Artabasdos

Artavasdos or Artabasdos (Greek: Ἀρταύασδος or Ἀρτάβασδος, from Armenian: Արտավազդ, Artavazd, Ardavazt), Latinized as Artabasdus, was a Byzantine general of Armenian descent who seized the throne from June 741 or 742 until November 743. His reign constitutes a usurpation against Constantine V, who had retained control of several themes in Asia Minor.

Artabasdos
Emperor of the Romans
Seal of Artabasdos as kouropalates
Emperor of the Byzantine Empire
ReignJune 741 – November 743
PredecessorConstantine V
SuccessorConstantine V
BornUnknown
DiedUnknown
ConsortAnna
IssueNikephoros
Niketas
Full name
Արտավազդ, Artavazd
DynastyIsaurian dynasty
Isaurian or Syrian dynasty
Chronology
Leo III 717741
with Constantine V as co-emperor, 720741
Constantine V 741775
with Leo IV as co-emperor, 751775
Artabasdos' usurpation 741743
Leo IV 775780
with Constantine VI as co-emperor, 776780
Constantine VI 780797
under Irene as regent, 780790, and with her as co-regent, 792797
Irene as empress regnant 797802
Succession
Preceded by
Twenty Years' Anarchy
Followed by
Nikephorian dynasty

Rise to power

In about 713, Emperor Anastasius II appointed the Armenian Artabasdos as governor (stratēgos) of the Armeniac theme (Θέμα Άρμενιάκων, Thema Armeniakōn), the successor of the Army of Armenia, which occupied the old areas of the Pontus, Armenia Minor, and northern Cappadocia, with its capital at Amasea. After Anastasius' fall, Artabasdos made an agreement with his colleague Leo, the governor of the Anatolic theme, to overthrow the new Emperor Theodosius III. This agreement was sealed with the engagement of Leo's daughter Anna to Artabasdos, and the marriage took place after Leo III ascended the throne in March 717.

Artabasdos was awarded the rank of kouropalates ("master of the palace") and became commander (count, komēs) of the Opsikion theme, while retaining control of his original command. In June 741 or 742, after the accession of Leo's son Constantine V to the throne, Artabasdos resolved to seize the throne and attacked his brother-in-law while the latter was traversing Asia Minor to fight the Arabs on the eastern frontier. While Constantine fled to Amorion, Artabasdus seized Constantinople amid popular support and was crowned emperor.

Reign and downfall

While it seems Artabasdos abandoned his predecessor's religious policy of Iconoclasm and restored Orthodoxy with some support, there is actually little support from contemporary sources.[1] Soon after his accession, Artabasdus crowned his wife Anna as Augusta and his son Nikephoros as co-emperor, while putting his other son Niketas in charge of the Armeniac theme. But while Artabasdus could rely also on the support of the themes of Thrace and Opsikion, Constantine secured for himself the support of the Anatolic and Thracesian themes.

The inevitable clash came in May 743, when Artabasdus led the offensive against Constantine but was defeated. Later the same year Constantine defeated Niketas, and on November 2, 743 Artabasdus' reign came to an end as Constantine V entered Constantinople. Artabasdus, accompanied by his close associate Baktangios fled to the castle of Pouzanes in Opsikion (Asia Minor), where they were apprehended and brought to Constantinople. Artabasdos and his sons were publicly blinded and relegated to the monastery of Chora on the outskirts of Constantinople.[2] The date of his death is unknown.

Family

By his wife Anna, the daughter of Emperor Leo III, Artabasdos had nine children, including:

  • Nikephoros, who was co-emperor from 742 to 743.
  • Niketas, who was strategos of the Armeniac theme from 742 to 743.

See also

Bibliography

Notes
  1. Brubaker, Haldon, Leslie, John (2011). Byzantium in the Iconoclast Era. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 159. ISBN 1107626293.
  2. Garland 2006, p. 9
References
  • Garland, Lynda (2006). Byzantine women: varieties of experience 800–1200 (2006 ed.). Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 0-7546-5737-X.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) - Total pages: 226

Further reading

Artabasdos
Isaurian Dynasty
Born: unknown Died: 743
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Constantine V
Byzantine Emperor
741/2–743
Succeeded by
Constantine V
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