Procopius Anthemius (fl. 469–515 AD) was a politician of the

Eastern Roman Empire 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 ...

, son of Western Roman Emperor

Anthemius Procopius Anthemius (died 11 July 472) was western Roman emperor from 467 to 472. Perhaps the last capable Western Roman Emperor, Anthemius attempted to solve the two primary military challenges facing the remains of the Western Roman Empire: ...

. After the death of the Eastern Roman Emperor

Leo I The LEO I (Lyons Electronic Office I) was the first computer used for commercial business applications. The prototype LEO I was modelled closely on the Cambridge EDSAC. Its construction was overseen by Oliver Standingford, Raymond Thompson and ...

, Procopius sided with his brother

Marcianus Marcian (; la, Marcianus, link=no; grc-gre, Μαρκιανός, link=no ; 392 – 27 January 457) was Roman emperor of the Byzantine Empire, East from 450 to 457. Very little of his life before becoming emperor is known, other than that he wa ...

's attempt to overthrow

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), ...

. When Marcianus's rebellion failed, Procopius fled to Thrace and then to Rome, returning to Constatinople after the death of Zeno and accession of Anastasius I. After his return to Constantinople, he was consul in 515.

Biography

Procopius was the son of

and of

Marcia Euphemia Marcia Euphemia (also known as Aelia Marcia Euphemia) was the wife of Anthemius, Western Roman Empire, Western Roman Emperor. Family Marcia Euphemia was the only known daughter of Marcian, Eastern Roman emperor, with an unknown woman. Her stepmot ...

, daughter of the Eastern Roman Emperor. His brothers were

Anthemiolus Anthemiolus (died c. 471 AD) was the son of the Western Roman Emperor Anthemius (467–472) and Marcia Euphemia, daughter of the Eastern Roman emperor Marcian. His name means "little Anthemius" and is a diminutive of his and his father's nam ...

and

Romulus Romulus () was the legendary foundation of Rome, founder and King of Rome, first king of Ancient Rome, Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus ...

; he also had a sister, Alypia. He lived at

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 (" ...

, at Eastern Emperor

's court, while his father later ruled the

Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...

(467-472), unsuccessfully trying to restore Roman power in the Western provinces beyond Italy and Gaul. During this time, his brother Anthemiolus died while leading an attack against the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...

(in 471) and his sister Alypia married

Ricimer Flavius Ricimer ( , ; – 18/19 August 472) was a Romanized Germanic general who effectively ruled the remaining territory of the Western Roman Empire from 461 until his death in 472, with a brief interlude in which he contested power with An ...

, the powerful ''magister militum'' of barbarian origin. In 474, Leo died. He had left no sons and two daughters, the elder

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 ...

, born before Leo was raised to the throne and married to the Isaurian general

, and the younger

Leontia Leontia ( el, Λεοντία, floruit, fl. 610) was an empress of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire as the wife of Phocas. Empress Maurice (emperor), Maurice reigned in the Byzantine Empire from 582 to 602. He led a series of Maurice's ...

, born when Leo was already emperor and married to Procopius' brother, Marcian. The people of Constantinople despised the Isaurians, whom they considered barbarians; furthermore, Leontia's status as "

porphyrogenita Traditionally, born in the purple (sometimes "born to the purple") was a category of members of royal families born during the reign of their parent. This notion was later loosely expanded to include all children born of prominent or high-ranking ...

" gave her some sort of precedence to the throne, according to the faction that opposed Zeno. For this reason Marcian tried to overthrow Zeno. With the help of Procopius and Romulus, he gathered in

troops composed of both citizens and foreigners in the house of a Caesarius, south of the

Forum of Theodosius The Forum of Theodosius ( el, φόρος Θεοδοσίου, today Beyazıt Square) was probably the largest square in Constantinople and stood on the Mese, the major road that ran west from Hagia Sophia ( Turkish: Ayasofya). It was originally bu ...

, and from there they marched at the same time on the imperial palace and on the house of Illus, an Isaurian general who supported Zeno. The emperor almost fell into the hands of the rebels, who, during the day, overwhelmed the imperial troops, who were also attacked by citizens from the roofs of their houses. During the night, however, Illus succeeded in moving an Isaurian unit quartered in nearby

Chalcedonia Chalcedon ( or ; , sometimes transliterated as ''Chalkedon'') was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the ci ...

into Constantinople and in corrupting Marcian's soldiers, who allowed Zeno to flee. On the following morning Marcian, understanding that his situation was desperate and that reinforcements under the Gothic general

Theodoric Strabo Theodoric (or Theoderic) Strabo ( la, Theodericus; died 481) 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 Ost ...

would not arrive in time, took refuge in the

church of the Holy Apostles The Church of the Holy Apostles ( el, , ''Agioi Apostoloi''; tr, Havariyyun Kilisesi), also known as the ''Imperial Polyándreion'' (imperial cemetery), was a Byzantine Eastern Orthodox church in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman E ...

, but was then arrested with his brothers. They were sent to

Caesarea in Cappadocia Kayseri (; el, Καισάρεια) is a large industrialised city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri province. The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality area is composed of five districts: the two central districts of Kocasinan ...

. With the help of some monks, they tried to escape, but Marcian failed, while Procopius fled to Theodoric Strabo in Thrace,Theodorus Lector, ''Epitome'' 420. – where the latter refused to hand him to Zeno – and then to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Later Procopius returned to Constantinople, during the reign of Anastasius I (491-518). Empress

asked Anastasius, whom she had married after Zeno's death, to appoint Procopius

praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders be ...

. Anastasius refused, saying that the office required more learning than Procopius had. Nonetheless, Procopius was appointed consul for 515. Procopius might be the Anthemius who was married to Herais and father of a Zeno betrothed to a nephew of Emperor Zeno; this Anthemius was probably a '' patricius''.Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin, John Robert Martindale, John Morris, "Anthemius 5", ''

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 2, Cambridge University Press, 1980, , p. 98.

Notes

Bibliography

* Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin, John Robert Martindale, John Morris, "Procopius Anthemius 9", ''

'', Volume 2, Cambridge University Press, 1980, , p. 99. * Mathisen, Ralph W.
"Anthemius (12 April 467 - 11 July 472 A.D.)"
''De Imperatoribus Romanis'' {{end 6th-century deaths 5th-century Byzantine people 6th-century Byzantine people 6th-century Roman consuls Ancient rebels Byzantine rebels Imperial Roman consuls House of Leo Theodosian dynasty Sons of Roman emperors