Editing Anastasius I Dicorus (section)

== Accession ==
[[File:Flavius Anastasius Probus 01c.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|Anastasius I (center) alongside his wife [[Ariadne (empress)|Ariadne]] (right) on the [[consular diptych]] of his grandnephew [[Anastasius (consul 517)|Sabinianus Anastasius]] (AD 517). The third figure may be the co-consul [[Agapitus (consul 517)|Agapitus]].<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Weitzmann|editor-first=Kurt|year=1979|title=Age of Spirituality: Late Antique and Early Christian Art, Third to Seventh Century|location=New York|publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=efLuB7QPDm8C&pg=PA97|page=97|isbn=9780870991790 }}</ref>]]
In the weeks following the death of [[Zeno (emperor)|Zeno]] (491), crowds gathered in the [[Hippodrome of Constantinople]] and demanded a [[Chalcedonian Christianity|Chalcedonian]] and properly Roman successor, chanting "Give the Empire an Orthodox emperor! Give the Empire a Roman Emperor!"<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=History of the Byzantine State|last=Ostrogorski|first=Georgije|publisher=Rutgers University Press|year=1969|oclc=812752850|location=New Brunswick, NJ.|pages=59}}</ref> Under such pressure, [[Ariadne (empress)|Ariadne]], Zeno's widow, turned to Anastasius. Anastasius was in his sixties at the time of his ascension to the throne. Ariadne chose Anastasius over Zeno's brother [[Longinus (consul 486)|Longinus]],<ref name=":0" /> which upset the Isaurians. Once he took office, Anastasius exiled Longinus and purged a number of Isaurians officials from government.{{sfn|Kaldellis|2023|p=223}} Religiously, Anastasius' sympathies were with the Monophysites.<ref name=":0" /> Consequently, as a condition of his accession, the [[patriarch of Constantinople]] required that he pledge not to repudiate the [[Council of Chalcedon]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Myres|first=J. N. L.|date=1 January 1940|editor-last=Charanis|editor-first=Peter|title=The Religious Policy of Anastasius I|jstor=705334|journal=The Classical Review|volume=54|issue=4|pages=208–209|doi=10.1017/s0009840x00087229|s2cid=246877719}}</ref>

Ariadne married Anastasius on 20 May 491,<ref>The date is based on [[Zonaras]]' [[iarchive:bub gb 0dUFAAAAQAAJ/page/n156/mode/1up|(Book XIV, 3.24)]] statement that the marriage took place "forty days after Zeno's burial" by assuming that it occurred the day after his death.</ref> shortly after his accession on 11 April.<ref>[[Zacharias Rhetor]], [[iarchive:cu31924027994726/page/n154/mode/1up|Book VI]]: "And Anastasius, his successor, received the kingdom on the fourth day of the Great Week." [[Easter Day]] fell on 7 April.</ref><ref>''[[Chronicon Paschale]]'' [[iarchive:chronicon-p/page/98/mode/1up|491]]: "he was crowned in the month [[Xanthicus]], which is also April, on he 5th day of [[Holy Week]]."</ref><ref>[[Theophanes Confessor]] [[iarchive:chronicle-of-theophanes-the-confessor/page/209/mode/1up|491]]: "Anastasios was crowned in the [[Kathisma]] of the Hippodrome... on 14 April, it being [[Holy Thursday]]." Holy Thursday actually fell on 11 April.</ref> He gained popular favour by a judicious remission of taxation, in particular by abolishing the hated tax on receipts, which was mostly paid by the poor. He displayed great vigour and energy in administering the affairs of the empire.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Anastasius I|volume=1|page=919}}</ref>{{sfn|Norwich|1988|p=184}} His reforms improved the empire's tax base and pulled it from financial depression and bleak morale. By the end of his reign, it is claimed that the treasury had 320,000 lb gold reserve.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Crawford|first=Peter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d-oHBAAAQBAJ&q=%22Anastasius+I%22+of+Jerusalem&pg=PT18|title=The War of the Three Gods: Romans, Persians and the Rise of Islam|publisher=Pen and Sword|year=2013|isbn=978-1-84884-612-8|location=South Yorkshire, UK|pages=3}}</ref>

Not long after his accession, the [[Chariot racing#Byzantine racing factions|circus factions]] caused riots and set fires around the Hippodrome. Though its exact cause is unclear, the riot was pacified when Anastasius replaced the [[Praefectus urbi#Constantinople|city prefect]] Julian with his brother-in-law Secundinus.{{sfn|Kaldellis|2023|p=223}}