Flavius Appalius Illus Trocundes (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Τρόκονδος, died 485) was a general 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 Constantin ...

, involved in the rise and fall of Emperor

Basiliscus Basiliscus ( grc-gre, Βασιλίσκος, Basilískos; died 476/477) was Eastern Roman emperor from 9 January 475 to August 476. He became in 464, under his brother-in-law, Emperor Leo (457–474). Basiliscus commanded the army for an inva ...

and the rebellion against 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), ...

. Trocundes was the brother of Illus, another Roman general. Both of them were from the region of Isauria.

Biography

Support and betrayal of Basiliscus

In 475, the Eastern Roman Emperor

, successor of 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 ...

, was deposed by

, the brother of Leo's widow

Verina Aelia Verina (Greek: Βερίνα, died 484) was the Empress consort of Leo I of the Eastern Roman Empire. She was a sister of Basiliscus. Her daughter Ariadne was Empress consort of first Zeno and then Anastasius I. Verina was the maternal gran ...

. Zeno, expelled from

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 ( ...

, fled to the mountains of Isauria, his home country. Basiliscus sent to chase him two of his generals, the brothers Trocundes and Illus, who were both of Isaurian origin. They defeated the ex-Emperor in July 476, and blocked him on a hill called "Constantinople" by local populations. While Illus and Trocundes besieged Zeno, Basiliscus was losing the support of the aristocracy and the Church in the capital because of his religious position; he also lost Illus and Trocundes' support, as he allowed the population of the capital to massacre all Isaurian who had not left the city with Zeno. Illus and Trocundes were secretly instigated by the Senate of Constantinople to betray Basiliscus. Since they had captured Zeno's brother,

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 ...

, they thought they could control Zeno.Williams, p. 185. The two generals therefore had every reason to accept the promises and gifts of their fellow Isaurian. They decided to betray Basiliscus and march together on Constantinople, where Basiliscus was deposed (476) and later killed.

Rebellion against Zeno

During the reign of Zeno, the two brothers received many honours. Trocundes was consul in 482, his brother was consul and '' Patricius''. However, because of the hostility of

, the relationship between the Emperor and the two generals deteriorated. Illus and Trocundes left Constantinople for Asia Minor. Here, in 483 or 484, they revolted against Zeno and proclaimed

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 ...

emperor, a Syrian and an officer of high reputation. The rebels were defeated by the army of Zeno, composed of Romans and Ostrogoths led by Theodoric the Amal and

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 ...

(then a consul), near

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

. Leontius, Illus and Trocundes were forced to take refuge in the fortress of

Papurius Papurius or Papyrius was a fortress in Cilicia Campestris, near Tarsus. It was in this fortress that the usurper Marcian was held prisoner after his failed revolt in 479, and where Leontius and his general and king-maker Illus were besieged be ...

, where they were besieged. Trocundes tried to escape the blockade, in order to raise an army, but was captured and killed. Leontius and Illus, ignorant of Trocundes' fate, waited in Papurius for almost four years, but then were betrayed by the brother-in-law of Trocundes, who had been sent from Constantinople to that end, captured and beheaded (488).

Notes

Bibliography

* Mirosław Jerzy Leszka
"The Career of Flavius Appalius Illus Trocundes"
''Byzantinoslavica'' 71.1-2 (2013): 47–58. * William Smith, "Illus", ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 ...

'', Volume 2, pp. 569–570 * Stephen Williams and Gerard Friell, ''The Rome that did not fall'', Routledge, 1999. {{DEFAULTSORT:Trocundes, Flavius Appalius Illus 485 deaths 5th-century Byzantine people 5th-century Roman consuls 5th-century executions by the Byzantine Empire Byzantine generals Executed Byzantine people Imperial Roman consuls Isaurians Magistri militum Year of birth unknown