Flavius Zeno (''floruit'' 447–451) was an influential general and politician of the Eastern Roman Empire, of

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 surro ...

n origin, who served as '' magister militum per Orientem'', and became

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

and '' patricius''.

Biography

Zeno was of

n originJordanes, 333; Evagrius, ii.15. and had a brother, who died before 448. Between 447 and 451 he was ''

magister militum per Orientem Magister is Latin for "master" or "teacher". It may refer to: Positions and titles * Magister degree, an academic degree * Magister equitum, or Master of the Horse * Magister militum, a master of the soldiers * Magister officiorum (''master of of ...

''. In 447 he was put at the head of an Isaurian unit and entrusted with the defence of Constantinople from

Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and E ...

. By this time, he was already ''magister militum per Orientem'' (Commander-in-chief of the Eastern army) and was called to defend the capital because all of the other ''magistri'' were far away, fighting against the Huns. As a reward for the successful defence of Constantinople, he was appointed consul for the year 448. In 449 and in 450 he opposed the powerful eunuch

Chrysaphius Chrysaphius ( el, Χρυσάφιος) was a eunuch in the Eastern Roman court who became the chief minister of Theodosius II (r. 402–450). Having a great influence on the rule of the empire during his ascendancy, he pursued a policy of appeasement ...

, ''

comes sacrarum largitionum The ''comes sacrarum largitionum'' ("Count of the Sacred Largesses"; in el, , ''kómes tōn theíon thesaurōn'') was one of the senior fiscal officials of the late Roman Empire and the early Byzantine Empire. Although it is first attested in ...

'' at court, who wanted to obtain Attila's favour. He opposed the marriage of Attila's secretary, Constantius, and Saturninus' daughter, whom he married to one of his supporters, Rufus. It is known that in 450, the imperial court feared Zeno's wrath if he were to learn of the treaty with Attila. In 451 he was raised to the rank of '' patricius''. According to

Damascius Damascius (; grc-gre, Δαμάσκιος, 458 – after 538), known as "the last of the Athenian Neoplatonists," was the last scholarch of the neoplatonic Athenian school. He was one of the neoplatonic philosophers who left Athens after law ...

, Zeno planned to kill an emperor, in one of two plots organized by pagan officers, but the emperor died after falling from his horse. According to modern historians, Zeno had planned to kill Theodosius II, but the emperor died before the plan could be carried out. Zeno died during the reign of

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

(450-457). Among his supporters there was the ''magister militum'' Apollonius; Theodoret wrote him two letters. According to ancient sources, Zeno's prestigious career was the reason why another Isaurian officer, Tarasis, chose the Greek name Zeno when he married into the Imperial family, thus being known as

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 he rose to the throne. Some modern historians suggest that Zeno was the father of the emperor,Stephen Mitchell, ''A history of the later Roman Empire, AD 284-641: the transformation of the ancient world'', Wiley-Blackwell, 2007, , pp. 114-115. but there is no consensus about this, and other sources suggest that Tarasis was member of Zeno's entourage.

Popular Culture

In the 2020 album

Songs for Pierre Chuvin ''Songs for Pierre Chuvin'' is the eighteenth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released on April 10, 2020. It is the first album since 2002's ''All Hail West Texas'' to feature only the band's frontman, John Darnielle, as well as the first since ...

by The Mountain Goats, Zeno is referenced in the title of the song "Hopeful Assassins of Zeno".

Notes

Bibliography

Primary sources

Evagrius Scholasticus Evagrius Scholasticus ( el, Εὐάγριος Σχολαστικός) was a Syrian scholar and intellectual living in the 6th century AD, and an aide to the patriarch Gregory of Antioch. His surviving work, ''Ecclesiastical History'' (), compris ...

, ''Historia ecclesiastica'' *

, ''Philosophycal History'' * Jordanes, ''Romana'' *

Priscus Priscus of Panium (; el, Πρίσκος; 410s AD/420s AD-after 472 AD) was a 5th-century Eastern Roman diplomat and Greek historian and rhetorician (or sophist)...: "For information about Attila, his court and the organization of life general ...

, ''Historia'' * Theodoret, ''Epistles''

Secondary sources

* Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin, John Robert Martindale, John Morris, "Fl. Zenon 6", ''The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'', Volume 2, Cambridge University Press, 1980, , pp. 1199–1200. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zeno, Flavius 5th-century Byzantine people 5th-century Roman consuls Correspondents of Theodoret Imperial Roman consuls Isaurians Byzantine generals Magistri militum Patricii