Anastasius I Dicorus

"Anastasios I" redirects here. For other uses, see Anastasius I (disambiguation).

Anastasius I Dicorus
Golden coin depicting Anastasius I
Anastasius I on a consular diptych, AD 517
Byzantine emperor
Reign11 April 491 – 9 July 518
PredecessorZeno
SuccessorJustin I
Bornc. 431
Dyrrhachium[1] (modern Durrës, Albania)
Died9 July 518 (aged 87)
Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey)
Burial
Church of the Holy Apostles
SpouseAriadne
Regnal name
  • Latin: Imperator Caesar Flavius Anastasius Augustus
  • ‹See Tfd›Greek: Αὐτοκράτωρ καῖσαρ Φλάβιος Ἀναστάσιος αὐγουστος[2]
DynastyLeonid
ReligionNon-Chalcedonian Christianity

Anastasius I Dicorus (‹See Tfd›Greek: Ἀναστάσιος, translit. Anastásios; c. 431 – 9 July 518) was Eastern Roman emperor from 491 to 518. A career civil servant, he came to the throne at the age of 61 after being chosen by Ariadne, the wife of his predecessor, Zeno. His reign was characterized by reforms and improvements in the empire's government, finances, economy and bureaucracy.[3] The resulting stable government, reinvigorated monetary economy and sizeable budget surplus allowed the empire to pursue more ambitious policies under his successors, most notably Justinian I.[4] Since many of Anastasius' reforms proved long-lasting, his influence over the empire endured for centuries.

Anastasius was a Miaphysite Christian and his personal religious tendencies caused tensions throughout his reign in the empire that was becoming increasingly divided along religious lines.[5][6] He is venerated as a saint by the Syriac Orthodox Church on 29 July.

  1. ^ Norwich 1988, p. 186.
  2. ^ Rösch 1978, pp. 166–167.
  3. ^ Croke, Brian (1 January 2009). Haarer, F. K. (ed.). "Anastasius I". The Classical Review. 59 (1): 208–210. doi:10.1017/s0009840x08002540. JSTOR 20482729. S2CID 154777266.
  4. ^ Treadgold, Warren (2001). A Concise History of Byzantium. Houndmills, Hampshire: Palgrave. pp. 57. ISBN 978-0-333-71830-8.
  5. ^ Bryan Ward-Perkins; Michael Whitby (2000). The Cambridge ancient history. 14. Late antiquity: empire and successors, A.D. 425–600. Cambridge University Press. pp. 51–52. ISBN 978-0-521-32591-2.
  6. ^ Justo L. González (2010). A History of Christian Thought Volume II: From Augustine to the Eve of the Reformation. Abingdon Press. pp. 79–82. ISBN 978-1-4267-2191-5.