Zeno

Dovahhatty

### Relatives

Leo The Thracian (Father-in-law)Longinus (Brother)Ariadne (wife)Leo II (son)Verina (mother-in-law)

## Biographical information

### Place of birth

Isauria
(Eastern Roman Empire)

### Place of death

Constantinople
(Eastern Roman Empire)

## Physical description

### Gender

Male

**Zeno** (425-491) was the last Emperor of the East to be rule during the existence of the Western Roman Empire. He was an emperor to have two reigns (474-475/ 476-491) as between 475 and 476 he was usurped.

## In "Unbiased History"

### "The Fall of Rome"

Zeno was portrayed as a General manning the Theodosian Walls when the Huns sieged the city after an earthquakes toppled a certain segment of it. He would be proclaimed as a successor by Leo--who by then already lost a liberation expedition at Cape Bon--after his death from dysentery and wishing for the Rome to not fall under his reign. Sadly enough, Zeno's reign would see the end of Western Roman Empire with Odoacer--the new Barbarian King of Italy--sent him entire Imperial Regalia of Western Roman Emperor as a sign of Roman Empire collapse in the west.

### "Byzantium I: The Eastern Emperor"

It was the fall of Rome under barbarian invasion where he had to deal with a usurpation by the treacherous commander who failed to retake North Africa from the Vandal Kingdom. He--along with Illus--was shown to be one of the few civilized Isaurians, a Barbarian tribe who remained uncivilized despite being part of the empire for centuries. When Ostrogoths decided to attack Eastern Roman Empire, he sent Theodoric--a Gothic General--who then betrayed him but later killed when he fell off his horse towards a spear. Later, Zeno decided to cut a deal with Ostrogoths led by similarly named Theodoric The Great, who would murder Odoacer and take over Italy, but caused a schism instead due to Pope's disdain over joining with them. In the end, he was buried alive by his wife--Ariadne--during his illness that later led to succession towards Anastasius.

## "Trivia"

* The Zeno that helped to protect the empire against Attila and the Zeno that would be emperor were actually two different people, but for the sake of simplifying things (and how both were Isaurians), both Zenos were made into one.
* It was Zeno's son, Leo II, who assumed that throne with Zeno as a regent until his sudden death at 7 years old led to Zeno becoming the Emperor.
* What was left out of Zeno's reign in Unbiased History--at least until the episode of Byzantium I--was a short-lived coup by Basiliscus, the admiral who was in charge of disastrous campaign at Cape Bon, who was then overthrown by Zeno a year later.
	+ Historically then, Basiliscus was executed by being stripped naked and left in an empty cistern to be killed by exposure--which he done so as a loophole to a swear not to spill his blood when Basiliscus was cornered at the church--rather than execution as shown in the series.
* Historically, Zeno was proclaimed as the sole ruler of the Roman Empire by the Roman Senate and Odoacer, latter of whom proclaimed himself as unofficial ruler in Italy, when they return the Imperial Regalia of Rome to him rather than doing it out of spite.
	+ Furthermore, Zeno had a good relations with Odoacer until their relationship soured to the point that Ostrogoths in Balkans were sent to him in response to his increasingly independent rule from Constantinople.

* Zeno actually died from epilepsy or dysentery, which his fate of being buried alive stemmed from 11th and 12th century legends.
* Zeno and the Isaurians were actually the original members of Excubitors formed by Emperor Leo rather than being formed by Anastasius.