ANASTASIUS I. (c. 430-518), Roman emperor, was born at
Dyrrhachium not later than A.D. 430. At the time of the death
of Zeno (491), Anastasius, a palace official (silentiarius),
held a very high character, and was raised to the throne
of the Roman empire of the East, through the choice of
Ariadne, Zeno's widow, who married him shortly after his
accession. His reign, though afterwards disturbed by foreign
and intestine wars and religious distractions, commenced
auspiciously. He gained the popular favour by a judicious
remission of taxation, and displayed great vigour and energy
in administering the affairs of the empire. The principal
wars in which Anastasius was engaged were those known as
the Isaurian and the Persian. The former (492-496) was
stirred up by the supporters of Longinus, the brother of
Zeno. The victory of Cotyaeum in 493 "broke the back" of
the revolt, but a guerilla warfare continued in the Isaurian
mountains for some years longer. In the war with Persia
(502-505), Theodosiopolis and Amida were captured by the
enemy, but the Persian provinces also suffered severely
and the Romans recovered Amida. Both adversaries were
exhausted when peace was made (506) on the basis of status
quo. Anastasius afterwards built the strong fortress of
Daras to hold Nisibis in check. The Balkan provinces were
devastated by invasions of Slavs and Bulgarians; to protect
Constantinople and its vicinity against them he built the
"Anastasian 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
church. It was the uncompromising attitude of the orthodox
extremists, and the rebellious demonstrations of the Byzantine
populace, that drove him in 512 to abandon this policy and
adopt a monophysitic programme. His consequent unpopularity
in the European provinces was utilized by an ambitious
man, named Vitalian, to organize a dangerous rebellion, in
which he was assisted by a horde of "Huns" (514-515); it
was finally suppressed by a naval victory won by the general
Marinus. The 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: Joshua the Stylite, Chronicle,
ed. Wright, with English translation, Cambridge, 1882;
Marcellinus, Chronicle; Zachariah of Mytilene, Chronicle
(Eng. trans. by Hamilton and Brooks, London, 1899); Evagrius,
Ecclesiastical History; John Lydus, De Magistratibus; John
Malalas, Chronicle. Modern works: Gibbon, Decline and Fall,
vol. iv. (ed. Bury); Bury, Later Roman Empire, vol. i.
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