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Home , Ariadne (empress), Armatus, Basiliscus, Verina, Zeno (emperor)

BOOK 15 The Time of the Reign of to the Time of the Reign of Anastasios

1. (377) After the reign of Leo the Younger, the most sacred Zeno reigned for 15 years. In the eighth month of his reign, he appointed Peter, the p!JrBmomr.ios of St 's in Chalkedon, as bishop and patriarch of the Great and sent him to Antioch. 2. After two years and ten months of his reign, he quarrelled with his mother-in-law, , over a request she had made of him but which he had refused her, and so his mother-in-law, the lady Verina, began to plot against him. Terrified that he would be assassinated by someone in the palace, since his mother-in-law was living in the palace with him, he made a processusto Chalkedon and escaped from there using post-horses, and got away to even though he was . (378) The empress , who had also secretly fled from her mother, caught up with him in Isauria and remained with her husband. 3, After the emperor Zeno and Ariadne had fled, the lady Verina inunediately chose an emperor by crowning her brother . Basiliscus, the brother of Zeno's mother-in-law Verina, reigned for two years. When Verina had made Basiliscus emperor, she also named him as consul, together with who had been appointed by Basiliscus as AD476 senior lllc1q.ister mii1"tum prBesentalis. These two held the consulship. As soon as Basiliscus began to reign, he crowned his son, named Marcus, as emperor. These two reigned jointly. 4. During the reign of Basiliscus and his son Marcus, a city in First Syria named Gabala suffered from the wrath of God in the month of Gorpiaios at dawn. The emperor Basiliscus bestowed 50 JitrBi of gold on the city for its reconstruction,

1. Bo 377.1-5; LM437,7; Slav: 1st 3.1-5. 15 years (377.2): '15 years and two months' LM(cf 380.19 below), cf 'two years and ten months' Slav (but see 377.5 below), Slav adds 'He was of average stature' (perhaps, like the similar phrase used below of Basiliscus, the Slavic translator's reaction to the lack of a personal description in the text before him). eighth month (377,2); cf Slav which adds 'of the second year'. 2. Bo 377.5-378.2; CP 600.4-11 (AD477); Slav: 1st 3.5-12. quarrelled ••• refused her (377.6-8) cf CP: cf 'he was troubled because of a request which his daughter had made of him, and which he had granted' Slav. mother-in-law (377.10): Slav, CP add 'Verina'. 3. Bo 378.3-11; CP 600,12-18 (AD477), PsD 790 (AD478/9); Slav: Ist 3.12-17. two years (378,6): cf CP which adds 'which are counted in the total of Zeno's previous and subsequent years' (anticipating 380.19-20 below). Slav adds 'he was of average stature' (but see on 377.2 above). 4. Bo 378.12-16; PsD 791 (AD479/80), JN 88,35; Slav: Ist 3.17-4.1. 210 Book 15

5. The emperor Zeno returned against with a large force from Isauria, sending (379) the //lr!1qi..c::ter militun Trocundes with a garrison of !saurians. to Antioch the Great. On hearing of this the patriarch Peter, though he had been appointed to the see by Zeno, acted on behalf of Basiliscus' party. WhenBasiliscus learned of the emperor Zeno's return, he sent Armatus, the //lr!1gister militun pree..c::entalis, together with all the forces of the army which he had in , in Constantinople and at the palace, making him swear by his holy baptism as a recent convert not to betray him. So Armatus took the main body of the army and crossed over. The emperor Zeno learnt of this in advance and sent a message to Armatus, making him many promises including the appointment as lllt!lqister militum for life and making his son . So Armatus was won over by the emperor Zeno, betrayed Basiliscus and joined the emperor Zeno's party. Armatus no longer opposed Zeno as he approached, but decided to march on Isauria by another route. Zeno set out, crossed from the place known as Pylai, and entered AD476/7 the palace with his infantry in the 14th indiction. He was received by the_ troops and the senate. The emperor Zeno relied on the Green faction because he was supported by them; he too used to favour the Green faction. Basiliscus heard suddenly that the emperor Zeno had reached the palace and entered it and that everyone had received him, (380) including his mother-in-law, the lady Verina. So he took his wife and children and fled to the great baptistery of the Great Church of Constantinople, since he had been betrayed by Armatus. This was during the consulship of Theoderic, The most sacred emperor Zeno put up the flag for the chariot-races and immediately came to preside, He was received by the whole city; after he had been received and while he was watching, he sent to the Great Church and took the imperial insignia from Basiliscus, his son and his wife. He got Basiliscus, his wife and children out with an assurance that they would not be beheaded nor put to death and he sent him and his family to the fortress of Limnai in . They were thrown into a tower in the fortress, the door was sealed, and a large force of !saurian soldiers guarded the tower and the fortress of Limnai until Basiliscus his wife and children starved to death and gave up their souls. They were entombed in that tower in Cappadocia.

5. Bo 378.17-380.17; Ev III 8 (108.6-10), CP 600.20-602.11 (AD478), PsD 792 (AD480/1), cf Th 124.15-18, 124,30-125.1 (AD476/7), GM618.5-9, JN 88,36-42; Slav: 1st 4.1-5.2. Anlatus (379.5): the form of 'Armatus' varies in Ba and the other witnesses reviewed here, eg 'Harmatus', 'Harmatius', 'Armatus', 'Armatius'; see PLRE II 148, Jllcl9'.ister 111.il.it1111for life ( 379. 11): '//lr!1q1'..c::termil itl.Ufl prae ..c::ental is for life' CP. to march on Isauria ... crossed (379,14-16): 'to set out by another route, But the emperor Zeno set out with his army along the route from Isauria, crossed' CP, cf Slav; see Patzig, 1890/1, 12. the palace (379,17): 'Constantinople and the palace' CP, Slav, Liamai in Ca1'J6(locia (380.12) Slav, CP, cf JN: cf 'Koukousos in Cappadocia' Ev, Th; see Rochow, 1983, 462, in Cappadocia (380.17): 'of Limnai' CP,