No Terror of Justinian - Glory Instead! (The Roman Emperor Who Lost His Nose - A TL of Justinian II)

Justinian: The most fascinating yet overlooked Emperor of all the Roman Emperors that I know about in the 1500 years of Empire in OTL was an arrogant, stubborn, cruel and oppressive individual who ended his days in insanity and blood-soaked revenge of all those he thought had wronged him. However, Justinian also had incredible courage, energy, intelligence, determination, more than competent fighting skills, even flashes of brilliance at times, was extremely pious and had very good relations with the Papacy late in his reign.

He was also scion of a great dynasty that stretched back a century at the time of his death. He was the son of the extremely competent Emperor Constantine who won some great victories against the Arabs, and also had great success in his religious policies, although towards the end, he did lose a battle against the Bulgars due to various unfortunate occurrences, including his gout which meant that he had no choice but to withdraw from the campaign due to extreme pain, and a rumour spread that he had deserted his troops.

Before I go to the POD, I think some more background regarding this relatively unknown Roman Emperor may be of use to those not familiar with him.

I am talking of course of the Rhinotmetos (Cut-nose), Justinian II (Ιουστινιανός Β' ο Ρινότμητος) of the House of Heraclius, Emperor of the Romans and son of the Emperor Constantine IV. He reigned from 685 when he was 16 until 695, and was deposed because he managed to anger the nobles whom his rule depended upon with his excessive taxation for his wars, preference for improving the lot of the peasantry, and mania for constructing buildings in an effort to match the first Justinian whom he wished to live up to because of his name. He had his nose cut off when overthrown, the theory being that an Emperor must have no obvious physical defects in order to rule. He was exiled to Cherson in the Crimea, and nothing was expected to be heard from him again.

But they were wrong.

In one of the most extraordinary comebacks in history, he defied the odds, assassination attempts, poverty and 10 years of obscurity, and his mutilation acting as a barrier, to gather an army, and retake Constantinople. He was unable to take the city directly, but in a very brave move, and stroke of genius, crawled through the dark pipe of a disused aqueduct with a handful of followers and entered the city at night. Confronted by guards on the street he boldly proclaimed who he was, and some fled, raising the alarm, whilst others were loyal to him and also shouted his name in the streets creating chaos. Before long, the ruling Emperor was terrified, leaving the city so fast, he left his robes behind.

He had the Emperor that had deposed him (Leontius, who had had his nose cut off by his successor), and Tiberius III who had deposed Leontius (and was captured later on after his night flight), both paraded around the city pelted with odure and other objects, and then put his feet on their necks during the races in the Hippodrome. Then he had their heads chopped off and displayed on poles at the palace gates. Following that, he had everyone who he in anyway thought was connected with them executed in various inventive ways. It is said that he went insane and had such paranoia that no one was safe, and large numbers of people, real and imagined enemies, some guilty, some innocent were massacred. His second reign lasted from 705 until 711.

In the end, an expedition sent to punish the authorties in Cherson for their treatment of him during his exile there took the city, but the new governor Elias rebelled against Justinian, refusing to kill the children there. A second one was sent out with orders to raze it to the ground on pain of death - if they returned without doing that, all their lives would be forfeit. The second expedition could not achieve this, and fearful of the consequences they ended up joining the rebels in Cherson, and declared the commander of the fleet, Bardanes Philippicus as their Emperor. Justinian was away from Constantinople at that time, putting down a minor uprising. He raced back to the city on news of the approaching fleet, but he didn't get back first, only making it to the tenth milestone before being captured and executed. His little son and co-emperor, Tiberius, who was just 6 years old, was stripped naked and slaughtered in the porch of a church by the soldiers of the new emperor. Nothing is known of what happened to Justinian's mother, but maybe she ended up in a convent as his daughter from his first wife who had died giving birth had during his exile.

Justinian II bucked tradition in many ways:

He returned to rule even though his mutilation meant that he should not have been able to, it being commonly accepted that a man without a nose being unacceptable to rule. His sheer determination and courage, and refusing to give up against every single obstacle put against him was incredible. After he was restored, it was never used as a punishment again, blinding being preferred.

He married a Khazar in exile, who converted to Christianity, and who was renamed Theodora, the first time the Byzantines had a barbarian Empress.

He awarded the crown of Caesar to Tervel, Khan of the Bulgars for his help in retaking the city, the first time a barbarian had been awarded such a title, the second highest in the Empire after his own of Augustus/Basileus.

All the above acts were utterly unthinkable and caused his people to gasp with shock, yet he did them anyway, and such things became more acceptable in the future as a result.

Other achievements:

Farmer's Law that benefited farmers over landowners, and improved their lot considerably.

Successful wars against the Slavs and Bulgarians in his first reign, relocating all his prisoners (tens of thousands) in large empty parts of Anatolia which strengthened the theme system with more soldiers being made available, and increasing agricultural output.

Successful wars against the Arabs, resulting in a much larger tribute than his father had secured. Instead of 3000 nomismata per year, a thousand a week as well as other tributes in terms of horses and slaves. However, in the latter part of his first reign, the general Leontius disobeyed direct orders for troop deployments (thinking he could do better), and coupled with the defection of Slav troops managed to lose a battle Justinian looked like winning. He was thrown into gaol, but was later released in a moment of generosity when Justinian decided he needed someone to administer a particularly troublesome and dangerous theme where Leontius could be expected to have his hands too full to plot anything against him. Unfortunately, security to the ship supposed to take him to his new posting from Constantinople was lax, and he escaped to overthrow Justinian with the help of those angry landowners who had lost out from his Farmer's Law and the nobles he had been taxing. Justinian, however, remained quite popular with the lower classes.

The first Emperor to put the image of Christ on his coinage, probably down to his piousness, but also possibly part of an attempt to affect the Arabs' economy since they were averse to use such coins as the image was too blasphemous for many of them.

Resettlement of some of the fierce warrior tribes of Christian Mardiates which had caused the Arabs such trouble into his western themes, subsequently causing the Slavs and Bulgars no end of headaches. This also considerably strengthened the navy as many were recruited from their numbers, and Justinian did put a signifiant focus on reform of the fleet.

Holding a successful new ecumenical council, the Quinisextium in his first reign that further codified and refined issues set out by there previous two large synods in the first Justinian's time (553 - Constantinople II) and in his father's reign (680 - Constantinople III).

Excellent relations with the Papacy at the end of his second reign, where the Pope Constantine I visited Constantinople, the last time that a reigning Pope would do so until Pope Paul did the same in the 1960s. Important agreements were signed that smoothed relations between East and West.

However, there is a good POD that could mean that he is not deposed a second time.

On his escape from Cherson in 704, he took a small fishing boat with a handful of followers. It was caught in a storm that was so bad, it looked certain the little boat would be swamped and all drowned, motivating a member of his retinue named Myakes to beg Justinian to promise God that he would have mercy on all his enemies if he reclaimed the throne. Justinian, entirely characteristically shook his fist at the heavens, and vowed, "What? Mercy?? If I show any single one of them mercy, may God drown me right now!". The storm blew off shortly afterwards, and the boat reached safety. However, Justinian saw that as divine sanction for carrying out revenge (remember he was a very pious man), and indeed feared that if he did not, God would punish him for not carrying out his will.

So, what if during that storm, Justinian had been tossed overboard, and nearly drowned, and seeing that as a threat from God to change his ways, he did indeed have mercy, saw the excesses of his previous rule as punishment from God, and decided to rule less oppressively and with more kindness? Not being utterly consumed with revenge to the detriment of the Empire (his neighbours took full advantage of his distractions caused by him rooting out people to attack and take more land from the Romans), he would have instead concentrated his considerable energies, skills, determination and other positive attributes to sorting out his Empire.

There would most likely be no Emperor Leo III the Iconoclast of the Isaurian dynasty (717-741), which has huge implications for the religious and political situation of the Empire since he followed on from the short reigns of Bardanes Philippicus (711-713), Anastasius II (713-716) and Theodosius III (716-717).

Note that Justinian did not become so cruel until he sought divine revenge in his second reign, and that probably helped to unhinge him in some respect. He was only 42 when he died, so could have been around for up to another 30 or 40 years. Given that he was an energetic emperor, with a skill for battle when rational, could he have done something to retake territories lost to the Arab advance in North Africa under Leontius and Tiberius III?

I find him far more interesting than the first Justinian since his life reads like an adventure story and despite his excesses, he is certainly an extraordinary individual, however you look at it. And PODs for the first Justinian have been done to death, so how about one regarding this incredible individual who is unjustly overlooked in my view.

Myakes existed, but it is not known what position he held. Turtledove (as H. N. Turtletaub) wrote a novel where he is portrayed as a former imperial officer who remains loyal to the Emperor. This TL will be influenced by that take since as we don't fully know all the details, we have a bit of room to work with.

Thoughts? Ideas?


Sargon

DominusNovus said:

Very interesting. With no iconoclasts, the East/West religious split won't be as bad.

Click to expand...

Yes, that is one of the major changes that would have occurred. I was also wondering about efforts in the military sphere of things, since an energetic Emperor who is around for a while may well be able to regain some or even all of North Africa, and this could affect the movement of the Arabs up into Iberia.

Also bear in mind that a different chain of events would almost certainly not lead up to Irene being about later on. This directly led to Charlemagne becoming Emperor of the West since in the view at the time, the throne of the Roman Empire was vacant, and no woman could possibly be considered as an Emperor, which is exactly what Irene did by proclaiming herself female Emperor. Up until that time, the Eastern Emperors had been considered by friend and enemy alike as the sole legitimate Emperors in Christendom. There are major butterflies from this.



For reference, here is a list of OTL Emperors of the Eastern Roman Empire from the death of Theodosius the Great in 395:




EASTERN EMPIRE OF THE ROMANS

395 Permanent partition of the Empire into East and West under Arcadius and Honorius, sons of Theodosius I, the Great.


Dynasty of Theodosius

395-408 Arcadius
408-450 Theodosius II (died falling from his horse)
450-457 Marcian (married Pulcheria, granddaughter of Theodosius I)


Dynasty of Leo

457-474 Leo I
474 Leo II
474-491 Zeno the Isaurian

475-476 Basiliscus (rival) (exiled and starved to death)

484-488 Leontius (rival) (executed)

491-518 Anastasius I Dicorus


Dynasty of Justinian

518-527 Justin I
527-565 Justinian I, the Great
565-578 Justin II (went insane, Tiberius became co-emperor)
578-582 Tiberius II (I) Constantine

582-602 Maurice (murdered)

602-610 Phocas the Tyrant (executed)

Dynasty of Heraclius

610-641 Heraclius
641 Constantine III (died of consumption or possibly poisoned by Martina, mother of Heraclonas)
641 Heraclonas (deposed, mutilated and exiled)

641-668 Constans II Pogonatus (assassinated)

646-647 Gregory (rival) (killed in battle)

649-653 Olympius (rival) (killed by plague)

668-685 Constantine IV (early death by dysentery)

669 Mezezius (rival) (executed)

668-681 Heraclius [II]
668-681 Tiberius (II) [III] (both co-emperors, later deposed and exiled by their brother Constantine)
685-695 Justinian II Rhinotmetos (overthrown & exiled)

695-698 Leontius [II] (deposed, retired to monastery and later executed)

698-705 Tiberius III Apsimar (II) [IV] (deposed and executed)

705-711 Justinian II Rhinotmetos (restored, deposed, killed)
706-711 Tiberius (IV) [V] (executed)

711-713 Bardanes Philippicus (deposed, blinded)

713-716 Anastasius II Artemius (abdicated, executed)

716-717 Theodosius III (abdicated, retired to monastery)


Isaurian Dynasty

717-741 Leo III, the Isaurian
741-775 Constantine V Copronymus

742-743 Artabasdus (rival) (blinded, retired to monastery)

775-780 Leo IV, the Khazar
780-797 Constantine VI, the Blinded (blinded by his mother Irene, exiled, died shortly later)
797-802 Irene

802-811 Nicephorus I (killed in battle)
811 Strauracius (paralysed in battle, died a few months later)

811-813 Michael I Rhangabe (abdicated)

813-820 Leo V, the Armenian (murdered on Christmas Day)


Phrygian Dynasty

820-829 Michael II, the Amorian

821-823 Thomas (rival) (executed)

829-842 Theophilus (early death by dysentery)
842-867 Michael III, the Drunkard (murdered)


Hope this provides more information for those who do not know much about this period.

Sargon

In real history, in 704 AD, the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian II was in a small fishing boat at sea on his way back to claim his throne, when a massive storm brewed up and threatened to sink it and drown himself and his small band of supporters. One of his companions begged him to promise God that if he became Emperor in Constantinople again, he would be merciful to all his enemies, and then God might save them by stopping the storm. Justinian refused, and shouted at God to drown him rather than grant his opponents any mercy. The storm stopped almost immediately afterwards, and Justinian saw it as a sign from God that he should punish his enemies in the most terrible ways possible. In fact, he went so far in his zeal to do this; he ended up facing another rebellion just 6 years later.

However, 'what if' the Emperor had nearly drowned, and seen it as proof from God that he should be merciful and caused him to reflect upon all the excesses and megalomania of his first rule? He was an energetic, determined and very capable individual as his desire to get back his throne proved. He was effective in battle and experienced in diplomacy when he was not driven by his revenge.

Here, I imagine what course he might have taken had he nearly been drowned that day, and changed his ways as a result. I will start by giving an overview of his early life, and his father. Then I will follow with a description of his first reign and fall from power. I hope you will bear with me for this, as the main change will not happen until the next part, however, I feel that a number of readers are likely to have little knowledge of this rather obscure period of history, and might well appreciate an overview of the events of the time leading up to the big change. After this I will cover his subsequent return, including the experience of the storm which serves as the POD. Further chapters will cover his second reign, and the subsequent changes from OTL.

Edit Note: Later chapters have a less TL feel and more of a novelistic presentation.

I do hope you enjoy it, and I hope more people will read it. As always, if you have any questions, suggestions or would like to point out any errors or omissions, please feel free to do so, and I will endeavour to take them onboard.

Sargon

Author's note: POD occurs in Part III, this is background since this period of history may not be familiar to some. Many thanks.

Part I



669 A baby boy is born to the Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine IV, great-grandson of Emperor Heraclius (610-641), the saviour of the Empire. His parents name him Justinian, a name with glory and great responsibilities associated with it because of the legacy of Justinian I, the Great who ruled the Empire from 527 to 565 AD. Constantine has been Emperor since 654, when his father Constans II Pogonatus (The Bearded) raised him up as co-regent. His brothers Tiberius (II) and Heraclius (II) were made junior co-emperors in 659. He is married to Anastasia, a woman of great beauty. In 668 Constans II (641-668) was assassinated by his bath attendant, being struck by a soap dish in part of a palace conspiracy to be rid of the unpopular ruler since he had been rumoured to have considered moving the capital to his present base in Syracuse, located in Sicily. This was too much for some, and he paid the price. Constantine IV was just 17 when he assumed the purple, but soon proved his worth by swiftly dealing with the insurgents in Sicily with the help of Pope Vitalian.

There is soon trouble in the east when the Umayyad Caliph Muawiyah I, the founder of his dynasty, enemy of Ali (son in law of the Prophet Muhammed) and symbol of the Sunnis, attacks the Empire in North Africa. He has previously caused devastating defeats for the Romans under Constans II, capturing Cyprus in 649, Rhodes in 654, and a disastrous defeat of the Roman navy in 655 off the coast of Lycia, where Constans II barely escaped with his life, only managing to do so by changing clothes with an officer, and jumping off the ship. The Arabs captured the city of Amorium in 668, but it was quickly taken back by Constantine. The attack on Carthage is repulsed, but North Africa is still under pressure.

The Patriarch Thomas II dies. His successor is selected and ascends as John V.

670 The Arabs capture Cyzicus in Anatolia, and use it as a base to launch further attacks into the heartlands of the Empire. The Romans are in trouble as the Caliph presses his advantage.

672 The Umayyad fleet manages to capture a number of coastal cities including the important port city of Smyrna on the Aegean coast. This enables the Caliph to carry out his treasured plan of a direct assault on Constantinople itself, and later in the year a large fleet shows up in the Straits of Marmara bearing down on Constantinople. Little Justinian, accompanied by a young guard called Myakes, watches them approach the city's sea walls, and the ensuing sea battles that occur. The city is soon under siege. To make matters worse, the Slavs decide to attack the city of Thessalonica, but this is repulsed. For the next 5 years, the Arab fleet returns to siege Constantinople, and the display burns vivid images into the young Justinian's mind. He soon learns to dislike the Arabs, but also begins to appreciate and understand their skills. The Patriarch John paces the walls with an icon of the Virgin said not to be made by the hands of man held up in an effort to bring God's favour to the city.

Pope St. Vitalian dies. He had enjoyed friendly relations with both Constans II and Constantine IV and had made efforts to solve the monothelite (a theological doctrine holding that Jesus had one will but two natures: divine and human) controversy. His successor is elected, and takes the name Adeodatus II.

673 The Empress Anastasia gives birth to a second son near the end of the year. He is named Heraclius.

674 Around this time, the engineer Callinicus develops the fearsome weapon that would become known as 'Greek Fire'. It is used with some effect on the besieging Arab fleet, however, tactics to deploy it are at an early stage, and its effectiveness is not given an adequate opportunity to prove itself for another 3 years.

675 The Patriarch John V dies, and is succeeded by Constantine I.

676 In Rome, the Pope Adeodatus II dies. His papacy was relatively uneventful. Donus is elected to succeed him who pursues cordial relations with Constantine.

677 The siege is lifted, and the Romans engage the Caliph's fleet at Syllaeum in Pamphylia a region in southern Anatolia. Greek Fire is used to devastating effect, and the Arab fleet is utterly routed in a comprehensive victory for the Romans. The remaining ships of the fleet are practically all destroyed in a storm as they retreat to their bases in the Levant. At the same time the Caliph's armies suffer devastating land defeats, notably at Lycia in Anatolia, and are pushed back into Syria where they are defeated yet again. With his navy in ruins, and his army shattered, the Caliph sues for peace, agreeing a tribute of 3000 nomismata, fifty high-bred horses, and fifty slaves each year for the next 30 years. A courtier named Stephen the Persian rubs his hands with glee at the thought of so much gold entering the coffers of the Empire. He is a prominent advisor to the Emperor, and more will be heard of him later.

Following the death of Constantine I, Theodore I is selected to ascend the Patriarchal throne.

678 On hearing of the disastrous defeats suffered by the Arabs, and their suing for peace, emissaries from far and wide arrive in Constantinople to affirm peace with the Empire. Avars, Franks, Slavs, Lombards, and others pay their respects to Constantine. Finally after the last ambassador leaves, he is allegedly heard to proclaim, "We've got it! Full peace, complete peace, freedom from all care, north and south, east and west." The Roman Empire's borders are peaceful and secured.

News arrives from Rome of the death of Pope Donus. Agathon ascends the Throne of St. Peter as his replacement.

679 Emperor Constantine decides to arrange a synod to denounce the monotheliticism advocated by his ancestor Heraclius. He asks the Patriarch Theodore to convene the synod, but he refuses to agree with the overturning of the doctrine. The Emperor removes him from the Patriarchate, and the following day his replacement George I takes his throne. Letters are sent to Pope Agathon, who enthusiastically endorses the synod.

680 In November, the delegates arrive for what becomes known as the Sixth Ecumenical Council (Third Council of Constantinople). They come from all parts of the Empire, and from former parts of the Empire no longer under Roman rule. The Council gets underway, however Constantine IV, hearing reports of the Bulgars moving against the Empire, prepares to deal with the impending threat. Although just 11 years old, Prince Justinian presides over the Council's deliberations in his absence, the Emperor not allowing his brothers to preside because of their monothelite sympathies.

681 Pope St. Agathon dies in Rome, not living to see the final results of the Council. He is reputed to be around 104 years old at the time of his death. Leo II succeeds.

Constantine leaves at Easter just as the Council reaches its final deliberations. The Council decides to reaffirm the doctrines of the Council of Chalcedon held in 451, and this ends the controversy over monothelitism. Those bishops who oppose it are mainly from lands not under current Roman rule, and are outvoted. Anathema is proclaimed over Pope Honorius (625-638) who suggested the dogma of monoenergism to Heraclius. The Patriarchs Pyrrhos I (638-641), Paul II (641-653) and Peter II (654-666) are also anathematised because of their support for the doctrines of monothelitism and monoenergism. Emperor Heraclius himself is chastised, although not anathematised. The Council adjourns until the autumn when Constantine returns from his campaign against the Bulgars and ratifies the decisions agreed upon. Justinian is highly praised by his father and many bishops for his good handling of the synod. Constantine himself, for his victories over the Arabs, and his successful synod, is acclaimed as another Constantine the Great, and is greatly cheered by his people. All this makes his brothers jealous, and they feel their positions are threatened.

Despite good planning and preparation the combined sea and land campaign against the Bulgars ends in fiasco, although it had a promising and victorious start. At the worst possible moment, Constantine's gout flares up, sending him into such pain that he cannot take to the field, and lead his forces into battle. With no choice, he has to sail down the Danube from Dobruja where the main Bulgar fortress is, to Mesembria, in order to take to the waters there in the hope that it will rapidly restore his health. However, without the Emperor there, the soldiers are not inspired to fight, and a rumour even goes up that he has fled and abandoned them. The consequence of all this is that when the Bulgars attack, the Roman forces fall back in confusion, and flee the field. What should have been a certain victory is turned into a rout by an unfortunate happenstance. Constantine receives the news in anger and despair, and with no choice left, ends the campaign, and heads back to Constantinople with his remaining forces. News of this defeat emboldens his brothers further, who use the disaffection of the troops to raise negative feeling against Constantine.

On his return, the Emperor lavishes praise on Justinian, and announces his intention to make him co-emperor. At the same time, his brothers, who have openly criticised him over the Council and the defeat against the Bulgars, and he suspects have been plotting against him, are stripped of their co-emperor status. This is the final straw for them, and they slip out of the palace to organise a revolt. Their supporters blame Constantine for the defeat and demand his brothers' reinstatement as co-emperors at an equal level to Constantine, as opposed to their previous junior status. They use the doctrine of the Trinity to argue, that just as there is God, the Son and the Holy Spirit ruling in heaven, so should there be three equal emperors on earth.

Crowds of disaffected soldiers returning from the Bulgarian campaign begin to assemble in the streets of Constantinople. Soldiers from some Anatolian districts also assemble on the other side of the straits across from the Golden Horn. Constantine determines to deal with it, and hatches a plan with the Patrician, Theodore of Koloneia whereby Theodore, a tough and experienced commander, will confront them on the street, and all ferries are halted across the straits. Justinian goes along with Theodore. They address the assembled soldiers, and a good speech by both of them convinces the soldiers to send ten representatives to parlay with the Emperor. The Emperor immediately has them arrested, executed and their bodies are hung in gibbets on the coast with placards strung around their necks proclaiming them traitors, so that the soldiers on the other side of the strait can see them. This is enough to stop the soldiers in their tracks, and they disperse. Nothing more is heard in support of Constantine's brothers, who slink back into the palace. When asked if they accept Constantine as Emperor, they refuse. Constantine has their noses cut off, and then exiled to a distant part of the Empire where they cause no further trouble. Having paused with thought, the Emperor, decides not to raise Justinian to the level of co-emperor, fearing that he might have similar troubles if he does the same with the Prince's younger brother Heraclius at a later date.

Having sorted this, the Emperor turns his attention to the Bulgar emissaries who have come to arrange peace terms with the Empire. Constantine is forced to agree to 1,440 nomismata a year as tribute. Satisfied, they return to their homeland.

Finally, Constantine attends the final session of the synod, and ratifies the proposals that had been agreed to. Copies are sent to Pope Leo II in Rome for his approval.

Despite the defeat to the Bulgars, the tribute is not too large, the Council is a success, and with peace on all borders, Constantine can feel satisfied that things are not as bad as they could be. Indeed, his people celebrate him.

Two months later, Constantine has his first attack of kidney stones.

682 The Emperor suffers his second painful episode of kidney stones in the spring. His health begins to deteriorate somewhat. Pope Leo confirms the decrees of the Sixth Ecumenical Council.

683 Pope St. Leo II dies. Pope Benedict II is elected to the leadership of the Holy See although he is not yet ordained.

684 Relations between the Emperor and Pope Benedict II who has been ordained in this year are friendly, and the decrees of the Council have ended any schism or ill feeling between the east and west. The relations are good enough that Constantine agrees to Benedict's request to be spiritual father to his sons Justinian and Heraclius. Locks of their hair are sent to Rome wrapped in silk as a sign of acceptance.

Three months later, in the autumn, Heraclius, who has always been a sickly child, suffers a severe bout of tuberculosis. He dies a few days later at the age of 10. His funeral is held amongst great mourning. His family, courtiers, indeed the Empire, shocked by death at such a young age. Justinian now remains as the great hope of his parents, and after demonstrating his skill and competence in recent years, they feel they have reason to be confident in him as do the people, the senate, the armed forces, and the court.




Sargon

Part II



685 The Umayyad Caliph Marwan I dies. He was the fourth Caliph of the dynasty founded by Muawiyah I. He is succeeded by Abd al-Malik.

Pope St. Benedict II dies. John V, a former delegate at the Council is elected to succeed him.

In February, Constantine reconsiders his previous decision about not raising Justinian to the rank of co-emperor, and duly makes his son co-ruler.

Constantine's health and demeanour improve somewhat in the early part of the year. However, during the summer, the Emperor falls very ill after rashly eating a generous helping of fish sauce that has gone off somewhat, he rallies slightly, but it is no good, and he dies of dysentery at the age of 33. His remaining son becomes Emperor as Justinian II at the age of 16.

Justinian decides to find a wife and selects a bride from a choice presented by his mother the Dowager Empress Anastasia. He marries his bride Eudocia, daughter of Philaretus, the Count of the Walls (official in charge of the Long Wall protecting the part of Thrace closest to Constantinople from Barbarian attacks) in November.

686 Patriarch George I dies. His successor, Theodore I who has recanted his support for monothelitism and previously deposed by Constantine IV, is restored by Justinian. Stephen the Persian, formerly a parakoimomenos (court official/bodyguard) is appointed as the new sakellarios (chancellor of the treasury/honorary supervisor of other palace advisors and logothetes), after the previous one angered Justinian by criticising his demand to find more money for his projects.

The Emperor launches strikes against the Arabs in Armenia under the command of the General Leontius, and after several victories, compels the Caliph Abd al-Malik to pay a far higher tribute of 1000 nomismata along with a high-bred horse and a slave every week. Tax revenues from Iberia and Armenia are shared between the leaders, and the Romans secure control of part of Cyprus, along with splitting the tax revenues there as well.

Unfortunately for the Emperor, his wife Eudocia dies in childbirth leaving him a daughter, Anastasia who in his grief he cannot bear to see and blames for his wife's death.

Pope John V dies after having spent most of his reign confined to his bed, and Conon is elected as the new pontiff.

687 12,000 of the warlike Christian Mardaites (Maronites) who constantly caused trouble for the Arabs are resettled from Lebanon to the western border areas of the Empire according to the agreements made with the Caliph. However, some are left in place to offer a smaller bulwark against Arab incursions. Justinian travels to meet the Mardaite leaders, and whilst on his way there through Anatolia, notes vast stretches of land empty and unproductive due to the ravages of war in the past. He does not forget what he sees. With his Eastern border stable, Justinian transfers troops from Anatolia for his planned offensive against the Slavs and Bulgars.

Patriarch Theodore I dies. He is succeeded by Paul III. In Rome Pope Conon also dies, and is replaced by Sergius I.

688 Justinian opens his offensive on the Slavs and Bulgars in Macedonia. He obtains a series of victories and captures many prisoners.

689 The Emperor completes his campaign by defeating all the tribes in the area and securing the territory for the Empire. He enters Thessalonica, the second city of the Empire in triumph, creates the new military district of Hellas, appoints the commander of the city's garrison as the new strategos (military governor) and gives over the salt revenues now exempt from tax to the local bishop (salt being a very valuable and important commodity). He resettles massive numbers of his prisoners in Anatolia, remembering the huge amounts of empty land that is there. He wishes it to become productive from an agricultural perspective, as well as providing more revenue in taxation from his new subjects. Neboulus, the captured leader of the Slavic tribes is put in charge of making an army of 30,000 of his men to join the Roman Army for future campaigns.

Justinian starts his campaign against the Bulgars late in the year. After winning a number of victories, the winter weather closes in earlier than usual, and the Emperor, mindful of what befell the Emperor Maurice when he tried to get his hungry underpaid troops to fight in winter who had rebelled and ended in his murder, decides to return to the capital. However, on the way back, the Roman army is ambushed in a pass by the Bulgars, and Justinian is forced to fight his way through them, sustaining significant losses as he does so, even though he is ultimately able to beat them back enough to continue on. The army gratefully enters Constantinople before the end of the year, and the soldiers return to their families across the Empire.

Stephen the Persian notifies the Emperor that the rise in revenues in tribute from the Arabs and taxation in the Empire have comfortably paid for the war against the Slavs and Bulgars. He also mentions a monk called Theodotus who he extols as being very effective at sniffing out those who owe money to the state. Justinian asks Stephen to send him a report of Theodotus' successes. The Dowager Empress Anastasia warns Justinian about Stephen the Persian's coercive methods of collecting money that are causing people, especially merchants and nobles to hate him, and through him the hate is beginning to attach itself to Justinian as well. The Emperor ignores his mother, thinking that he knows what is best for the Empire.

Patriarch Paul comes to the Emperor with a suggestion to tie up all the loose ends of the Sixth Ecumenical Council (Third Council of Constantinople) held in 680-681 by Constantine IV. To his surprise, Justinian agrees, and gives him instructions to make sure there are as many bishops present as possible, even those in lands under the control of the Arabs, the Franks and the Germans amongst others.

Justinian has a desire for constructing buildings. One of his projects is to make alterations and enlargements to his palace. Of course, this all costs money.

Justinian’s Farmer’s Law benefits the peasantry, stating that they are free, and masters of their own land amongst other generous provisions. Whilst very popular with the peasantry, it does not go down well with the aristocratic landowners.

690 The Emperor decides to travel to Anatolia to see how his new Slav army is progressing. He is suitably impressed with their training, but decides to wait awhile until they are fully battle ready before he carries out his plan to attack the Arabs once more. The Caliphate starts minting coins with words of the Prophet in Arabic on them. This causes consternation in Constantinople since previously, they had always used Roman coins. This adds to the pressure for going to war against the Arabs.

Anticipating a large amount of expenditure during the coming war, the Emperor asks Stephen the Persian to make sure the treasury has enough funds for it. Stephen warns that it may not be easy to fund everything without raising taxes further. Justinian, not bothered with the details, tells him to use any means necessary to obtain the necessary funds. He receives the report about Theodotus, and is impressed enough that he raises him to the position of Logothetes tou genikou or General Logothete (responsible for collecting all taxes), equal in rank to Stephen. The two officials' love for money and their methods of extracting unpaid taxes from people soon result in them being the most hated individuals in the Empire. They even resort to methods of torture, such as roasting people over fires until they pay. Petitions to the Emperor about their behaviour soon begin to mount, however, the cunning officials manage to make sure Justinian dismisses them out of hand. Stephen dresses richly and ostentatiously and flouts his wealth, boasting of his power and is almost never seen without a whip in his hand. Theodotus in contrast is more subtle, and retains the simple robes of a monk, but is no less devious and violent.

Apart from some raids, things are mostly quiet on the borders with the Bulgars for the next couple of years, the Mardaites serving as an effective bulwark against them.

The Emperor consults his coin engraver about ideas to deal with the Arabs new coins. At first he considers insulting inscriptions directed at the Prophet on Roman coins, but Cyril the Engraver dissuades him from this, saying that since his nomismata should be around for centuries to come (basing it on coins from long distant reigns still being in circulation) it would be a pity to deface them with something representing the quarrel of the moment, and asks Justinian time to come up with something special. The Emperor, struck by his simple and honest manner, agrees.

The Arabs, skirting around Carthage, manage to take a part of North Africa, and secure the straits of Gibraltar, heading up into Iberia. Justinian is unable at present to do much about this, deciding to build up his resources to battle the Arabs in Anatolia and the Levant instead.

Delegates for the upcoming synod begin arriving in Constantinople. Even though it is not due to start for another year, some find the temptation of being able to stay in the great city with all its luxuries too great to resist.

691 The Quinisextum (Fifth-Sixth) Council opens in Constantinople. It is held in the domed hall of the Great Palace, which those from the west call ‘trullo’. The Council becomes known as the Council in Trullo in the west as a consequence. Most of the assembled bishops are from the east; however, there are some from western areas as well. Part of the Council’s work is to regulate and clamp down on practices viewed as sinful, such as gambling, pagan customs, as well as the main part of tying up the loose ends of the previous Council. This Council aims not to concentrate so much on dogma, but rather discipline. The Emperor starts his war against the Arabs, and forces move east.

692 The Emperor’s coin engraver, Cyril comes to Justinian with new appearances for his coins. The novel design awes Justinian into silence, for it has something on it that has never been done before. On one side of the coin is Justinian’s head with the words “D. IUSTINIANUS SERVUS CHRISTI” – “Lord Justinian, servant of Christ”. However it is the other side that is very special indeed - the head of Christ himself with the inscription: “IES. CHRISTOS REX REGNANTIUM” – “Jesus Christ, King of Rulers”. Never before has the image of Christ been put on Roman coins, and from this time on, it will continue to be a feature of the coinage. As the engraver says, “It will show the followers of the false prophet what we think of him and of them.” Justinian is more than pleased; he has found a way to win one battle against the Arabs without loosing an arrow.

The Quinisextum concludes, and Justinian approves the decrees that are agreed upon as a consequence of it. A copy is sent to Pope Sergius in Rome for his approval and signature.

The war against the Arabs continues. Justinian is victorious over them in a battle in Armenia. However at the two-day Battle of Sebastopolis, the Romans lose, in no small part to Leontius failing to carry out Justinian's orders for troop dispositions and with a large Slavic contingent, including their leader Neboulus, defecting to the Arabs after being bribed by them during the night. The situation would most probably have been saved if Leontius had carried out Justinian's orders which anticipated problems with the Slav troops. They had been waiting to see which way the battle was going, and Leontius' failure to exploit a tactical situation that Justinian had planned for caused them to go over to the Arabs.

Justinian vents his anger by apparently executing all the remaining Slavs in his army when he returns with them to the land he had given them and after their families are with them welcoming them back. (Historical note: However, it seems that this story may not be entirely true, possibly just propaganda exaggerated or even made up by his immediate successors, since a seal from the area shows that there was still a Slavic governor in place there, at and after this time). Leontius is imprisoned for disobeying orders.

Stephen the Persian and Theodotus warn Justinian that the Empire is short of funds due to the ongoing fights against the Arabs. Although there are no major engagements, there are many skirmishes, and they are costing the treasury dear in absence of the tribute that had previously been flowing into the coffers. Justinian gives them permission to extract more money from the noble class. Stephen and Theodotus of course use their usual brutal methods to extort as much money as possible.

Pope Sergius sends a letter to the Emperor, refusing to sign the decrees of the Quinisextum. Patriarch Paul advises Justinian to first exercise restraint, and send a letter back to persuade the pontiff of the reasons why he should accept the decrees. The letter is duly sent.

693 A letter arrives back from Pope Sergius, flatly refusing to sign the decrees. Justinian is very angry and strongly considers seizing the Pope and punishing him. Patriarch Paul once more advises restraint and more letters are exchanged with little change in the situation.

Later in the year Paul III dies, and Callinicus I becomes Patriarch. With Sergius’ continued intransigence, the Emperor finally has enough, and without Paul to restrain him, orders the Exarch of Ravenna, Zacharias, to arrest him and bring him to Constantinople to face judgement. The orders are duly sent.

Stephen the Persian’s and Theodotus’ methods of extracting money from the aristocratic class are creating more and more dislike of the regime. The Emperor’s building programme is also absorbing considerable funds. They assure him that there is nothing to worry about.

694 Abd Al-Malik makes further incursions into Armenia. Armenia is lost to Roman control after its ruler defects to the Arabs citing disagreement with the edicts of the Quinisextum, which his own bishops had agreed to. More probably he goes over to the Arabs because the fighting is not going well for him. The Arabs still face opposition from those who do not wish to surrender though, and fighting continues there.

Zacharias arrives in Rome to arrest the Pope. However, the militias in Rome and Ravenna refuse to follow his orders once they are made known, and Zacharias finds himself under siege in the Lateran Palace, only managing to survive and escape due to the personal intervention of the Pope. When Justinian finds out, there is little he can do except explode in rage. He plans to deal with Armenia and the issue of the Pope, but needs time to gather enough resources to carry these out, and problems in the theme of Hellas are distracting him.

The extortions of Stephen and Theodotus are practically driving the noble class into destruction. They are reaching breaking point and anger against the Emperor is at a critical level.

695 The stratēgos of Hellas is killed. Justinian seeks a replacement to take on this dangerous posting. Late in the year, Leontius is released to be sent as governor of the troublesome province, Justinian expecting him to have his hands too full there to cause any trouble. Lax security when escorting the former general to the ship that was to transport him there leads to him escaping and raising a rebellion that evening, Leontius being aware of the strong likelihood of support for him from the aristocracy and other elements of society. The hated officials Stephen the Persian and Theodotus are captured and hauled off by the crowd to be burnt alive.

By the morning, Justinian is overthrown by Leontius who is supported by the enraged nobles suffering under Justinian's harsh tax system. He is assisted by the Patriarch Callinicus, a fact Justinian later does not forget. He is dragged into the Hippodrome where in front of the jeering crowds, his nose is cut off in a procedure called rhinokopia (often used in the past to make potential rivals ineligible for the throne) and his tongue slit (unsuccessfully). Leontius spares his life on account of his friendship with Constantine IV in the past. Justinian is thrown onto a ship, and he is sent into exile to Cherson in the Crimea. From this date on, he acquires Rhinotmetos (Cut-nosed) as a sobriquet.

The Arabs complete their conquest of Armenia. Leontius renames himself slightly, and ascends the throne as Leo. However, most people still call him Leontius (II), much to his annoyance.





Sargon