Mizizios or Mezezius (; or ) 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 around the ...

noble who served as a general of

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion () 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'' continued to be used as a n ...

, later usurping the Byzantine throne in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

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, he descended from the princely Gnuni family. In a letter supposedly written by

Pope Gregory II Pope Gregory II (; 669 – 11 February 731) was the Pope, bishop of Rome from 19 May 715 to his death on 11 February 731.Leo III the Isaurian Leo III the Isaurian (; 685 – 18 June 741), also known as the Syrian, was the first List of Byzantine emperors, Byzantine emperor of the Isaurian dynasty from 717 until his death in 741. He put an end to the Twenty Years' Anarchy, a period o ...

(r. 717–741 A.D), he is referred to as '' komes'' of the Opsikion ()—at that time not yet a province, but rather the emperor's personal military retinue and field army. The 12th-century Syriac chronicle of Michael the Syrian, and the so-called '' Chronicle of 1234'', also accord him the rank of ''

patrikios The patricians (from ) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 B ...

''.

Usurpation and death

Mizizios accompanied Emperor

Constans II Constans II (; 7 November 630 – 15 July 668), also called "the Bearded" (), was the Byzantine emperor from 641 to 668. Constans was the last attested emperor to serve as Roman consul, consul, in 642, although the office continued to exist unti ...

(r. 641–668 A.D) in his Italian and Sicilian expedition. When Constans was murdered in

Syracuse, Sicily Syracuse ( ; ; ) is a historic city on the Italian island of Sicily, the capital of the Italian province of Syracuse. The city is notable for its rich Greek and Roman history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture, and as the birthplace ...

, 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, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Christianity, Judai ...

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 (); 650 – 10 July 685), called the Younger () and often incorrectly the Bearded () out of confusion with Constans II, his father, was Byzantine emperor from 668 to 685. His reign saw the first serious check to nearly 50 years ...

(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 The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biography, biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adr ...

'' reports that loyalist troops from Italy and the

Exarchate of Africa The Exarchate of Africa was a division of the Byzantine Empire around Carthage that encompassed its possessions on the Western Mediterranean. Ruled by an exarch (viceroy), it was established by the Emperor Maurice in 591 and survived until t ...

suppressed the revolt, executed Mizizios, and sent his severed head to

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 ...

. 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

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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 7th-century rebels Byzantine generals Byzantine usurpers Byzantine Sicily 7th-century executions by the Byzantine Empire Patricii