Anastasius I

  • Anastasius I (491-518 CE) was a Roman Emperor in the East.
  • He built the Anastasian Wall (507-512 CE).

1. BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS

  • NAME:
  • ANASTASIUS I’ DATES OF REIGN AS EMPEROR:
    • 11 April 491 CE to 9 July 518 CE.
  • ANASTASIUS I’ DATE OF BIRTH AND DEATH:
    • Born in c.431 CE. Died on 9 July 518 CE. Aged 87.
  • PLACE OF BIRTH AND DEATH:
  • ANASTASIUS I’ PREDECESSOR:
  • ANASTASIUS I’ SUCCESSOR:
  • HEIR TO THE THRONE BECAUSE:
    • He was appointed by Ariadne, the widow of Zeno (Emperor), in the absence of any surviving male heirs.
  • WIVES AND CHILDREN:
    • Ariadne
  • DIED PEACEFULLY OR ASSASSINATED:
    • Died of old age.
  • WHERE BURIED:
  • ANASTASIUS I WAS FAMOUS BECAUSE:
  • EVENTS:
    • Issaurian War (492-497 CE)
    • Anastasian War (502-505 CE)
  • MONUMENTS:

2. BRIEF SYNOPSIS

Rise to Power

  • He was brought to power to appease the demand by population of Constantinople to appoint an Orthodox Emperor. He was already in his sixties.
  • He married Ariadne on 20th May 491 CE, four weeks after his Coronation, bringing him into the Leonid Dynasty.
  • He avoided Schism by abiding with the Patriarch of Constantinople’s request not to revoke the Council of Chalcedon (451 CE).

The Issaurian War (492-497 CE)

  • When Longinus, the brother of Zeno (Emperor), was not chosen as Emperor, his Issaurian supporters organised a five year Guerilla War, based around Papirius Castle.
  • It was eventually crushed.

The Anastasian War (502-505 CE)

  • This War against the Sassanids lasted for three years, weakening the armies along the Danube and resulting in an invasion by the Slavs and Bulgars.
  • A Treaty with the Sassanid Empire ended the war with Persia.
  • Anastasius I then built the Anastasian Wall, 40 miles (64km) west of Istanbul which blocked the approach to the city.

The Economy

  • He reformed the Economy, creating a new system of coinage, and left the Treasury with 320,000 lbs (145,150kgs) of gold when he died.
  • He insisted on Taxes being paid in Coin not Goods, increasing the Imperial Revenues and allowing him to raise the soldiers pay.
  • This in turn attracted Romans into the army and decreased the reliance on Germanic or Issaurian soldiers.

3. BIBLIOGRAPHY

  • CLASSICAL SOURCES:
    • Chronicon Paschale
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