Flavius Longinus (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Λογγίνος, ''floruit'' 475–491) was a politician of the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantino ...

, brother of Emperor

Zeno Zeno ( grc, Ζήνων) may refer to: People * Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Philosophers * Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes * Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 BC), ...

and twice

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

(in 486 and 490).

Biography

Longinus came from the region of

Isauria Isauria ( or ; grc, Ἰσαυρία), in ancient geography, is a rugged, isolated, district in the interior of Asia Minor, of very different extent at different periods, but generally covering what is now the district of Bozkır and its surro ...

, in Asia Minor. His father was called Kodisa (as attested by his brother's patronimic "Tarasicodissa"), his mother was Lallis or Lalis, his wife was a Valeria and he had a daughter called Longina. When his brother, the Emperor

, was deposed by

Basiliscus Basiliscus ( grc-gre, Βασιλίσκος, Basilískos; died 476/477) was Eastern Roman emperor from 9 January 475 to August 476. He became in 464, under his brother-in-law, Emperor Leo (457–474). Basiliscus commanded the army for an inv ...

and pursued by the Imperial army in Isauria (475), Longinus was captured by the Isaurian general

Illus Flavius Illus ( grc-gre, Ἴλλους or Ἰλλοῦς; died 488) was a Roman general, who played an important role in the reigns of the eastern emperors Zeno and Basiliscus. Illus supported the revolt of Basiliscus against Zeno, then switched ...

and held prisoner for a decade. Illus, who had been a supporter of Basiliscus but later had passed on Zeno's side, used Longinus to keep Zeno under control. In 483, when Zeno requested Longinus' liberation, Illus refused and started the rebellion that led to his death. After being released in 485, Longinus started a military career, being elevated to the post of ''

magister militum praesentialis (Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...

'' (485) and holding the consulate twice, in 486 and 490. He led a military campaign against the

Tzans The Macrones ( ka, მაკრონები) ( grc, Μάκρωνες, ''Makrōnes'') were an ancient Colchian tribe in the east of Pontus, about the Moschici Mountains (modern Yalnizçam Dağlari, Turkey). The name is allegedly derived fr ...

and lavishly donated to the people of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, paying for four new dancers to the factions of the hippodrome to replace the older ones. On the death of Zeno in 491, Longinus was one of the possible candidates for the succession, but his Isaurian origin, which had already caused problems to Zeno, disadvantaged him:

Ariadne Ariadne (; grc-gre, Ἀριάδνη; la, Ariadne) was a Cretan princess in Greek mythology. She was mostly associated with mazes and labyrinths because of her involvement in the myths of the Minotaur and Theseus. She is best known for having ...

, Zeno's widow, chose Anastasius I, a senior official. Longinus then instigated a revolt in Isauria, known as the Isaurian War. Anastasius forced him to take vows and sent him into exile in

Thebaid The Thebaid or Thebais ( grc-gre, Θηβαΐς, ''Thēbaïs'') was a region in ancient Egypt, comprising the 13 southernmost nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos to Aswan. Pharaonic history The Thebaid acquired its name from its proximity to ...

(Egypt), later defeating the rebel army (492) led by

Longinus of Cardala Longinus of Cardala or Longinus the Bald ( el, , la, Longinus Calvus; died in 497) was a high-ranking Eastern Roman official and rebel leader from Isauria. Biography Longinus was one of several Isaurians who occupied offices in the imperial c ...

and finally suppressing the revolt six years later, with the death of the last leader of the rebels,

Longinus of Selinus Longinus of Selinus (Greek: Λογγίνος, Latin: ''Longinus Selinuntius'') (born early 5th century, died 498) was one of the Isaurian leaders in the Isaurian War of 492–497. Biography Little is known about the life of Longinus except that ...

. Longinus' mother retired to a monastery at Brochthi in

Bithynia Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwe ...

at the news of the exile of her son.

Bibliography

Evagrius Scholasticus Evagrius Scholasticus ( el, Εὐάγριος Σχολαστικός) was a Syrian scholar and intellectual living in the 6th century AD, and an aide to the patriarch Gregory of Antioch. His surviving work, ''Ecclesiastical History'' (), compris ...

, ''The Ecclesiastical History of Evagrius Scholasticus'', trad. di Michael Whitby, Liverpool University Press, 2001, , pp. 163–165. * Eiddon, Iorwerth, e Stephen Edwards, ''The Cambridge Ancient History'', Cambridge University Press, 2005, , pp. 52–53, 477. * Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin, John Robert Martindale, John Morris, "Fl. Longinus 6", ''

Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire ''Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'' (abbreviated as ''PLRE'') is a work of Roman prosopography published in a set of three volumes collectively describing many of the people attested to have lived in the Roman Empire from AD 260, the date ...

'', volume 1, Cambridge University Press, 1992, , p. 689. {{DEFAULTSORT:Longinus (Consul 486) 5th-century Byzantine people 5th-century Roman consuls Byzantine rebels Imperial Roman consuls Isaurians Magistri militum Byzantine generals