Zeno I - Revision history

Irlandos at 11:09, January 18, 2008

2008-01-18T11:09:52Z

Irlandos: Zeno (emperor) moved to Zeno I

2006-02-08T10:45:59Z

Zeno (emperor) moved to Zeno I

Irlandos at 10:37, February 8, 2006

2006-02-08T10:37:45Z

Irlandos at 10:37, February 8, 2006

2006-02-08T10:37:19Z

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'''[[Imperator]] [[Caesar (title) | Caesar]] Flavius Zeno [[Augustus]]''' or '''Tarasicodissa''' or '''Trascalissaeus''' (c. [[425]] -[[491]]), [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] emperor ([[February 9]] [[474]] - [[April 9]] [[491]]) was one of the more prominent of the early [[Byzantine emperors]]. Domestic revolts and religious dissension plagued his reign which nevertheless succeeded to some extent in foreign issues. He presided over the official end of the Roman Empire in the west while at the same time contributing much to stabilizing the empire in the east.

Tarasicodissa, as he was known as a young man, was an Isaurian tribesman from the region now known as Armenia. The Isaurians are thought to be ancestors of the modern Kurds, and were looked upon as barbarians by the Romans even though they had been Roman citizens for more than two centuries. Still, a fortuitous turn of events ultimately placed Zeno on the throne in [[Constantinople]].

Well-known as a warrior, Tarasicodissa caught the eye of the Emperor [[Leo I of the Byzantine Empire|Leo I]] in the mid-[[460s]], when Leo was searching for alternatives to using increasingly unreliable Germanic and Alan mercenaries in his army. In [[466]], Tarasicodissa exposed the treachery of Ardabur, the son of the Alans eastern ''magister militum'' Aspar and made himself even more indispensable. By [[468]], when Leo's incompetent (and perhaps traitorous) generals led the Byzantine fleet to disaster in a campaign against the Vandals, Tarasicodissa was considered Leo's best general. While on a campaign in [[Thrace]] he narrowly escaped assassination instigated by Aspar. On Tarasicodissa's return to the capital, Aspar was killed on Leo's orders and Tarasicodissa became ''magister militum'' in his own right.

To make himself more acceptable to the Roman hierarchy and the native [[Greece|Greek]] population of Constantinople, Tarasicodissa adopted the Greek name of Zeno and used it for the rest of his life after his marriage to Leo's daughter Ariadne in [[468]]. Although designed by Leo to secure the Isaurian support against the aforementioned ambitious minister Aspar, this political arrangement brought them a son, who was to become the emperor [[Leo II (emperor)|Leo II]] upon the death of his grandfather in [[473]].

In the meantime, Zeno continued to lead the eastern armies with a great deal of success, most notably in expelling the Vandals from [[Epirus]], which they invaded in [[469]] as part of King Geiseric's revenge for being attacked a year earlier. He also led troops against incursions by the Huns and Gepids south of the Danube River. Since Leo II was too young to rule himself, Ariadne and her mother [[Verina]] prevailed upon Leo to crown Zeno as co-emperor, which he did on [[February 9]], [[474]]. When Leo became ill and died on [[November 17]], Zeno became sole emperor.

He continued to be unpopular with the people and senate because of his "foreign" origins. A revolt fomented by Verina in favour of her brother [[Basiliscus]] in January of [[475]] and the antipathy to his Isaurian soldiers and administrators in Constantinople forced him to flee the capital for the city of Antioch. Zeno was compelled to shut himself up in a fortress and spent the next 20 months raising an army, largely made up of fellow Isaurians, and marched on Constantinople in August [[476]]. The growing misgovernment and unpopularity of Basiliscus ultimately enabled Zeno to re-enter [[Constantinople]] unopposed in [[476]] after an army led by the general [[Illus]] defected to Zeno. His rival was banished to Phrygia, where he soon afterwards died.

Restored to rule of the entire empire, Zeno was within two months forced to make a momentous decision when Odoacer deposed the last emperor in the west and asked for Zeno's recognition as a patrician officer of Zeno's court, intending to rule without an emperor. Zeno granted this, and thus in theory became the first emperor of a united Roman Empire since [[395]]. In reality, he all but wrote off the west until several years later, when Odoacer began to violate the terms of his agreement with Zeno.

At the same time, Zeno sent a mission to Carthage with the intent of making a permanent peace settlement with Geiseric, who was still making constant raids on eastern cities and merchant shipping. By recognizing Geiseric as an independent king and with the full extent of his conquests, Zeno was able to hammer out a peace which ended the Vandal attacks in the east, brought freedom of religion to the Catholics under Vandal rule, and lasted for more than 50 years.

Since [[472]] the aggressions of the two Ostrogoth leaders, Theodoric the Great, son of Theodemir, and Theodoric Strabo, had been a constant source of danger. Though Zeno at times contrived to play them off against each other, they in turn were able to profit by his dynastic rivalries, and it was only by offering them pay and high command that he kept them from attacking Constantinople itself.

Zeno survived another revolt in [[478]], when his mother-in-law [[Verina]] attempted to kill Illus for turning against [[Basiliscus]], her brother. The revolt was led by her son-in-law [[Marcian]] and the [[Ostrogoth]] warlord Theoderic Strabo, but Illus again proved his loyalty to Zeno by quashing the revolt. However, Illus and Zeno had a falling out by [[484]], and once again Zeno had to put down a bloody revolt in the east.

After Theodoric Strabo died in [[481]], the future Theodoric the Great became king of the entire Ostrogothic nation and began to be a source of trouble in the Balkan peninsula. Zeno got rid of the problem in [[487]] by inducing him to invade Italy to fight Odoacer and establish his new kingdom there, all but eliminating the German presence in the east.

He died on [[April 9]], 491, after ruling for 17 years and 2 months. Because he and Ariadne had no other children, his widow chose a favored member of the imperial court, [[Anastasius I|Anastasius]], to succeed him.

Zeno is described as a lax and indolent ruler, but he seems to have husbanded the resources of the empire so as to leave it appreciably stronger at his death. In ecclesiastical history Zeno is associated with the ''[[Henoticon]]'' or "instrument of union", promulgated by him and signed by all the Eastern bishops, with the design of solving the [[Monophysitism|monophysite]] controversy.

{{Credit wikipedia}}

[[Category:420s births]]
[[Category:491 deaths]]
[[Category:Byzantine emperors]]
[[Category:House of Leo]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:37, February 8, 2006
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−	'''[[Imperator~~]] [[~~Caesar ~~(title) \| Caesar]]~~ Flavius Zeno [[Augustus]]''' or '''Tarasicodissa''' or '''Trascalissaeus''' (c. [[425]] -[[491]]), [[Byzantine Empire\|Byzantine]] emperor ([[February 9]] [[474]] - [[April 9]] [[491]]) was one of the more prominent of the early [[Byzantine emperors]]. Domestic revolts and religious dissension plagued his reign which nevertheless succeeded to some extent in foreign issues. He presided over the official end of the Roman Empire in the west while at the same time contributing much to stabilizing the empire in the east.	+	'''Imperator Caesar Flavius Zeno Augustus''' or '''Tarasicodissa''' or '''Trascalissaeus''' (c. [[425]] -[[491]]), [[Byzantine Empire\|Byzantine]] emperor ([[February 9]] [[474]] - [[April 9]] [[491]]) was one of the more prominent of the early [[Byzantine emperors]]. Domestic revolts and religious dissension plagued his reign which nevertheless succeeded to some extent in foreign issues. He presided over the official end of the Roman Empire in the west while at the same time contributing much to stabilizing the empire in the east.

	Tarasicodissa, as he was known as a young man, was an Isaurian tribesman from the region now known as Armenia. The Isaurians are thought to be ancestors of the modern Kurds, and were looked upon as barbarians by the Romans even though they had been Roman citizens for more than two centuries. Still, a fortuitous turn of events ultimately placed Zeno on the throne in [[Constantinople]].		Tarasicodissa, as he was known as a young man, was an Isaurian tribesman from the region now known as Armenia. The Isaurians are thought to be ancestors of the modern Kurds, and were looked upon as barbarians by the Romans even though they had been Roman citizens for more than two centuries. Still, a fortuitous turn of events ultimately placed Zeno on the throne in [[Constantinople]].

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 Tarasicodissa, as he was known as a young man, was an Isaurian tribesman from the region now known as Armenia. The Isaurians are thought to be ancestors of the modern Kurds, and were looked upon as barbarians by the Romans even though they had been Roman citizens for more than two centuries. Still, a fortuitous turn of events ultimately placed Zeno on the throne in [[Constantinople]].
-Well-known as a warrior, Tarasicodissa caught the eye of the Emperor [[Leo I of the Byzantine Empire|Leo I]] in the mid-[[460s]], when Leo was searching for alternatives to using increasingly unreliable Germanic and Alan mercenaries in his army. In [[466]], Tarasicodissa exposed the treachery of Ardabur, the son of the Alans eastern ''magister militum'' Aspar and made himself even more indispensable. By [[468]], when Leo's incompetent (and perhaps traitorous) generals led the Byzantine fleet to disaster in a campaign against the Vandals, Tarasicodissa was considered Leo's best general. While on a campaign in [[Thrace]] he narrowly escaped assassination instigated by Aspar. On Tarasicodissa's return to the capital, Aspar was killed on Leo's orders and Tarasicodissa became ''magister militum'' in his own right.
+Well-known as a warrior, Tarasicodissa caught the eye of the Emperor [[Leo I (emperor)|Leo I]] in the mid-[[460s]], when Leo was searching for alternatives to using increasingly unreliable Germanic and Alan mercenaries in his army. In [[466]], Tarasicodissa exposed the treachery of Ardabur, the son of the Alans eastern ''magister militum'' Aspar and made himself even more indispensable. By [[468]], when Leo's incompetent (and perhaps traitorous) generals led the Byzantine fleet to disaster in a campaign against the Vandals, Tarasicodissa was considered Leo's best general. While on a campaign in [[Thrace]] he narrowly escaped assassination instigated by Aspar. On Tarasicodissa's return to the capital, Aspar was killed on Leo's orders and Tarasicodissa became ''magister militum'' in his own right.
 To make himself more acceptable to the Roman hierarchy and the native [[Greece|Greek]] population of Constantinople, Tarasicodissa adopted the Greek name of Zeno and used it for the rest of his life after his marriage to Leo's daughter Ariadne in [[468]]. Although designed by Leo to secure the Isaurian support against the aforementioned ambitious minister Aspar, this political arrangement brought them a son, who was to become the emperor [[Leo II (emperor)|Leo II]] upon the death of his grandfather in [[473]].
@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 After Theodoric Strabo died in [[481]], the future Theodoric the Great became king of the entire Ostrogothic nation and began to be a source of trouble in the Balkan peninsula. Zeno got rid of the problem in [[487]] by inducing him to invade Italy to fight Odoacer and establish his new kingdom there, all but eliminating the German presence in the east.
-He died on [[April 9]], 491, after ruling for 17 years and 2 months. Because he and Ariadne had no other children, his widow chose a favored member of the imperial court, [[Anastasius I|Anastasius]], to succeed him.
+He died on [[April 9]], [[491]], after ruling for 17 years and 2 months. Because he and Ariadne had no other children, his widow chose a favored member of the imperial court, [[Anastasius I|Anastasius]], to succeed him.
 Zeno is described as a lax and indolent ruler, but he seems to have husbanded the resources of the empire so as to leave it appreciably stronger at his death. In ecclesiastical history Zeno is associated with the ''[[Henoticon]]'' or "instrument of union", promulgated by him and signed by all the Eastern bishops, with the design of solving the [[Monophysitism|monophysite]] controversy.

← Older revision	Revision as of 10:45, February 8, 2006
(No difference)