Longinus of Cardala or Longinus the Bald ( el, , la, Longinus Calvus; died in 497) was a high-ranking

Eastern Roman The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

official and rebel leader from

Isauria Isauria ( or ; grc, Ἰσαυρία), in ancient geography, is a rugged, isolated, district in the interior of Asia Minor, of very different extent at different periods, but generally covering what is now the district of Bozkır and its surrou ...

Biography

Longinus was one of several

ns who occupied offices in the imperial civil and military administration, especially under emperor

Zeno Zeno ( grc, Ζήνων) may refer to: People * Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Philosophers * Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes * Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 BC), ...

, who was an Isaurian himself. It is said that he was rich and bald. Born in Cardala, he was appointed ''

magister officiorum The ''magister officiorum'' (Latin literally for "Master of Offices", in gr, μάγιστρος τῶν ὀφφικίων, magistros tōn offikiōn) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and the early centu ...

'' in late 484, after the defeat of the rebels

Illus Flavius Illus ( grc-gre, Ἴλλους or Ἰλλοῦς; died 488) was a Roman general, who played an important role in the reigns of the eastern emperors Zeno and Basiliscus. Illus supported the revolt of Basiliscus against Zeno, then switched ...

and

Leontius Leontius ( el, Λεόντιος, Leóntios; – 15 February 706), was Byzantine emperor from 695 to 698. Little is known of his early life, other than that he was born in Isauria in Asia Minor. He was given the title of ''patrikios'', and ma ...

, and was in office until 491, when Zeno died. After the death of the Isaurian emperor, there was a struggle for the succession that involved

Longinus Longinus () is the name given to the unnamed Roman soldier who pierced the side of Jesus with a lance and who in medieval and some modern Christian traditions is described as a convert to Christianity. His name first appeared in the apocryphal G ...

, Zeno's brother, and Anastasius I, the candidate supported by empress dowager

Ariadne Ariadne (; grc-gre, Ἀριάδνη; la, Ariadne) was a Cretan princess in Greek mythology. She was mostly associated with mazes and labyrinths because of her involvement in the myths of the Minotaur and Theseus. She is best known for having ...

; when Anastasius I was proclaimed emperor, Longinus of Cardala was removed from his office. Many Isaurians were removed from the imperial administration, and this caused the beginning of the

Isaurian War The Isaurian War was a conflict that lasted from 492 to 497 and that was fought between the army of the Eastern Roman Empire and the rebels of Isauria. At the end of the war, Eastern Emperor Anastasius I regained control of the Isauria region and t ...

(492). Longinus of Cardala returned to Isauria, where he gathered 15,000 soldiers, equipped and fed with the supplies collected there by Zeno. With his men, Longinus attacked the cities in nearby provinces, but was defeated in the

battle of Cotyaeum The Battle of Cotyaeum (modern Kütahya) of 492 CE was a major engagement is the Isaurian War fought in Phrygia Epictetus. The future Byzantine emperor Justin I Justin I ( la, Iustinus; grc-gre, Ἰουστῖνος, ''Ioustînos''; 45 ...

( Kotyaion in

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; grc, Φρυγία, ''Phrygía'' ) was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. After its conquest, it became a region of the great empires ...

) by a Roman army led by generals

John the Scythian John the Scythian ( la, Iohannes Scytha, el, ; ''floruit'' 482–498) was a general and a politician of the Eastern Roman Empire who fought against the usurper Leontius (484–488) and in the Isaurian War (492–497). Biography John was an of ...

and

John the Hunchback John the Hunchback or John ''Gibbo'' (Greek: Ίωάννης ό Κυρτός, la, Flavius Ioannes qui est Gibbus; ''floruit'' 492–499) was a general and a politician of the Eastern Roman Empire. Biography John was a native of Selymbria, moder ...

. The Isaurians who survived the battle fled among the mountains of their country and kept fighting in the following years, and Longinus led them. In 497, however, Longinus was captured by John the Scythian and put to death: his head paraded along

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

's main street during Anastasius' victory celebration.

Bibliography

* Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin, John Robert Martindale, John Morris, "Longinus of Cardala 3", ''

The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire ''Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'' (abbreviated as ''PLRE'') is a work of Roman prosopography published in a set of three volumes collectively describing many of the people attested to have lived in the Roman Empire from AD 260, the date ...

'', volume 1, Cambridge University Press, 1992, , p. 688. 497 deaths 5th-century Byzantine people Byzantine rebels Isauria Magistri officiorum Year of birth unknown Ancient rebels {{byzantine-bio-stub