| Theodosius III | |
|---|---|
| Emperor of the Romans | |
 Solidus of Theodosius III. The inscription readsd n theodosiusmul a. | |
| Byzantine emperor | |
| Reign | c. May 715 – 25 March 717 |
| Predecessor | Anastasius II |
| Successor | Leo III |
| Died | After 717,possibly on 24 July 754 |
| Issue | Theodosius |
| Dynasty | Twenty Years' Anarchy |
| Father | Tiberius III? |
Theodosius III (Greek:Θεοδόσιος,romanized: Theodósios) wasByzantine emperor fromc. May 715 to 25 March 717. Before rising to power and seizing the throne of theByzantine Empire, he was a tax collector inAdramyttium. In 715, theByzantine navy and the troops of theOpsician Theme, one of the Byzantine provinces, revolted against EmperorAnastasius II (r. 713–715), acclaiming the reluctant Theodosius as emperor. Theodosius led his troops toChrysopolis and thenConstantinople, the capital, seizing the city in November 715. Anastasius did not surrender until several months later, accepting exile in a monastery in return for safety. Manythemes viewed Theodosius to be a puppet of the troops of the Opsician Theme, and his legitimacy was denied by theAnatolics and theArmeniacs under their respectivestrategoi (generals)Leo the Isaurian andArtabasdos.
Leo declared himself emperor in the summer of 716 and allied himself with theUmayyad Caliphate, the Islamic empire; Theodosius sought aid from theBulgarians under KhanTervel (r. 700–721), setting a firm border atThrace and ceding theZagoria region to the Bulgarians, as well as stipulating the payment of tribute to them. Leo then marched his troops to Constantinople, seizing the city ofNicomedia, and capturing many officials, including Theodosius' son, also namedTheodosius. With his son in captivity, Theodosius took the advice ofPatriarch Germanus and theByzantine Senate, and negotiated with Leo, agreeing toabdicate and recognize Leo as emperor. Leo entered Constantinople and definitively seized power on 25 March 717, allowing Theodosius and his son to retire to a monastery. Exactly when Theodosius died is uncertain, but it may have been on 24 July 754.
After theUmayyad Caliphate was repelled at thefirst Arab siege of Constantinople (674–678), the Arabs andByzantines experienced a period of peace between each other.[1] Hostilities were resumed by Byzantine EmperorJustinian II (r. 685–695, 705–711), resulting in a string of Arab victories. As a consequence, the Byzantines lost control overArmenia and theCaucasian principalities, and the Arabs gradually encroached upon the Byzantine borderlands. Annually, generals from the Caliphate would launch raids into Byzantine territory, seizing fortresses and towns.[2][3][4] After 712, the defenses of the Byzantine Empire weakened, as Arab raids penetrated deeper into ByzantineAsia Minor, and Byzantine response to these raids became less common; much of the frontier became depopulated, as the inhabitants were either killed, enslaved, or driven away, a result of this was that many frontier forts, especially inCilicia, were gradually abandoned.[5][6] The success of these raids emboldened the Arabs, who prepared for a second assault againstConstantinople as early as the reign of Caliphal-Walid I (r. 705–715). After his death, his successor,Sulayman (r. 715–717) continued planning the campaign,[7][8][9] Sulayman began assembling his forces in late 716, on the plain ofDabiq, north ofAleppo, entrusting the command of these forces to his brother,Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik.[10][11]
TheSlavs andBulgars also formed a growing threat to the northern frontier of the Byzantine Empire, threatening Byzantine control inthe Balkans.[12] During the rule of Byzantine EmperorPhilippicus (r. 711–713), in 712, the Bulgarians under KhanTervel advanced as far as the walls of Constantinople itself, plundering the surrounding country, including villas and estates near the capital, where the Byzantine elites often summered.[13]
Theodosius came to power during a period called theTwenty Years' Anarchy, defined by struggles between the emperors and the elites, and political instability, with a rapid succession of emperors. The nobles of this time were often natives of Asia Minor, and rarely had a strong agenda beyond preventing the emperors from growing stronger and disrupting the status quo.[14][15] The Twenty Years' Anarchy began when Emperor Justinian II was overthrown byLeontius (r. 695–698) in 695, ending theHeraclian dynasty, which had retained power for eighty years. During this period of anarchy, seven different emperors took the throne, including a restored Justinian for a time.[15] The modern historianRomilly Jenkins states that between 695 and 717 the only competent emperors wereTiberius III (r. 698–705) andAnastasius II (r. 713–715).[15] The crisis was ended by EmperorLeo III (r. 717–741), who overthrew Theodosius, and whose dynasty reigned for 85 years.[16]
| Twenty Years' Anarchy | ||
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| Chronology | ||
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| Succession | ||
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Sulayman's preparations, including his construction of a war fleet, were quickly noticed by the Byzantine Empire. Emperor Anastasius II began making preparations to defend against this new onslaught. This included sending thepatrician andurban prefect, Daniel ofSinope, to spy on the Arabs, under the pretense of a diplomatic embassy, as well as shoring up the defences of Constantinople,[17][18][19] and strengthening theByzantine navy. The 9th-century Byzantine historianTheophanes states that in early 715 Anastasius II had commanded the navy to gather at Rhodes to then advance to Phoenix.[a][5][21][22] It was there that the troops of theOpsician Theme mutinied against their commander,John the Deacon, killing him before sailing forAdramyttium, in southwestern Asia Minor, and there declared Theodosius, a tax collector, as Emperor Theodosius III.[5][9][22] TheZuqnin Chronicle states that Theodosius ruled under theregnal name Constantine, his full name being "Theodosius Constantinus".[24] The historianJ. B. Bury suggests that he was selected at random for little more than the fact that he already had an imperial-sounding name, was inoffensive, obscure but respectable, and could easily be controlled by the Opsicians.[25]Graham Sumner, a Byzantologist, suggests that Theodosius might be the same person asTheodosius, the son of Emperor Tiberius III, therefore explaining why he might have been chosen by the troops, as he would have legitimacy from his father, himself made emperor by a naval revolt. Theodosius, the son of Tiberius, wasbishop of Ephesus byc. 729, and held this position until his death, sometime around 24 July 754, and was a leading figure of the iconoclasticCouncil of Hieria in 754.[26] Byzantine historiansCyril Mango andRoger Scott do not view this theory as likely, as it would mean that Theodosius lived for thirty more years after his abdication.[27] Cyril Mango proposed that it was actually Theodosius III's son who became bishop, rather than the son of Tiberius.[28]
Theodosius was allegedly unwilling to be emperor and according to Theophanes:[29]
When the malefactors arrived at Adramyttium, being leaderless they found there a local man named Theodosius, a receiver of public revenues, non-political and a private citizen. They urged him to become Emperor. He, however, fled to the hills and hid. But they found him and forced him to accept acclamation as Emperor.[29]
He was acclaimed as Emperor Theodosius III by the troops of the Opsician Theme atAdramyttium inc. May 715.[27][29] Anastasius led his army intoBithynia in the Opsician Theme to crush the rebellion. Rather than remaining to fight Anastasius, Theodosius led his fleet toChrysopolis, across theBosporus from Constantinople. From Chrysopolis, he launched a six-month-long siege of Constantinople, before supporters within the capital managed to open the gates for him, allowing him to seize the city in November 715. Anastasius remained atNicaea for several months, before finally agreeing to abdicate and retire to a monastery.[27][30][31]
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One of Theodosius' first acts as emperor was to reinstate the depiction of theSixth Ecumenical Synod in theGreat Palace of Constantinople,[27][32] which EmperorPhilippicus Bardanes had removed, earning himself the epithet of "Orthodox" in theLiber Pontificalis for this action.[27][b] Theodosius, whom Byzantine sources convey as being both unwilling and incapable, was viewed by many of his subjects as a puppet emperor of the troops of the Opsician Theme. Thus he was not recognized as legitimate by theAnatolic and theArmeniac Themes, under their respectivestrategoi (generals)Leo the Isaurian andArtabasdos.[33][34] Although they had not taken any action to prevent the overthrowal of Anastasius, they took issue with Theodosius' ascension, and Leo proclaimed himself Byzantine emperor in the summer of 716.[34][35][36] He also sought the support of the Arabs, who viewed the Byzantine disunity as advantageous, and thought the confusion would weaken the Byzantine Empire and make it easier to take Constantinople.[37][38] Theodosius negotiated a treaty with theBulgarian khan Tervel (r. 700–721), likely to secure his support against an imminent Arab attack. The treaty fixed the border between the Byzantine Empire and theBulgarian Empire atThrace, ceding theZagoria region to the Bulgarians, as well as stipulating the payment of tribute to the Bulgarians, the return of fugitives, and some trade agreements.[27]
Around this time, Sulayman had begun advancing into Byzantine territory, laying siege toAmorium, and a separate force enteredCappadocia.[39] Negotiations with Leo led them to withdraw.[40] Leo began to march his troops to Constantinople soon after declaring himself emperor, first capturingNicomedia, where he found and captured, among other officials, Theodosius' son, and then marched to Chrysopolis. After his son was captured, Theodosius, taking the advice ofPatriarch Germanus and the Byzantine Senate, agreed to abdicate and recognize Leo as emperor.[34][41][42] Bury states that the elite of Constantinople, who might otherwise have sided with the inoffensive Theodosius, who would be unlikely to politically weaken them, sided with Leo, as Theodosius was not competent enough to deal with the Arab threat. He further states that the meeting of the Patriarch, senate, and chief officials, which chose Leo over Theodosius, was done with the knowledge and consent of Theodosius himself, who accepted the decision.[43] Bury postulates that, without the threat of the Arabs, it is possible that Theodosius may have retained power, and a succession of nominal emperors might have followed him, controlled by court officials and the elites.[44]
Leo entered Constantinople and definitively seized power on 25 March 717, allowing Theodosius and his son, also named Theodosius, to retire to a monastery as monks.[34][42][45] After his retirement to a monastery, Theodosius might have become the bishop of Ephesus, if he was the same person as Theodosius, son of Tiberius, inc. 729, and, if he is the same, died on 24 July 754 according to Sumner. Either he or his son is buried in theChurch of St. Philip inEphesus.[27][46] Little is known of the reign of Theodosius III.[47]
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| Preceded by | Byzantine Emperor May 715 – 25 March 717 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by Anastasius II in 714, then lapsed | Roman consul 716 | Succeeded by Lapsed, Leo III in 718 |
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