The Isaurian War was a conflict that lasted from 492 to 497 and that was fought between the army of the
Eastern Roman Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
and the rebels of
Isauria
Isauria ( or ; ), 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 surroundings in the Konya P ...
. At the end of the war, Eastern Emperor
Anastasius I regained control of the Isauria region and the leaders of the revolt were killed.
Background
During the reign of
Theodosius II
Theodosius II ( ; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450), called "the Calligraphy, Calligrapher", was Roman emperor from 402 to 450. He was proclaimed ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' as an infant and ruled as the Eastern Empire's sole emperor after the ...
(r. 402–450) people from
Isauria
Isauria ( or ; ), 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 surroundings in the Konya P ...
, a poor and mountainous province in Asia Minor, reached for the first time high office in the
Eastern Roman Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
. Emperor
Leo I (r. 457–474) deliberately promoted Isaurians to important posts in the civil and military administration to counterbalance the power of the hitherto all-powerful Germanic elements. The Isaurians, however, were despised as semi-
barbarian
A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice.
A "barbarian" may ...
s by the people of
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
, who in 473 rose in an anti-Isaurian revolt in the
Hippodrome
Hippodrome is a term sometimes used for public entertainment venues of various types. A modern example is the Hippodrome which opened in London in 1900 "combining circus, hippodrome, and stage performances".
The term hippodroming refers to fr ...
and in 475 overthrew the newly crowned Isaurian emperor
Zeno
Zeno may refer to:
People
* Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the given name
* Zeno (surname)
Philosophers
* Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes
* Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 B ...
(r. 474–475 and 476–491), killing all the Isaurians in the city in the process.
Zeno returned to the throne in 476, however, this time until his death in 491. Under this emperor, his fellow Isaurians prospered, and the opposition to them, although growing, remained latent. In 484, the Isaurian ''
magister militum
(Latin for "master of soldiers"; : ) was a top-level military command used in the late Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, the e ...
''
Illus
Flavius Illus (; died 488) was a Roman general who played an important role in the reigns of the Eastern Emperors Zeno (emperor), Zeno and Basiliscus.
Illus supported the revolt of Basiliscus against Zeno and switched sides to support the return ...
rebelled against Zeno and fled to the East, where he supported the usurpation of
Leontius. That, however, ended in 488 with the capture and execution of both rebel leaders.
Conflict
In 491
Emperor Zeno died and was succeeded by the ''
silentiarius
''Silentiarius'', Hellenized to ''silentiarios'' () and Anglicized to silentiary, was the Latin title given to a class of courtiers in the Byzantine imperial court, responsible for order and silence () in the Great Palace of Constantinople. In the ...
''
Anastasius I, chosen by
Empress Ariadne. During the brief interregnum, the Constantinopolitan populace had made its views on the succession clear by cries in the Hippodrome demanding a "Roman emperor", thus rejecting the possible succession of
Longinus, Zeno's brother. In the same year, anti-Isaurian riots broke out in the Hippodrome, and Anastasius exiled Longinus and several other Isaurians, including general
Longinus of Cardala
Longinus of Cardala or Longinus the Bald (, ; 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 civil and military admini ...
.
In 492 the Isaurians began a revolt, but in the same year their joint forces were defeated by the Roman army, led by generals
John the Scythian John the Scythian (, ; ''floruit'' 482–498) was a general and a politician of the Eastern Roman Empire who fought against the usurper Leontius (usurper), Leontius (484–488) and in the Isaurian War (492–497).
Biography
John was an officer o ...
and John ''Gibbo'' (
John the Hunchback), at
Kotyaion in Phrygia (
battle of Cotyaeum).
Lilingis, a leading figure in the revolt, died after the battle. The Isaurian survivors took refuge in the mountain strongholds of their country and kept waging war.
In 493 the Roman general
Diogenianus captured
Claudiopolis but was besieged there by the Isaurians, led by the ex-bishop Conon. To his help came John ''Gibbo'' who forced the passes and, helped by a sortie of Diogenianus', won an overwhelming victory against the Isaurians, in which Conon died.
[Joan Mervyn Hussey, ''Cambridge medieval history'', CUP Archive, 1967, p. 480.]
From 494 to 497 the Isaurians closed themselves in their fortresses in the Isaurian mountains, where they were kept supplied by
Longinus of Selinus through the port of
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...
.
In 497 John the Scythian killed Longinus of Cardala and
Athenodorus, whose heads were exposed on a spear in
Tarsus, thus effectively ending the war. In 498, John Gibbo captured the last enemy leaders,
Longinus of Selinus and
Indes, and sent them to the Emperor, who paraded them along the
main road of Constantinople to the Hippodrome, where they had to perform the ''
proskynesis
Proskynesis (), also called proscynesis () or proskinesis (; ; ), was a solemn gesture of respect towards gods and people in many societies. Among the Persians, it referred to a man prostrating himself and kissing the land or the limbs of a r ...
'' in front of the imperial ''
kathisma
A kathisma (Greek: κάθισμα; Slavonic: каѳисма, ''kai-isma''), literally, "seat", is a division of the Psalter, used in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite Catholic churches. The word may also describe a hymn sung at Matins, a ...
''.
Aftermath
In 495, Emperor Anastasius I told
Patriarch Euphemius that he was tired of war. Euphemius reported this to John, the son-in-law of the Isaurian leader
Athenodorus, who referred it back to Anastasius. The emperor had come into conflict with Euphemius before ascending to the throne; furthermore, Anastasius, who had
Monophysite
Monophysitism ( ) or monophysism ( ; from Greek , "solitary" and , "nature") is a Christological doctrine that states that there was only one nature—the divine—in the person of Jesus Christ, who was the incarnated Word. It is rejected as ...
sympathies, had been forced by Euphemius to sign a declaration of orthodoxy before being crowned. For these reasons he decided to accuse Euphemius of treason for revealing plans to the enemy. In 496, Euphemius was excommunicated and deposed.
After the war Anastasius rewarded his generals with the consulship:
John the Scythian John the Scythian (, ; ''floruit'' 482–498) was a general and a politician of the Eastern Roman Empire who fought against the usurper Leontius (usurper), Leontius (484–488) and in the Isaurian War (492–497).
Biography
John was an officer o ...
held the post in 498 and
John Gibbo in 499. Anastasius also ordered the architect Aetherius to build the
Chalke Gate
The Chalke Gate (), was the main ceremonial entrance ( vestibule) to the Great Palace of Constantinople in the Byzantine period. The name, which means "the Bronze Gate", was given to it either because of the bronze portals or from the gilded bro ...
to the
Great Palace of Constantinople
The Great Palace of Constantinople (, ''Méga Palátion''; ), also known as the Sacred Palace (, ''Hieròn Palátion''; ), was the large imperial Byzantine palace complex located in the south-eastern end of the peninsula today making up the Fati ...
to celebrate the victory, and the poet
Christodorus commemorated the war in a now-lost poem in six books, entitled ''Isaurica''.
[Jones, "Christodorus", p. 293.]
Notes
Bibliography
*
John Bagnell Bury, ''History of the Later Roman Empire'', BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2009, , p. 433.
* Brian Croke, ''Count Marcellinus and His Chronicle'', Oxford University Press, 2001, , pp. 137-138.
*
Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin, John Robert Martindale,
John Morris, "Fl. Ioannes qui et Gibbus 93", ''
The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'', volume 2, Cambridge University Press, 1992, {{ISBN, 0-521-20159-4, pp. 617-618.
490s conflicts
5th-century rebellions
Civil wars of the Byzantine Empire
Isauria
5th century in the Byzantine Empire
490s
490s in the Byzantine Empire
492
497