Philippicus (; ), born Bardanes (; ) was

Byzantine emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

from 711 to 713. He took power in a coup against the unpopular emperor

Justinian II Justinian II (; ; 668/69 – 4 November 711), nicknamed "the Slit-Nosed" (), was the last Byzantine emperor of the Heraclian dynasty, reigning from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711. Like his namesake, Justinian I, Justinian II was an ambitio ...

, and was deposed in a similarly violent manner nineteen months later. During his brief reign, Philippicus supported

monothelitism Monothelitism, or monotheletism was a theological doctrine in Christianity that was proposed in the 7th century, but was ultimately rejected by the sixth ecumenical council. It held Christ as having only one will and was thus contrary to dyoth ...

in Byzantine theological disputes, and saw conflict with the

First Bulgarian Empire The First Bulgarian Empire (; was a medieval state that existed in Southeastern Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. It was founded in 680–681 after part of the Bulgars, led by Asparuh of Bulgaria, Asparuh, moved south to the northe ...

and the

Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member o ...

Biography

Philippicus was originally named Bardanes (; ); he was the son of the patrician Nicephorus, who was of

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 ...

extraction from an Armenian colony in

Pergamum Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; ), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Aeolis. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river ...

. The Armenian background of Philippicus has been supported by

Byzantinist Byzantine studies is an interdisciplinary branch of the humanities that addresses the history, culture, demography, dress, religion/theology, art, literature/epigraphy, music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination ...

historians

Peter Charanis Peter Charanis (1908 – 23 March 1985), born Panagiotis Charanis (), was a Greek-born American scholar of Byzantium and the Voorhees Professor of History at Rutgers University. Charanis was long associated with the Dumbarton Oaks research li ...

and

Nicholas Adontz Nicholas Adontz (; ; January 10, 1871 – January 27, 1942) was an Armenians, Armenian historian, specialising in Byzantine studies, Byzantine and Armenian studies, and a philologist. Karen Yuzbashyan, Yuzbashyan, Karen. s.v. Adonts', Nikoghayos ...

, and disputed by

Anthony Kaldellis Anthony Kaldellis ( ; born 29 November 1971) is a Greek-American historian and Byzantinist who is a professor of classics at the University of Chicago. He is a specialist in Greek historiography, Plato, and Byzantine studies. As the author of mon ...

. Kaldellis adds that Bardanes was probably born and raised in the Byzantine realm, as his father Nicephorus possibly was. Contemporaneous sources attest to Bardanes' tutoring, scholarly interests, learning and eloquence, all of which were in Greek. Byzantine historians

Leslie Brubaker Leslie Brubaker (born 1951) is an expert in Byzantine illustrated manuscripts. She was appointed Professor of Byzantine Art at the University of Birmingham in 2005, and is now Professor Emerita. Her research interests includes female patronage, ...

and

John Haldon John Frederick Haldon FBA (born 23 October 1948 in Newcastle upon Tyne) is a British historian, and Shelby Cullom Davis '30 Professor of European History emeritus, professor of Byzantine history and Hellenic Studies emeritus, as well as former ...

suggested Bardanes had some connection or affiliation with the Armenian

Mamikonian Mamikonian or Mamikonean () was an Armenian aristocratic dynasty which dominated Armenia between the 4th and 8th centuries—through the late antique kingdom, Sasanian, Byzantine, and Arab dominations. They were the most notable noble house in ...

family, which Kaldellis also denies. Byzantine researcher Toby Bromige felt Kaldellis was too dismissive of the Armenian ancestry of certain Byzantine individuals. Relying on the support of the Monothelite party, he made some pretensions to the throne on the outbreak of the first great rebellion against Emperor

. Instead, the position of emperor was taken first by

Leontius Leontius (; died 15 February 706) was Byzantine emperor from 695 to 698. Little is known of his early life, other than that he was born in Isauria in Asia Minor. He was given the title of ''patrikios'', and made ''strategos'' of the Anatolic T ...

and then by

Tiberius III Tiberius III (), born Apsimar (; ), was Byzantine emperor from 698 to 705. Little is known about his early life, other than that he was a , a mid-level commander, who served in the Cibyrrhaeot Theme. In 696, Tiberius was part of an army sent b ...

, who relegated Bardanes to

Cephalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia (), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallonia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th-largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It is also a separate regio ...

. When Justinian regained power Bardanes was banished to

Cherson Cherson (or Kherson) may refer to the following places and jurisdictions : * Kherson, a city in southern Ukraine, the administrative center of the Kherson Oblast (province) * Chersonesus Taurica, an ancient Greek colony founded approximately 2,500 ...

, where he took the name Philippicus and incited the inhabitants to revolt with the help of the

Khazars The Khazars ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a nomadic Turkic people who, in the late 6th century CE, established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, a ...

. The successful rebels drove Justinian out 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 ...

, and Philippicus took the throne. Justinian was subsequently seized and beheaded; his son Tiberius was likewise apprehended by Philippicus's officers, Ioannes and

Mauros Mauros (; , "black, dark") (fl. 686–711) was a Bulgar leader, one of the chief subordinates and closest supporters of Kuber, a 7th-century Bulgar ruler in Macedonia. After orchestrating a foiled attempt to capture Thessaloniki for Kuber, Mauro ...

, and killed in a church. Justinian's principal officers, such as

Barasbakourios Barasbakourios (; died 711) was a Byzantine dignitary in the service of Emperor Justinian II (), whose downfall occasioned his own death at the hands of the agents of Emperor Philippicus (). Barasbakourios was a resident of Chersonesus—and probab ...

, were also massacred. 46-manasses-chronicle

Reign

Among the first acts of Philippicus were the deposition of

Cyrus Cyrus () is a Persian-language masculine given name. It is historically best known as the name of several List of monarchs of Iran, Persian kings, most notably including Cyrus the Great, who founded the Achaemenid Empire in 550 BC. It remains wid ...

(the orthodox

patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox Church. The ecumenical patriarch is regarded as ...

) in favour of John VI (a member of his own sect), and the summoning of a

conciliabulum ''Conciliabulum'' ({{lit, conciliable, conciliabule) is a Latin word meaning a place of assembly. Its implication transferred to a gathering, such as a conventicle or conference. In the history of the Catholic Church, it is frequently applied as a ...

of Eastern bishops, which abolished the canons of the

Sixth Ecumenical Council The Third Council of Constantinople, counted as the Sixth Ecumenical Council by the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches, and by certain other Western Churches, met in 680–681 and condemned monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical and ...

. In response, the Roman Church refused to recognize the new emperor and his patriarch. Meanwhile, the Bulgarian ruler

Tervel Caesar Tervel (), also called Tarvel, Terval, or Terbelis in Byzantine sources, was the ruler Caesar of Bulgaria during the First Bulgarian Empire at the beginning of the 8th century. In 705 Emperor Justinian II named him caesar, the first forei ...

plundered up to the walls of Constantinople in 712. When Philippicus transferred an army from the

Opsikion The Opsician Theme (, ''thema Opsikiou'') or simply Opsikion (Greek: , from ) was a Byzantine theme (a military-civilian province) located in northwestern Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Created from the imperial retinue army, the ''Opsikion'' was th ...

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software. * Theme (linguistics), topic * Theme ( ...

to police the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

, the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

Caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

under

Al-Walid I Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (; – 23 February 715), commonly known as al-Walid I (), was the sixth Umayyad caliph, ruling from October 705 until his death in 715. He was the eldest son of his predecessor, Caliph Abd al-Malik (). As ...

made inroads across the weakened defenses of

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. In late May 713 the Opsikion troops rebelled in

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

. Several of their officers penetrated the city and blinded Philippicus on June 3, 713 while he was in the hippodrome. Theophanes 1982, p. 79. He was succeeded for a short while by his principal secretary, Artemius, who was raised to the purple as Emperor Anastasius II. He died in the same year.

Notes

References

Sources

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bardanes, Philippikos 7th-century births 713 deaths 710s in the Byzantine Empire 8th-century Byzantine emperors 8th-century rebels Armenian Byzantine emperors Medieval Crimea Twenty Years' Anarchy Byzantine consuls Leaders who took power by coup