Tiberius II Constantine (578-582) Æ Decanummium Constan

Description

Tiberius II Constantine (578-582) Æ Decanummium Constan
Bronze coin 15 mm , 2.5 grams of Tiberius II Constantine . Obv: Crowned facing bust, mappa in right hand. Rev: Large X, ANNO to left and right , cross above ; star below . Sear 456 .................................................n September 26, 578, Tiberius was made Augustus by the rapidly failing Justin. He used this opportunity to give away 7,200 pounds of gold, a practice which he continued every year throughout the four years of his reign. Sophia, Justin's widow, was persuaded that she should try to maintain her power and influence by marrying the new emperor Tiberius. But he refused her proposal of marriage because he was already married to Ino. When Tiberius had first been raised to the rank of Caesar, Sophia had refused the request for Ino and her children to move into the Imperial palace with her husband, forcing them to reside in a small residence near to the palace, and prohibiting them from entering the palace.[16] However, once Tiberius was elevated to the rank of Augustus, he had his family moved into the palace, and renamed Ino as Anastasia, much to Sophia’s great resentment. Therefore Sophia sought revenge, and a secret pact was made between the dowager empress and the general Justinian, whom Tiberius had replaced the year before. They conspired to overthrow the Emperor: if the plot had been successful, Justinian would have become the new Emperor. However the conspiracy failed and Sophia was reduced to a modest allowance. Justinian was forgiven by Tiberius. The ongoing success against the Persians in the east once again allowed Tiberius to turn his gaze westward. In 579 he again extended his military activities into the remnants of the Western Roman Empire – in Italy he sent money and troops to reinforce Ravenna, and to retake the port of Classis. He formed an alliance with one of the Visigothic princes in Spain who was fermenting rebellion, and his generals defeated the Berbers in North Africa. He also intervened in Frankish affairs in the former province of Gaul, which had been largely free of imperial contacts for close to a century. Consequently, he may have been the basis for the fictional emperor Lucius Tiberius of Arthurian legend, who sent envoys to former Roman provinces after a long period without an Imperial presence. However, the reality was that the Empire was seriously overextended. In 579, with Tiberius occupied elsewhere, the Avars decided to take advantage of the lack of troops in the Balkans by besieging Sirmium.[19] At the same time, the Slavs began to migrate into Thrace, Macedonia and Greece, which Tiberius was unable to halt as the Persians refused to agree to a peace in the east, which remained the Emperor’s main priority.[19] To top it all off, the Army of the East was beginning to become restless, as they hadn’t been paid, to the point where they threatened to mutiny.[19] Then in 580, the general Maurice launched a new offensive, raiding well beyond the Tigris. The following year (581), he again invaded Persian Armenia, and succeeded in almost reaching the Persian capital at Ctesiphon before a Persian counter-invasion of Byzantine Mesopotamia forced him to retreat back to deal with this threat.[19] By 582, with no apparent end to the Persian war in sight, Tiberius was forced to come to terms with the Avars, to whom he agreed to pay an indemnity and to hand over the vital city of Sirmium, which the Avars then destroyed. Unfortunately, the migration of the Slavs continued, with their incursions reaching as far south as Athens.[19] Although a new Persian invasion was halted with a significant defeat at Constantina in June 582, by this stage Tiberius was dying, apparently having eaten some poorly prepared, or possibly deliberately poisoned, food.[20] In this state, Tiberius initially named two heirs, both of whom each married one of his daughters – Maurice was betrothed to Constantina, while Germanus, related through blood to the great emperor Justinian, was married to his other daughter, Charito. It appears that his plan was to divide the empire in two, with Maurice receiving the eastern provinces, and Germanus the western provinces. This plan was never implemented, and on August 13, 582, he elevated Maurice to the rank of Augustus. Tiberius died on the following day, August 14, 582, and his last words were spoken to his successor Let my sovereignty be delivered to thee with this girl. Be happy in the use of it, mindful always to love equity and justice.
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