Zenonis
Encyclopedia
Aelia Zenonis was the Empress consort of Basiliscus
of the Eastern Roman Empire.
. Her sister-in-law was Empress consort to Leo I
and mother to Ariadne
. Her niece Ariadne was Empress consort to Zeno
and mother of Leo II
.
n and therefore considered a barbarian
. His origins caused antipathy towards his regime among the people of Constantinople. Zeno also secured positions of high authority for his fellow Isaurians. for the Emperor's fellow-countrymen, and more rude mountaineers in the capital. Furthermore, the strong Germanic portion of the military, led by Theodoric Strabo
, disliked the Isaurian officers that Leo I brought to reduce his dependency on the Ostrogoths. Finally, Zeno alienated his fellow Isaurian general Illus
.
Basiliscus and Verina took advantage of the situation to form a conspiracy against their imperial in-law. In 475, a popular revolt against the emperor started within the capital. The uprising, received military support by Theodoric Strabo, Illus and Armatus
and succeeded in taking control of Constantinople. Verina convinced her son-in-law to leave the city. Zeno fled to his native lands, bringing with him some of the Isaurians living in Constantinople, and the imperial treasury. Basiliscus was then acclaimed as Augustus on 9 January 475.
Zenonis was declared an Augusta immediately following the successful coup d'état
. Marcus, eldest son of the new imperial couple, was declared first a Caesar
and afterwards an Augustus
, co-ruler of his father. Basiliscus and Zenonis favored Monophysitism
by first restoring its chief proponents Pope Timothy II of Alexandria
and Peter the Fuller
, Patriarch of Antioch, to their respective thrones and secondly by persuasion of the former issued (9 April 475) a circular letter (Enkyklikon) to the bishops calling them to accept as valid only the first three ecumenical synods, and reject the Council of Chalcedon. All bishops were to sign the edict. While most of the Eastern bishops accepted the letter, Patriarch Acacius of Constantinople
refused, with the support of the population of the city, clearly showing his disdain towards Basiliscus by draping the icon
s in Hagia Sophia in black.
According to certain passages in the Suda
, Zenonis had found a lover in Armatus, a nephew of her husband. J. B. Bury
gives the passages as following: Basiliscus permitted Armatus, inasmuch as he was a kinsman, to associate freely with the Empress Zenonis. Their intercourse became intimate, and as they were both persons of no ordinary beauty they became extravagantly enamoured of each other. They used to exchange glances of the eyes, they used constantly to turn their faces and smile at each other; and the passion which they were obliged to conceal was the cause of dule and teen. They confided their trouble to Daniel a eunuch and to Maria a midwife, who hardly healed their malady by the remedy of bringing them together. Then Zenonis coaxed Basiliscus to grant her lover the highest office in the city. The reference is to the Augusta reportedly convinced her husband to appoint Basiliscus to Armatus to the office of magister militum praesentialis. Armatus was also awarded the consulship of 476, together with Basiliscus.
During his operations in Isauria, Illus took Zeno's brother, Longinus, prisoner and kept him in an Isaurian fortress. Because he thought he would have great influence over a restored Zeno, he changed sides and marched with Zeno towards Constantinople in the summer of 476. When Basiliscus received news of this danger, he hastened to recall his ecclesiastical edicts and to conciliate the Patriarch and the people, but it was too late.
Armatus, as magister militum, was sent with all available forces in Asia Minor, to oppose the advancing army of the Isaurians, but secret messages from Zeno, who promised to give him the title of magister militum for life and to confer the rank of Caesar on his son, induced him to betray his master. Armatus avoided the road by which Zeno was advancing and marched into Isauria by another way. This betrayal decided the fate of Basiliscus.
In August 476, Zeno besieged Constantinople. The Senate opened the gates of the city to the Isaurian, allowing the deposed emperor to resume the throne. Basiliscus fled to sanctuary in a church, but he was betrayed by Acacius and surrendered himself and his family after extracting a solemn promise from Zeno not to shed their blood. Basiliscus, his wife Aelia Zenonis and his son Marcus were sent to a fortress in Cappadocia
where Zeno had them enclosed in a dry cistern, to die from exposure.
Basiliscus
Basiliscus was Eastern Roman Emperor from 475 to 476. A member of the House of Leo, he came to power when Emperor Zeno had been forced out of Constantinople by a revolt....
of the Eastern Roman Empire.
Background
The ancestry of Zenonis is unknown. She was married to Basiliscus, brother of VerinaVerina
Aelia Verina was the Empress consort of Leo I of the Byzantine Empire. She was a sister of Basiliscus. Her daughter Ariadne was Empress consort of first Zeno and then Anastasius I. Verina was the maternal grandmother of Leo II.-Family:...
. Her sister-in-law was Empress consort to Leo I
Leo I (emperor)
Leo I was Byzantine Emperor from 457 to 474. A native of Dacia Aureliana near historic Thrace, he was known as Leo the Thracian ....
and mother to Ariadne
Ariadne (empress)
Aelia Ariadne was the Empress consort of Zeno and Anastasius I of the Byzantine Empire.-Family:Ariadne was a daughter of Leo I and Verina. Her mother was a sister of Basiliscus....
. Her niece Ariadne was Empress consort to Zeno
Zeno (emperor)
Zeno , originally named Tarasis, was Byzantine Emperor from 474 to 475 and again from 476 to 491. Domestic revolts and religious dissension plagued his reign, which nevertheless succeeded to some extent in foreign issues...
and mother of Leo II
Leo II (emperor)
Leo II was Byzantine Emperor for less than a year in 474. He was the son of Zeno and Ariadne, and maternal grandson of Leo I and Verina. As Leo's closest male relative, he was named successor upon his grandfather's death. After taking his father as colleague, he died of an unknown disease about 10...
.
Empress
On 17 November 474, Leo II died and his father Zeno became sole Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. The new reign was not particularly popular. Zeno was an IsauriaIsauria
Isauria , in ancient geography, is a rugged isolated district in the interior of South Asia Minor, of very different extent at different periods, but generally covering what is now the district of Bozkır and its surroundings in the Konya province of Turkey, or the core of the Taurus Mountains. In...
n and therefore considered a barbarian
Barbarian
Barbarian and savage are terms used to refer to a person who is perceived to be uncivilized. The word is often used either in a general reference to a member of a nation or ethnos, typically a tribal society as seen by an urban civilization either viewed as inferior, or admired as a noble savage...
. His origins caused antipathy towards his regime among the people of Constantinople. Zeno also secured positions of high authority for his fellow Isaurians. for the Emperor's fellow-countrymen, and more rude mountaineers in the capital. Furthermore, the strong Germanic portion of the military, led by Theodoric Strabo
Theodoric Strabo
Theodoric Strabo was an Ostrogoth chieftain who was involved in the politics of the Byzantine Empire during the reigns of Byzantine Emperors Leo I, Zeno and Basiliscus...
, disliked the Isaurian officers that Leo I brought to reduce his dependency on the Ostrogoths. Finally, Zeno alienated his fellow Isaurian general Illus
Illus
Illus was a Byzantine general, who played an important role in the reigns of the Byzantine Emperors Zeno and Basiliscus.Illus supported the revolt of Basiliscus against Zeno, then switched sides, supporting the return of Zeno...
.
Basiliscus and Verina took advantage of the situation to form a conspiracy against their imperial in-law. In 475, a popular revolt against the emperor started within the capital. The uprising, received military support by Theodoric Strabo, Illus and Armatus
Armatus
Flavius Armatus was a Byzantine military commander, magister militum under Emperors Leo I, Basiliscus and Zeno, and consul. He was instrumental in the rebellion of Basiliscus against Zeno, and in his subsequent fall.- Origin and early career :...
and succeeded in taking control of Constantinople. Verina convinced her son-in-law to leave the city. Zeno fled to his native lands, bringing with him some of the Isaurians living in Constantinople, and the imperial treasury. Basiliscus was then acclaimed as Augustus on 9 January 475.
Zenonis was declared an Augusta immediately following the successful coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
. Marcus, eldest son of the new imperial couple, was declared first a Caesar
Caesar (title)
Caesar is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator...
and afterwards an Augustus
Augustus (honorific)
Augustus , Latin for "majestic," "the increaser," or "venerable", was an Ancient Roman title, which was first held by Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus , and subsequently came to be considered one of the titles of what are now known as the Roman Emperors...
, co-ruler of his father. Basiliscus and Zenonis favored Monophysitism
Monophysitism
Monophysitism , or Monophysiticism, is the Christological position that Jesus Christ has only one nature, his humanity being absorbed by his Deity...
by first restoring its chief proponents Pope Timothy II of Alexandria
Pope Timothy II of Alexandria
Pope Timothy II of Alexandria , also known as Αἴλουρος/Aelurus , succeeded twice in supplanting the Chalcedonian Patriarch of Alexandria....
and Peter the Fuller
Peter the Fuller
Peter Fullo was Patriarch of Antioch and Non-Chalcedonian.Peter received his surname from his former trade as a fuller of cloth. Tillemont Peter Fullo ("the Fuller") was Patriarch of Antioch (471–488) and Non-Chalcedonian.Peter received his surname from his former trade as a fuller of cloth....
, Patriarch of Antioch, to their respective thrones and secondly by persuasion of the former issued (9 April 475) a circular letter (Enkyklikon) to the bishops calling them to accept as valid only the first three ecumenical synods, and reject the Council of Chalcedon. All bishops were to sign the edict. While most of the Eastern bishops accepted the letter, Patriarch Acacius of Constantinople
Patriarch Acacius of Constantinople
Acacius was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 471 to 489. Acacius was practically the first prelate throughout the Eastern Orthodoxy and renowned for ambitious participation in the Chalcedonian controversy....
refused, with the support of the population of the city, clearly showing his disdain towards Basiliscus by draping the icon
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
s in Hagia Sophia in black.
According to certain passages in the Suda
Suda
The Suda or Souda is a massive 10th century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Suidas. It is an encyclopedic lexicon, written in Greek, with 30,000 entries, many drawing from ancient sources that have since been lost, and often...
, Zenonis had found a lover in Armatus, a nephew of her husband. J. B. Bury
J. B. Bury
John Bagnell Bury , known as J. B. Bury, was an Irish historian, classical scholar, Byzantinist and philologist.-Biography:...
gives the passages as following: Basiliscus permitted Armatus, inasmuch as he was a kinsman, to associate freely with the Empress Zenonis. Their intercourse became intimate, and as they were both persons of no ordinary beauty they became extravagantly enamoured of each other. They used to exchange glances of the eyes, they used constantly to turn their faces and smile at each other; and the passion which they were obliged to conceal was the cause of dule and teen. They confided their trouble to Daniel a eunuch and to Maria a midwife, who hardly healed their malady by the remedy of bringing them together. Then Zenonis coaxed Basiliscus to grant her lover the highest office in the city. The reference is to the Augusta reportedly convinced her husband to appoint Basiliscus to Armatus to the office of magister militum praesentialis. Armatus was also awarded the consulship of 476, together with Basiliscus.
Deposition
Soon after his elevation, Basiliscus had despatched Illus and his brother Trocundus against Zeno, who, now in his native fortresses, had resumed the life of an Isaurian chieftain. Basiliscus, however, failed to fulfil the promises he made to the two generals; furthermore, they received letters from some of the leading ministers at the court, urging them to secure the return of Zeno, for the city now preferred a restored Isaurian to a Miaphysite whose unpopularity increased with the fiscal rapacity of his ministers.During his operations in Isauria, Illus took Zeno's brother, Longinus, prisoner and kept him in an Isaurian fortress. Because he thought he would have great influence over a restored Zeno, he changed sides and marched with Zeno towards Constantinople in the summer of 476. When Basiliscus received news of this danger, he hastened to recall his ecclesiastical edicts and to conciliate the Patriarch and the people, but it was too late.
Armatus, as magister militum, was sent with all available forces in Asia Minor, to oppose the advancing army of the Isaurians, but secret messages from Zeno, who promised to give him the title of magister militum for life and to confer the rank of Caesar on his son, induced him to betray his master. Armatus avoided the road by which Zeno was advancing and marched into Isauria by another way. This betrayal decided the fate of Basiliscus.
In August 476, Zeno besieged Constantinople. The Senate opened the gates of the city to the Isaurian, allowing the deposed emperor to resume the throne. Basiliscus fled to sanctuary in a church, but he was betrayed by Acacius and surrendered himself and his family after extracting a solemn promise from Zeno not to shed their blood. Basiliscus, his wife Aelia Zenonis and his son Marcus were sent to a fortress in Cappadocia
Cappadocia
Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine...
where Zeno had them enclosed in a dry cistern, to die from exposure.