Justinian II

The Roman Emperor Who Lost his Nose and his Throne and Regained Both

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• Publisher: Pen and Sword History
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781526755315
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Historical Biographies
• Index: History

Justinian II became Roman emperor at a time when the Empire was beset by external enemies. His forces gained success against the Arabs and Bulgars but his religious and social policies fuelled internal opposition which resulted in him being deposed and mutilated (his nose was cut off) in 695. After a decade in exile, during which he strangled two would-be assassins with his bare hands, he regained power through a coup d’etat with the backing of the erstwhile Bulgar enemy (an alliance sealed by the marriage of his daughter, Anastasia). His second reign was seemingly harsher and again beset by both external and internal threats and dissension over doctrinal matters. An energetic and active ruler, his reign saw developments in various areas, including numismatics, administration, finance and architecture, but he was deposed a second time in 711 and beheaded. Drawing on all the available evidence and the most recent research, Peter Crawford makes a long-overdue re-assessment of Justinian’s colorful but troubled career and asks if he fully deserves his poor reputation.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• List of Illustrations and Maps
• List of Plates
• List of Emperors, Caliphs, Popes and Patriarchs
• Heraclian Stemma
• Umayyad Stemma
• Chapter 1 The Roman Empire of AD 668
• Chapter 2 Imperial Opponents: Arabs, Avars, Lombards, Slavs, Bulgars and Khazars
• Chapter 3 Before Power: The Early Life of Justinian II
• Chapter 4 Justinian’s First War with the Umayyads
• Chapter 5 Saving the Second City: Justinian in Thessalonica
• Chapter 6 A ‘War of Images’ all about The Money? The Romano-Umayyad War of 692
• Chapter 7 Justinian, The Orthodox Champion?
• Chapter 8 Administering an Empire in Transition: Forces, Furrows and Finances under Justinian II
• Chapter 9 Mutilation and Exile: The Revolt of Leontios
• Chapter 10 The Lion and the Snake: The Reigns of Leontios and Tiberius III
• Chapter 11 Justinian’s Exile and Restoration: Chersonites, Khazars and Bulgars
• Chapter 12 On the Warpath? The Restored Justinian in the Balkans and the East
• Chapter 13 Rome and Ravenna: Justinian’s Revenge and Reconciliation
• Chapter 14 Cherson, Khazars and the Revolt of Bardanes: The End of the Heraclians
• Epilogue
• Conclusions
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Platessection