Early life Sparse details are known of Tiberius before the reign of Byzantine emperor
Leontius (), except for his birth name,
Apsimar, historically considered to be of
Germanic origin. Some scholars, such as
Alexander Vasiliev, have speculated that Tiberius was of
Gotho-Greek origin. The historian
Wolfram Brandes traces the traditional assumption of a Germanic origin to
J. B. Bury, but argues that it is incorrect. The
Byzantinists Anthony Bryer and
Judith Herrin have suggested that the name
Apsimar may be
Slavic in origin, and the scholars
Leslie Brubaker and
John Haldon have suggested a
Turkic origin. It is also known that he was a (a commander of about a thousand men) of the
Cibyrrhaeot Theme, a military province in southern
Anatolia. The Byzantinist
Walter Kaegi states that Tiberius had won victories over the
Slavs in the
Balkans during his early military career, which granted him a degree of popularity.
Background In 696, the
Umayyad Caliphate renewed its attack upon the
Exarchate of Africa of the
Byzantine Empire, seizing the city of
Carthage in 697. The Byzantine Emperor Leontius sent
John the Patrician with an army to retake the city, which John accomplished after launching a surprise attack on its harbor. Despite this initial success, the city was swiftly retaken by Umayyad reinforcements, which forced John to retreat to the island of
Crete to regroup. A group of officers who feared Leontiuss wrath for failing to recapture Carthage killed John, and declared Apsimar emperor. Apsimar took the
regnal name Tiberius; during this period, the selection of a regnal name was quite common, but later fell out of favor. He gathered a fleet and allied himself with
the Greens (one of the
Hippodrome sports and political factions), before sailing for
Constantinople, which was enduring an outbreak of the
bubonic plague. Tiberius and his troops landed at the port of
Sykai on the
Golden Horn, and then proceeded to lay siege to the city. After several months, the gates of Constantinople were opened for Tiberiuss forces by members of the Green faction, allowing Tiberius to seize the city and depose Leontius; this did not prevent his troops from plundering the city. Tiberius had Leontiuss
nose slit, and sent him to live in the
Monastery of Psamathion in Constantinople. According to the 12th-century chronicler
Michael the Syrian, himself citing an unnamed contemporary 8th-century Syriac source, Tiberius justified his coup by pointing to Leontius' own dethroning of Emperor
Justinian II () for mismanaging the empire as precedent. Before Tiberius, no
naval officer had ever assumed the throne, partly because Byzantines considered the
army far more prestigious.
Rule Tiberius was
crowned by Patriarch
Callinicus I of Constantinople shortly after seizing control of Constantinople and deposing Leontius. Once in power, Tiberius did not attempt to retake Byzantine Africa from the Umayyads but rather focused his attention upon the eastern border of his empire. Tiberius appointed his brother,
Heraclius, as (a prestigious courtly title) and (head general) of the Anatolian themes (Byzantine administrative regions): the possessions of the Byzantine Empire located in Anatolia (modern-day
Turkey). Heraclius invaded the Umayyad Caliphate in late autumn of 698, crossing the passes of the
Taurus Mountains into
Cilicia before marching for
northern Syria. Heraclius defeated an Arab army sent from
Antioch, then raided as far as
Samosata before pulling back to the safety of Byzantine lands in spring of 699. Heraclius' military successes led to a series of punitive Arab attacks: the Umayyad generals
Muhammad ibn Marwan and
Abdallah ibn Abd al-Malik conquered what little remained of the Byzantine's territory in
Armenia in a string of campaigns to which Heraclius was unable to effectively respond. The Armenians launched a large revolt against the Umayyads in 702, requesting Byzantine aid. Then Abdallah launched a campaign to reconquer Armenia in 704 but was attacked by Heraclius in Cilicia. Heraclius defeated the Arab army of 10,000–12,000 men led by
Yazid ibn Hunayn at
Sisium, killing most and enslaving the rest; in spite of this, Heraclius was not able to stop Abdallah from reconquering Armenia. Tiberius attempted to strengthen the Byzantine military by reorganizing its structure, as well as reorganizing the Cibyrrhaeotic Theme, and repairing the
sea walls of Constantinople. Tiberius also focused his attention on the island of
Cyprus, which had been underpopulated since many of the inhabitants were moved to the region of
Cyzicus under his predecessor, Justinian II: Tiberius successfully negotiated with Abdallah in 698/699 to allow the Cypriots who had been moved to Cyzicus, and those who had been captured by the Arabs and taken to Syria, to return to their homelands. He also strengthened the garrison of the island with
Mardaite troops from the Taurus Mountains. According to the historian
Warren Treadgold, Tiberius attempted to contain the Arabs at sea by creating new military provinces, creating the
Theme of Sardinia and separating the
Theme of Sicily from the
Exarchate of Ravenna. Tiberius also banished the future emperor
Philippicus, the son of a , to the island of
Cephalonia. is located in the north-west of the city|alt=A colored map of Constantinople in Byzantine times In 702, Justinian II escaped from the
Theme of Cherson (modern
Crimea) and gained the support of
Khagan Busir (), leader of the
Khazars, who gave Justinian his sister
Theodora as a bride, and welcomed him to his court in
Phanagoria. By 703, reports that Justinian was attempting to gain support to retake the throne reached Tiberius, who swiftly sent envoys to the Khazars demanding that Justinian be handed over to the Byzantines, dead or alive. Justinian eluded capture, and sought the support of the khan of the
First Bulgarian Empire,
Tervel (). In 705, Justinian led an army of Slavs and
Bulgars to Constantinople and laid siege to it for three days before scouts discovered an old and disused conduit that ran under the walls of the city. Justinian and a small detachment of soldiers used this route to gain access to the city, exited at the northern edge of the wall near the
Palace of Blachernae, and quickly seized the building. Tiberius fled to the city of
Sozopolis in
Bithynia, and eluded his pursuers for several months before being captured. The exact timing of Justinians siege and Tiberius capture is convoluted. According to the
numismatist Philip Grierson, Justinian II entered the city on 21 August, but according to the Byzantinist
Constance Head, Justinian seized the city on 10 July, and the 21 August date is instead the date when Tiberius was captured in Sozopolis, or else the date when he was transported back to Constantinople. Six months later, probably on 15 February, Justinian had both Leontius and Tiberius dragged to the Hippodrome and publicly humiliated, before being taken away to the
Kynegion (a city
quarter near the Kynegos Gate) and beheaded. Their bodies were thrown into the sea, but were later recovered and buried in a church on the island of
Prote.
Legacy Head comments that although little is known of Tiberius, the evidence points to him being a "conscientious and effective ruler", and states that he might be remembered as "one of the truly great emperors of Byzantium" if he had reigned longer. Kaegi states that succeeding dynasties of the Byzantine Empire, and their associated historians, tend to blame the permanent loss of Byzantine Africa upon Tiberius, although he posits that, by the time Tiberius took the throne, it was far too late for the Byzantines to restore their control.
Family Tiberius had a son, Theodosius, who became
bishop of
Ephesus by 729, presided over the
Council of Hieria in 754, and advised Emperors
Leo III () and
Constantine V (). The Byzantinist
Graham Sumner has suggested that this son of Tiberius may have later become Emperor
Theodosius III (). Sumner presents evidence that both figures held the Bishopric of Ephesus at similar times: Emperor Theodosius became bishop after 716, according to the
Chronicon Altinate, and Theodosius the son of Tiberius became bishop by 729, suggesting they may be the same person. The Byzantinists
Cyril Mango and
Roger Scott do not view this theory as likely, as it would mean that Emperor Theodosius had to have lived for thirty more years after his
abdication. Other details of Tiberius's family, including the name of his
spouses, are lost: a common consequence of the upheaval of the period in which Tiberius ruled, known as the
Twenty Years' Anarchy. ==References==