Episode 3 - The Isaurian Emperor

Hello everyone, and welcome to the History of Byzantium, Episode 3, The Isaurian Emperor. Last time we left the Emperor Zeno somewhat secure on his throne after a 20-month exile where he had fled the capital just because his mother-in-law had told him to. That incident was indicative of Zeno's reign. Seen by many in Constantinople as a barbarian, he was never popular and dealt with several more revolts during his time in office. You'll recall that Zeno was betrayed by a cabal consisting of our old friend Basiliscus, the leader of the Thracian Goths, Theodoric Strabo, the Empress Verena, as in the Emperor Leo's wife and Zeno's mother-in-law, and Aeolus, the Isaurian general. Zeno's reign was dominated by his dealings with the various members of that initial conspiracy. It's a complicated story, and so to simplify things, we're going to look at how Zeno dealt with his enemies close to home first, then we will double back and take a look at his relationship with the Goths. Aeolus had been at Zeno's side when they returned to the capital, and he soon became the Emperor's indispensable man. He was made Master of Offices and was awarded the consulship in 478. The Master of Offices was one of the two most powerful bureaucratic posts in the Empire alongside the Praetorian Prefecture. Aeolus' new status didn't sit well with the Verena, who saw what little influence she still had over the Emperor disappearing. It's no surprise that relations between Aeolus and Verena were already cold, considering that he had been largely responsible for overturning the coup that she had organized. Soon after his return in 477, Aeolus had found an Imperial slave waiting for him with sword in hand. It was not clear who had instructed the slave, but suspicions were aroused. A year later, another assassin was caught by the palace guards, and he admitted that the Empress had been behind the assault. Realizing he wasn't safe in Constantinople, Aeolus left for Isauria. However, Zeno wouldn't let him rest there. In 479, an earthquake hit, weakening the city walls, and Zeno sent for his best general to be on hand in case the Goths decided to take advantage of the situation. Aeolus refused to enter the city, though, until Verena was surrendered to him. Zeno was probably not too reluctant to get rid of his meddling mother-in-law, and she was eventually sent to an Isaurian fortress. This act set off another rebellion, this time led by Marcian, the son of Anthemius, who was Western Emperor during the failed expedition to retake Africa. Marcian was also grandson of the Eastern Emperor of the same name. Despite his Imperial pedigree, his claim to the throne rested on his marriage to Leontia, the Emperor Leo's younger daughter. Marcian's somewhat spurious argument was that Leontia had been born in the purple, while Ariadne, Zeno's wife, had not. It was Leontia's husband, therefore, who should be Emperor. Zeno's unpopularity amongst the people meant that Marcian was able to quickly gather support and some barbarian troops and make a dual-pronged assault on the Imperial palace and the home of Aeolus. The troops loyal to the Emperor were defeated, with Marcian's men apparently being aided by the citizenry, who pelted the troops with missiles thrown from their roofs. Marcian's supporters succeeded in taking control of the Imperial palace, although they couldn't capture Zeno, whose finely tuned survival skills kicked in just in time. That night, though, Aeolus brought a detachment of Isaurian soldiers across the Bosphorus and took the rebels by surprise. With the rebellion suppressed, Zeno showed amazing clemency to Marcian, perhaps because of his Imperial blood, and sent him away to a monastery, while forcing Leontia to join a convent. Apparently, Theodoric Strabo was in league with Marcian, as he sheltered some of his men after the failed coup. He didn't offer any significant military assistance, though. It's this incident in particular that helps us understand the Last time, I mentioned that in some historical sources, it's reported that Aeolus kept Zeno's brother imprisoned in an Isaurian fortress in order to exact a measure of control over the Emperor. It seems a bizarre tale, given the resources at Zeno's disposal. We don't know much about Zeno and Aeolus' relationship before they rose to prominence, and it seems likely that Zeno could never have fully trusted a man who had betrayed him. However, with the citizens he worked daily to protect taking up arms against him, perhaps we can better imagine why Zeno would have felt he couldn't do without Aeolus. Not only was he a competent general, leading the only troops whose loyalty he could rely on, but he was also a fellow Isaurian. Only a man like Aeolus would have understood how Zeno felt at times like this, when the citizens of the Empire treated him like a foreign tyrant. Zeno's wife Ariadne now fell out with Aeolus as well, over his refusal to allow her mother Verena to be released from her prison. Zeno did little to settle the dispute, and in either 481 or 82, yet another attempt was made on Aeolus' life. This time the attack came as he was climbing the stairs to his box in the Hippodrome. The attack failed, but Aeolus lost his right ear. The assassin was captured and claimed that it was the Empress Ariadne who had been behind the plot. Aeolus understandably had trouble believing that Zeno was not somehow involved, and the Emperor agreed to allow his general to leave and head east to take up the post of Master of Soldiers in Antioch. The sources aren't entirely clear about what happened next. Some claim that Aeolus headed to Antioch thinking of rebellion, while others suggest he was sent out there in order to suppress one. There was certainly religious discord in the east, including a pagan element who may have looked to Aeolus to help prevent the further eroding of their status. We do know that Aeolus was a man of learning, and was close friends with the prominent pagan quaestor Pamprepius. Aeolus also tried to use discontent with Zeno's religious policies to stir up support amongst the eastern Monophysites. We will return to Zeno's foray into religion in the next podcast. We also have to return to the question of Zeno's brother Longinus. Again, the historical sources disagree on whether he had been kept a prisoner for the last six years, or if only now did Aeolus have him arrested. Whether it was a useful pretext or an overreaction by Zeno, Aeolus was declared a public enemy sometime in 482 or 483, and his property was seized. Whatever the truth about the rebellion, we do know that Aeolus had the Empress Verena released from prison, and she crowned Leontius, Emperor in Antioch, in the summer of 484. Leontius was born in Syria, and had served as commander of the army in Thrace, and he was now the last hope of Verena and Aeolus to secure a future without Zeno in it. However, the rebels made no attempt to march on Constantinople, which gave Zeno time to find new allies to work with. The man he turned to was Theodoric the Amal, leader of the Goths who we will properly introduce in a moment. His Gothic forces, alongside other imperial troops commanded by John the Scythian, were enough to defeat and scatter the rebel army. Aeolus, Leontius, and Verena fled back to Isauria and were besieged in a fortress named Papyrius. They held out for four years, which again suggests that perhaps Aeolus really could have kept Longinus imprisoned all of that time. Verena died during the siege, and in 488 the remaining rebels were betrayed, the gates were flung open, and their heads were sent to Constantinople. After nearly 15 years of strife, Zeno could finally rest a little easier on the throne. But we can't let him rest there for now. We have to jump back in time to 477 and see how things were looking in the Balkans. After the collapse of Attila's empire in the 450s, the Eastern Goths, or Ostrogoths, regained their independence and many settled in Roman or former Roman territory. The emperor Marcian had encouraged one group to settle in Thrace and take on imperial responsibilities. He also allowed another, or just didn't stop them, from settling in Pannonia, which had been devastated by the various wars. As was the case with Alaric's Visigoths, the empire didn't have control over the armies it was giving work and titles to. The Goths were happy to take Roman money but were really looking for a secure homeland to settle down in. The emperors were never going to consent to permanently settling them in a strategically important location like the Balkans, nor were they going to be allowed into the east, which so far the Bosphorus and the walls of Constantinople had kept free of large groups of Germans. This stalemate was hard to break. The Goths who settled in Thrace became loyal to Aspar and his family during their time in power. In fact, Aspar married the sister of Theodoric Strabo. Naturally then, when Aspar was killed, Strabo revolted against Leo and only settled his people down when an annual tribute was agreed and Strabo was recognized as Magister Militum or head of the field army. However, he rebelled again when Zeno took power and gladly supported Basiliscus' usurpation. Typically though, Basiliscus mishandled the situation and lost Strabo's support so that when Zeno returned, he did nothing to stop him. At this point it was clear that Zeno and Strabo couldn't work easily together, so Zeno looked north for a Gothic ally. The leader of this second group of Goths was Theodoric the Amal. We call him that because he was from the Amali, a leading dynasty of the Goths. Theodoric the Amal was born around 454, the son of Theodemir, an Ostrogothic chieftain. He spent ten years of his childhood in Constantinople, which gave him good insight into how the Byzantines operated. In 471 he succeeded his father as leader of his people and around 475 moved them from Pannonia to lower Moesia. Zeno now conferred the titles and subsidies of his western field army onto Theodoric and in 478 organized an attack on Strabo's forces. Zeno promised aid from the master of soldiers in Thrace, but none were present when Theodoric's forces arrived at Mount Hemos. Strabo's forces were nearby and both leaders and many of their rank and file saw straight through Zeno's plans and refused to kill fellow Goths in service of Roman promises. Unable to raise a sufficient army to take on the Goths, Zeno was forced to do a deal with the more immediate threat and granted Strabo his old titles, a large amount of cash and land for his men. In the meantime Theodoric the Amal ravaged the lands around Mount Rhodope. Although negotiations continued, it was clear to Theodoric that he would have to take decisive action to realize his goals. So the next year he seized the city of Dyrrhachium on the Adriatic coast. A Byzantine force was dispatched and temporarily pinned the Goths down, but the revolt of Marcian occurred soon after, which naturally took the attention of the Emperor. Strabo's intrigues with Marcian meant Zeno once more stripped him of his title, but this allowed Strabo and Theodoric to renew their alliance and Thrace suffered more pillaging. According to Gibbon, a cruel practice of some Goths was to cut off the right hand of captive peasants so that they could no longer pull their plows. Zeno now sought help from the Bulgars who had settled on the lower Danube, but after defeating the force they sent in 481, Strabo advanced on Constantinople. Ilius had the walls well manned though, and an attempt to cross the sea was cut off by the Byzantine navy. This was however a serious event. It was only just over 25 years since the vandal sack of Rome, so to see a barbarian army at the gates would have struck terror into the hearts of more than a few of the capital's citizens. Things were to get more serious still. Strabo decided to head for Greece, but was thrown from his horse and died en route. Apparently it was a freak accident, and when he fell he landed on a nearby spear. His brother Resetach took over command of the Goths, but within three years he was dead and Theodoric the Amal joined the two gothic forces together under his command. This new gothic super group was a serious threat to Zeno. Without one group to play off against the other, he was facing an army so large that he couldn't possibly defeat it, and one that would demand increasing amounts of subsidy from the empire. Similar strains would have been felt by Theodoric though. His position as leader was contingent upon delivering the goods for his new subjects. Doubtless there were many men who had served under Strabo who would have fancied themselves the next in line to rule. Zeno made peace, giving Strabo's old titles to Theodoric, and in 484 it was Theodoric's men who formed the strongest part of the army in Anatolia that defeated Aulus' rebels. However the peace would not last. Another break came in 486, leaving the poor people of Thrace to feel the rage of the Goths yet again. The following year in 487, Theodoric captured several towns and marched on Constantinople. He managed to pillage the suburbs and cut several aqueducts, but he didn't really have much hope of taking the city. The Goths had never yet mastered siege warfare, but I doubt that was of much comfort to the citizens of the capital. Besieged for a second time in eight years, the pressure was on Zeno to find a way to solve the Gothic problem. The solution when it came suited both sides nicely. In late 487 or early 488, it was agreed that Theodoric would march on Italy, defeat Odoacer, and rule Italy for the empire. Relations between Odoacer and Zeno had been relatively quiet until the revolt of Aulus. Aulus had sent letters seeking Odoacer's help during his rebellion, and although Odoacer had done nothing, Zeno did not look kindly on the two having any correspondence. Zeno stirred up a tribe of Rugians living along the Danube to attack Odoacer, but they were soundly defeated. We don't know if the idea was Zeno's or Theodoric's, but both men agreed that the best solution to their problem was for Theodoric to take his people to Italy. For Zeno, this was a significant victory because it meant the Goths took their families and animals with them and vacated the Balkans for good. It's worth saying that Zeno didn't show much concern for his nominal Italian subjects. Odoacer had maintained good relations with many of the leading men of Italy, and now Zeno was bringing war to their doorstep. With the rebellion in the east crushed and the Goths gone for good, Zeno's turbulent reign could finally begin to wind down. Before we wrap up the podcast though, there are two other events we should probably cover if I'm genuinely going to finish off the history of Rome and move us fully into the history of Byzantium. Around about May 480, Julius Nepos was murdered by some of his retainers in Salona. It's not clear whether it was the meddling of Odoacer, or of the former emperor Glycarius, or just personal disgruntlement or ambition, but the final man to claim to be the western emperor was gone. He was about 50 years old and had ruled for a year in Italy and five more in exile. Odoacer sent his forces into Dalmatia ostensibly to track down the emperor's killers, but then annex the region for his kingdom. Technically though, western Roman forces continued to operate in one last area. You may recall from the history of Rome that the western emperor Marcian had appointed a man named Aegidius as magister militum for what remained of Roman Gaul. During the last few years of the western empire's existence, Roman Gaul was cut off from Italy by the expansion of the new Germanic states run by the Burgundians and the Visigoths. This left a small rump state running along the coast from Brittany in the west to the Frankish territory in the east, with its capital at Soissons and running down to modern Orleans. Aegidius ran this state as a Roman province and used the title of Dux. He died in 464 and his son, Siagrius, took over. When Odoacer dispensed with the imperial system in 476, Siagrius refused to accept Odoacer as his new ruler and naturally Zeno wasn't going to be able to do anything about the remaining Romans in Gaul. So Siagrius continued to rule and was known as king of the Romans by some of his German neighbors. It was not to last though and soon he came up against the growing power of the Frankish state under their new king Clovis. The final battle was fought near Soissons in 486 and after being defeated, Siagrius fled to the Visigothic court. He was handed over to Clovis though and executed in either 486 or 87. With that, finally, the Western Roman Empire really was gone. No one in the west could claim to be continuing Roman rule anymore. In two weeks time we return to Zeno and we'll have a look at his attempts to settle the growing religious disputes in the empire. He will then exit the stage and we will look at the man his wife Ariadne will marry, Anastasius. I'd like to say a big thank you to those who have been letting me know that they've found the podcast. If you are a new listener, let me know on iTunes, Facebook or at thehistoryofbyzantium.wordpress.com. If you know anyone who enjoyed the history of Rome, please tell them about the history of Byzantium.