards she asked
leave to retire to Jerusalem, and left Constantinople for ever (441?). With her
fell Cyrus, who through the popular acclamation, “Constantine founded, Cyrus
restored”, had incurred the Emperor’s jealousy. Being charged with paganism, he
took orders to save his head, and was made bishop of Cotyaeum,
where four bishops were said to have been murdered. By his discreet conduct he
succeeded in retaining his see till the time of Leo, when on some unknown
charge he was deprived and came back to Constantinople, where he remained in
possession of large property. Antiochus was also deposed and compelled to take
orders. Pulcheria returned to Court; but the chief influence was for the rest
of the reign exercised by the eunuch Chrysaphius. Eudocia was not left in peace
at Jerusalem; but Saturninus, count of the domestici, was sent to spy upon
her, and for some reason beheaded two clergymen who attended upon her (444).
She in revenge assassinated Saturninus and was deprived of her imperial train,
though she still disposed of ample revenues, which she spent on the erection of
churches and monasteries. She composed several poems, of which large portions are extant, and died in 460 (20
Oct.).
447-453]
Accession of Marcian
The good administration introduced by Anthemius had been in some measure
maintained under the ascendancy of Pulcheria and Eudocia; but under Chrysaphius
the days of Arcadius seemed to have returned. The Huns overran Thrace and
Illyricum, and the murder of the magister
militum of Thrace, John the Vandal (apparently by order of Chrysaphius),
did not strengthen the resistance. The Romans suffered a severe defeat (447),
and Chrysaphius could only grant Attila’s terms and send emissaries to
assassinate him. In 447 the walls of Constantinople were shattered by an
earthquake, and in consequence of the terror caused by the Huns the praefect
Constantine rebuilt them in 60 days, and the Isaurians, who had renewed their
raids in 441, were called in under their leader Zeno to defend the city. Zeno
afterwards extorted the office of magister
per Orientem, and demanded the surrender of
Chrysaphius; and, though this was not granted, the danger from the Huns
prevented an intended campaign against the marauders. Bands of Tzani, Saracens, and Caucasian Huns had invaded the Empire
during the Persian war, and we hear of Saracen raids again several years later
(448), while Yezdegerd showed signs of a desire to renew hostilities. Libya too
was again harassed by the frontier tribes, and the Vandals terrorized the
Ionian sea.
On 26 July 450 Theodosius broke his spine by a fall from his horse while
hunting, and died two days later. The appointment of a successor was left to
the Augusta Pulcheria; and her choice fell upon Marcian, a veteran soldier from
Thrace of high character who had held the post of domesticus (chief of the staff)
to Aspar, to whose influence the selection must be ascribed. Pulcheria crowned
Marcian in the presence of the Senate (24 Aug.), and gave him her hand in
nominal marriage.
The first act of the new rulers was to put Chrysaphius to death. The
sale of offices was prohibited, though it is unlikely that the prohibition was
strictly carried out; and attempts were made to lighten the burden of taxation
by a remission of arrears, by reducing the number of praetors to three and
relieving non-resident senators from the burden of the office (18 Dec. 450),
and by enacting that the consuls instead of squandering money on the populace
should make a contribution towards the repair of the aqueducts (452), an
obligation which was extended to honorary consuls by the Emperor Zeno. Marcian
also put an end to a system under which the possessors of certain lands which
had been sold by the State in the time of Valens escaped their share of
taxation. The popularity of his rule is shown by the words "Reign like
Marcian," with which the citizens in 491 greeted Anastasius.
In external relations the reign was a fortunate one. As Attila was
preparing for his western expedition, his demands for money could safely be
refused; and, when after his return he repeated them with threats, death
prevented him from carrying these out (453). From Zeno, who was appealing to
heathen support, the Emperor was delivered by his death following a fall from
his horse. Envoys from the Armenian insurgents had come before Theodosius'
death to ask for help; but Marcian refused to break the peace with Persia. With
the Vandals also peace was maintained; for, though after the sack of Rome (455)
Marcian tried to obtain the release of Eudoxia and her daughters, the
possession of these hostages as well as Aspar’s influence secured Gaiseric from
attack. In Syria the magister militum, Aspar’s son Ardaburius, was in 452
fighting with Arab raiders near Damascus, after which negotiations were begun,
but with what result is not known. At the same time Egypt was suffering from
incursions of the Blemmyes, who gave hostages to the imperial envoy Maximin,
and made peace for 100 years, but on his sudden death recovered the hostages by
force and renewed their raids till put down by Florus,
praefect and count of Egypt. A more serious position arose on the Danubian frontier, where after the collapse of the Hun
empire (454) some of the Huns and other tribes were settled in the north of
Illyricum and Thrace as foederati.
Of these the most important was a body of Ostrogoths, who under three brothers
of the Amal family, Walamir, Theodemir, and Widimir,
settled in eastern Pannonia, of which they received a grant from Marcian, who
did not recognize Valentinian III’s successors: they also received pay as foederati.
Accession
of Leo I [452-471
In 453 Pulcheria died, leaving all her property to the poor, a bequest
which Marcian faithfully carried out. By a former wife Marcian had a daughter,
whom he had given in marriage to Anthemius, grandson of the praefect Anthemius;
but, when he died (27 Jan. 457) at the age of 65, he had taken no steps to
secure his son-in-law's succession, and the throne lay at the disposal of Aspar
the patrician and magister militum,
who as an Arian and barbarian could not himself assume the crown, but might
reign in the name of some puppet-emperor. He therefore chose Leo, a military
tribune from Dacia and his own steward, a man of some capacity but little
education; and the choice was ratified by the Senate. As there was no elder
emperor or Augusta to perform the coronation, Leo was crowned by the patriarch
Anatolius (7 Feb.). This precedent was henceforth followed whenever an emperor
was not merely being associated with a senior colleague.
One of the first acts of the new reign was the recognition of Majorian
(April), after whose death (461) Leo, though not recognizing Severus, accepted
the Western consuls, and, while sending an embassy to Gaiseric to secure the
liberation of the widow and daughters of Valentinian, urged him to cease
attacking Italy and Sicily. Gaiseric refused to make peace with the West or to
release Eudoxia, whom he married to his son, but on receiving a share of Valentinian’s property released his widow and her other
daughter Placidia, who came to Constantinople. Some years later Eudoxia escaped
(471) and ended her days at Jerusalem. Leo also induced Marcellinus, who had
set up an independent power in Dalmatia, to keep peace with the Western
Emperor; but further embassies to Gaiseric effected nothing.
459-468] Affairs
of Lazica
About this time the migration of the Avars from the east caused a
movement among the Hunnic tribes of the Caucasus, in
consequence of which the Saragurs asked for Roman protection, and obtained it,
though some trouble with the fugitive peoples followed. But when the Saragurs
invaded Persian territory, an embassy arrived from King Piroz to complain of
the treatment of Magians in the Empire and the reception of fugitives, and to
ask for the stipulated contribution in money or men towards the defence of the
Caucasian Gates, and money for the war against the Ephthalites; to which an
answer was sent through the ex-praefect Constantine that the complaints were unfounded
and the contribution could not be given. Meanwhile Gobazes, king of Lazica
(Colchis), had offended the government, and a campaign in his country was
undertaken (464), the troops returning to Roman territory for the winter. The
coast-road was however so difficult that the Romans were thinking of asking
leave to pass through Persian territory; accordingly, on receiving an embassy
from Gobazes, Leo granted peace on the nominal condition that he and his son
should not reign conjointly; and Gobazes, having failed to obtain help from
Piroz on account of the Ephthalite war, consented to
retire in his son's favour. A certain Dionysius, who was known to Gobazes from
previous negotiations, was at his request sent to Lazica and brought the king
back with him to Constantinople (466), where by plausible words and the wearing
of Christian emblems he obtained favour, so that his abdication was not
insisted on. His submission drew upon him the enmity of Piroz, and a force
under Heraclius was sent to his support; but, as the Persians were occupied
elsewhere and the maintenance of the troops was expensive, Gobazes sent them
back. Leo was meanwhile negotiating with Piroz through Constantine; but Piroz,
having overcome the Ephthalites, sent to announce the fact and turned against
Gobazes, who had meanwhile taken some forts from his north-eastern neighbors,
the Suani, who were in alliance with Persia. Gobazes
asked that part of the Armenian frontier force might be sent to his support;
but Leo, being occupied with the African expedition, refused assistance (468).
Meanwhile the relations between Leo and Aspar had become strained. A
difference between them had arisen in 459, when Leo appointed Vivianus praefect in preference to Aspar's candidate, Tatianus; and again in 460 Leo expelled the patriarch
Timothy of Alexandria in spite of Aspar's opposition. Another dispute arose
over the affairs of Illyricum. The Pannonian Ostrogoths, whose subsidy had been
withheld by Leo, raided Illyricum and took Dyrrachium (459), but were obliged
to give Theodemir’s son, the boy Theodoric, as a
hostage before obtaining the pay which they claimed. They then turned against
the neighboring tribes, and after a time became involved in a war with the
Sciri. Both parties appealed to the Emperor for help, and, though Aspar advised
neutrality, Leo insisted on supporting the Sciri, who gained a victory, Walamir falling in the battle.
Rise of
Zeno [460-470
The Emperor was alarmed by the condition of the West, which after Majorian’s death fell under the domination of Ricimer; and
he determined, if possible, to save the East from a similar fate: but, as Aspar
was surrounded by a large body-guard of Goths and other dependants and the
Thracian Goths, whose chief, Theodoric, son of Triarius, was his wife's nephew,
were in alliance with him, it was necessary to raise a force from some other
quarter to overthrow him. Accordingly Leo turned his eyes towards the
Isaurians, who had done so much injury to the Empire in the days of Arcadius
and Theodosius, but might now be used to rescue it from more dangerous enemies.
His elder daughter, Ariadne, was therefore given in marriage to the Isaurian Tarasicodissa, who in memory of his countryman of the time
of Theodosius took the name of Zeno and brought with him an Isaurian
body-guard to set against that of Aspar (467?).
Meanwhile disturbances had arisen in Thrace. From about 460 the command
there was held by Ardaburius, but it was afterwards transferred to Basiliscus,
brother of Leo's wife Verina. In 467 trouble arose with Attila's son Dengizic, and a force of Huns crossed the Danube with a
large body of Goths ; but the two nations were surrounded by a Roman army, and
induced by a trick to fight one another, so that a general slaughter followed,
from which only a few escaped.
In 467 Ricimer, requiring the Eastern fleet for protection against the
Vandals, asked Leo to nominate an emperor; whereupon he chose Marcian's son-in-law, Anthemius, and, having persuaded
Marcellinus to submit to the new emperor, prepared a great expedition by land
and sea (468): but the fleet was by the mismanagement of Basiliscus almost
annihilated; and Aspar, the Vandals' friend, was believed to have induced him
to betray his trust. After his return he took refuge in St Sophia, but at
Verina's intercession escaped punishment.
Meanwhile Zeno was sent to Thrace; and the soldiers, instigated, as was
supposed, by Aspar, tried to murder him, and he with difficulty escaped to
Sardica. The command was then given to Anagast, who
soon afterwards rebelled (469). Having been persuaded to submit, he accused
Ardaburius of prompting his rebellion. Zeno now strengthened the Isaurians in
Constantinople by introducing a band of marauders who had been driven from
Rhodes (469), and their arrival was, on account of the unpopularity of the
Isaurians, followed by a riot. He was then sent to the East, as magister militum, and as such was
compelled to remove the Isaurian robber Indacus, son
of Papirius, from his hereditary stronghold of Cherris.
469-473]
Murder of Aspar
The rise of Zeno and the strength of the Isaurians forced Aspar to act
vigorously if he was not to be altogether ousted from power; and he pressed Leo
to make his second son Patricius Caesar and give him
his daughter Leontia in marriage. In spite of the opposition of the monks, who
were horrified at the prospect of an Arian emperor, Leo thought it best to
comply (470), and the new Caesar for some reason went to Alexandria, where he
displayed himself with great pomp. Something more than titles was however needed
to make Aspar secure; and Ardaburius tried to cut the ground from under the
Emperor's feet by tampering with the Isaurians in Constantinople. This was
revealed to Zeno, who had returned to Constantinople in the latter half of 471;
and it was resolved to make an end of the supremacy of the Alans. Aspar and his
two elder sons were accordingly treacherously cut down in the palace, though Patricius is said to have recovered from his wounds (471):
the youngest son, Hermanric, had received warning
from Zeno and was not there. Some of Aspar's guards under Ostrui broke into the palace, but were expelled by the excubitores, a new force
instituted by Leo, perhaps for same such purpose. They succeeded however in
escaping, and after doing some damage in Thrace joined Theodoric; but an attack
on the city by the Goths was repulsed. Leontia was now given in marriage to
Marcian the son of Anthemius.
Before the attack on Aspar, Leo had thought it desirable to gain the
support of the Goths of Pannonia, and therefore released Theodoric (the Amal),
who returned with great gifts to his father. His first act was to defeat the
Sarmatians and recover Singidunum, which however he
did not restore to the Emperor. So far from assisting Leo, Theodemir, now
released from restraint, thought the disturbances in both divisions of the
Empire a good opportunity to acquire new territories. Accordingly he sent
Widimir to Italy, while he himself marched southeast and occupied Naissus. Leo
thereupon sent Hilarianus, master of the offices, to
offer him settlements in Lower Moesia. On these terms peace was made; and soon
afterwards Theodemir died and was succeeded by Theodoric (471).
As Theodoric the son of Marius remained in arms, an ambassador was sent
to ask his terms (473), and through his envoys whom he sent to Constantinople
he demanded Aspar's property, his post of magister militum, and a grant of the
whole of the province of Thrace. As Leo would only agree to the second of these
demands, Theodoric sent a force to Philippi, which however only burned the
suburbs, while he himself reduced Arcadiopolis. But,
as the Goths were straitened for food, he sent another embassy, and peace was
made on the conditions that he was made magister
militum and paid 2000 lbs. of gold a year, and that Leo recognized him as
chief of all the Thracian Goths and did not receive deserters from them, while
he undertook to assist the Emperor against all enemies except the Vandals, who
had been Aspar's friends.
Death of
Leo [473-477
The reign of Leo was afterwards remembered for the law by which all
legal process and all spectacles in the theatre, amphitheatre, and circus were
forbidden on Sundays (9 Dec. 469). Similar laws had been passed by Constantine,
Theodosius, and Arcadius, but had probably remained little more than dead
letters; and it is unlikely that even this law, at least the latter portion,
was ever fully carried out. But in spite of the increasing Christian tendency
of the government and of laws to the contrary, heathens continued to hold high
offices of state and enjoy the favour of the Court. Prominent among these was
James the physician, philosopher, and man of letters, son of a Syrian father
and Greek mother, whose medical skill made him indispensable. Isocasius also, a Cilician philosopher, was made quaestor. Being deprived of his post and
arrested under the law which forbade the tenure of office by a heathen, he was
at the intercession of James sent for trial before Pusaeus the praefect, who was known to be in sympathy with him, and allowed to escape
by submitting to baptism. The philosopher Eulogius also received a pension.
One of Leo’s last acts was to surrender the island of Jotaba at the northern end of the Red Sea to the Arab Amrul Kais. This man, coming from Persian territory, had
reduced several Arab tribes and occupied the island, driving out the Roman
tax-collectors. He then sent the bishop of his tribe to ask for a grant of the
island and the chieftainship of the tribes in the province of Palestine III;
and, though this was contrary to the treaty of 422, Leo sent for him, treated
him with honor, and granted his requests (473). During this year the Emperor
was attacked by a serious illness, which made it necessary to settle the
succession. Fearing (on account of the unpopularity of the Isaurians) to
declare Zeno his successor, he made his grandson, Zeno's son Leo, a boy of
five, Caesar, and later crowned him Augustus in the circus (18 Nov.). Less than
three months afterwards he died at the age of 63 (3 Feb. 474); and, as it was
probably known that the child was unlikely to live, he was directed by Ariadne
and Verina to place the crown upon his father's head (9 Feb.). On his death
nine months later (10 Nov.) Zeno became sole emperor in the East.
474-476] Reign of Basiliscus
The new government began with a great success, the end of the disastrous
Vandal war. One of the last acts in this war was the capture of Nicopolis by the Vandals very soon after Leo's death; and
about the same time Zeno sent Severus to treat for peace, who greatly impressed
Gaiseric by refusing to accept presents for himself and saying that the most
acceptable present would be the release of the captives; whereupon the king
gave him all the captives belonging to himself and his sons, and allowed him to
ransom as many more as he could. Shortly afterwards a perpetual peace was made
(474), which after Gaiseric's death (477) was confirmed by his son. The Vandal
danger was at an end.
The peace was the more necessary on account of the disturbances in other
quarters. The Arabs were making one of their raids in Syria, the Bulgarians
appeared for the first time south of the Danube, and the accession of the
Isaurian led to a serious rising of the Thracian Goths, who took prisoner
Heraclius, the magister militum of
Thrace, and held him to ransom. Zeno levied the sum from the general's kinsmen
and sent it to the Goths; but after receiving it they killed their captive.
Illus, one of the many Isaurians who came to Constantinople after Zeno's
accession, a man whose large native following and influence with his countrymen
made him a power in the State, was now appointed to the command and succeeded
in holding the Goths in check. But the favour with which these Isaurian
adventurers were received increased the Emperor's unpopularity; and his son's
death was soon followed by a plot. Verina’s brother Basiliscus, who was living
in retirement at Heraclea, opened negotiations with Illus, and no doubt by
large promises induced him to betray his patron; and Verina joined the
conspiracy, which the son of Triarius also supported. Verina frightened Zeno
into escaping by night with his wife and mother (9 Jan. 475) and fleeing to
Isauria; and the conspirators gained possession of the city without fighting.
The Empress had been led to believe that she would be allowed to raise Patricius, master of the offices, to the throne, which she
intended to share as his wife; but Basiliscus did not intend to act for anyone
but himself, and, having the strongest support, was proclaimed emperor, the
proclamation being followed by a massacre of Isaurians. Patricius was put to death; and Verina tried to get up a conspiracy for Zeno's
restoration. This being discovered, she fled to St Sophia; but her nephew,
Armatus, conveyed her away and kept her in safety till Zeno's return. Meanwhile
Illus and his brother Trocundes were sent against Zeno, blockaded him in Sbide, and captured his brother Longinus.
But soon things turned again in his favour. In the first place
Basiliscus had offended Theodoric by transferring the post of magister militum to his own nephew
Armatus, a man of fashion who posed as a soldier and was supported by the
favour of the Empress Zenonis; and in the second
place he favored the Monophysites, and, not content with abrogating the
theological decree of Chalcedon, was induced by Timothy of Alexandria to
abolish the patriarchate of Constantinople created by that synod, thereby
making a bitter enemy of the bishop Acacius, a man
who cared little about theology, but knew well how to stir up popular
fanaticism. So threatening was the aspect of affairs that Basiliscus recalled
his decrees: but it was too late; Illus and Trocundes went over to Zeno, and
the combined force marched on Constantinople while Trocundes with some Isaurian
guards was sent to Antioch. Armatus marched to Nicaea to oppose Zeno's advance;
but he had no mind to fight in a losing cause, and on receiving the promise of
the office of magister militum for
life and the rank of Caesar for his son Basiliscus, left the road open; and as
Theodoric held aloof, Zeno entered Constantinople without opposition (Aug.
476). Basiliscus and his family fled to St Sophia; but they were handed over to
some of his enemies, who took them to Cappadocia and beheaded them all. The
promise to Armatus was kept; but, as he was entering the circus, where Zeno and
the young Caesar were watching the games, he was assassinated by Onoulf, a man
who had received great kindness from him and been raised by his influence to
the military command of Illyricum. His son was ordained a reader, and afterwards
became bishop of Cyzicus. Theodoric the Amal, who from rivalry with his
namesake had supported Zeno, was made magister militum and adopted in Teutonic
fashion as Zeno's son in arms. It was perhaps these commotions which enabled
the Samaritans to set up as emperor the robber Justasa,
who took Caesarea, but was defeated and killed by the duke of Palestine.
Leo left the treasury full; and at the beginning of Zeno’s reign the
burdens were considerably lightened by the praefect Erythrius;
but, as the sums wanted for the Isaurian favorites could not be raised without
extortion, he resigned, and his successor Sebastian earned a bad reputation by
selling offices to the highest bidder. His administration was however
distinguished by an act providing that all civil and military governors should
remain in their districts for fifty days after the termination of office, in
order that anyone with a grievance might prefer an accusation against them (9
Oct. 479).
Gothic
Wars[472-479
One of Zeno’s first tasks after his return was to decide what policy to
follow with regard to the affairs of the West. The concord between the Courts
had been broken by the murder of Anthemius (472); but Leo shortly before his
death nominated as emperor Nepos, the nephew and successor of Marcellinus, and
gave him Verina’s niece in marriage. The fiction of the unity of the Empire was
however in part abandoned, since Nepos' name does not appear in Eastern laws.
After his expulsion (475) and the dethronement of his successor (476) the Roman
Senate asked Zeno to grant Odovacar the title of patrician, and Nepos begged
for help to recover his throne. Zeno advised Odovacar to apply to Nepos for the
title, but styled him "patrician" in a letter, while declining to
help Nepos.
The son of Triarius, wishing to obtain pay for his men, sought to make
his peace (477): but the Senate, to which Zeno referred the matter, said they
could not pay both Theodorics and left it to him to
choose between them. Zeno then made a violent speech to the army against the
son of Triarius. He did not however immediately break with him, but protracted
negotiations. At last, finding that his strength was increasing, while that of
his rival was diminishing, he summoned troops from all quarters and announced the
appointment of Illus to the command; which was however, probably because of his
growing jealousy of Illus, afterwards transferred to Martinianus. As this
change led to disorder among the Isaurian soldiery, Zeno summoned the Amal to
his aid, promising that, if he would take the field, Martinianus should meet
him at the passes of Mt Haemus and another force at the Hebrus,
and on this understanding Theodoric set out; but either from treachery or from
lack of discipline no army met him, and his Roman guides led him to a place
where he found the heights in front occupied by his rival, who then easily
persuaded him to make common cause against the Emperor. Both sent to
Constantinople to state their terms, the Amal demanding land and provisions for
his men and the emoluments of his office, and the son of Triarius the terms
granted by Leo with the arrears of pay and the restoration of any living
members of Aspar's family. Zeno promised the former in case of victory a large
sum down, a yearly pension, and the hand of Valentinian’s granddaughter Juliana, or any other lady whom he might name, and, this offer
being refused, announced that he would lead the army himself. But circumstances
now caused a change of plan.
The part played by Illus in 475, together with his retention of Longinus
as a hostage and his influence with the Isaurian soldiers, made him something
of a thorn in Zeno's side, and the jealous ambition of Verina rendered her his
deadly enemy. In the summer of 477 Paul, one of the Emperor's slaves, tried to
assassinate him and was surrendered for punishment. In 478 another attempt was
made by an Alan, who under torture confessed that he had been instigated by
Epinicus the praefect, a client of Urbicius the
eunuch-chamberlain and favored by Verina. Zeno thereupon surrendered Epinicus
also to Illus, who sent him to Isauria, and then, having obtained leave on the
ground of the death of a brother, withdrew to his native country. Fearing a
rebellion on the part of Illus, Zeno now resolved to secure the support of the
son of Triarius and renounced his intention of taking the field; and, as this
caused disaffection in the army, he on Martinianus' advice recalled it to
winter quarters. Peace was then made. The son of Triarius was to receive food
and pay for 13,000 men, the command of two regiments of scholarii, the office of magister militum, and the property that
had been taken from him, while any surviving members of Aspar's family were to
retain their property and live in any city that Zeno might choose.
The imperial troops succeeded in expelling the Amal from Thrace; but
Macedonia was left to his mercy (479). He sacked Stobi;
and on his approaching Thessalonica the citizens, thinking themselves betrayed,
transferred the keys from the praefect to the bishop. Heraclea he was at first
persuaded by large gifts to spare; but on the refusal of a demand for corn and
wine burnt the greater part of it. He was repulsed from Lychnidus, but took Scampia, which was deserted, and occupied Dyrrachium, which
a confederate had induced the garrison by a trick to abandon. Meanwhile Zeno
had again opened negotiations, and the patrician Adamantius,
the son of Vivianus, was sent to treat. At
Thessalonica he put down a military tumult directed against the praefect; and
at Edessa handed to Sabinianus the Emperor's commission as magister of
Illyricum in place of Onoulf. From Lychnidus he invited Theodoric either to
come to Lychnidus or to send hostages for his own safety if he went to
Dyrrachium. As Sabinianus, who accompanied him, refused to secure the return of
the hostages by oath, this plan failed; but Adamantius went with a small escort to a wild spot near Dyrrachium and invited Theodoric
to meet him. Theodoric came and stood on the opposite bank of a river, and Adamantius offered him a settlement in the district of Pautalia in Dardania, where he would act as a check on his
namesake and be between the Thracian and Illyrian armies. Theodoric refused to
move before spring, but offered, if supported by a Roman army, to destroy the Thracian
Goths on condition that he might then be made magister militum and live in
Constantinople, or, if preferred, to go to Dalmatia and restore Nepos. Adamantius however declined to make terms until he left
Epirus. Meanwhile Sabinianus, having received reinforcements, captured 5000
Goths, and Zeno was encouraged to break off negotiations. For the next two
years Sabinianus held the Goths in check.
Ascendancy
of Illus [479
On 25 Sept. 479 the walls of Constantinople were greatly damaged by an
earthquake; Zeno in fear of the Goths begged Illus to return, in order that his
Isaurians might assist in defending the city; and the Emperor and the chief
officials came out beyond Chalcedon to meet him. Having learned from Epinicus
that Verina was the author of the plot against his life. Illus refused to enter
Constantinople unless she was surrendered; and Zeno, who was clearly in fear of
him and was perhaps not sorry to be rid of his mother-in-law, complied. She was
conveyed by Illus’ brother-in-law, Matronianus, to Tarsus, where she was
compelled to become a deaconess, and kept in custody at the Isaurian Dalisandus. Illus was made master of the offices, Epinicus
was at his request recalled, and his client, Pamprepius the philosopher, who
had been expelled on account of his open paganism and the suspicion of inciting
his patron to treason, returned with him and was made quaestor.
The predominance of Illus soon led to a vigorous attempt to throw off
the Isaurian rule. On the pretext of Verina’s banishment Marcian, the son-in-law
of Leo, having secured the adhesion of the son of Triarius and the support of a
force of barbarians and a large number of citizens, rose against Zeno and
claimed the crown for himself on the ground that Leontia was born in the purple
while Ariadne was born before Leo’s accession (end of 479). During the day the
insurgents, aided by the people, who hurled missiles from the houses at the
soldiers, carried all before them; but in the night Illus brought some
Isaurians over from Chalcedon, and on the next day the rising was suppressed,
though Illus' house was burnt. Marcian, who fled to the church of the Apostles,
was compelled to take orders and sent to Caesarea in Cappadocia, while his
brothers, Procopius and Romulus, escaped to Theodoric's, camp, and Leontia
sought refuge in a convent. Marcian however escaped and with a rustic force
attacked Ancyra, but was captured by Trocundes and confined in the castle of Cherris, whither his wife and daughters were now brought to
join him. Immediately after the rising Theodoric the son of Triarius appeared
before Constantinople under pretence of assisting the Emperor, thinking that,
as the towers and battlements had been overthrown by the earthquake, he could
easily take it; but, finding the Isaurians manning the wall and ready to burn
the city in case of defeat, he accepted Zeno's gifts and promises and withdrew.
He refused however to surrender the fugitives, and was thereupon superseded in
the office of magister militum by
Trocundes. He then plundered Thrace, and Zeno could only call in the Bulgarians
against him. Having defeated the Bulgarians, Theodoric again appeared before
the capital (481); but, finding the gates strongly guarded by Illus and his
Isaurians, tried to cross to Bithynia and was defeated at sea. Receiving news
of a conspiracy against him, he returned home and put the conspirators to
death; after which he marched towards Greece to seek new territory, but on the
way was accidentally killed. His son Rekitach, who by
killing his uncles became sole ruler of his people, returned to Thrace and
continued to ravage the country. In 481 Sabinianus died a violent death, some
said by Zeno's contrivance, and Theodoric (the Amal) plundered Macedonia and
Thessaly and sacked Larissa (482). John the Scythian and Moschianus were sent against him; but no great success was obtained. In consequence of the
threatened revolt of Illus Theodoric was invited to Constantinople, made
patrician and magister militum, and designated consul, and received territory
in Dacia and Lower Moesia (483). His rival Rekitach,
who was in the city at the same time, he was allowed to assassinate, and the
Thracian Goths ceased to maintain a separate existence.
Ariadne, urged by her mother, pressed Zeno to recall Verina; but he
referred her to Titus, who refused compliance. A third attempt upon the life of
Illus was then made by a scholarian, who succeeded in
cutting off his ear, while he was going to the palace to receive some barbarian
envoys at the Emperor’s request. The assassin was put to death, and Zeno denied
on oath all knowledge of the matter; but Illus, feeling himself unsafe, asked
for leave of absence on the ground of needing change of air. Zeno then made him magister militum per Orientem with the right of appointing dukes, and, taking with him Matronianus, Marsus, who had commanded the land force in the expedition
against the Vandals, Pamprepius, and other powerful men, and a large military
force, he withdrew to Antioch (early in 482), where he set himself to gain
popularity by largesses and lavish expenditure on
public buildings. The patrician Leontius, who was sent to ask for Verina's
release, was induced to remain.
Revolt of
Illus [483-486
That a civil war was imminent must have been cleat to both parties; and
after the accommodation with Theodoric Zeno demanded the surrender of Longinus,
and on receiving a refusal, sent John the Scythian to supersede Illus, expelled
his friends, and confiscated their property, which he gave to the Isaurian
cities. Illus now openly revolted, proclaimed Marcian emperor, and sent envoys
to Odovacar, who refused assistance, and to the Persians and the satraps of the
five provinces annexed in 298, who promised support to any force that appeared
in their neighborhood (484). It is clear that he did not intend to head a mere
Isaurian revolt, which could not have any lasting success, but to form a
powerful combination against the Emperor; for which purpose he held out hopes
to the heathens through Pamprepius, while he was also on friendly terms with
the Chalcedonians, who had been offended by the issue
of the Henoticon, whereby Zeno soon after his departure tried to placate the
Monophysites (482).
At first, to prevent a revolt in Isauria, Zeno sent a small force under
Illus’ bastard brother, Linges, and the Isaurian
Conon, who had exchanged a military life for the bishopric of Apamea; whereupon
Illus for some reason dropped Marcian, and brought Verina, who as Augusta might
advance some claim to appoint an emperor, to Tarsus, where she formally crowned
Leontius (19 July), who eight days later entered Antioch. The inhabitants of
Chalcis refused to accept the new Emperor's busts, and he attacked the city for
45 days; while at Edessa the citizens shut the gates against Matronianus. About
the same time the great victory of the Ephthalites precluded all hope of
support from Persia.
Theodoric was now sent with a force of Romans and Goths to join John the
Scythian; but Zeno changed his mind and recalled him, though his Goths remained
with the army; and in his place Hermanric the son of
Aspar, who had once revealed a conspiracy to Zeno and had married a daughter of
his illegitimate son, was sent with a contingent of Rugians. When the force
which Illus sent against the imperial army Was defeated, he hastily summoned
Leontius from Antioch (Sept.), and they fled to the stronghold of Cherris, to which Verina had already been sent. His
confederates then shut themselves up in different fortresses, and many of his
men deserted. Zeno recalled the Goths, who were no longer needed, and made the
Isaurian Cottomenes magister militum in place of Theodoric, while another Isaurian,
Longinus of Cardala, was made master of the offices.
Nine days after the beginning of the siege Verina died, and a month later Marsus, and Illus left the defence to the owner of the
fortress, Indacus, Trocundes' brother-in-law.
Trocundes, who had been sent to collect reinforcements, was captured by John
and beheaded, and Zeno's brother Longinus was allowed to escape (485).
Theodoric had perhaps been occupied during 485 by a Bulgarian invasion;
but in 486 he raided Thrace, and Odovacar in spite of his previous refusal
showed signs of wishing to assist Illun, who now in
vain made proposals for peace, while Zeno stirred up the Rugians against
Odovacar. In 487 Theodoric advanced close to Constantinople, and an agreement
was made under which he set out to wrest Italy from Odovacar, who had defeated
the Rugians, and the East was rid of the Goths for ever (488).
All hope for the besieged was now at an end; Pamprepius, who had
prophesied success, was put to death, and at last Indacus and others betrayed the fort. Illus' requests with regard to the burial of his
daughter, who had died during the siege, and the treatment of his family were
granted, and he and Leontius were beheaded, and their heads exposed at
Constantinople (488). The traitors were all killed during the assault, perhaps
by the besieged. Verina's body was taken to Constantinople and buried with
Leo's. Most of the Isaurian fortresses were dismantled. As the satraps of the
five provinces had been in communication with Illus, the hereditary tenure of
the four most important satrapies was abolished, though the satraps retained
their native forces.
Zeno had by his first wife a son, Zeno; but he had killed himself by his
excesses at an early age, and the Emperor wished to leave the crown to his
brother Longinus. The infamous character of Longinus and the unpopularity of
the Isaurians hindered him from declaring him Caesar; but he appointed him magister militum, in the hope that his
military authority and the strength of the Isaurians in the army would secure
him the succession. On 9 April 491 Zeno died of dysentery at the age of 60.
487-498] Accession
of Anastasius and the Isaurian Revolt
In accordance with the precedent of 450 the choice of a successor was
left to thy Augusta Ariadne; and on the next morning, by the advice of Urbicius, she nominated the silentiary Anastasius of
Dyrrachium, a man of 61, who had shortly before been one of the three candidates
selected for the see of Antioch. He was crowned the
next day; and, when he appeared before the people, they greeted him with the
acclamation “Reign as you have lived”. On 20 May he married Ariadne.
The new Emperor began by the popular measures of remitting arrears of
taxation and refusing facilities to informers, and he is credited with
abolishing the sale of offices; but his reign was constantly disturbed by
serious outbreaks. No immediate opposition was offered to his elevation; but in
Isauria a revolt on a small scale broke out, and at Constantinople some
unpopular action on the part of Julian the city-praefect led to an uproar; and
on an attempt to restore order by force the rioters threw down the pedestals on
which stood the busts of the Emperor and Empress in front of the circus, and
many were killed by the soldiers. To avoid more bloodshed Anastasius deposed
Julian, who had been appointed by Ariadne on the day of Zeno's death, and named
his own brother-in-law Secundinus to succeed him.
Thinking that peace was impossible while the Isaurians were in the city, he
expelled them and deprived them of the pay assigned by Zeno. Longinus the
brother of Zeno was compelled to take orders and exiled to the Thebaid, where he died, it is said, of hunger, eight years
later, while his wife and daughter retired to Bithynia and lived the rest of
their life on charity. The property of the late Emperor, even his imperial
robes, was sold by auction, and the castle of Cherris,
which had not yet been occupied by the rebels, was dismantled. Longinus of Cardala and a certain Athenodorus,
who were among those who had been expelled from the capital, joined the
insurgents in Isauria, among whom were now to be found Linginines,
count of Isauria, Conon the ex-bishop, and another Athenodorus.
Reinforced by discontented Romans and others who served under compulsion, they
advanced to Cotyaeum. Here John the Scythian and John
the Hunchback, who had succeeded Longinus as magister militum in praesenti met and
defeated them. Linginines fell in the battle, and the
Isaurians fled to their native mountains (end of 492): but the generals waited
till spring before crossing the Taurus. In 493 Diogenes, a kinsman of Ariadne,
took Claudiopolis, but was besieged in it by the
Isaurians, and his men were nearly starved. John the Hunchback however forced
the passes, and by a sudden attack, aided by a sortie on the part of Diogenes,
routed the enemy, Bishop Conon being mortally wounded. The Isaurians were
henceforth confined to their strongholds, and a certain Longinus of Selinus, who resided in the strong coast town of Antioch
and had a large fleet, supplied them with provisions by sea.
The Emperor's attention was now distracted by an incursion of
barbarians, perhaps Slavs, in Thrace, during which Julian, the magister militum of Thrace, was killed.
Moreover, as his Monophysite opinions made his rule distasteful to the Chalcedonians, who were strong in Constantinople, there was
perhaps communication between them and the insurgents, a charge on which the
patriarch Euphemius was deprived in 495. At last in
497 Longinus of Cardala and Athenodorus were taken and beheaded by John the Scythian and their heads sent to
Constantinople, while the head of the other Athenodorus,
who was captured the same year, was exhibited at the gates of Tarsus. Longinus
of Selinus held out till 498, and was then made
prisoner by Priscus, an officer serving under John the Hunchback, exhibited in
chains at Constantinople, and tortured to death at Nicaea. Large numbers of
Isaurians were settled in Thrace, and the population of Isauria, which had been
greatly thinned by the two wars, was thereby yet further reduced, so that the
necessity which had made the mountaineers the terror of Asia Minor no longer
existed. The Isaurians had done their work of saving the East from the fate of
the West; and, though they still provided useful recruits for the army, their
day of political power was over. The importance of looking at home for soldiers
instead of trusting to the barbarians had been learned and was never forgotten.
Besides the Isaurian war Anastasius had also been troubled by incursions
of Blemmyes in Egypt (491); and in 498 bands of Saracens invaded the eastern
provinces. The followers of Numan of Al Hira, who owed allegiance to Persia, were after an inroad
into Euphratesia defeated by Eugenius, a duke
stationed at Melitene, and parties of Taghlibi and Ghassani Arabs under Hugr and Gabala, the latter at least a Roman subject, were routed by
Romanus, duke of Palestine, who also recovered Jotaba,
which was leased to a company of Roman traders for a yearly tribute. In 502 a
more successful raid was made by Hugr's brother, Madi Kharb; but the outbreak of
the Persian war made it possible to turn the raids in another direction, and
peace was made with the Taghlibi chief, Al Harith, father of Madi Kharb (503). In 502 the Tzani also raided Pontus.
491-503] Invasion of Kawad
Immediately after the accession of Anastasius, Kawad, who became king of
Persia in 488, demanded a contribution towards the defences of the Caucasian
Gates. This was refused; but the Armenian rising prevented further action,
though Anastasius refused to aid the insurgents. Kawad took advantage of the
Isaurian troubles to repeat his demand, but was soon afterwards deposed (496).
Having been restored by the king of the Ephthalites under a promise of paying a
large sum of money (499), he again applied to Anastasius for help. The Emperor
would only agree to lend the money on a written promise of payment; and Kawad,
refusing this, entered Roman Armenia (22 Aug. 502) and took and sacked
Theodosiopolis, which was surrendered by the treachery of Constantine, the
count of Armenia, who went over to the Persian service. Having occupied
Martyropolis, he passed on to Amida (5 Oct.), where, though there was no
military force in Mesopotamia except the garrison of Constantina, a stubborn
defence was made by the citizens. Anastasius sent Rufinus to offer him money to
withdraw, but he kept the ambassador in custody. A Persian force, accompanied by
Arabs and Ephthalites, was sent to the district of Constantina, and, after a
small party had been cut to pieces (19 Nov.), routed Eugenius of Melitene and
Olympius, duke of Mesopotamia, while Numan’s Arabs
plundered the territory of Carrhae (26 Nov.) and advanced
to Edessa. Eugenius however retook Theodosiopolis. Meanwhile Kawad, despairing
of taking Amida, was willing to retire for a small sum; but the governor and
the magistrates refused this and demanded compensation for the crops that had
been destroyed. The siege therefore continued, until on a dark night the
Persians found access by some aqueducts to a part of the wall which was guarded
by some monks who were in a drunken sleep. They thereupon scaled the wall, and
after hard fighting made themselves masters of the town (11 Jan. 503), which
for three days was given up to massacre. Rufinus was then released, and Kawad
at the beginning of spring retreated to the neighborhood of Singara,
leaving 3000 men under Glon in Amida. Further demands for money were rejected
by Anastasius (April), who, having immediately after the fall of Amida sent men
to defend the fortified places, now despatched a
considerable army from Thrace to Mesopotamia under Patricius, magister militum in praesenti,
Areobindus, magister militum per Orientem, great-grandson of Aspar, and his own nephew
Hypatius (May), accompanied by Appion the praefect,
who took up his quarters at Edessa to look after the commissariat. Patricius and Hypatius laid siege to Amida, while
Areobindus encamped near Dara to stop a new invasion,
and for some time prevented an advance on the part of the Persians from Singara, and even drove them in confusion to Nisibis; but,
when the enemy, reinforced by Arabs and Ephthalites, prepared to attack him in
greater strength under the traitor Constantine (July), he retreated to Harram near Mardin to be near his
colleagues: his request for assistance being however disregarded, he was
compelled to abandon his camp and flee to Constantina and Edessa. Patricius and Hypatius on hearing of Areobindus' flight
raised the siege of Amida and met the Persians under Kawad himself at the neighboring
fort of Apadna (Aug.), but were routed and fled to
Samosata. Hypatius was then recalled. Kawad’s attempts to take Constantina, Edessa, and Carrhae by
assault were unsuccessful, and Patriciolus, who was
bringing reinforcements, destroyed a small Persian force at the Euphrates,
while the Persian Arabs, having ravaged the country up to the river near Batnae, crossed into Syria. A second attempt upon Edessa
fared no better than the first, and Kawad then advanced to the Euphrates.
Peace
with Persia
Anastasius now sent Celer, the master of the offices, with large
reinforcements; and, though he had hitherto followed a civil career and was not
formally appointed to the chief command, his personal position gave him
practical authority over the other generals and replaced division by unity. On
his approach Kawad marched down the river to Callinicus, where a detachment was
cut to pieces by Timostratus, duke of Osrhoene. Hearing of an invasion of Caucasian Huns, Kawad
then returned home, upon which Patricius, who was
wintering at Melitene, returned to Amida and routed a force sent against him by
Kawad. Celer, and afterwards Areobindus, then joined Patricius before Amida, where Glon had been captured by a stratagem and put to death.
Seeing how things were going, Constantine returned to his allegiance (June 504)
and was allowed to take orders and live at Nicaea. Adid the Arab and Mushel the Armenian also went over to
the Romans. The whole army was now no longer needed at Amida; accordingly
Areobindus raided Persian Armenia, while Celer crossed into Arzanene, where he
cut some cavalry to pieces, and burnt the villages, killing the men and taking
the women and children prisoners. Similar raids were made by the Roman Arabs.
Kawad then sent his spahpat (commander-in-chief) to Celer to propose peace, returning the most important
prisoners. Celer at first refused terms in the hope of taking Amida, and an
attempt to revictual it failed; but during the
winter, which was a severe one, there were many desertions in the army, and he
agreed to pay a sum of money for the surrender of the town, a definite peace
being postponed till the Emperor's pleasure should be known. Hostilities were
however considered to be ended, and some Arab sheikhs on the Persian side who
had raided Roman territory were put to death by the Persian marzban, and some sheikhs of the
Roman Arabs who had raided Persian territory were treated in the same way by
Celer, who after a visit to Constantinople had returned to Syria. Anastasius
granted remissions of taxes throughout Mesopotamia, gave largesses to the districts which had suffered most, restored the fortifications, and
built a new fortified position on the frontier at Dara.
As this was contrary to the treaty of 442, the Persians tried to prevent it;
but Kawad, being engaged in war with the Huns and the Tamuraye,
a tribe of unknown geographical position, was unable to take active steps in
the matter. In April 506 Celer came to Edessa on his way to meet the spahpat, but,
hearing from Persian envoys of his death, he waited till a successor should be
appointed, while his Gothic soldiers caused much trouble to the citizens: he
then went to Dara (Oct.) and made peace for seven
years with the new spahpat (Nov.), the Emperor agreeing to pay compensation for the breach of faith
involved in the fortification of Dara.
In Thrace and Illyricum the departure of the Goths left the way open to
the more savage Bulgarians. In 499 they inflicted a disastrous defeat on Aristus, magister
militum of Illyricum, at the Tzurta; and in 500
Anastasius thought it wise to give a donative to the
Illyrian army. At an unknown date his nephew Pompeius was defeated by some
enemy at Hadrianople; and in 507 the long wall across the peninsula on which
Constantinople stands was built to secure the city from attack by land. In 512
the Heruli after their defeat by the Lombards were settled in the Empire, but
afterwards rebelled and had to be put down by force of arms. In 517 the Slays
plundered Macedonia, Thessaly, and Epirus, and carried off captives, whom
Anastasius ransomed. Libya also suffered from the incursions of the Mazices.
Though there was little serious hostility with the Goths, relations were
for a large part of the reign unfriendly. In 493 the Emperor refused
Theodoric's request for confirmation of his title to Italy, though by accepting
his consuls he tacitly recognized him. In 498 however he gave the desired
recognition and returned the imperial insignia which Odovacar had sent to Zeno.
But in 505 a conflict was brought about by a certain Mundo,
who had been expelled by the king of the Gepids and
received as a foederatus in the Empire, but afterwards became a captain of robbers, and being attacked
by Sabinianus, magister militum of
Illyricum (son of the Sabinianus who held the same office under Zeno), with
Bulgarian allies, called in a Gothic force which had been fighting the Gepids. In the battle which followed at Horrea Margi the Romans were routed; but no further fighting seems to have taken
place, and Mundo entered Theodoric's service. The
assistance given to Mundo caused ill-feeling at
Constantinople, and in 508 a fleet raided the coast of Italy, by which
Theodoric was hindered from supporting the Visigoths against the Frankish king,
on whom Anastasius conferred the insignia of the consulship. Shortly afterwards
peace was restored, no doubt by concessions on the side of Theodoric, who
wished to be free to deal with the Franks.
Financial Administration of Anastasius [493-512
The domestic administration of Anastasius was distinguished by several
popular measures. The most celebrated of these was the abolition of the chrysargyron (May
498), a tax on all kinds of stock and plant in trade, instituted by
Constantine, which pressed heavily on the poorest classes. Instead of this he
imposed a land-tax called chrysoteleia, which he applied to the support of the army,
abolishing the right of requisition. He also attempted by several enactments to
ensure that the soldiers received their full pay. But his chief financial
reform was the abolition, by the advice of the Syrian Marinus,
of the system under which the curiales were responsible for the taxes of the
municipalities, and the institution. of tax-collectors called vindices. The
burdens of the curiales were not however wholly removed, for they existed in some form under Justinian.
These measures were no doubt primarily intended to increase the revenue, and at
the end of his reign under the administration of Marinus complaints were made of heavy extortion; but the immediate financial success of
the policy is proved by the fact that at the time of his death the treasury was
full. His humanity was shown by the abolition of fights between men and beasts
(Aug. 499); but this did not extend to the practice of exposing criminals to
beasts, which existed as late as the time of Maurice.
But, although Anastasius is almost universally praised for mildness and
good administration, his Monophysite opinions were distasteful to the
population of the capital, and the peace was constantly disturbed by serious
riots. In 493 his refusal to release some stone-throwers of the Green faction
who had been arrested by the city-praefect produced an outbreak, during which a
stone was thrown at the Emperor, part of the circus buildings burnt, and the
statues of Anastasius and Ariadne dragged through the streets. Many of the
rioters were arrested and punished, and the, thrower of the stone, a Moor, was
killed by the excubitores;
but the Emperor was compelled to appoint a new praefect in the person of Plato.
An occasion for rioting was also provided by the ancient pagan festival of the Brytae, which was celebrated by dancing performances every
May. Such a riot occurred in the praefecture of
Constantine (501), when the Greens attacked the Blues in the theatre and many
were killed, among them an illegitimate son of Anastasius. After this an order
was issued that the celebration of the Brytae should
cease throughout the Empire (502). In 512 the Monophysite addition to the Trisagion, made
at the instigation of Marinus, caused the most
dangerous outbreak of the reign (6 Nov.). The rioters killed the Monophysite
monks, threw down the Emperor's statues, and proclaimed emperor the unwilling
Areobindus, whose wife Juliana represented the Theodosian house. When Celer and Patricius were sent to appease them, they drove them
away with stones, burnt the houses of Marinus and
Pompeius, and plundered Marinus' property. On the
third day Anastasius showed himself in the circus without his crown and begged
them to refrain from massacre, whereupon they demanded that Marinus and Plato should be thrown to the beasts; but the Emperor by promising
concessions persuaded them to disperse. The banishment of Ariadne's kinsman, Diogenes, and the ex-praefect Appion (510)
may, as they were recalled by Justin, have been caused by religious troubles.
In Alexandria and Antioch also riots were frequent.
In 513 the religious differences culminated in an armed rising. The
military administration of Hypatius (not the Emperor’s nephew) had caused
discontent in the Thracian army, especially among the Bulgarian foederati. These foederati were
commanded by Vitalianus (son of the Patriciolus who
held a command in the Persian war); who had a grievance on account of the
expulsion of the patriarch Flavianus of Antioch (512), with whom he was on
terms of close friendship. Making use of the discontent in the army, he
murdered two of the general's staff, bribed the duke of Moesia, and, having
seized Carinus, one of the chief confidants of
Hypatius, forced him to place the town of Odessus in his hands. By means of the
money there found he collected a large force of soldiers and rustics, and, with
the cry of justice for the banished patriarchs and abolition of the addition to
the Trisagion,
marched on Constantinople, whither Hypatius had fled. Anastasius, having no
army at hand, could only provide for the defence, while he set up crosses on
the gates and announced the remission of one-fourth of the animal-tax in Asia
and Bithynia. Patricius the magister militum, to whom Vitalianus in large measure owed his
promotion, was sent to confer with him; and next day some of Vitalianus' chief
officers entered the city; who on receiving a promise that just grievances
should be remedied and the Pope asked to send representatives to settle the
religious differences took the oath of allegiance, returned to Vitalianus, and
compelled him to withdraw. Cyril, a man of some capacity, was now appointed to
succeed Hypatius, and, having entered Odessus, from which Vitalianus had
retired, was believed to be planning an attack on him. Hearing of this,
Vitalianus made his way into the town by night, surprised Cyril while asleep in
his house, and killed him. He was thereupon declared a public enemy by decree
of the Senate, and a large force collected and sent against him under Hypatius,
the Emperor's nephew, though the office of magister
militum of Thrace was given to the barbarian Alathar.
Hypatius fought for some time with varying success, and gained at least one
victory (autumn 513). Finally he encamped at Acris on
the coast, where, being attacked by the enemy and routed, he was captured in
the sea, into which he had fled. Alathar was also
captured, and was ransomed by Vitalianus himself from the Bulgarians, whom he
permitted to sell the prisoners. Vitalianus occupied all the fortresses in
Scythia and Moesia, among them Sozopolis, in which he
captured some envoys sent with a ransom for Hypatius. It was now expected that
he would be proclaimed emperor; and further rioting occurred at Constantinople,
in which the praefect of the watch was killed. Meanwhile he advanced on the
capital by land and sea; but on receiving 5000 lbs. of gold, the Thracian
command, and a promise of satisfaction upon the religious question, he again
retired and released Hypatius, though he refused to disband his army (514). It
was clear that neither party was likely to observe the peace; and in 515
Vitalianus, having probably promises of support from inside the city, where
another riot had occurred, again appeared before Constantinople, but was
defeated by land and sea and retired to Anchialus,
though still remaining at the head of his barbarian force. Hypatius was sent to
the East as magister militum, and in
July 517 went on an embassy to Persia.
On 9 July 518 Anastasius died suddenly, Ariadne having died three years
before.