Tiberius () was Byzantine co-emperor from 659 to 681. He was the son of

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 ...

and

Fausta Flavia Maxima Fausta ''Augusta'' (died 326 AD) was a Roman empress. She was the daughter of Maximian and wife of Constantine the Great, who had her executed and excluded from all official accounts for unknown reasons. Historians Zosimus and ...

, who was elevated in 659, before his father departed for Italy. After the death of Constans, Tiberius' brother Constantine IV, ascended the throne as senior emperor. Constantine attempted to have both Tiberius and

Heraclius Heraclius (; 11 February 641) was Byzantine emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exarch of Africa, led a revolt against the unpopular emperor Phocas. Heraclius's reign was ...

removed as co-emperors, which sparked a popular revolt, in 681. Constantine ended the revolt by promising to accede to the demands of the rebels, sending them home, but bringing their leaders into

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 ...

. Once there, Constantine had them executed, then imprisoned Tiberius and Heraclius and had them mutilated, after which point they disappear from history.

Life

Tiberius was the youngest son of

. His mother was

, daughter of the Patrician Valentinus. Although his eldest brother

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 ...

had been raised to the rank of co-emperor in 654, in 659, shortly before his father's departure for Italy, Tiberius was also elevated by Constans to the rank of co-emperor, alongside his older brother

. The coronation ceremony took place between 27 April and 9 August. Given that most coronations took place in festive days, it's very likely that this one took place on Whitsunday (2 June). In 663, Constans tried to have his sons join him 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. ...

, but this provoked a popular uprising in

, led by Theodore of Koloneia and

Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...

, and the brothers remained in the imperial capital. With Constans II's death in 668, Constantine IV became the senior emperor. After ruling alongside Tiberius and Heraclius for thirteen years, Constantine attempted to demote his brothers from the imperial position, but this provoked a military revolt in the Anatolic Theme (in modern Turkey). The army marched to Chrysopolis, and sent a delegation across the straits of the

Hellespont The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey t ...

to Constantinople, demanding that the two brothers should remain co-emperors alongside Constantine IV. They based their demand on the belief that, since

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

was ruled by the

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

, in the same way the empire should be governed by three Emperors. Confronted by this situation, Constantine kept a close eye on his brothers, and sent across a trusted officer, Theodore, the captain of Koloneia. Constantine gave Theodore the delicate task of praising the soldiers for their devotion and agreeing with their reasoning, with the objective of persuading them to return to their barracks in Anatolia. He also invited the leaders of the rebellion to come over to Constantinople and consult with the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in order that they may begin the process of confirming the army's wishes. Happy with this apparently positive outcome, the army departed back to Anatolia, while the instigators of the movement entered the city. With the military threat now gone, Constantine moved against the leaders of the revolt, captured them and had them hanged at Sycae. Because he was the focus of a plot to curtail Constantine's power, both he and his brother were now suspect in the senior emperor's eyes; also, the emperor was keen to raise up his own son, the future Justinian II. Sometime between 16 September and 21 December 681, Constantine ordered the

mutilation Mutilation or maiming (from the ) is Bodily harm, severe damage to the body that has a subsequent harmful effect on an individual's quality of life. In the modern era, the term has an overwhelmingly negative connotation, referring to alteratio ...

of his brothers by slitting their noses, and ordered that their images no longer appear on any coinage, and that their names be removed from all official documentation; likely to ensure that his son, Justinian II would, succeed him. After this point, neither are mentioned again in the historical record.

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tiberius 7th-century Byzantine emperors Byzantine junior emperors Heraclian dynasty Porphyrogennetoi 660s in the Byzantine Empire 670s in the Byzantine Empire 680s in the Byzantine Empire Sons of Byzantine emperors Medieval child monarchs People without noses