On This Day In Roman History, January 9
Emporer Zeno of The Byzantine Empire is forced to flee Constantinople on January 9, 475 CE. His reign had come to a somewhat abrupt, but temporary, end; both from a series of revolts that took place in Thrace and later revolts in Constantinople, resulting in his fleeing from the capital. Flavius Basiliscus Augustus, or more commonly referred to as Basiliscus, seized power during this turbulent time. He would soon alienate both the citizens of Constantinople as well as the church, and due to the appointment of men loyal to his cause to high-ranking positions, would later lose key support within the royal court.
Did you know?
Emporer Zeno was alive to witness the fall of the Western Roman Empire. During this time, Romulus Augustus was overthrown by Odoacer, who I briefly mentioned yesterday. He is also credited with stabilizing the Eastern Roman Empire/ Byzantine Empire during this time, after regaining power following the failed conspiracy to overthrow him.
Pictured left: Zeno depicted on a Tremissis; the coin's design celebrates Zeno's victories, and was issued during his second reign. Coin description: Zeno AV Tremissis. Constantinople mint, Second Reign, 476-491 AD.
-D N ZENO PERP AVG, diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right
-VICTORIA AVGVSTORVM, Victory walking right, head left, holding wreath & globus cruciger, star in right field, CONOB in ex. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Opinion
Welcome to my daily opinion. One of the more interesting facts I learned studying Zeno was that he actually recaptured the throne after his initial disposal. The crazy part is, Zeno held power for another 15 years after this initial coup, up until his death of either dysentery of epilepsy. During this secondary reign, Augustus was forced to abdicate the crown. Historians love to mark this day as the fall of the Western Roman Empire, but this is not entirely true in the reality of everyday life. In fact, daily life was still going on for many years in these western Roman cities, undisturbed. The senate wrote to Zeno during this time "the majesty of a sole monarch is sufficient to pervade and protect, at the same time, both the East and the West". Zeno refrained from accepting power, stating the legal rule of Nepos was valid, but of course didn't defer the Imperial symbol brought to him by the senate. Probably wise to not get involved in a clearly unsalvageable situation, even if it wasn't immediately evident just how dire the west's situation was. That's all for today, I am excited to cross the Rubicon tomorrow!
Sources
Gibbon, E., & Low, D. M. (1960). The decline and fall of the Roman Empire. New York: Harcourt, Brace.
Mitchell, S. (2005). A history of the later roman empire, AD 284-622: the transformation of the ancient world. Oxford: Blackwell.
Ostrogorski, G. (1969). History of the Byzantine state. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Further Reading:
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