Twenty Years' Anarchy

Byzantine Empire Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων ( Emperor
• 695–698	Leontius
• 698–705	Tiberius III
• 705–711	Justinian II (restored; second term)
• 711–713	Philippicus
• 713–715	Anastasius II
• 715–717	Theodosius III
History
• First deposition of Justinian II	695
• Deposition of Theodosius III	717
Preceded by Succeeded by Byzantine Empire under the Heraclian dynasty Byzantine Empire under the Isaurian dynasty

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The Twenty Years' Anarchy is a

Justinian II and the usurpers, 685–711

Justinian II (685–711) set in motion a chain of events by embarking on a despotic and increasingly violent course. His policies met with considerable opposition, eventually provoking a rebellion led by Leontius (695–698) in 695, which deposed and exiled him, precipitating a prolonged period of instability and anarchy, with seven emperors in twenty-two years.^[3]

Leontius was popular at first, though the loss of Carthage soon ruined his reputation. John the Patrician led a navy to Carthage, losing in 698. The army feared Leontius, in the same year he was overthrown by Tiberius III (698–705). Tiberius managed to bolster the eastern frontier and reinforced the defenses of Constantinople, but meanwhile Justinian was conspiring to make a comeback and after forming an alliance with the Bulgars succeeded in taking Constantinople and executing Tiberius.

Justinian then continued to reign for a further six years (705–711). His treatment of Tiberius and his supporters had been brutal and he continued to rule in a manner that was despotic and cruel. He lost the ground regained by Tiberius in the east, and imposed his views on the Pope. However, before long he faced a rebellion led by

Anastasius II, 713–715

Anastasius reversed his predecessor's religious policies and responded to Arab attacks by sea and land, this time reaching as far as Galatia in 714, with some success. However the very army that had placed him on the throne (the Opsikion army) rose against him, proclaimed a new emperor and besieged Constantinople for six months, eventually forcing Anastasius to flee.

Theodosius III, 715–717

The troops had proclaimed

It is surprising that the Byzantine Empire was able to survive, given its internal problems, the speed with which the Sasanian Empire collapsed under the Arab threat, and the fact that it was being threatened simultaneously on two fronts. However, the strength of the military organization within the empire, and factional struggles within the Arab world, enabled it to do so.

See also

• Arab–Byzantine wars
• Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars#Tervel's wars
• Family tree of Byzantine emperors

References

Sources

• Kaegi, Walter Emil (1992). Byzantium and the Early Islamic Conquests. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
  ISBN 978-0-521-41172-1
  .
• Bellinger, Alfred Raymond; Grierson, Philip, eds. (1992). Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection: Phocas to Theodosius III, 602-717. Part 1. Phocas and Heraclius (602–641).
  ISBN 9780884020240
  .
• Jenkins, Romilly (1966). Byzantium The Imperial centuries AD 610-1071. Weidenfeld & Nicolson
  ISBN 0-8020-6667-4