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ANASTASIUS I

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Originally appearing in Volume V01, Page 919 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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ANASTASIUS I . (c. 430-518), See also:Roman See also:emperor, was See also:born at Dyrrhachium not later than A.D. 430. At the See also:time of the See also:death of See also:Zeno (491), Anastasius, a See also:palace See also:official (silentiarius), held a very high See also:character, and was raised to the See also:throne of the Roman See also:empire of the See also:East, through the choice of See also:Ariadne, Zeno's widow, who married him shortly after his See also:accession. His reign, though afterwards disturbed by See also:foreign and See also:intestine See also:wars and religious distractions, commenced auspiciously. He gained the popular favour by a judicious remission of See also:taxation, and displayed See also:great vigour and See also:energy in administering the affairs of the empire. The See also:principal wars in which Anastasius was engaged were those known as the Isaurian and the See also:Persian. The former (492–496) was stirred up by the supporters of See also:Longinus, the See also:brother of Zeno. The victory of Cotyaeum in 493 " See also:broke the back " of the revolt, but a guerilla warfare continued in the Isaurian mountains for some years longer. In the See also:war with See also:Persia (502–505), Theodosiopolis and Amida were captured by the enemy, but the Persian provinces also suffered severely and the See also:Romans recovered Amida.. Both adversaries were exhausted when919 See also:peace was made (5o6) on the basis of status quo.

Anastasius afterwards built the strong fortress of Daras to hold See also:

Nisibis in check. The See also:Balkan provinces were devastated by invasions of Slays and Bulgarians; to protect See also:Constantinople and its vicinity against them he built the " Anastasian See also:wall," extending from the Propontis to the Euxine. The emperor was a convinced Monophysite, but his ecclesiastical policy was moderate; he endeavoured to maintain the principle of the Henotikon of Zeno and the peace of the See also:church. It was the uncompromising attitude of the orthodox extremists, and the rebellious demonstrations of the See also:Byzantine populace, that drove him in 512 to abandon this policy and adopt a monophysitic See also:programme. His consequent unpopularity in the See also:European provinces was utilized by an ambitious See also:man, named Vitalian, to organize a dangerous See also:rebellion, in which he was assisted by a See also:horde of " See also:Huns " (514–515); it was finally suppressed by a See also:naval victory won by the See also:general See also:Marinus. The See also:financial policy of Anastasius was so prudent and economical that it gained him a reputation for avarice and contributed to his unpopularity. He died in 518. AUTHoRITIES.—Sources: See also:Joshua the Stylite, See also:Chronicle, ed. See also:Wright, with See also:English See also:translation, See also:Cambridge, 1882; See also:Marcellinus, Chronicle; Zachariah of Mytilene, Chronicle (Eng. trans. by See also:Hamilton and See also:Brooks, See also:London, 1899) ; See also:Evagrius, Ecclesiastical See also:History; See also:John See also:Lydus, De Magistratibus; John See also:Malalas, Chronicle. See also:Modern See also:works: See also:Gibbon, Decline and Fall, vol. iv. (ed. See also:Bury) ; Bury, Later Roman Empire, vol. i.

End of Article: ANASTASIUS I

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