The Twenty Years' Anarchy is a historiographic term used by some modern scholarsBellinger & Grierson (1992), p. 5 for the period of acute internal instability in the

Byzantine 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 History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

marked by the rapid succession of several emperors to the throne between the first deposition of

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 ...

in 695 and the ascent of

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 ...

to the throne in 717, marking the beginning of the Isaurian dynasty.

Justinian II and the usurpers - 685–711

The reign of

(685–711) became increasingly despotic and violent, and his policies met with considerable opposition. He was eventually deposed and exiled 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 ...

(695–698) in 695, precipitating a prolonged period of instability and anarchy, with seven emperors in twenty-two years.Jenkins, Romilly (1966); Byzantium The Imperial centuries AD 610–1071, p. 56 Leontius was popular at first, though the loss of

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

soon ruined his reputation. John the Patrician led a navy to Carthage, losing in 698. The army feared Leontius, in the same year he was overthrown 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 ...

(698–705). Tiberius managed to bolster the eastern frontier and reinforced the defenses 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 ...

, but meanwhile Justinian was conspiring to make a comeback and after forming an alliance with the

Bulgars The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic peoples, Turkic Nomad, semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region between the 5th and 7th centu ...

succeeded in taking Constantinople and executing Tiberius. Justinian then continued to reign for a further six years (705–711). His treatment of Tiberius and his supporters had been brutal and he continued to rule in a manner that was despotic and cruel. He lost the ground regained by Tiberius in the east, and imposed his views on the Pope. However, before long he faced a rebellion led by Philippicus (711–713). Justinian was captured and executed as was his son and co-emperor, Tiberius (706–711), thus extinguishing the Heraclian line. Justinian had taken the Byzantine Empire yet further from its origins. He effectively abolished the historical role of

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 thro ...

, merging it with

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

, thus strengthening the Emperor's constitutional position as absolute monarch.

Philippicus - 711–713

Philippicus' rebellion extended beyond politics to religion, deposing the

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...

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 ...

, reestablishing

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 ...

and overturning the Sixth Ecumenical Council, which in turn alienated the empire from

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. Militarily the

reached the

walls of Constantinople The Walls of Constantinople (; ) are a series of defensive wall, defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (modern Fatih district of Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire b ...

, and moving troops to defend the capital allowed the

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

to make incursions in the east. His reign ended abruptly when an army rebellion deposed him and replaced him with Anastasius II (713–715).

Anastasius II - 713–715

Anastasius reversed his predecessor's religious policies and responded to Arab attacks by sea and land, this time reaching as far as

Galatia Galatia (; , ''Galatía'') was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace (cf. Tylis), who settled here ...

in 714, with some success. However, the very army that had placed him on the throne (the Opsikion army) rose against him, proclaimed a new emperor and besieged Constantinople for six months, eventually forcing Anastasius to flee.

Theodosius III - 715–717

The troops had proclaimed Theodosius III (715–717) as the new emperor, and once he had overcome Anastasius was almost immediately faced with the Arab preparations for the siege of Constantinople (717–718), forcing him to seek assistance from the Bulgars. He in turn faced rebellion from two other ''

themata The themes or (, , singular: , ) were the main military and administrative divisions of the middle Byzantine Empire. They were established in the mid-7th century in the aftermath of the Slavic migrations to Southeastern Europe and Muslim conqu ...

'',

Anatolikon The Anatolic Theme (, ''Anatolikon hema'), more properly known as the Theme of the Anatolics (Greek: , ''thema Anatolikōn''), was a Byzantine theme (a military-civilian province) in central Asia Minor (modern Turkey). From its establishment, i ...

and Armeniakon in 717, and chose to resign, being succeeded by

(717–741) bringing an end to the cycle of violence and instability. It is surprising that the Byzantine Empire was able to survive, given its internal problems, the speed with which the

Sasanian Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

collapsed under the Arab threat and the fact that it was being threatened simultaneously on two fronts. However, the strength of the military organization within the empire, and factional struggles within the Arab world, enabled it to do so.

References

Sources