| Tiberius III | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emperor of the Romans | |||||
.png) Solidus bearing the image of Tiberius III | |||||
| Byzantine emperor | |||||
| Reign | 698–705 | ||||
| Predecessor | Leontius | ||||
| Successor | Justinian II | ||||
| Born | Apsimar | ||||
| Died | between August 705 and February 706 Constantinople | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Issue |
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| Period | Twenty Years' Anarchy | ||||
Tiberius III[b] (Greek:Τιβέριος,romanized: Tibérios), bornApsimar (Latin:Apsimarus; Greek:Ἀψίμαρος,romanized: Apsímaros), wasByzantine emperor from 698 to 705. Little is known about his early life, other than that he was adroungarios, a mid-level commander, who served in theCibyrrhaeot Theme. In 696, Tiberius was part of an army sent by Byzantine EmperorLeontius to retake the North African city ofCarthage, which had been captured by the ArabUmayyads. After seizing the city, this army was pushed back by Umayyad reinforcements and retreated to the island ofCrete. As they feared the wrath of Leontius, some officers killed their commander, John the Patrician, and declared Tiberius the emperor. Tiberius swiftly gathered a fleet and sailed forConstantinople, where he then deposed Leontius. Tiberius did not attempt to retakeByzantine Africa from the Umayyads, but campaigned against them along the eastern border with some success. In 705, former emperorJustinian II, who had been deposed by Leontius, led an army ofSlavs andBulgars from theFirst Bulgarian Empire to Constantinople, and after entering the city secretly, deposed Tiberius. Tiberius fled toBithynia, but was captured a few months later and beheaded by Justinian between August 705 and February 706. His body was initially thrown into the sea, but was later recovered and buried in a church on the island ofProte.
Sparse details are known of Tiberius before the reign of Byzantine emperorLeontius (r. 695–698), except for his birth name,Apsimar, historically considered to be ofGermanic origin.[1][2] The historianWolfram Brandes traces the traditional assumption of a Germanic origin toJ. B. Bury, but remarks that it is incorrect.[2] TheByzantinistsAnthony Bryer andJudith Herrin have suggested that the nameApsimar may beSlavic in origin,[3] and the scholarsLeslie Brubaker andJohn Haldon have suggested aTurkic origin.[4] It is also known that he was adroungarios (a commander of about a thousand men) of theCibyrrhaeot Theme, a military province in southernAnatolia.[5][6] Some scholars, such asAlexander Vasiliev, have speculated that Tiberius was ofGotho-Greek origin.[7] The ByzantinistWalter Kaegi states that Tiberius had won victories over theSlavs in theBalkans during his early military career, which granted him a degree of popularity.[8]
In 696, theUmayyad Caliphate renewed its attack upon theExarchate of Africa of theByzantine Empire, seizing the city ofCarthage in 697. The Byzantine Emperor Leontius sentJohn the Patrician with an army to retake the city, which John accomplished after launching a surprise attack on its harbor. Despite this initial success, the city was swiftly retaken by Umayyad reinforcements, which forced John to retreat to the island ofCrete to regroup. A group of officers who feared Leontius's wrath for failing to recapture Carthage killed John, and declared Apsimar emperor.[5] Apsimar took theregnal nameTiberius;[b] during this period, the selection of a regnal name was quite common, but later fell out of favor.[10] He gathered a fleet and allied himself withthe Greens (one of theHippodrome sports and political factions), before sailing forConstantinople, which was enduring an outbreak of thebubonic plague.[5] Tiberius and his troops landed at the port ofSykai on theGolden Horn, and then proceeded to lay siege to the city.[11] After several months, the gates of Constantinople were opened for Tiberius's forces by members of the Green faction, allowing Tiberius to seize the city and depose Leontius;[5][11][12] this did not prevent his troops from plundering the city.[13] Tiberius had Leontius'snose slit, and sent him to live in theMonastery of Psamathion in Constantinople.[5][12][14] According to the 12th-century chroniclerMichael the Syrian, himself citing an unnamed contemporary 8th-century Syriac source, Tiberius justified his coup by pointing to Leontius' own dethroning of EmperorJustinian II (r. 685–695, 705–711) for mismanaging the empire as precedent.[15][16][17] Before Tiberius, nonaval officer had ever assumed the throne, partly because Byzantines considered thearmy far more prestigious.[10]
Tiberius wascrowned by PatriarchCallinicus I of Constantinople shortly after seizing control of Constantinople and deposing Leontius.[6] Once in power, Tiberius did not attempt to retake Byzantine Africa from the Umayyads but rather focused his attention upon the eastern border of his empire. Tiberius appointed his brother,Heraclius,[a] aspatrikios (a prestigious courtly title) andmonostrategos (head general) of the Anatolian themes (Byzantine administrative regions): the possessions of the Byzantine Empire located in Anatolia (modern-dayTurkey).[19][20][21] Heraclius invaded the Umayyad Caliphate in late autumn of 698, crossing the passes of theTaurus Mountains intoCilicia before marching fornorthern Syria. Heraclius defeated an Arab army sent fromAntioch, then raided as far asSamosata before pulling back to the safety of Byzantine lands in spring of 699.[21][22][23]
Heraclius' military successes led to a series of punitive Arab attacks: the Umayyad generalsMuhammad ibn Marwan andAbdallah ibn Abd al-Malik conquered what little remained of the Byzantine's territory inArmenia in a string of campaigns to which Heraclius was unable to effectively respond.[22] The Armenians launched a large revolt against the Umayyads in 702, requesting Byzantine aid. Then Abdallah launched a campaign to reconquer Armenia in 704 but was attacked by Heraclius in Cilicia. Heraclius defeated the Arab army of 10,000–12,000 men led byYazid ibn Hunayn atSisium, killing most and enslaving the rest; in spite of this, Heraclius was not able to stop Abdallah from reconquering Armenia.[14][20][22]
Tiberius attempted to strengthen the Byzantine military by reorganizing its structure, as well as reorganizing the Cibyrrhaeotic Theme,[14][24] and repairing thesea walls of Constantinople.[25] Tiberius also focused his attention on the island ofCyprus, which had been underpopulated since many of the inhabitants were moved to the region ofCyzicus under his predecessor, Justinian II:[14][24] Tiberius successfully negotiated with Abdallah in 698/699 to allow the Cypriots who had been moved to Cyzicus, and those who had been captured by the Arabs and taken to Syria, to return to their homelands.[6][14][24] He also strengthened the garrison of the island withMardaite troops from the Taurus Mountains.[24] According to the historianWarren Treadgold, Tiberius attempted to contain the Arabs at sea by creating new military provinces, creating theTheme of Sardinia and separating theTheme of Sicily from theExarchate of Ravenna.[26] Tiberius also banished the future emperorPhilippicus, the son of apatrikios, to the island ofCephalonia.[27]
In 702, Justinian II escaped from theTheme of Cherson (modernCrimea) and gained the support ofKhaganBusir (r. 688/690–730), leader of theKhazars, who gave Justinian his sisterTheodora as a bride, and welcomed him to his court inPhanagoria. By 703, reports that Justinian was attempting to gain support to retake the throne reached Tiberius, who swiftly sent envoys to the Khazars demanding that Justinian be handed over to the Byzantines, dead or alive. Justinian eluded capture, and sought the support of the khan of theFirst Bulgarian Empire,Tervel (r. 700–721).[25] In 705, Justinian led an army of Slavs andBulgars to Constantinople and laid siege to it for three days before scouts discovered an old and disused conduit that ran under the walls of the city. Justinian and a small detachment of soldiers used this route to gain access to the city, exited at the northern edge of the wall near thePalace of Blachernae, and quickly seized the building. Tiberius fled to the city ofSozopolis inBithynia, and eluded his pursuers for several months before being captured.[14][28] The exact timing of Justinian's siege and Tiberius' capture is convoluted. According to thenumismatistPhilip Grierson, Justinian II entered the city on 21 August,[29][30] but according to the ByzantinistConstance Head, Justinian seized the city on 10 July, and the 21 August date is instead the date when Tiberius was captured in Sozopolis, or else the date when he was transported back to Constantinople.[29] Six months later, probably on 15 February,[21] Justinian had both Leontius and Tiberius dragged to the Hippodrome and publicly humiliated, before being taken away to theKynegion (a cityquarter near the Kynegos Gate) and beheaded.[6][25][30] Their bodies were thrown into the sea, but were later recovered and buried in a church on the island ofProte.[6]
Head comments that although little is known of Tiberius, the evidence points to him being a "conscientious and effective ruler", and states that he might be remembered as "one of the truly great emperors of Byzantium" if he had reigned longer.[10] Kaegi states that succeeding dynasties of the Byzantine Empire, and their associated historians, tend to blame the permanent loss of Byzantine Africa upon Tiberius, although he posits that, by the time Tiberius took the throne, it was far too late for the Byzantines to restore their control.[31]
Tiberius had a son, Theodosius, who becamebishop ofEphesus by 729, presided over theCouncil of Hieria in 754,[32][33] and advised EmperorsLeo III (r. 717–741) andConstantine V (r. 741–775).[34] The ByzantinistGraham Sumner has suggested that this son of Tiberius may have later become EmperorTheodosius III (r. 715–717). Sumner presents evidence that both figures held the Bishopric of Ephesus at similar times: Emperor Theodosius became bishop after 716, according to theChronicon Altinate, and Theodosius the son of Tiberius became bishop by 729, suggesting they may be the same person.[33] The ByzantinistsCyril Mango andRoger Scott do not view this theory as likely, as it would mean that Emperor Theodosius had to have lived for thirty more years after hisabdication.[35] Other details of Tiberius's family, including the name of hisspouses, are lost: a common consequence of the upheaval of the period in which Tiberius ruled, known as theTwenty Years' Anarchy.[10]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Tiberius III Born: 7th century Died: 15 February 706 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Byzantine Emperor 698–705 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Vacant Title lapsed in 686 Title last held by Justinian II | Roman consul 699 | Vacant Title lapsed until 711 Title next held by Philippicus |
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