THE ROMAN DYNASTIES OF ROME & CONSTANTINOPLE
457AD-518 AD
THE LEONID DYNASTY
NOT WITH BANG BUT WITH A WIMPER
Leo I succeeded Marcian as emperor, and after the fall of Attila, the true chief in Constantinople was the Alan general Aspar. Leo I managed to free himself from the influence of the non-Orthodox chief by supporting the rise of the Isaurians, a semi-barbarian tribe living in southern Anatolia. Aspar and his son Ardabur were murdered in a riot in 471, and henceforth, Constantinople restored Orthodox leadership for centuries. Leo's reign was noteworthy for his influence in the Western Roman Empire, marked by his appointment of Anthemius as Western Roman Emperor in 467. He attempted to build on this political achievement with an expedition against the Vandals in 468, which was defeated due to the arrogance of Leo's brother-in-law Basiliscus. The Leonid Dynasty presided over a turbulent period and made the most of it that they could. Leo I tried to manage two Empires out of a sentimental attachment to the West, but even his significant efforts couldn't change fate. It was up to Zeno's the Isaurian to salvage the situation without emotional concerns, but his efforts were frequently frustrated by internal strife. Anastasius was the first of the Eastern Roman Emperors to really be a Byzantine Emperor. He was not connected to the West by anything other than his ancestry and had no political stake in it. He used his talents to stabilize great vigour and energy in administering the affairs of the Empire.
LEO I 457-474 AD East
FLAVIUS Valerius Leo
BORN 401 AD, Dacia Aureliana
RULE 17 YEARS 7 February 457 – 18 JANUARY 474 AD
Appointed by Aspar Leo was the last of a series of emperors placed on the throne ;
Leo's coronation as emperor on 7 February 457,was the first known to involve the Patriarch of Constantinople.
Leo I made an alliance with the Isaurians and was thus able to eliminate Aspar Leo's reign was also noteworthy for his influence in the Western Roman Empire, marked by his appointment of Anthemius as Western Roman Emperors expedition against the Vandals in 468, which was defeated due to the arrogance of Leo's brother-in-law Basiliscus. This disaster drained the Empire of men and money
Natural causes
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leo II
474 AD
FLAVIVS LEO JUNIOR AVGVSTVS
BORN 467 AD
RULE 11 Months 18 January 474 – 17 November 474
He was the grandson of Leo I by Leo's daughter Ariadne and her Isaurian husband, Zeno. Raised to Caesar and then co-emperor in autumn 473, soon after his accession Leo II crowned his father Zeno as co-emperor and effective regent. aged 7
He died of an unknown disease about 10 months into his reign in November, 474
ZENO
474 -475AD &
476 - 491AD
FLAVIVS ZENO AVGVSTVS
BORN 425 AD Zenonopolis
RULE 17 YEARS
474- 475 AD had to flee to his native country before Basiliscus in 475, regaining in 476-491AD
His reign saw the end of the Western Roman Empire under Julius Nepos, but he contributed much to stabilizing the eastern Empire.In 488, Zeno sent the Ostrogothic general Theoderic to depose Odovacer and rule Italy in the name of the Eastern Roman empire. Theoderic founded a dynasty that lasted until 526
Zeno died on 9 April 491,of dysentery or of epilepsy
BASILISCUS
475-476 AD
FLAVIVS BASILISCUS AVGVSTVS
BORN NOVEMBER 420 AD
RULE 20 MONTHS January 475 –August 476
General and brother-in-law of Leo I, he seized power from Zeno but was again deposed by him.
(In 468Lead theDisastrous sea expedition against the Vandals when Leo was emperor)
Zeno had Him and his family enclosed in a dry cistern, to die from exposure in Cappadocia
ANASTASIUS I
491-518 AD
Flavius Anastasius DICORUS AVGVSTVS
BORN 431AD, Dyrrhachium Albania,
RULE 27 YEARS 11April 491 – 9 July 518
Raised to the throne by Ariadne, Zeno's widow
Disturbed by foreign and internecine wars and religious distractions During his reign the eastern frontier underwent extensive re-fortification.He reformed the tax system and the coinage and proved a frugal ruler, so that by the end of his reign he left a substantial surplus.
Died 9 July 518 (aged 87) Constantinople
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Diptych leaf, ivory, of the Consul Anastasius, Constantinople, AD 517
Consular diptychs were a form of highly decorated writing tablet, given on the day the consuol took office, to friends and those who helped him to reach his post. About fifty examples survive from ca. AD 400 to AD 540,
This ivory panel offers a gimpse of the splendour of the Early Byzantine Court. It is one half of a hinged diptych and was made to commemorate the occasion of Flavius Anastasius taking the office of consul in Constantinople in AD 517. Such diptychs were a form of highly decorated writing tablet, given to the supporters who had helped the consul obtain his post. On the back of each panel was a raised border, the sunken enclosed field would have been filled with wax into which a message could be inscribed.
The seated Anastasius is shown with a sceptre in his left and the 'mappa circensis', with which he gave the signal for the games to begin, in his right. He wears a 'trabea', a sumptuous ceremonial costume. The inscription above refers to his office. The bust are, right to left, the Empress Ariadne, the Emperor Anastasius I (reigned 491-518), and the other consul or Pompeius, a relative of Anastasius. The sides of the throne show two 'Gorgoneia' and personifications of Rome and Constantinople. The figures in the lower section are two servants (or Amazons?) who lead horses, with a boy at the bottom left, and to their right is the head of an elderly man with a crab attached to his nose. An engraving made before the leaf was damaged shows that there was another man in a similar unfortunate position. On the back of the present ivory are traces of writing, now almost invisible..
