Mizizios or Mezezius ( el, Μιζίζιος; hy, Մժէժ, ''Mžēž'' or ''Mzhezh'') was an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

noble who served as a general of

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' con ...

, later usurping the Byzantine throne in Sicily from 668 to 669.

Origin and early career

According to the Byzantine chroniclers, Mizizios was an Armenian, and "exceedingly handsome and beautiful". According to

Cyril Toumanoff Cyril Leo Toumanoff (russian: Кирилл Львович Туманов; 13 October 1913 – 4 February 1997) was a Russian-born Georgian historian and genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armeni ...

, he descended from the princely

Gnuni Gnuni (; c. 300–800.) was a princely family in Armenia, who ruled the region of Aliovit, including the cities of Archesh, Arberani and Berkri on the northern shore of Lake Van. They were an offshoot of the Orontids. Main rulers: *Atat Gnu ...

family. In a letter supposedly written by

Pope Gregory II Pope Gregory II ( la, Gregorius II; 669 – 11 February 731) was the bishop of Rome from 19 May 715 to his death.

to the Emperor

Leo III the Isaurian Leo III the Isaurian ( gr, Λέων ὁ Ἴσαυρος, Leōn ho Isauros; la, Leo Isaurus; 685 – 18 June 741), also known as the Syrian, was Byzantine Emperor from 717 until his death in 741 and founder of the Isaurian dynasty. He put an e ...

(r. 717–741 A.D), he is referred to as '' komes'' of the

Opsikion The Opsician Theme ( gr, θέμα Ὀψικίου, ''thema Opsikiou'') or simply Opsikion (Greek: , from la, Obsequium) was a Byzantine theme (a military-civilian province) located in northwestern Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Created from the impe ...

( la, obsequium)—at that time not yet a province, but rather the emperor's personal military retinue and field army. The 12th-century

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages ...

chronicle of

Michael the Syrian Michael the Syrian ( ar, ميخائيل السرياني, Mīkhaʾēl el Sūryani:),( syc, ܡܺܝܟ݂ܳܐܝܶܠ ܣܽܘܪܝܳܝܳܐ, Mīkhoʾēl Sūryoyo), died 1199 AD, also known as Michael the Great ( syr, ܡܺܝܟ݂ܳܐܝܶܠ ܪܰܒ݁ܳܐ, ...

, and the so-called ''

Chronicle of 1234 The ''Chronicle of 1234'' ( la, Chronicon ad annum Christi 1234 pertinens) is an anonymous West Syriac universal history from Creation until 1234. The unknown author was probably from Edessa. The ''Chronicle'' only survives in fragments, from whic ...

'', also accord him the rank of '' patrikios''.

Usurpation and death

Mizizios accompanied Emperor

Constans II Constans II ( grc-gre, Κώνστας, Kōnstas; 7 November 630 – 15 July 668), nicknamed "the Bearded" ( la, Pogonatus; grc-gre, ὁ Πωγωνᾶτος, ho Pōgōnãtos), was the Eastern Roman emperor from 641 to 668. Constans was the last ...

(r. 641–668 A.D) in his

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional It ...

and Sicilian expedition. When Constans was murdered in Syracuse, Sicily, in 668 A.D, Mizizios was proclaimed emperor against his will. However, according to the supposed letter of Pope Gregory II, the Sicilian bishops had pushed him to rebellion, because Constans had been a

heretic Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

for his support of Monothelitism. Michael the Syrian implies that the rebellion lasted about seven months before it was suppressed, but the sources, and modern scholars, are divided in how that came about: Theophanes the Confessor reports that Constans' son,

Constantine IV Constantine IV ( la, Constantinus; grc-gre, Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantînos; 650–685), called the Younger ( la, iunior; grc-gre, ὁ νέος, ho néos) and sometimes incorrectly the Bearded ( la, Pogonatus; grc-gre, Πωγων ...

(r. 668–685 A.D), personally led an expedition to Sicily, where he had Mizizios and his father's murderers executed, while the '' Liber pontificalis'' reports that loyalist troops from Italy and the Exarchate of Africa suppressed the revolt, executed Mizizios, and sent his severed head to Constantinople. Mizizios had one son, John, who remained on Sicily after his father's execution. According to Michael the Syrian, in ca. 678 A.D, he too rebelled against Constantine IV, and also lasted for seven months before the emperor arrived in Sicily and defeated and killed him.

Footnotes

References

Sources

* *

External links

* {{cite encyclopedia , last=Moore , first=R. Scott , title=Mezezius (668-669 A.D.) , url=http://www.roman-emperors.org/mezezius.htm , encyclopedia=Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors , accessdate=26 November 2016 669 deaths 7th-century Armenian people 7th-century Byzantine people Byzantine generals Byzantine usurpers Byzantine Sicily 7th-century executions by the Byzantine Empire Patricii