Anna (

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

: Άννα,

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

715–773 CE) was the wife of

Artabasdos Artabasdos or Artavasdos ( or , from , , ), Latinized as Artabasdus, was a Byzantine general of Armenian descent who seized the throne from June 741 until November 743, in usurpation of the reign of Constantine V. Rise to power In about 713, ...

, one of two rival

Byzantine emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

s in a civil war which lasted from June, 741 to November, 743 CE. The other emperor was her brother,

Constantine V Constantine V (; July 718 – 14 September 775) was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. As an able military leader, Constantine took advantage of Third Fitna, civil war ...

Family

Anna was a daughter of

Leo III the Isaurian Leo III the Isaurian (; 685 – 18 June 741), also known as the Syrian, was the first List of Byzantine emperors, Byzantine emperor of the Isaurian dynasty from 717 until his death in 741. He put an end to the Twenty Years' Anarchy, a period o ...

and his wife Maria. She was a sister of

. She also had two sisters named Irene and Kosmo, whose names and place of burial were recorded in

De Ceremoniis The or (fully ) is the conventional Latin name for a Greek book of ceremonial protocol at the court of the Byzantine emperors in Constantinople. Its Greek title is often cited as ("Explanation of the Order of the Palace"), taken from the work' ...

Constantine VII Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, an ...

, however nothing else is known of them.

Marriage

The throne of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

was unstable in the early 710s.

Justinian II Justinian II (; ; 668/69 – 4 November 711), nicknamed "the Slit-Nosed" (), was the last Byzantine emperor of the Heraclian dynasty, reigning from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711. Like his namesake, Justinian I, Justinian II was an ambitio ...

had been deposed and executed in 711. His deposition was followed by the brief reigns of Philippikos (711–713),

Anastasios II Anastasius II (; died 719), born Artemius (, was the Byzantine emperor from 713 to 715. His reign was marked by significant religious and political decisions aimed at stabilizing the Empire. One of his notable actions was reversing the previous ...

(713–715) and

Theodosios III Theodosius III () was Byzantine emperor from to 25 March 717. Before rising to power and seizing the throne of the Byzantine Empire, he was a tax collector in Adramyttium. In 715, the Byzantine navy and the troops of the Opsician Theme, one o ...

(715–717). All three were elevated to the throne after

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

s by factions of the

Byzantine army The Byzantine army was the primary military body of the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine armed forces, serving alongside the Byzantine navy. A direct continuation of the East Roman army, Eastern Roman army, shaping and developing itself on the legac ...

. Under these conditions two military commanders sought each other as allies. According to the chronicle of

Theophanes the Confessor Theophanes the Confessor (; 759 – 817 or 818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking up the religious life. Theophanes attended the Second C ...

, Leo,

strategos ''Strategos'' (), also known by its Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized form ''strategus'', is a Greek language, Greek term to mean 'military General officer, general'. In the Hellenistic world and in the Byzantine Empire, the term was also use ...

of the

Anatolikon The Anatolic Theme (, ''Anatolikon hema'), more properly known as the Theme of the Anatolics (Greek: , ''thema Anatolikōn''), was a Byzantine theme (a military-civilian province) in central Asia Minor (modern Turkey). From its establishment, i ...

Theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software. * Theme (linguistics), topic * Theme ( ...

and

, strategos of the Armeniac Theme, formed an alliance in 715. Their goal was the eventual deposition of Theodosios and elevation of Leo to the throne. The alliance was sealed with the betrothal of Anna to Artabasdos. Their revolt was launched two years later and succeeded in both its stated goals. On 25 March 717, Leo was proclaimed emperor in

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...

. Anna was at this point a member of the new imperial family. Her marriage to Artabasdos followed the successful elevation of her father. Her husband was soon appointed '' kouropalatēs'' ("master of the palace") and '' komēs'' of the ''

Opsikion The Opsician Theme (, ''thema Opsikiou'') or simply Opsikion (Greek: , from ) was a Byzantine theme (a military-civilian province) located in northwestern Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Created from the imperial retinue army, the ''Opsikion'' was th ...

'' theme, while retaining control of his original command.

Empress

The religious policies of Leo III divided the

Chalcedonian Chalcedonian Christianity is the branches of Christianity that accept and uphold theological resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon, the fourth ecumenical council, held in AD 451. Chalcedonian Christianity accepts the Christological Definitio ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

of his time to Iconoclasts and

Iconodule Iconodulism (also iconoduly or iconodulia) designates the religious service to icons (kissing and honourable veneration, incense, and candlelight). The term comes from Neoclassical Greek εἰκονόδουλος (''eikonodoulos'') (from – '' ...

s. With the Emperor leading the former and prosecuting the latter.

died on 18 June 741. He was succeeded by

, his only known son. Constantine was also an Iconoclast and enjoyed support from their faction. On the other hand, Artabasdos gathered support from the Iconodules in preparation for a revolt. In June 741/742, Constantine was crossing

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

to campaign against the

Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member o ...

under

Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (; 6 February 743) was the tenth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 724 until his death in 743. Early life Hisham was born in Damascus, the administrative capital of the Umayyad Caliphate, in AH 72 (691–692 CE). Hi ...

on the eastern frontier. The forces of Artabasdos attacked his brother-in-law during this course. Defeated, Constantine sought refuge in Amorion, while the victor advanced on

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

and was accepted as emperor. Artabasdos was crowned Emperor by

Patriarch Anastasius of Constantinople Anastasius of Constantinople (also Anastasios; Greek: Ἀναστάσιος; died January 754) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 730 to 754. He had been preceded by patriarch Germanus I of Constantinople (715–730). Anastasiu ...

. Anna was declared an '' Augusta'' and their son Nikephoros was raised to co-emperor. Artabasdus declared himself the "Protector of the Holy Icons" and sought to secure himself in the throne. His main support base consisted of the Armeniac, Opsikion and the province of

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

. He was recognised as Emperor by Iconodule religious leaders, including

Pope Zachary Pope Zachary (; 679 – March 752) was the bishop of Rome from 28 November 741 to his death in March 752. He was the last pope of the Byzantine Papacy. Zachary built the original church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, forbade the traffic of sla ...

. The civil war lasted for about two years, ending with the defeat of Artabasdos. The first major battle took place near

Sardis Sardis ( ) or Sardes ( ; Lydian language, Lydian: , romanized: ; ; ) was an ancient city best known as the capital of the Lydian Empire. After the fall of the Lydian Empire, it became the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Lydia (satrapy) ...

Lydia Lydia (; ) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom situated in western Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Later, it became an important province of the Achaemenid Empire and then the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sardis. At some point before 800 BC, ...

in May 743. An army led by Niketas, another son of Artabasdos, was defeated in August. Constantine headed for Constantinople and managed to capture the city three months later. Artabasdos was deposed on 2 November 743.

Retirement

Theophanes records that Constantine had Artabasdos, Nikephoros, and Niketas first incarcerated and then subjected to

public humiliation Public humiliation or public shaming is a form of punishment whose main feature is dishonoring or disgracing a person, usually an offender or a prisoner, especially in a public place. It was regularly used as a form of judicially sanctioned puni ...

in the

Hippodrome of Constantinople The Hippodrome of Constantinople (; ; ) was a Roman circus, circus that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today it is a square in Istanbul, Turkey, known as Sultanahmet Square (). The word ...

.Lynda Garland (ed., 2006), ''Byzantine Women: Varieties of Experience, 800–1200''. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., . All three were then blinded and exiled to the monastery of Chora. According to '' Life of Michael the Syncellus'': :'after blinding the husband of his sister Anna, the most orthodox ruler Artabasdus, Constantine banished him with his wife and his nine children to the aforesaid monastery (of Chora on the outskirts of Constantinople), after he had turned the monastery into a lodging house for laymen'. Anna and the other seven of her children, mentioned but not named, reportedly followed them to their monastic retirement. Anna was the caretaker of her husband and her children to their deaths. All were eventually buried in Chora. Thirty years after the suppression of the rebellion, Constantine reportedly forced Anna to dig up Artabasdus' bones, place them in her cloak (''pallium''), and throw them into the so-called tombs of Pelagius, charnel pits, among the bodies of executed criminals.Theophanes AM 6235 D 742/3 At some point the relics of

Patriarch Germanus I of Constantinople Germanus I of Constantinople (, Greek: Γερμανός; 634 – 742) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 715 to 730. He is regarded as a saint by both the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, with a feast day of 12 May. He had bee ...

were transferred to Chora and the monastery became a shrine to iconodule martyrs. Her year of death is unknown but she is not mentioned following the reign of her brother.

Children

Anna and Artabasdos had a reported number of nine children: * Niketas. ''

Strategos ''Strategos'' (), also known by its Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized form ''strategus'', is a Greek language, Greek term to mean 'military General officer, general'. In the Hellenistic world and in the Byzantine Empire, the term was also use ...

'' of the

Armeniacs The Armeniac Theme (, ''Armeniakon hema'), more properly the Theme of the Armeniacs (Greek: , ''thema Armeniakōn''), was a Byzantine theme (a military-civilian province) located in northeastern Asia Minor (modern Turkey). History The Armeniac T ...

under his father. * Nikephoros. Co-emperor from 741 to 743. * Seven other unknown children. Niketas was the eldest son, as in the ''Chronographikon syntomon'' of Patriarch Nikephoros I, his name is mentioned prior to Nikephoros. This led the Byzantinist Paul Speck in his 1981 biography ''Artabasdos: Der rechtgläubige Vorkämpfer der göttlichen Lehren : Untersuchungen zur Revolte des Artabasdos und ihrer Darstellung in der byzantinischen Historiographie'' to suggest that Niketas was the eldest son but from a previous marriage, with Nikephoros being the eldest by Anna.

Sources

Lynda Garland Lynda Garland (born 13 October 1955) is a scholar and professor at the University of Queensland. Her research focuses on female images in the Late Antiquity period and Byzantine Society. Biography Professor Lynda Garland is currently the Hono ...

(ed., 2006), ''Byzantine Women: Varieties of Experience, 800–1200''. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.,

References

External links

A short article on her by Lynda GarlandThe page of "Byzantine Women" dealing with her
, - {{Roman empresses, state=collapsed 700s births 8th-century deaths Isaurian dynasty 8th-century Byzantine empresses Augustae Daughters of Byzantine emperors Leo III the Isaurian 8th-century empresses consort