Tiberius Petasius was a

Byzantine 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 ...

usurper A usurper is an illegitimate or controversial claimant to power, often but not always in a monarchy. In other words, one who takes the power of a country, city, or established region for oneself, without any formal or legal right to claim it as ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

730/731.

History

Very little of Tiberius life is known, other than that he was born Petasius, and that he revolted against the Byzantine Emperor

Leo III the Isaurian Leo III the Isaurian ( gr, Λέων ὁ Ἴσαυρος, Leōn ho Isauros; la, Leo Isaurus; 685 – 18 June 741), also known as the Syrian, was Byzantine Emperor from 717 until his death in 741 and founder of the Isaurian dynasty. He put an en ...

() in either 730 or 731, in

Tuscia Tuscia is a historical region of Italy that comprised the territories under Etruscan influence and the name adopted for Etruria after the Roman conquest. While it later came to coincide with today's province of Viterbo, it was originally much larger ...

, taking the

regnal name A regnal name, or regnant name or reign name, is the name used by monarchs and popes during their reigns and, subsequently, historically. Since ancient times, some monarchs have chosen to use a different name from their original name when they ac ...

Tiberius. It is possible that he was

acclaimed An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts. Voting Voice vot ...

as emperor by local Italian assemblies, who subsequently lost heart when the rebellion of

Agallianos Kontoskeles Agallianos Kontoskeles ( el, Ἀγαλλιανός Κοντοσκέλης; died 18 April 727) was a Byzantine military commander and rebel leader. Agallianos served as ''tourmarches'' of the Theme of Hellas in 726/7, when the theme erupted in ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

was crushed. Tiberius gained the allegiance of several towns near Tuscia, including

Castrum Manturianense In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...

(identified by the historian

Ludovico Muratori Lodovico Antonio Muratori (21 October 1672 – 23 January 1750) was an Italian historian, notable as a leading scholar of his age, and for his discovery of the Muratorian fragment, the earliest known list of New Testament books. Biography Born ...

as modern-day Barbarano Romano),

Blera Blera is a small town and ''comune'' in the northern Lazio region of Italy. It was known during the Middle Ages as Bieda, an evolved form of its ancient name, which was restored in the twentieth century. It is the birthplace of Pope Sabinian; Pope ...

, and Luna (modern-day location unknown, but likely not the

Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin * Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon Luna may also refer to: Places Philippines * Luna, Apayao * Luna, Isabela * Luna, La Union * Luna, San Jose Roma ...

in northern

Etruria Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria. Etruscan Etruria The ancient people of Etruria are identified as Etruscan civiliza ...

); Tiberius based himself out of Castrum Manturianense. The

Exarch of Ravenna The Exarchate of Ravenna ( la, Exarchatus Ravennatis; el, Εξαρχάτο της Ραβέννας) or of Italy was a lordship of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) in Italy, from 584 to 751, when the last exarch was put to death by the ...

Eutychius Eutychius or Eutychios ( el, Εὐτύχιος, "fortunate") may refer to: * Eutychius Proclus, 2nd-century grammarian * Eutychius (exarch) (died 752), last Byzantine exarch of Ravenna * Saint Eutychius, an early Christian martyr and companion of ...

(), was sent to suppress Tiberius revolt. Eutychius was short on manpower, thus Pope Gregory II (), who did not support Leo III, but opposed the creation of rival emperors, sent several bishops, as well as Papal forces to support Eutychius. Their combined armies marched to Castrum Manturianense, crushed the rebellion in battle, and killed Tiberius. After killing Tiberius, Eutychius sent his head to Leo III. The issue of

Iconoclasm Iconoclasm (from Ancient Greek, Greek: grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, wikt:κλάω, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών + wi ...

may have played a part in Tiberius revolt, with Tiberius deriving support from Italians who opposed Leo III's iconoclastic policies, although the only source which states that the anti-Iconoclastic sentiment of the Italians was related to the revolt of Tiberius comes from a much later anti-Iconoclast.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * Byzantine usurpers 8th-century Byzantine people 8th-century Italian people Exarchate of Ravenna 730 deaths Year of birth unknown {{Byzantine-bio-stub