Flavius Armatus[1] (died 477), also known as Harmatius, was an Eastern Roman military commander, magister militum under Emperors Leo I, Basiliscus and Zeno, and consul. He was instrumental in the rebellion of Basiliscus against Zeno, and in his subsequent fall.
Armatus was a nephew of Basiliscus and of Empress Verina, the wife of Leo I. It is known that Armatus had a son, also named Basiliscus. During the last part of Emperor Leo's reign, Armatus, as magister militum per Thracias, successfully quelled a revolt in Thrace, cutting off the hands of the Thracian prisoners and sending them to the rebels. It is possible that the rebels were men of the Thracian GothTheodoric Strabo, a military commander under Leo, and hence this revolt would have been the one started by Strabo between the death of Aspar (471) and the end of Leo's rule (473).[2][3]
Rise of Basiliscus
Solidus issued by Basiliscus during his short reign. Armatus supported his relative Basiliscus in his revolt against Emperor Zeno
Armatus supported the rebellion of Basiliscus in 475, probably gaining also the support of Verina, who was the mother-in-law of deposed Emperor Zeno, for the rebels. During the short reign of Basiliscus, Armatus exercised noteworthy influence on both the emperor and his wife and AugustaZenonis. There were rumours about a relationship between Armatus and Zenonis. Zenonis convinced Basiliscus to appoint Armatus to the office of magister militum praesentalis. Armatus was also awarded the consulship of 476, together with Basiliscus.[3][4]
Armatus was a sort of dandy, who was interested only in his own hair and other body training, and Theodoric Strabo despised him for this reason. Strabo, therefore, grew unsatisfied with Basiliscus, whom he had helped in his uprising against Zeno, because he had given the title of magister militum praesentalis, a rank as high as Strabo's own, to such a man.[3][4]
After the honours and wealth received by his uncle Basiliscus, Armatus thought of himself as the bravest of the men, dressing as Achilles and parading around his house near the Hippodrome.[5] During his wandering, the people called him "Pyrrhus",[6] either because he was of reddish complexion or because they were teasing him.[3][4]
Fall of Basiliscus and Armatus' death
Tremissis issued by Emperor Zeno after he had regained his throne. Armatus was the commander of the army sent by Basiliscus to counter Zeno's advance, but accepted a bribe by the former emperor and betrayed his uncle
In the summer of 476, Zeno moved from Isauria to regain his throne, and bribed both the Basiliscus' generals Illus and Trocondus to join him. Basiliscus gathered all of the troops from Thracia, the city of Constantinople and even the palace guard, and, after binding Armatus with a loyalty oath, sent them to meet and defeat Zeno. When Armatus met Zeno, however, he was bribed into joining the Isaurian emperor, who promised him the title of magister militum praesentalis for life, his son, Basiliscus, the title of caesar, and the qualification as heir to Zeno.[3]
After his restoration, Zeno fulfilled his promises, letting Armatus keep his title of magister militum praesentalis (possibly even raising him to the rank of Patricius) and appointing his son BasiliscusCaesar in Nicaea. In 477, however, Zeno changed his mind, according to Evagrius by the instigation of Illus, an Isaurian general who had helped Basiliscus' rise and later changed sides to Zeno, and who would have gained by the fall of Armatus.[7] Armatus was killed, on Zeno's orders, by Armatus' own friend Onoulphus, who, as a poor barbarian, had been welcomed by Armatus, then made comes, then commander of Illyricum; Armatus even lent him a great deal of money to pay for a banquet. The citizens of Constantinople rejoiced after his death. Zeno confiscated all of the properties of Armatus, deposed his son Basiliscus, and had him ordained priest.[2][3][7]
A 1986 publication by Stephan Krautschick opened the study of Armatus' life to new interpretations, in particular the relationship between Armatus and Basiliscus' family and Odoacer, chieftain of the Heruli and later King of Italy.[8] Krautschick's assertion, which has been adopted by subsequent scholars,[9] was that Armatus was the brother of Onoulphus and Odoacer, so that the leader of the Heruli was also nephew of Basiliscus and Verina. In particular, this interpretation sheds light on why Armatus was so keen to help Onoulphus, and that it was his own brother that killed him.[10]
The link between Armatus, Odoacer and Onoulphus is based on a fragment by John of Antioch, in which Onoulphus is stated to be the murderer and the brother of Armatus.[11] Before the work of Krautschick, and also according to other scholars, the reading was emended to read that "Odoacer was the brother of the Onoulphus who killed Armatus". This amendment made the fragment of John compatible with the accounts of other historians, since neither John Malalas nor Malchus make any reference to the fact that Armatus was killed by his own brother, and no reference is made to a blood relationship between Odoacer and Basiliscus.[12]
↑ The Hippodrome was in the central part of the city. The imperial palace was directly connected to it.
↑ Pyrrhus means "red like the fire", and was the name of Achilles' son, Neoptolemus.
1 2 Evagrius Scholasticus (1846). "III.24 Death of Armatus". Historia Hecclesiae. transl. E. Walford. London: Samuel Basgster and Sons. Retrieved 2006-08-27. Evagrius reports that Basiliscus, the son of Armatus, later became bishop of Cyzicus.
↑ Krautschick, Stephan (1986). "Zwei Aspekte des Jahres 476". Historia. 35: 344–371.
↑ For example, Armory, Patrick (1997). People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489-554. Cambridge University Press. pp.282–283. ISBN0-521-52635-3. and Demandt, A. (1989). Die Spätantike: römische Geschichte von Diocletian bis Justinian 284-565 n. Chr. Munich. p.178.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
↑ Armory, People and identity, pp. 282f. Scholars accepting this interpretation claim that Basiliscus would have been of barbarian origin, but took a Latinized name to mark his (possible) conversion from Arianism, an act necessary to set a serious bid for the throne. The necessity to erase any reference to their barbarian origin in order to become emperor is attested also for other figures: apart from the Isaurian Tarasicodissa, who changed his name to the more Greek Zeno, the son of the AlanMagister militumAspar was called Iulius Patricius, with a Latinized name, and Aspar was able to have Leo I elevate him to the rank of caesar in 470; however, Aspar was obliged also to promise the conversion of his son to Catholicism before his elevation. Also, the almost contemporary revolts of Odoacer in Italy and Basiliscus in Constantinople (475) would acquire a meaning in this new light.
↑ John of Antioch, fragment 209.1; translated by C.D. Gordon, The Age of Attila (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1966), pp. 122f
↑ Macgeorge, Penny (2003). Late Roman Warlords. Oxford University Press. pp.284–285. ISBN0-19-925244-0.
Post consulatum Basilisci Augusti II et Armati (next Illus)
Related Research Articles
The 470s decade ran from January 1, 470, to December 31, 479.
Julius Nepos, or simply Nepos, ruled as Roman emperor of the West from 24 June 474 to 28 August 475. After losing power in Italy, Nepos retreated to his home province of Dalmatia, from which he continued to claim the western imperial title, with recognition from the Eastern Roman Empire, until he was murdered in 480. Though Nepos' successor in Italy, Romulus Augustulus, is traditionally deemed the last western Roman emperor, Nepos is regarded by some historians as the true last emperor of the west, being the last widely recognised claimant to the position.
Zeno was Eastern Roman emperor from 474 to 475 and again from 476 to 491. Domestic revolts and religious dissension plagued his reign, which nevertheless succeeded to some extent in foreign issues. His reign saw the end of the Western Roman Empire following the deposition of Romulus Augustus and the death of Julius Nepos, but he was credited with contributing much to stabilising the Eastern Empire.
Basiliscus was Eastern Roman emperor from 9 January 475 to August 476. He became magister militum per Thracias in 464, under his brother-in-law, Emperor Leo I. Basiliscus commanded the army for an invasion of the Vandal Kingdom in 468, which was defeated at the Battle of Cape Bon. There were accusations at the time that Basiliscus was bribed by Aspar, the magister militum; many historians dismiss this, instead concluding that Basiliscus was either incompetent or foolish for accepting Vandal King Gaiseric's offer of a truce, which the latter used to construct fireships. Basiliscus's defeat cost the Eastern Empire 130,000 pounds (59,000 kg) of gold, causing the empire to hover above bankruptcy for 30 years. When Basiliscus returned to Constantinople, he sought refuge in the Church of St. Sophia. His sister, Empress Verina, secured him a pardon and he left the church to retire in Neapolis.
Flavius Ardabur Aspar was an Eastern Roman patrician and magister militum of Alanic-Gothic descent. As the general of a Germanic army in Roman service, Aspar exerted great influence on the Eastern Roman Emperors for half a century, from the 420s to his death in 471, through the reigns of Theodosius II, Marcian and Leo I, who, in the end, had him killed. His death led to the ending of the Germanic domination of Eastern Roman policy.
Aelia Verina was the Empress consort of Leo I of the Eastern Roman Empire. She was a sister of Basiliscus. Her daughter Ariadne was Empress consort of first Zeno and then Anastasius I. Verina was the maternal grandmother of Leo II.
The Leonid dynasty produced six Roman emperors during Late Antiquity, reigning over the Roman Empire from 457 to 518. The dynasty's patriarch was Leo I, who was made Roman emperor in 457. Leo's daughter Ariadne became empress and mother to an emperor, and her two husbands were themselves each made emperor in turn. Another relative whose name does not survive of Leo I or his wife Verina married the future augustus Julius Nepos, the last emperor in the western Roman Empire. The dynasty of Leo succeeded the preceding Valentinianic dynasty and Theodosian dynasty whose family trees were conjoined and ruled concurrently. Besides Julius Nepos, who administered no more than a rump state the Roman province of Dalmatia in the western empire during the fall of the west, the dynasty's emperors governed the eastern empire.
Flavius Appalius Illus Trocundes was a general of the Eastern Roman Empire, involved in the rise and fall of Emperor Basiliscus and the rebellion against Emperor Zeno.
Flavius Illus was a Roman general, who played an important role in the reigns of the eastern emperors Zeno and Basiliscus.
TheodoricStrabo was a Gothic chieftain who was involved in the politics of the Eastern Roman Empire during the reigns of Emperors Leo I, Zeno and Basiliscus. He was a rival for the leadership of the Ostrogoths with his kinsman Theoderic the Great, who would ultimately supplant him.
Flavius Marcianus was a member of the Leonid dynasty. The son of the Western emperor Anthemius, Marcianus married Leontia, the daughter of the Eastern Roman emperor Leo I. He was consul twice, and in 479 unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow the emperor Zeno. After his capture he was forced to become a monk; he escaped and raised an army but was defeated and recaptured by Flavius Appalius Illus Trocundes. In 484, when the Isaurian general Illus revolted against Zeno, Marcianus was freed and Illus proclaimed him emperor, before deposing him in favour of Leontius.
Aelia Ariadne was Eastern Roman empress as the wife of Zeno and Anastasius I. She is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, with her feast day falling on August 22.
Aelia Zenonis was Eastern Roman empress as the wife of Basiliscus. Her ancestry is unknown.
Leontius was a general of the Eastern Roman Empire and claimant to the throne who led a rebellion against emperor Zeno in 484–488.
Onoulphus, also Onoulf, Unulf and Hunulf was a general of the late fifth century of Scirian origin. He served as magister militum per Illyricum from 477 to 479 as a general of the Eastern Roman Empire, then afterwards was a general for his brother Odoacer, king of Italy, until their death.
Heraclius of Edessa was an Eastern Roman Empire general who took part in the failed campaign against the Vandals in 468.
Leontia was the daughter of the Eastern Roman Emperor Leo I.
Marcus was the son of the Eastern Roman general and usurper Basiliscus and Zenonis. He was acclaimed caesar in 475 and later promoted to augustus, ruling as junior co-emperor to his father. When Zeno reoccupied Constantinople in late August 476, Marcus, with his parents, hid in a church. Zeno swore he would not spill their blood, and instead had them exiled to Limnae in Cappadocia, where they were then starved to death.
Basiliscus was the only son of the Eastern Roman military commander Armatus and was briefly caesar of the Eastern Roman Empire in 476–477/478. After the death of Eastern Roman Emperor Leo in 474, his grandson Leo II took the throne. Leo II died in the same year and his father, Zeno, ascended the throne. Soon after Zeno's ascension, Basiliscus' great-uncle, similarly named Basiliscus, forced Zeno into exile and took the throne himself. However, Basiliscus soon lost support with Armatus, who betrayed him by arranging a deal with Zeno: Armatus would hold the rank of magister militum praesentalis for life, and the younger Basiliscus would be made caesar. Caesar was a senior imperial title, and implied that the holder was the heir to the throne. Although Basiliscus was crowned in late 476, Zeno soon moved against Basiliscus's father, executing Armatus and exiling Basiliscus to Blachernae on the Golden Horn as a church lector. Later in his life, Basiliscus became a priest and the bishop of Cyzicus. He may have survived into the reign of Justinian.
The Eastern Roman Empire was ruled by the House of Leo from AD 457, the accession of Leo I, to 518, the death of Anastasius I. The rule of the Leonid dynasty coincided with the rapid decline, collapse and eventual fall of the Western Roman Empire. Following the end of the Western Empire, Emperor Zeno abolished the position of Western Roman Emperor and declared himself the sole Roman Emperor. The Eastern Roman Empire would come to last for several more centuries, and subsequent dynasties would invest large amounts of resources in attempts to retake the western provinces.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
