February 15

On This Day In Roman History, February 15

The Byzantine Emperors Tiberius III and Leontios, along with Tiberius' brother Heraclius, are executed publicly by Justinian II in the Hippodrome of Constantinople on February 15, 706 CE. This event would ultimately begin as Justinian looked to return from exile and once again rule the empire. His initial gathering of forces was done through the help of Tervel of Bulgaria. This would later go on to become the First Bulgarian Empire soon after this time. He was able to levy some 15,000 Slavic horsemen and approach Constantinople. Upon approaching the city gates, Justinian attempted (for three days) to persuade the citizens to throw open the gates and let him in. On the fourth night, an old sewer was used to gain entry to the city and Justinian was accompanied by a few close allies. Once he was in the city, supporters were eager to rally behind the former Emperor and he performed a coup that was over before morning. 

Did you know?

The common practice of mutilating an Emperor upon his deposition was common in Byzantine culture. Justinian was a victim of this, having his nose cut off by an angry crowd under Leontios in 695. Justinian would later break the status quo by serving as an Emperor who had previously been mutilated; this was never before done. He did so in part by having a solid gold replica of his nose created, which he wore in place of his original.

Pictured: The Mutilation of the Byzantine Emperors Justinian II and Phillipicus, unknown author. Tempera colors, gold leaf, gold paint, and ink on parchment, mid-1410's. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Justinian was weary of potential heirs to both Tiberius III and Leontios. As I mentioned, Tiberius' brother Heraclius was also put to death simply because he would be too dangerous to be kept alive. Several of these men's partisans were later hanged, which ranged from common military men all the way up to high-ranking court officials.

Opinion

Welcome to my daily opinion! The Byzantines were metal. A solid-gold nasal prosthesis?! This has to be one of the craziest revenge stories for the Byzantines. Justinian II came back to power after losing his nose and almost his life only to overthrow the very men who deposed him, and this revenge dish was served ice-cold as he publicly mutilated and executed his rivals. I am going to leave an artist's depiction of this in the first "further reading" link so you can all see how seriously metal this dude probably looked. The metal cherry on top of the metal float is found in Justinian's death; he was arrested and beheaded where his head was kept as a trophy, golden nose and all. 

Sources

   Canduci, A. (2010). The immortal emperors: two thousand years of imperial Roman history. Sydney: Murdoch Books.

   Norwich, J. J. (2004). Byzantium: the early centuries. London: Penguin books.

   The Oxford dictionary of Byzantium. (1991). New York: Oxford Univ. Press.

   Treadgold, W. T. (2000). A history of the Byzantine state and society. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Further Reading:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/47/ff/20/47ff204b24a707f491c2f33e99f23cd7.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justinian_II
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tervel_of_Bulgaria
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leontios
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberios_III

Special Thanks: Michael Houghan