Tiberius III - Wikipedia Tiberius III From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Byzantine emperor from 698 to 705 Emperor of the Romans Tiberius III Emperor of the Romans Solidus bearing the image of Tiberius III. The inscription reads dn tiberius pe av. Byzantine emperor Reign 15 February 698 – 10 July or 21 August 705 Predecessor Leontios Successor Justinian II Born Apsimar Died Constantinople Burial Prote Dynasty Twenty Years' Anarchy Twenty Years' Anarchy Chronology Leontios 695–698 Tiberius III 698–705 Justinian II 705–711 with Tiberius as co-emperor 706–711 Philippikos Bardanes 711–713 Anastasios II 713–715 Theodosios III 715–717 Succession Preceded by Heraclian dynasty Followed by Isaurian dynasty v t e Tiberius III (Greek: Τιβέριος, romanized: Tiberios) was Byzantine emperor from 15 February 698 to 10 July or 21 August 705 AD. Little is known about his early life, other than that he was droungarios, a mid-level commander, of the Cibyrrhaeots, and that his birth name was Apsimar. In 696, Tiberius was part of an army led by John the Patrician sent by Byzantine Emperor Leontios to retake the city of Carthage in the Exarchate of Africa, which had been captured by the Arab Umayyads. After seizing the city, this army was pushed back by Umayyad reinforcements and retreated to the island of Crete; some of the officers, fearing the wrath of Leontios, killed John and declared Tiberius emperor. Tiberius swiftly gathered a fleet, sailed for Constantinople, and deposed Leontios. Tiberius did not attempt to retake Byzantine Africa from the Umayyads, but campaigned against them along the eastern border with some success. In 705 former Emperor Justinian II, who had been deposed by Leontios, led an army of Slavs and Bulgars to Constantinople, and after entering the city secretly, deposed Tiberius. Tiberius fled to Bithynia, but was captured several months later and beheaded between August 705 and February 706. His body was initially thrown into the sea, but was later recovered and buried in a church on the island of Prote. Contents 1 History 1.1 Rule 1.2 Family 2 References 2.1 Notes 2.2 Citations 2.3 Bibliography History[edit] Very little is known of Tiberius before the reign of Byzantine Emperor Leontios (r. 695–698), except that he was of Germanic origin, as evidenced by his birth name of Apsimar,[a] that he was a droungarios (a commander of about a thousand men) of the Cibyrrhaeot Theme, a military province in southern Anatolia.[3][4] The Byzantist Walter Kaegi states that Tiberius had some unspecified victories over the Slavs in the Balkans during his early military career, which granted him a degree of popularity.[5][6] Starting in 680 AD the Islamic Umayyad Caliphate, the primary rival of the Byzantine Empire, erupted into a civil war known as the Second Fitna. The civil war in the Umayyad Caliphate provided an opportunity for the Byzantine Empire to attack its weakened rival, and in 686, Emperor Justinian II sent Leontios to invade Umayyad territory in Armenia and the region of Iberia, where he campaigned against them successfully before leading troops in the region of Azerbaijan and Caucasian Albania.[3][7] Leontios' successful campaigns compelled Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan to sue for peace in 688, agreeing to tender part of the taxes from Umayyad territory in Armenia, Iberia, and Cyprus, and to renew a treaty signed originally under Constantine IV, providing for a weekly tribute of 1,000 pieces of gold, one horse, and one slave.[3] Justinian renewed his invasion of the Caliphate in 692, feeling that it was still in a weak position, but was repulsed at the Battle of Sebastopolis, where a large number of Slavs defected to the Umayyads, ensuring the Byzantine defeat. Afterward, the Umayyads renewed their invasion of North Africa, aimed at seizing the city of Carthage in the Exarchate of Africa. Justinian blamed Leontios for these defeats, and had him imprisoned.[3][8][9] However, after further setbacks in the war Justinian had Leontios released in 695, hoping that he could turn the tide of the war and prevent Carthage from being taken;[3][8][10] once freed Leontios seized the Byzantine throne and exiled Justinian to Cherson, a Byzantine exclave in the Crimea, after having his nose cut off.[3][10][11] In 696, the Umayyads renewed their attack upon the Byzantine Exarchate of Africa, focused upon seizing the city of Carthage and managed to capture it in 697. Leontios sent John the Patrician with an army to retake the city, which John accomplished after launching a surprise attack on its harbor. Despite this initial success, the city was swiftly retaken by Umayyad reinforcements, which forced John to retreat to Crete to regroup. A group of officers who feared Leontios's wrath for failing to recapture Carthage killed John, and declared Apsimar, who took the regnal name Tiberius,[b] emperor.[3] Tiberius gathered a fleet and allied himself with the Green faction (one of the Hippodrome factions), before sailing for Constantinople, which was enduring an outbreak of the bubonic plague.[3] Tiberius and his troops landed at the port of Sykai on the Golden Horn, and then proceeded to lay siege to the city.[13] After approximately six months of siege, on 15 February 698, the gates of Constantinople were opened for Tiberius's forces by members of the Green faction, allowing Tiberius to seize the city and depose Leontios;[3][13][14][15] however, this surrender did not prevent Tiberius' troops from plundering the city.[16] Tiberius had Leontios's nose slit, and sent him to live in the Monastery of Psamathion in Constantinople.[3][14][15] According to chronicler Michael the Syrian, himself citing an unnamed contemporary Syriac source, Tiberius justified his coup by saying:[17] Just as Justinian [II] because of his mismanagement of the Roman empire, especially for pillaging Cyprus and breaking the peace with the Arabs, thus ruining many Roman lands, and other such things, was deprived of rule, so Leontios, though he had been enthroned for being one of the great men, has been cast out for lapsing into similar folly.[17] Rule[edit] Map of the Byzantine Empire and the Balkans in 700 AD Tiberius was crowned by Patriarch Callinicus shortly after seizing control of Constantinople and deposing Leontios.[4] Once in power, Tiberius did not attempt to retake Byzantine Africa from the Umayyads but rather focused his attention upon the eastern border of his empire. Tiberius appointed his brother, Heraclius,[c] as patrikios and monostrategos (head general) of the Anatolian themes.[19][20][21][22] Heraclius invaded the Umayyads in late autumn of 698, crossing into the mountain passes of the Taurus Mountains into Cilicia before marching for northern Syria. Heraclius defeated an Arab army sent from Antioch, then raided as far as Samosata before pulling back to the safety of Byzantine lands in spring of 699.[22][23][21] Heraclius' military successes led to a series of punitive Arab attacks, with the Umayyad generals Muhammad ibn Marwan and Abdallah ibn Abd al-Malik launching a string of campaigns which conquered the remainder of Byzantine Armenia, which Heraclius was unable to effectively respond to.[23] However, the Armenians launched a large revolt against the Ummayads in 702, requesting Byzantine aid. Abdallah ibn Abd al-Malik launched a campaign to reconquer Armenia in 704 but was attacked by Heraclius in Cilicia. Heraclius defeated the Arab army of 10,000–12,000 men led by Yazid ibn Hunain at Sisium, killing most and enslaving the rest; however, Heraclius was not able to stop Abdallah ibn Abd al-Malik from reconquering Armenia.[23][20][15] Tiberius attempted to strengthen the Byzantine military by reorganizing its structure, as well as reorganizing the Cibyrrhaeotic Theme,[15][24] and repairing the sea walls of Constantinople.[25] Tiberius also focused his attention on the island of Cyprus, which had been underpopulated since much of the populace was moved to the region of Cyzicus under Justinian:[15][24] Tiberius successfully negotiated with Abd al-Malik in 698/699 to allow the Cypriots who had been moved to Propontis, and those who had been captured by the Arabs and brought to Syria, to return to their homelands,[4][15][24] as well as strengthened the garrison of the island with Mardaite troops from the Taurus Mountains.[24] Tiberius attempted to contain the Arabs at sea by way of creating new military provinces, with the creation of the Theme of Sardinia and separating the Theme of Sicily from the Exarchate of Ravenna.[26] Tiberius also banished the future emperor Philippikos Bardanes, the son of a patrician, to the island of Cephalonia,[27] according to Byzantine chronicler Theophanes the Confessor he was exiled for spreading word that he had had a dream in which he was emperor.[28] In 693 Justinian escaped from Cherson and gained the support of Khagan Busir, leader of the Khazars, who gave Justinian his sister Theodora as a bride, and welcomed him to his court in Phanagoria. In 703 reports that Justinian was attempting to gain support to retake the throne reached Tiberius, who swiftly sent envoys to the Khazars demanding that Justinian be handed over to the Byzantines, dead or alive. Justinian eluded capture, and sought the support of the Bulgar king Tervel.[25] In 705 Justinian led an army of Slavs and Bulgars to Constantinople and laid siege to it for three days before scouts discovered an old and disused conduit which ran under the walls of the city. Later, Justinian and a small detachment of soldiers used this route to gain access to the city, exiting at the northern edge of the wall near the Palace of Blachernae, and quickly seizing the building. Tiberius fled to the city of Sozopolis in Bithynia, and eluded his pursuers for several months before being captured.[15] The exact timing of Justinian's siege and Tiberius' capture is convoluted. According to the numismatist Philip Grierson, Justinian entered the city on 21 August,[29][30] however, according to Byzantist Constance Head, Justinian seized the city on 10 July, and the 21 August date is instead the date where Tiberius was captured in Sozopolis, or else the date when he was transported back to Constantinople.[29] On some date between August 705 and February 706, Justinian had both Leontios and Tiberius dragged to the Hippodrome and publicly humiliated, before being taken away to the Cynegion and beheaded.[3][4][25][30] Their bodies were initially thrown into the sea, but were later recovered and buried in a church on the island of Prote.[4] Family[edit] Tiberius had a son, Theodosius, who became bishop of Ephesus by 729, and presided over the Council of Hieria in 754,[31][32] and was a confidant of Emperors Leo III (r. 717–741) and Constantine V (r. 741–775).[33] Byzantine Historian Graham Sumner has suggested that this Theodosius may be the same person as later Emperor Theodosius III (r. 715–717). Sumner presents the evidence that both figures held the Bishopric of Ephesus at similar times: Emperor Theodosius became bishop after 716, according to the Chronicon Altinate et Gradense, and Theodosius the son of Tiberius became bishop by 729, suggesting they may be the same person.[32] Byzantine historians Cyril Mango and Roger Scott do not view this theory as likely, as it would mean that Emperor Theodosius had to have lived for thirty more years after his abdication.[34] References[edit] Notes[edit] ^ The Byzantinists Anthony Bryer and Judith Herrin have suggested that the name Apsimar may be Slav in origin, [1] and scholars Leslie Brubaker and John Haldon have suggested a Turkic origin.[2] ^ Tiberius is often referred to as Tiberius III by modern conventions, and is also sometimes called Tiberius II, when the original Tiberius is excluded from the regnal count.[12] ^ Some scholars, such as Walter Kaegi, identify Heraclius as Tiberius' son, rather than his brother.[18] Citations[edit] ^ Bryer & Herrin 1977, p. 16. ^ Brubaker & Haldon 2011, p. 72. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Moore 1999a. ^ a b c d e PmbZ, Tiberius III (#8483/corr.). ^ Kaegi 1981, p. 189 & 207. ^ Kaegi 1981, p. 318. ^ Brubaker & Haldon 2011, p. 586. ^ a b Bacharach 2010, p. 15. ^ Rosser 2001, p. 2. ^ a b Penna & Morrison 2016, p. 27. ^ Ostrogorsky 1956, pp. 116–122. ^ Rosser 2001, p. 473. ^ a b Haldon 2016, p. 49. ^ a b Garland 2017, p. 2. ^ a b c d e f g Moore 1999b. ^ Haldon 2016, p. 185. ^ a b Haldon 2016, p. 93. ^ Kaegi 1981, p. 189. ^ Brubaker & Haldon 2011, p. 738. ^ a b PmbZ, Herakleios (#2558). ^ a b Bury 1889, p. 355. ^ a b Kazhdan 1991, "Tiberios II" (P. A. Hollingsworth), p. 2084. ^ a b c Treadgold 1997, p. 339. ^ a b c d Bury 1889, p. 356. ^ a b c Kazhdan 1991, p. 2084. ^ Treadgold 1995, p. 26. ^ Bury 1889, p. 357. ^ Sumner 1976, p. 287. ^ a b Head 1969, p. 105. ^ a b Grierson, Mango & Ševčenko 1962, p. 51. ^ Bryer & Herrin 1977, p. 3. ^ a b Sumner 1976, p. 292. ^ Head 1970, p. 15. ^ Neil 2000. Bibliography[edit] Bacharach, Jere L. (2010). "Signs of Sovereignty: The Shahāda, Quranic verses, and the Coinage of Abd Al-Malik". Muqarnas. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-9-004-18511-1. Brubaker, Leslie; Haldon, John (2011). Byzantium in the Iconoclast Era, C. 680-850: A History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-43093-7. Bryer, Anthony; Herrin, Judith (1977). "Iconoclasm: Papers Given at the Ninth Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies, University of Birmingham, March 1975". Centre for Byzantine Studies. Birmingham. OCLC 3135001. Bury, J.B. (1889). A History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene, 395 A.D. to 800 A.D. II. MacMillan & Co. OCLC 168739195. Garland, Lynda (2017). Byzantine Women: Varieties of Experience 800-1200. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-95371-9. Grierson, Philip; Mango, Cyril; Ševčenko, Ihor (1962). "The Tombs and Obits of the Byzantine Emperors (337-1042); With an Additional Note". Dumbarton Oaks Papers. 16: 1–63. doi:10.2307/1291157. JSTOR 1291157. Haldon, John (2016). The Empire That Would Not Die: The Paradox of Eastern Roman Survival, 640–740. Harvard: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674088771. Head, Constance (1970). "Towards a Reinterpretation of the Second Reign of Justinian II: 705-711". Byzantion. 40 (1): 14–32. JSTOR 44170282. Head, Constance (1969). "On the Date of Justinian II's restoration". Byzantion. 39: 104–107. JSTOR 44169943. Kaegi, Walter (1981). Byzantine Military Unrest, 471-843: An Interpretation. Ann Arbor: ACLS Humanities. ISBN 978-1597406321. Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991), Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6 Lilie, Ralph-Johannes; Ludwig, Claudia; Pratsch, Thomas; Zielke, Beate (2013). "Tiberius III". Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit Online. Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Nach Vorarbeiten F. Winkelmanns erstellt (in German). Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter. Moore, R. Scott (1999a). "Leontius (695-98 A.D.)". De Imperatoribus Romanis. Archived from the original on 7 July 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019. Moore, R. Scott (1999b). "Tiberius III (698-705 A.D.)". De Imperatoribus Romanis. Archived from the original on 27 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019. Neil, Bronwen (2000). "Theodosius III (715–717)". De Imperatoribus Romanis. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019. Ostrogorsky, George (1956). History of the Byzantine State. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-813-51198-6. Penna, Vasiliki; Morrison, Cecile (2016). Usurpers and Rebels in Byzantium: Image and Message Through Coins: Papers from the 43rd Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies, Birmingham, March 2010. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-07693-3. Rosser, John H. (2001). Historical Dictionary of Byzantium. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-810-86621-8. Sumner, Graham V. (1976). "Philippicus, Anastasius II and Theodosius III". Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies. XVII. OCLC 595088782. Retrieved 18 February 2020. Treadgold, Warren (1997). A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-2630-2. Treadgold, Warren (1995). Byzantium and its Army, 284-1081. Stanford: Stanford University. ISBN 978-0804731-63-8. Tiberius III Born: 7th century Died: 15 February 706 Regnal titles Preceded by Leontius Byzantine Emperor 698–705 Succeeded by Justinian II v t e Roman and Byzantine emperors and ruling empresses Principate 27 BC – AD 235 Augustus Tiberius Caligula Claudius Nero Galba Otho Vitellius Vespasian Titus Domitian Nerva Trajan Hadrian Antoninus Pius Marcus Aurelius Lucius Verus Commodus Pertinax Didius Julianus (Pescennius Niger) (Clodius Albinus) Septimius Severus Caracalla Geta Macrinus Diadumenian Elagabalus Severus Alexander Crisis 235–285 Maximinus Thrax Gordian I Gordian II Pupienus Balbinus Gordian III Philip the Arab Philip II Decius Herennius Etruscus Hostilian Trebonianus Gallus Volusianus Aemilianus Valerian Gallienus Saloninus Claudius Gothicus Quintillus Aurelian Ulpia Severina Tacitus Florian Probus Carus Carinus Numerian Gallic emperors Postumus (Laelianus) Marius Victorinus (Domitianus II) Tetricus I with Tetricus II as caesar Palmyrene emperors Vaballathus Zenobia Septimius Antiochus Dominate 284–395 Diocletian Maximian Galerius Constantius I Severus Constantine the Great Maxentius Licinius Maximinus Daza (Valerius Valens) (Martinian) Constantine II Constantius II Constans I Magnentius Vetranio Julian Jovian Valentinian I (west) Valens (east) Gratian (west) Valentinian II (west) Theodosius I Magnus Maximus Victor (Eugenius) Western Empire 395–480 Honorius Constantine III with son Constans II Constantius III Joannes Valentinian III Petronius Maximus Avitus Majorian Libius Severus Anthemius Olybrius Glycerius Julius Nepos Romulus Augustulus Eastern/ Byzantine Empire 395–1204 Arcadius Theodosius II Marcian Leo I Leo II Zeno Basiliscus Marcus Anastasius I Dicorus Justin I Justinian I Justin II Tiberius II Constantine Maurice with son Theodosius as co-emperor Phocas Heraclius Constantine III Heraklonas Constans II Constantine IV with brothers Heraclius and Tiberius and then Justinian II as co-emperors Justinian II (first reign) Leontios Tiberius III Justinian II (second reign) with son Tiberius as co-emperor Philippikos Anastasios II Theodosius III Leo III the Isaurian Constantine V Artabasdos Leo IV the Khazar Constantine VI Irene Nikephoros I Staurakios Michael I Rangabe with son Theophylact as co-emperor Leo V the Armenian with Symbatios-Constantine as junior emperor Michael II the Amorian Theophilos Michael III Basil I the Macedonian Leo VI the Wise Alexander Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos Romanos I Lekapenos with sons Christopher, Stephen and Constantine as junior co-emperors Romanos II Nikephoros II Phokas John I Tzimiskes Basil II Constantine VIII Zoë (first reign) and Romanos III Argyros Zoë (first reign) and Michael IV the Paphlagonian Michael V Kalaphates Zoë (second reign) with Theodora Zoë (second reign) and Constantine IX Monomachos Constantine IX Monomachos (sole emperor) Theodora Michael VI Bringas Isaac I Komnenos Constantine X Doukas Romanos IV Diogenes Michael VII Doukas with brothers Andronikos and Konstantios and son Constantine Nikephoros III Botaneiates Alexios I Komnenos John II Komnenos with Alexios Komnenos as co-emperor Manuel I Komnenos Alexios II Komnenos Andronikos I Komnenos with John Komnenos as co-emperor Isaac II Angelos Alexios III Angelos Alexios IV Angelos Nicholas Kanabos (chosen by the Senate) Alexios V Doukas Empire of Nicaea 1204–1261 Constantine Laskaris Theodore I Laskaris John III Doukas Vatatzes Theodore II Laskaris John IV Laskaris Byzantine Empire 1261–1453 Michael VIII Palaiologos Andronikos II Palaiologos with Michael IX Palaiologos as co-emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos John V Palaiologos John VI Kantakouzenos with John V Palaiologos and Matthew Kantakouzenos as co-emperors John V Palaiologos Andronikos IV Palaiologos John VII Palaiologos Andronikos V Palaiologos Manuel II Palaiologos John VIII Palaiologos Constantine XI Palaiologos Italics indicates a junior co-emperor, while underlining indicates a usurper. Authority control General VIAF 1 WorldCat National libraries France (data) Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tiberius_III&oldid=1028067415" Categories: 7th-century Byzantine emperors 8th-century Byzantine emperors Byzantine admirals 7th-century births 706 deaths Twenty Years' Anarchy 690s in the Byzantine Empire 700s in the Byzantine Empire Executed monarchs People executed by decapitation Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Good articles Articles containing Greek-language text Instances of Lang-el using second unnamed parameter CS1 German-language sources (de) Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Languages Afrikaans العربية Aragonés Asturianu تۆرکجه Беларуская Български Català Čeština Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego 客家語/Hak-kâ-ngî 한국어 Hrvatski Italiano עברית ქართული Latina Magyar Македонски مصرى Nederlands 日本語 Norsk bokmål Polski Português Română Русский Slovenčina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tagalog Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt Zazaki 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 11 June 2021, at 17:02 (UTC). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Contact Wikipedia Mobile view Developers Statistics Cookie statement