Tiberios II
Tiberios II. (III.) Apsimaros ( Middle Greek Τιβέριος Αψίμαρος , Latin Tiberius Apsimarus ; † February 15, 706 in Constantinople ) was Byzantine emperor (698-705).
Life
Nothing is known about the family and youth of Tiberios; his birth name Apsimar is likely to be of Germanic origin. According to Ralph-Johannes Lilie , he was perhaps a descendant of Goths, the Gothograikoi , who had long before been settled in the area of the later topic Kibyrrhaioton . In the sources he only appears in connection with his elevation to emperor.
When the caliph Abd al-Malik decided the civil war for the caliphate ( second Fitna 680-692) for himself and the Umayyads , he ordered the continuation of the conquest of the Maghreb. In 697 the Arabs succeeded in conquering Byzantine Carthage, but the Byzantine Emperor Leontios immediately sent a naval expedition to recapture the city. The Byzantines succeeded in a surprise attack and they retook first the port and then the city. In the spring of 698 the Arabs raised an army of around 40,000 men in Cairo and conquered Carthage again. The Byzantine commanders and some of their loyal followers were able to withdraw by sea before the final occupation of the city.
When the fleet anchored in Crete on its way home to Constantinople, some of its commanders feared that Emperor Leontios would hold them responsible for the failure and loss of the exarchate of Carthage . Therefore, they mutinied and proclaimed Apsimar , who had the military rank of Droungario (today roughly equivalent to a rear admiral), as counter-emperor. After months of siege by treason, he finally took Constantinople and ascended the Byzantine throne as Tiberios II (III) in 698.
The reign of Tiberios was marked by continued heavy fighting against the Arabs. The Byzantine troops achieved significant successes under the command of Tiberios' brother Herakleios. Armenia in particular was a theater of war and was heavily devastated.
The Emperor Justinian II, overthrown and banished by Leontios in 695 , was able to win the support of the Bulgarian Khan Terwel , and in the summer of 705 the two besieged Constantinople with a strong Bulgarian army. After the besiegers entered the city through an aqueduct , Tiberios gave up the fight for the throne. He was caught on the run and later executed on Justinian's orders along with his predecessor Leontios. Justinian also had his brother Herakleios executed. His son Theodosios is traditionally identified with the iconoclastic Metropolitan of Ephesus , who presided over the Council of Hiereia in 754 .
literature
- Constance Head: Justinian II of Byzantium. Madison 1972, ISBN 0-299-06030-6 .
- Ralph-Johannes Lilie , Claudia Ludwig, Thomas Pratsch, Ilse Rochow, Beate Zielke: Prosopography of the Middle Byzantine Period . 1st department: (641−867). Volume 5: Theophylaktos (# 8346) - az-Zubair (# 8675), Anonymi (# 1001- # 12149). Created after preliminary work by F. Winkelmann . Published by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences. De Gruyter, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-11-016675-5 , pp. 46-47 No. 8483 .
- Andreas N. Stratos: Byzantium in the Seventh Century. Vol. 5, Amsterdam 1980, ISBN 90-256-0852-3 .
Web links
- R. Scott Moore: Short biography (English) at De Imperatoribus Romanis (with references).
Remarks
- ↑ The Z at the end of the inscription marks the 7th mint (officine) in Constantinople. The CONOB under the step cross stands either for Κωνσταντινοπόλεως Οβρύζον , which means something like "The right gold standard of Constantinople" or for CONstantinopolis OBryzum aurum , i.e. the pure gold from or according to the quality standards of Constantinople.
- ↑ In terms of the Byzantine concept of continuity, the Roman emperor Tiberius (14–37 AD) is often counted as Tiberius I and the Byzantine emperor Tiberios I as Tiberios II.
- ↑ Ralph-Johannes Lilie : Byzanz. The second Rome. Siedler, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-88680-693-6 , p. 138.
predecessor | Office | successor |
---|---|---|
Leontios |
Emperor of Byzantium 698–705 |
Justinian II |
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Tiberios II |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Tiberius III .; Τιβέριος (Greek); Apsimar (maiden name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Byzantine emperor (698–705) |
DATE OF BIRTH | 7th century |
DATE OF DEATH | February 15, 706 |
Place of death | Constantinople |