Justinian II

*Work in progress.*

Emperor of the Romans
 King of Kings

* Mosaic
* Solidus

* Life
* Names
* Reign

* 21 August 705 (second)
* 4 November 711 (second)

* Tiberius III (in 705)
* Filepicus (in 711)

**Justinian II** (Latin: *Flavius Heraclius Iustinianus*; Greek: Φλάβιος Ἡράκλειος Ιουστινιανός, *translit.* *Phlábios Hērákleios Ioustinianós*; 668/669, Constantinople – 4 November 711, Damatrys), bynamed **"the Slit-Nosed"** (Latin: *Rhinotmetus*; Greek: ὁ Ῥινότμητος, *translit.* *ho Rhinótmētos*), was Eastern Roman emperor from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711. Named after Justinian I, the emperor showed a similar passion to restore the Roman Empire to its former glories. However, he responded to any and all forms of opposition and failure with brutality, had a massive anger problem, and was haunted by impulsive decisions that ended up coming full clock.

Justinian acceded to the throne following the death of his father, Constantine IV, of dysentery in 685. He fought the Arabs with mixed success, but suffered a major defeat at Sebastopolis in 692, where the Roman army comprised a large contiment of Slavs who had been forcibly conscripted by the emperor and defected; Justinian, in his first showing of cruelty, responded by carrying out a genocide against all Slavs in the empire. Leontius, the Roman general in this battle, was imprisoned for his failure. The emperor's increasing brutality, as well as his high taxation, agrarian reforms, and fanatical Christian policies incurred a rebellion against him in the summer of 695; the aforementioned Leontius was installed as emperor, while Justinian had his nose slit and was banished to Crimea.

He would remain there until 703, when Leontius's successor, Tiberius III, sought to retrieve him for imprisonment. Justinian fled first to the Khazars and then to the Bulgarians, both of whom he acquired as allies; he then returned to Constantinople and unseated Tiberius. Following his restoration, the now bloodthirsty and psychopathic Justinian went on a mass killing spree, seeking to enact revenge against everyone whom he found had wronged him. The Roman Empire became an effective police state, plagued by government purges, mass executions, torture, and attacks by Justinian on his own cities with the intent of massacring their inhabitants. He neglected the Arab frontier in favour of spilling as much Roman blood as he possibly could, quickly incurring another rebellion against him in 711 led by Filepicus.

At the time, Justinian was campaigning against the Arabs; he quickly hurried back to Constantinople, but would never set foot in the city again. The capital had welcomed Filepicus with open arms, and on his way back, Justinian ran into Elias, a man whom he had wronged in the past. The tables were now turned, and Elias managed to successfully persuade the emperor's army to abandon him, whereafter he stepped up to Justinian and beheaded him.

## Background

Justinian was born either in 668 or 669 as the eldest son of Constantine IV. He had at least one brother, Heraclius. Constantine may have possibly had other sons and daughters, but only Justinian and Heraclius can be confirmed. Constantine mutilated and deposed his brothers Heraclius and Tiberius in 681 in order to make way for Justinian, who was appointed his heir that same year. Constantine did not intend for Heraclius to rule, and Justinian denied him participation in governance as well.

## First reign (685**–**695)

On 10 July 685, the emperor Constantine IV died from dysentery, aged 35. Justinian immediately acceded as emperor, and got straight to work. He struck at the Arabs in Armenia and thus secured a greater tribute from the Umayyad Caliphate, as well as part of Cyprus. Armenia and Georgia, along with the rest of Cyprus, was elevated into a neutral zone, with both empires splitting the tax revenue.

## Footnotes

1. ↑ More rarely, he is referred to as **Justinian the Younger**, in reference to Justinian I (who is in turn also referred to as "Justinian the Elder").

## Bibliography

Lohmeier, Georg (1730). *Der Europäischen Kayser- und Königlichen Häuser historische und genealogische Erläuterung*. p. 10. ISBN 9781271731411. https://books.google.com/books?id=PQxdAAAAcAAJ.
Crabb, George (1825). *Universal Historical Dictionary, Volume 1*. Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy. p. 159. https://books.google.com/books?id=JdZAAQAAMAAJ.
Vitalis, Orderic; Guizot, François; Delisle, Léopold (1853). *The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy: Books 1-3*. H.G. Bohn. p. 124. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The\_Ecclesiastical\_History\_of\_England\_an/HNO1nwSGf\_wC. "Justinian the Younger, son of Constantine, reigned ten years."
Nikolaou Stratos, Andreas (1980). *Byzantium in the Seventh Century: Volume 5*. Adolf M. Hakkert. p. 7. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Byzantium\_in\_the\_Seventh\_Century/WGMbAAAAYAAJ. "On the list, we read: "...10. Eudocia, wife of Justinian the younger." As is well known, the wife of Justinian the elder was Theodora and her sarcophagus is cited as being next to the larnax bearing her husband's remains."