Editing Anastasius I Dicorus

{{Short description|Roman emperor from 491 to 518}}
{{Redirect|Anastasios I|other uses|Anastasius I (disambiguation)}}
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{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Anastasius I Dicorus
| title        = 
| titletext    = 
| image        = Flavius Anastasius Probus 01c (Anastasius I) (cropped).JPG
| image_size   = 150
| alt          = Golden coin depicting Anastasius I
| caption      = Anastasius I on a [[consular diptych]], AD 517
| succession   = [[Roman emperor]]
| reign        = 11 April 491 – 9 July 518
| predecessor  = [[Zeno (emperor)|Zeno]]
| successor    = [[Justin I]]
| birth_date   = {{circa|431}}
| birth_place  = [[Durrës|Dyrrhachium]]{{sfn|Norwich|1988|p=186}} (modern Durrës, [[Albania]])
| death_date   = 9 July 518 (aged 87)
| death_place  = [[Constantinople]] (modern [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]])
| burial_place = [[Church of the Holy Apostles]]
| spouse       = [[Ariadne (empress)|Ariadne]]
| dynasty      = [[Leonid dynasty|Leonid]]
| religion     = [[Non-Chalcedonian Christianity]]
| regnal name  = {{ubl|{{langx|la|[[Imperator]] [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]] [[Flavia gens|Flavius]] Anastasius [[Augustus (title)|Augustus]]}}|{{langx|grc|[[Autokrator|Αὐτοκράτωρ]] καῖσαρ Φλάβιος Ἀναστάσιος αὐγουστος}}{{sfn|Rösch|1978|pp=166-167}}}}
}}

'''Anastasius I Dicorus''' ({{langx|grc|Ἀναστάσιος|Anastásios}}; {{circa|431}} – 9 July 518) was [[List of Roman emperors#Later eastern emperors (457–1453)|Roman emperor]] from 491 to 518. A career civil servant, he came to the throne at the age of 61 after being chosen by [[Empress Ariadne|Ariadne]], the wife of his predecessor, [[Zeno (emperor)|Zeno]]. His reign was characterized by reforms and improvements in the empire's government, finances, economy and bureaucracy.<ref name="Croke 208–210">{{Cite journal|last=Croke|first=Brian|date=1 January 2009|editor-last=Haarer|editor-first=F. K.|title=Anastasius I|jstor=20482729|journal=The Classical Review|volume=59|issue=1|pages=208–210|doi=10.1017/s0009840x08002540|s2cid=154777266}}</ref> 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]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=A Concise History of Byzantium|last=Treadgold|first=Warren|publisher=Palgrave|year=2001|isbn=978-0-333-71830-8|location=Houndmills, Hampshire|pages=[https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00warr/page/57 57]|url=https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00warr/page/57}}</ref> Since many of Anastasius' reforms proved long-lasting, his influence over the empire endured for centuries.

Anastasius was a [[Miaphysitism|Miaphysite]] Christian and his personal religious tendencies caused tensions throughout his reign in the empire that was becoming increasingly divided along religious lines.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Bryan Ward-Perkins|author2=Michael Whitby|title=The Cambridge ancient history. 14. Late antiquity: empire and successors, A.D. 425–600|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qf8mrHjfZRoC&pg=PA51|year=2000|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-32591-2|pages=51–52}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Justo L. González|title=A History of Christian Thought Volume II: From Augustine to the Eve of the Reformation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kEXOzNeSgWoC&pg=PA79|date= 2010|publisher=Abingdon Press|isbn=978-1-4267-2191-5|pages=79–82}}</ref>

==Early life and family==
[[File:Diptych Barberini Louvre OA3850.JPG|thumb|left|The ''[[Barberini ivory]]'', a 6th-century ivory [[diptych]] representing either Anastasius or [[Justinian I]]|upright]]
Anastasius was born at [[Dyrrachium]]; the date is unknown, but is thought to have been no later than 431. He was born into an [[Illyro-Roman]] family.<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Focanti |first1=Lorenzo |title=The fragments of late antique patria |date=1988 |publisher=University of Gottingen |page=214 |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/158345382.pdf |quote=Christodorus’ flourishing is dated to the reign of Anastasius I Dicorus (491–518 AD). Born circa 431 AD, the Illyrian soldier rose to the throne thanks to his marriage to Ariadne, the widow of the preceding ruler Zeno.}}</ref><ref name="Croke2001">{{cite book|last=Croke|first=Brian|title=Count Marcellinus and his chronicle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ep6U-meRt00C&pg=PA89|access-date=12 October 2010|year=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-815001-5|page=89}}</ref> Anastasius had one black eye and one blue eye  ([[Heterochromia iridum|heterochromia]]), and for that reason he was nicknamed ''Dicorus'' ({{langx|grc|Δίκορος|Díkoros}}, "two-[[pupil]]ed").<ref>[http://www.roman-emperors.org/anastasi.htm Anastasius (AD 491–518)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060824180146/http://www.roman-emperors.org/anastasi.htm |date=24 August 2006 }} Hugh Elton – Florida International University – An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors</ref> Before becoming emperor, Anastasius was a [[Silentiarius|silentiary]].{{sfn|Martindale|1980|p=78}}<ref name=":1" />

Anastasius is known to have had a brother named [[Paulus (consul 496)|Paulus]], who served as [[List of Roman Consuls|consul]] in 496.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.roman-empire.net/articles/article-024.html |title=The Consular List |access-date=2 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080417024211/http://www.roman-empire.net/articles/article-024.html |archive-date=17 April 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> With a woman known as Magna, Paulus was father to Irene, who married [[Olybrius (consul 491)|Olybrius]]. This Olybrius was the son of [[Anicia Juliana]] and [[Areobindus Dagalaifus Areobindus]].{{sfn|Pazdernik|1999|pp=300–301}} The daughter of Olybrius and Irene was named Proba. She married [[Probus (consul 525)|Probus]] and was mother to a younger Juliana. This younger Juliana married another Anastasius, maternal grandson of [[Theodora (wife of Justinian I)|Theodora]], and was mother of Areobindus, Placidia, and a younger Proba, who married Flavius Anastasius, born in 530, and mothered  Areobindus, born in 550, and Placidia, born in 552 and wife of [[John Mystacon]].<ref name="Prosopography-3">[[Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire]], vol. 3</ref><ref>Christian Settipani, ''Continuité des élites à Byzance durant les siècles obscurs. Les princes caucasiens et l'Empire du VIe au IXe siècle'', Paris, de Boccard, 2006, 26 vii 2014</ref> Another nephew of Anastasius was [[Probus (consul 502)|Flavius Probus]], consul in 502.<ref name="Prosopography-2">[[Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire]], vol. 2</ref> Anastasius' sister, Caesaria, married [[Secundinus (consul 511)|Secundinus]], and gave birth to [[Hypatius (consul 500)|Hypatius]] and [[Pompeius (consul 501)|Pompeius]].<ref name="Prosopography-2"/> [[Flavius Anastasius Paulus Probus Moschianus Probus Magnus]], consul in 518, was a great-nephew of Anastasius. His daughter Juliana later married [[Marcellus (brother of Justin II)|Marcellus]], a brother of [[Justin II]].<ref name="Prosopography-3"/> The extensive family may well have included several viable candidates for the throne.<ref name=Evans>{{Cite web |url=http://www.roman-emperors.org/justin.htm |title=James Allan Evans, "Justin I (518–527 A.D.)" |access-date=22 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515232101/http://www.roman-emperors.org/justin.htm |archive-date=15 May 2008 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

== 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}}

== Foreign policy and wars ==
[[File:Solidus Anastasius.jpg|thumb|Gold ''[[Solidus (coin)|solidus]]'' of Anastasius I|upright=1.2]]
Under Anastasius, the empire engaged in the [[Isaurian War]] against Longinus and the [[Anastasian War]] against Sassanid Persia.{{sfn|Ostrogorsky|1957|p=60}}<ref name=Syriac>Zacharias of Mytilene, ''Syriac Chronicle'', Book VII, Chapter VI</ref>

The Isaurian War (492–497) was instigated by the [[Isauria|Isaurian]] supporters of Longinus, the brother of Zeno, who was passed over for the throne in favour of Anastasius, and local discontents. The banished Isaurian officials, led by the ex-bishop [[Conon the Isaurian|Conon]] and former governor [[Lilingis]], gathered in Isauria and mounted a revolt.<ref>{{harvnb|Haarer|2006|pp=23–25}}{{harvnb|Kaldellis|2023|pp=223–224}}</ref> Their defeat by [[John the Scythian]] and [[John the Hunchback]] in the [[Battle of Cotyaeum]] in 492 broke the back of the revolt, but [[guerrilla warfare]] continued in the Isaurian Mountains for several years.<ref name="EB1911"/>{{sfn|Haarer|2006|pp=23–25}} The resistance hinged upon the Isaurians' retention of the mountain strongholds.{{sfn|Haarer|2006|pp=25-26}} Anastasius passed economic legislations in the mid-490s, which suggests that the war did not absorb all of the energy and resources of the government.<ref name="Croke 208–210"/> After five years, the Isaurian resistance was broken. Large numbers of Isaurians were forcibly relocated to Thrace to ensure that they would not revolt again.{{sfn|Ostrogorsky|1957|p=60}}

During the Anastasian War of 502–505 against the [[Sasanian Empire|Sassanid Persians]], the Sassanids captured the cities of [[Theodosiopolis (Armenia)|Theodosiopolis]] and [[Amida (Mesopotamia)|Amida]], although the Romans later received Amida in exchange for gold. The Persian provinces also suffered severely, and a peace was concluded in 506. Anastasius afterward built the strong fortress of [[Daras]], which was named Anastasiopolis, to hold the Persians at [[Nisibis]] in check.<ref name=Syriac/> The [[Balkans|Balkan]] provinces were denuded of troops, however, and were devastated by invasions of [[Slavs]] and [[Bulgars]]. To protect [[Constantinople]] and its vicinity against them, Anastasius built the [[Anastasian Wall]], extending from the [[Propontis]] to the [[Black Sea]]. He converted his birthplace, Dyrrachium, into one of the most fortified cities on the [[Adriatic]] with the construction of [[Durrës Castle]].{{sfn|Norwich|1988|p=186}}<ref name="EB1911"/>

Once the relationship between the Romans the [[Ostrogoths]] was restored, [[Praetorian prefecture of Italy|Italy]] was independently governed by the Ostrogothic ruler [[Theodoric the Great|Theodoric]], but under the conditions agreed with Anastasius, Theodoric could not make laws, mint his own coins nor appoint Goths to the consulship and civil offices. However, he had the right to promulgate edicts, and appoint Romans to the consulship and civil offices and Goths to the military offices.<ref>{{aut|J. B. Bury}}, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/BURLAT/13B*.html#p454 ''History of the Later Roman Empire'', pp. 454–455]</ref> Theodoric forged a relationship with the [[Visigothic]] king [[Alaric II]] in Gaul. Anastasius became wary of Theodoric's imperial ambition in the West. In the Frankish ''rex'' Clovis, the emperor found an ally. Partly thanks to the former ''magister militum'' [[Gundobad]],<ref>Wijendaele (2024), pag. 196 states: "Gundobad as a person is most eligible as a bridge between Clovis and the Roman emperor in Constantinople. His titles and the legal texts show that his domain was still part of the Roman Empire".</ref> he teamed up with Clovis to overthrow the Gothic hegemony in the West. In the [[Franco–Gothic War (507–511)]], Clovis defeated the Visigoths at the [[Battle of Vouillé]]. The threat of an invasion by the Roman army had prevented Theodoric from intervening in the battle on time to support the Visigoths in 507.<ref>Cassiodorus, Var., 2.5</ref><ref>Wijnendaele (2024), pag. 212-213 states: ''The moment Theodoric had an expedition ready to help Alaric II for help over the Alps in 507, he had to keep the same troops ready because of the Roman threat that apparently appeared out of nowhere in his own Italian backyard''.</ref> In early 508, a Roman attack actually took place in the Italian boot. Anastasius had sent an expedition force of 8,000 soldiers for this attack, but the Roman intervention was not aimed at conquest,{{sfn|Wijnendaele|2024|p=212}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mathisen|first=Ralph W.|title=The Battle of Vouillé, 507 CE: Where France Began|date=2012|publisher=De Gruyter|isbn=978-1-61451-099-4|editor-last=Mathisen|editor-first=Ralph W.|chapter=Clovis, Anastasius, and Political Status in 508 C.E.: The Frankish Aftermath of the Battle of Vouillé|pages=87|doi=10.1515/9781614510994.79|editor-last2=Shanzer|editor-first2=Danuta|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/29750646}}</ref> since it did not seek a confrontation with Theodoric's army and limited itself only to the looting of some cities in the south. The Franks were thus more successful in the war.

== Domestic and ecclesiastical policies ==
[[File:Byzantine Dardanelles Customs Law.JPG|thumb|Law of Anastasius regulating passage through [[Dardanelles]]' customs.]]
Anastasius was a convinced [[Monophysitism|Monophysite]], but his ecclesiastical policy was moderate. He endeavoured to maintain the principle of the [[Henotikon]] of Zeno and the peace of the church.<ref name="EB1911"/> Yet, in 512, perhaps emboldened after his military success against the Persians, Anastasius deposed the [[Metropolitan bishop|Metropolitan]] of [[Chalcedon]] and replaced him with a Monophysite. That violated his agreement with the Patriarch of Constantinople and precipitated riots in Chalcedon.<ref name=":0" /> The following year, the general [[Vitalian (general)|Vitalian]] started a rebellion, quickly defeated an imperial army and marched on Constantinople.<ref name=":0" /> With the army closing in, Anastasius gave Vitalian the title of [[Magister militum#Per Thracias|Commander of the Army of Thrace]] and began communicating with the Pope on a potential end to the [[Acacian schism]].<ref name=":0" /> Two years later, General [[Marinus (praetorian prefect)|Marinus]] attacked Vitalian and forced him and his troops to the northern part of Thrace. After the conclusion of the conflict, Anastasius had undisputed control of the empire until his death in 518.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=A Concise History of Byzantium|last=Treadgold|first=Warren|publisher=Palgrave|year=2001|isbn=978-0-333-71830-8|location=Houndmills, Hampshire|pages=[https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00warr/page/56 56]|url=https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00warr/page/56}}</ref>

== Death and succession ==
[[File:730654 ANASTASIUS I Gold Tremissis.jpg|thumb|Gold ''[[tremissis]]'' (one-third of a solidus) of Anastasius I|upright=1.2]]
The ''[[Anonymous Valesianus]]'' gives a (most likely fictional) account of Anastasius attempting to predict his successor. Anastasius did not know which of his three nephews would succeed him and so he put a message under one of three couches and had his nephews take seats in the room. He believed that the nephew who sat on the couch with the message would be his heir. However, two of his nephews sat on the same couch, and the one with the concealed message remained empty. After putting the matter to God in prayer, he determined that the first person to enter his room the next morning would be the next emperor, and that person turned out to be [[Justin I|Justin]], the commander of the [[Excubitors]] (''comes excubitorum'').<ref>''[[Anonymous Valesianus]]'' II, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Excerpta_Valesiana/2*.html#74 ''Pars Posterior'' 74.]</ref>

Anastasius died childless in Constantinople on 9 July 518.<ref>[[Marcellinus Comes]] [https://books.google.com/books?id=SNMuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 518]: "The emperor Anastasius died suddenly, aged more than eighty. He reigned for twenty-seven years, two months and twenty-nine days [<nowiki/>[[Inclusive counting|inclusive]]]."</ref><ref>[[Zacharias Rhetor]] [[iarchive:cu31924027994726/page/n195|VII, xiv]]: "Anastasius died on the ninth of July."</ref><ref>[[Theophanes Confessor]] [[iarchive:chronicle-of-theophanes-the-confessor/page/249/mode/1up|518]]: "On 9 April of the ninth indiction Anastasios the impious emperor died after ruling for 27 years and 7 months." (partially inaccurate)</ref> He was 90 and a half years old according to the later chronicles of [[John Malalas]] ({{Circa}} 491–578) and the ''[[Chronicon Paschale]]'' ({{Circa}} 630).<ref>''[[Chronicon Paschale]]'' [[iarchive:chronicon-p/page/103/mode/1up|518]]: "Anastasius fell sick... gave up the spirit, aged 90 years and five months. [<nowiki/>[[Justin I|Justin]]] became emperor in the consulship of [[Flavius Anastasius Paulus Probus Moschianus Probus Magnus|Magnus]], in the month Panemus, which is also July, on the 9th."</ref><ref>[[John Malalas]] [https://es.calameo.com/read/000675905f2f4bf509d49 XVI, 22]. "He was terrified and breathed his last, at the age of 90 years and five months."</ref> The early 6th-century historian [[Victor of Tunnuna]] states that he died at the age of 88,<ref>[[Victor of Tunnuna]], [https://www.dmgh.de/mgh_auct_ant_11/#page/196/mode/1up s.a. 518]. "anno viae suae III." [In his 88th year of life, i.e. born in 431]</ref> a figure accepted by most modern historians.{{sfn|Martindale|1980|p=78}}

He became the last emperor known to be [[Roman imperial cult#The imperial cult and Christianity|consecrated as divus]] on his death. Anastasius left the Imperial treasury with 23,000,000 ''solidi'', which is 320,000 pounds of gold or {{convert|420|LT|MT}}.{{sfn|Norwich|1988|pp=188–9}} Justin then became the next emperor.{{sfn|Durant|1950|p=104}}

==Administrative reform and introduction of new coinage==

{{multiple image
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| footer =  Copper coins from Anastasius I's reign. A ''[[follis]]'' (40 ''[[Nummus#Byzantine_issues|nummi]]'') on top and a half ''follis'' (20 ''nummi'') on bottom. The value of the coins are indicated with [[Greek numerals]] where M = 40 and K = 20.
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Anastasius showed an interest in administrative efficiency and issues concerning the economy.<ref name=":2" /> Whenever it was possible in governmental transactions, he altered the method of payment from goods to hard currency. This practice decreased the potential for embezzlement and the need for transportation and storage of supplies. It also allowed for easier accounting.<ref name=":0" /> He also applied this practice to taxes, mandating that taxes be paid with cash rather than with goods.<ref name=":0" /> He eliminated the practice of providing soldiers with their arms and uniforms; instead he allotted each soldier a generous sum of money with which to purchase their own.<ref name=":0" /> These changes to imperial policy seemed beneficial; taxpayers often paid smaller tax bills than they had before, while government revenue increased.<ref name=":0" /> The increase in revenue allowed the emperor to pay soldiers a higher wage, which attracted native Roman soldiers to the military, as opposed to the barbarian and Isaurian mercenaries which some previous emperors had been forced to rely on.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Concise History of Byzantium|last=Treadgold|first=Warren|publisher=Palgrave|year=2001|isbn=978-0-333-71830-8|location=Handmills, Hampshire|pages=[https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00warr/page/57 57]|url=https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00warr/page/57}}</ref> Anastasius is often cited for his "prudent management" of the empire's finances.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Economic History of Byzantium|last=Laiou|first=Angeliki|author-link=Angeliki Laiou|publisher=Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collections|year=2002|isbn=978-0-88402-288-6|location=Washington DC|pages=940}}</ref>

Amidst these reforms, though, Anastasius continued the practice of selling official positions.<ref name="Croke 208–210" /> He sold so many that he has been accused of having facilitated the creation of a civilian aristocracy. This claim is strengthened by the growth in influence of families that often held high level positions in the government, such as the [[Apion (family)|Apiones]] from Egypt. This has puzzled historians, given that the emperor seems to have minimised government corruption/inefficiency in other areas.<ref name="Croke 208–210" /> Anastasius I also gave official positions to his close friend General [[Celer (magister officiorum)|Celer]], his brother-in-law, his brother, his nephews, and his grand-nephews.<ref name="Croke 208–210"/>

The complex monetary system of the early Byzantine Empire, which suffered a partial collapse in the mid-5th century, was revived by Anastasius in 498. The new system involved three denominations of gold, the ''[[Solidus (coin)|solidus]]'' and its half (''[[semissis]]'') and third (''[[tremissis]]''); and five denominations of copper, the ''[[follis]]'' (worth 40 ''[[nummus|nummi]]'') and its fractions down to a ''nummus''. It would seem that the new currency quickly became an important part of trade with other regions. A follis coin has been found in the Charjou desert, north of the [[River Oxus]].<ref name="Pyatnitsky 113–122">{{Cite journal|last=Pyatnitsky|first=Yuri|date=1 January 2006|title=New Evidence for Byzantine Activity in the Caucasus During the Reign of the Emperor Anastasius I|jstor=43580526|journal=American Journal of Numismatics|volume=18|pages=113–122}}</ref> Four solidi from his reign have been recovered as far from the Roman Empire as China. China might seem an unlikely trading partner, but the Romans and the Chinese were probably able to do business via Central Asian merchants travelling along the [[Silk Road|Silk Roads]]. Some Roman trading partners attempted to replicate the coins of Anastasius. The currency created by Anastasius stayed in use and circulated widely for long after his reign.<ref name="Pyatnitsky 113–122" />

A 40-''nummi'' coin of Anastasius is depicted on the [[Obverse and reverse|obverse]] of [[North Macedonia|North Macedonia's]] 50 [[Macedonian denar|denar]] banknote, issued in 1996.<ref>[http://www.nbrm.gov.mk National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080819150726/http://www.nbrm.gov.mk/ |date=19 August 2008 }}. Macedonian currency. Banknotes in circulation: [http://www.nbrm.mk/default.asp?ItemID=5C72BB65613C2C40AA77979B95FB6889 50 Denars] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024202736/http://nbrm.mk/default.asp?ItemID=5C72BB65613C2C40AA77979B95FB6889 |date=24 October 2012 }}. – Retrieved on 30 March 2009.</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Byzantine Empire}}
* [[List of Byzantine emperors]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
* {{cite book|first1=Ignacio|last1=Arce|first2=Denis|last2=Feissel|title=The Edict of Emperor Anastasius I (491–518 AD): An Interim Report|publisher=DAAD|location=Amman|oclc=889751713|date=2014}}
* {{cite book | last=Brown | first=Peter | year=1989 | title=The World of Late Antiquity: AD 150–750 | place=New York and London | publisher=W.W. Norton and Co.| isbn=978-0-39395-803-4}}
* {{cite book|first=Peter|last=Charanis|title=The religious policy of Anastasius I: emperor of the later Roman Empire 491–518|publisher= University of Wisconsin—Madison|location=Madison Wis.|date=1935|oclc=827230820}}
*{{cite book | last=Durant | first=Will | year=1950 | title=The Age of Faith | volume=IV | series=The Story of Civilization | location=New York | publisher=Simon and Schuster | oclc=225699907 }}
* {{cite book|first1=Geoffrey|last1=Greatrex|first2=Samuel N. C.|last2=Lieu|title=The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars AD 363–628|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-0-415-14687-6|date=29 June 2005}}
* {{Cite book|title=The Cambridge Medieval History|editor=Hussey, J.M.|publisher=CUP Archive|date=1985|isbn=978-0-521-04535-3}}
* {{Cite book|last=Haarer|first=Fiona|year=2006|title=Anastasius I: Politics and Empire in the Late Roman World|publisher=Francis Cairns}}
* {{cite book|last=Kaldellis |first=Anthony |title=The New Roman Empire: A History of Byzantium |date=2023 |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0197549322}}
* {{Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire|volume=2}}	
* {{Cite book|last=Meyendorff|first=John|author-link=John Meyendorff|year=1989|title=Imperial unity and Christian divisions: The Church 450–680 A.D|series=The Church in history|volume=2|location=Crestwood, NY|publisher=St. Vladimir's Seminary Press|isbn=978-0-88-141056-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6J_YAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|title=Byzantium: the Early Centuries|last=Norwich|first=John|publisher=Penguin|year=1988|isbn=978-0-670-80251-7|location=London}}
* {{Cite book|title = History of The Byzantine State|last = Ostrogorsky|first = George|publisher = Rutgers University Press|year = 1957|oclc=422217218|location = New Brunswick}}
* {{cite book | last=Pazdernik | first=Charles | year=1999 | chapter=Anicia Juliana | title=Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World | editor1=G.W. Bowersock | editor2=Peter Brown | editor3=Oleg Grabar | location=Cambridge, MA | publisher=The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press | isbn=978-0-67451-173-6 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/lateantiquitygui00bowe }}
* {{cite book|first=Christian|last=Settipani|title=Les ancêtres de Charlemagne|date=1989|language=fr}}
* {{cite book|first=Christian|last=Settipani|title=Continuité gentilice et continuité sénatoriale dans les familles sénatoriales romaines à l'époque impériale|date=2000|language=fr}}
* {{cite book|first=Christian|last=Settipani|title=Continuité des élites à Byzance durant les siècles obscurs. Les princes caucasiens et l'Empire du VIe au IXe siècle Continuité des élites à Byzance durant les siècles obscurs|date=2006|language=fr}}
* {{cite book | last = Rösch | first = Gerhard | title = Onoma Basileias: Studien zum offiziellen Gebrauch der Kaisertitel in spätantiker und frühbyzantinischer Zeit | language = de | series = Byzantina et Neograeca Vindobonensia | publisher = Verlag der österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften | year = 1978 | isbn = 978-3-7001-0260-1 }}
* {{cite book |last=Wijnendaele |first=Jeroen W.P. |date=2024 |lang=nl |title=De wereld van Clovis, de val van Rome en de geboorte van het westen |trans-title=The World of Clovis, the Fall of Rome and the Birth of the West |publisher=Ertsberg |isbn=9789464984064}}
*[[Zacharias of Mytilene]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20080120015215/http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/fathers/zachariah07.htm ''Syriac Chronicle'', Book VII], Chapter VI

== External links ==
* {{Commons-inline}}
* {{Wikisource-inline|Author:Anastasius I (emperor)|Anastasius I}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Leonid dynasty]]||{{circa|431|lk=no}}|9 July|518}}
{{s-reg|}}
{{s-bef | before=[[Zeno (emperor)|Zeno]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Byzantine emperor]] | years=491–518}}
{{s-aft | after=[[Justin I]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef | before=[[Olybrius (consul 491)|Anicius Olybrius junior]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Roman consul]] | years=492 |regent1=Rufus }}
{{s-aft | after=[[Caecina Decius Faustus Albinus]],<br />[[Eusebius (consul 489)|Eusebius]] II}}

{{s-bef | before=[[Paulus (consul 496)|Paulus]],<br /> ''Post consulatum Viatoris'' (West)}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Roman consul]] II | years=497}}
{{s-aft | after=[[Paulinus (consul 498)|Paulinus]],<br />[[John the Scythian]]}}

{{s-bef | before= [[Ennodius Messala]],|before2=[[Areobindus Dagalaifus Areobindus]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Roman consul]] III | years=507 |regent1=[[Venantius (consul 507)|Venantius]] and [[Clovis I]] }}
{{s-aft | after=[[Basilius Venantius|Decius Basilius Venantius]],<br />[[Celer (magister officiorum)|Celer]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Roman emperors}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:430s births]]
[[Category:518 deaths]]
[[Category:5th-century Byzantine emperors]]
[[Category:6th-century Byzantine emperors]]
[[Category:5th-century eastern Roman consuls]]
[[Category:6th-century eastern Roman consuls]]
[[Category:Anastasian War]]
[[Category:Burials at the Church of the Holy Apostles]]
[[Category:House of Leo]]
[[Category:Illyrian people]]
[[Category:Oriental Orthodox monarchs]]
[[Category:People from Durrës]]
[[Category:People of the Roman–Sasanian Wars]]
[[Category:Illyrian emperors]]