Editing Theodosius III

{{short description|Byzantine emperor from 715 to 717}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{About|the Byzantine emperor|the 10th-century Abkhazian ruler|Theodosius III of Abkhazia|the Pope of Alexandria|Pope Theodosius III of Alexandria}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Infobox monarch
| name        = Theodosius III
| image       = Coin of Theodosius III.png
| caption     = [[solidus (coin)|Solidus]] of Theodosius III. The inscription reads {{Smallcaps|{{Abbreviation|d n|DOMINUS NOSTER}} theodosius {{Abbreviation|mul a|MULTOS ANNOS}}}}.
| alt         = A gold coin bearing the image of Theodosius
| succession  = [[Byzantine emperor]]
| reign       = {{circa|May 715}} – 25 March 717
| dynasty     = [[Twenty Years' Anarchy]]
| predecessor = [[Anastasius II (emperor)|Anastasius II]]
| successor   = [[Leo III the Isaurian|Leo III]]
| issue       = [[Theodosius (son of Theodosius III)|Theodosius]]
| death_date  = After 717, {{avoid wrap|possibly on 24 July 754}}
| full name   = 
| title       = [[List of Byzantine emperors|Emperor of the Romans]]
}}
'''Theodosius III''' ({{langx|el|Θεοδόσιος|Theodósios}}) was [[Byzantine emperor]] from {{circa|May 715}} to 25 March 717. Before rising to power and seizing the throne of the [[Byzantine Empire]], he was a tax collector in [[Adramyttium]]. In 715, the [[Byzantine navy]] and the troops of the [[Opsician Theme]], one of the Byzantine provinces, revolted against Emperor [[Anastasius II (emperor)|Anastasius II]] ({{reign|713|715}}), acclaiming the reluctant Theodosius as emperor. Theodosius led his troops to [[Üsküdar#Chrysopolis|Chrysopolis]] and then [[Constantinople]], the capital, seizing the city in November 715. Anastasius did not surrender until several months later, accepting exile in a monastery in return for safety. Many [[Theme (Byzantine district)|themes]] viewed Theodosius to be a puppet of the troops of the Opsician Theme, and his legitimacy was denied by the [[Anatolics]] and the [[Armeniacs]] under their respective {{lang|grc|[[strategos|strategoi]]}} (generals) [[Leo III the Isaurian|Leo the Isaurian]] and [[Artabasdos]].

Leo declared himself emperor in the summer of 716 and allied himself with the [[Umayyad Caliphate]], the Islamic empire; Theodosius sought aid from the [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarians]] under Khan [[Tervel]] ({{reign|700|721}}), setting a firm border at [[Thrace]] and ceding the [[Zagore (region)|Zagori]]a region to the Bulgarians, as well as stipulating the payment of tribute to them. Leo then marched his troops to Constantinople, seizing the city of [[Nicomedia]], and capturing many officials, including Theodosius' son, also named [[Theodosius (son of Theodosius III)|Theodosius]]. With his son in captivity, Theodosius took the advice of [[Germanus I of Constantinople|Patriarch Germanus]] and the [[Byzantine Senate]], and negotiated with Leo, agreeing to [[abdicate]] and recognize Leo as emperor. Leo entered Constantinople and definitively seized power on 25 March 717, allowing Theodosius and his son to retire to a monastery. Exactly when Theodosius died is uncertain, but it may have been on 24 July 754.

==History==
===Background===
[[File:ByzantineEmpire717+extrainfo+themes.svg|thumb|left|upright=1.5|A map of the Byzantine Empire during the 20 Years' Anarchy|alt=A colored map showing the extent of the Byzantine Empire in 717]]
After the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] was repelled at the [[Siege of Constantinople (674–678)|first Arab siege of Constantinople]] (674–678), the Arabs and [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]] experienced a period of peace between each other.{{sfn|Lilie|1976|pp=81–82, 97–106}} Hostilities were resumed by Byzantine Emperor [[Justinian II]] ({{reign|685|695|705|711}}), resulting in a string of Arab victories. As a consequence, the Byzantines lost control over [[Armenia (region)|Armenia]] and the [[Caucasus|Caucasian]] principalities, and the Arabs gradually encroached upon the Byzantine borderlands. Annually, generals from the Caliphate would launch raids into Byzantine territory, seizing fortresses and towns.{{sfn|Blankinship|1994|p=31}}{{sfn|Haldon|1990|p=72}}{{sfn|Lilie|1976|pp=107–120}} After 712, the defenses of the Byzantine Empire weakened, as Arab raids penetrated deeper into Byzantine [[Asia Minor]], and Byzantine response to these raids became less common; much of the frontier became depopulated, as the inhabitants were either killed, enslaved, or driven away, a result of this was that many frontier forts, especially in [[Cilicia]], were gradually abandoned.{{sfn|Haldon|1990|p=80}}{{sfn|Lilie|1976|pp=120–122, 139–140}} The success of these raids emboldened the Arabs, who prepared for a second assault against [[Constantinople]] as early as the reign of Caliph [[al-Walid I]] ({{reign|705|715}}). After his death, his successor, [[Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik|Sulayman]] ({{reign|715|717}}) continued planning the campaign,{{sfn|Guilland|1955|p=110}}{{sfn|Lilie|1976|p=122}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|p=344}} Sulayman began assembling his forces in late 716, on the plain of [[Dabiq, Syria|Dabiq]], north of [[Aleppo]], entrusting the command of these forces to his brother, [[Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik]].{{sfn|Guilland|1955|pp=110–111}}{{sfn|Eisener|1997|p=821}}

The [[Early Slavs|Slavs]] and [[Bulgars]] also formed a growing threat to the northern frontier of the Byzantine Empire, threatening Byzantine control in [[the Balkans]].{{sfn|Vasiliev|1980|p=229}} During the rule of Byzantine Emperor [[Philippicus]] ({{reign|711|713}}), in 712, the Bulgarians under Khan [[Tervel]] advanced as far as the walls of Constantinople itself, plundering the surrounding country, including villas and estates near the capital, where the Byzantine elites often summered.{{sfn|Ostrogorsky|1957|p=136}}

Theodosius came to power during a period called the [[Twenty Years' Anarchy]], defined by struggles between the emperors and the elites, and political instability, with a rapid succession of emperors. The nobles of this time were often natives of Asia Minor, and rarely had a strong agenda beyond preventing the emperors from growing stronger and disrupting the status quo.{{sfn|Bury|1889|pp=384–385}}{{sfn|Jenkins|1987|p=60}} The Twenty Years' Anarchy began when Emperor Justinian II was overthrown by [[Leontius]] ({{reign|695|698}}) in 695, ending the [[Byzantine Empire under the Heraclian dynasty|Heraclian dynasty]], which had retained power for eighty years. During this period of anarchy, seven different emperors took the throne, including a restored Justinian for a time.{{sfn|Jenkins|1987|p=60}} The modern historian [[Romilly Jenkins]] states that between 695 and 717 the only competent emperors were [[Tiberius III]] ({{reign|698|705}}) and [[Anastasius II (emperor)|Anastasius II]] ({{reign|713|715}}).{{sfn|Jenkins|1987|p=60}} The crisis was ended by Emperor [[Leo III the Isaurian|Leo III]] ({{reign|717|741}}), who overthrew Theodosius, and whose dynasty reigned for 85 years.{{sfn|Jenkins|1987|p=63}}

===Rise to the throne===
{{Twenty Years' Anarchy}}Sulayman's preparations, including his construction of a war fleet, were quickly noticed by the Byzantine Empire. Emperor Anastasius II began making preparations to defend against this new onslaught. This included sending the [[patrikios|patrician]] and [[Eparch of Constantinople|urban prefect]], Daniel of [[Sinop, Turkey|Sinope]], to spy on the Arabs, under the pretense of a diplomatic embassy, as well as shoring up the defences of Constantinople,{{sfn|Mango|Scott|1997|p=534}}{{sfn|Lilie|1976|pp=122–123}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|pp=343–344}} and strengthening the [[Byzantine navy]]. The 9th-century Byzantine historian [[Theophanes the Confessor|Theophanes]] states that in early 715 Anastasius II had commanded the navy to gather at Rhodes to then advance to Phoenix.{{efn|Usually identified with modern [[Finike]] in [[Lycia]], it may also be modern [[Fenaket]] across from [[Rhodes]],{{sfn|Mango|Scott|1997|p=537 (Note #5)}} or perhaps [[Phoenicia]] (modern [[Lebanon]]).{{sfn|Haldon|1990|p=80}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|p=344}}{{sfn|Mango|Scott|1997|pp=535–536}}{{sfn|Lilie|1976|pp=123–124}}{{sfn|Lilie|1976|p=123 (Note #62)}}}}{{sfn|Haldon|1990|p=80}}{{sfn|Mango|Scott|1997|pp=535–536}}{{sfn|Lilie|1976|pp=123–124}} It was there that the troops of the [[Opsician Theme]] mutinied against their commander, [[John the Deacon (715)|John the Deacon]], killing him before sailing for [[Adramyttium]], in southwestern Asia Minor, and there declared Theodosius, a tax collector, as Emperor Theodosius III.{{sfn|Haldon|1990|p=80}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|p=344}}{{sfn|Lilie|1976|pp=123–124}} The ''[[Zuqnin Chronicle]]'' states that Theodosius ruled under the [[regnal name]] Constantine, his full name being "Theodosius Constantinus".{{sfn|Harrack|1999|p=149}} The historian [[J. B. Bury]] suggests that he was selected at random for little more than the fact that he already had an imperial-sounding name, was inoffensive, obscure but respectable, and could easily be controlled by the Opsicians.{{sfn|Bury|1889|pp=372–373}} [[Graham Sumner]], a Byzantologist, suggests that Theodosius might be the same person as [[Theodosius (son of Tiberius III)|Theodosius]], the son of Emperor Tiberius III, therefore explaining why he might have been chosen by the troops, as he would have legitimacy from his father, himself made emperor by a naval revolt. Theodosius, the son of Tiberius, was [[bishop of Ephesus]] by {{circa|729}}, and held this position until his death, sometime around 24 July 754, and was a leading figure of the iconoclastic [[Council of Hieria]] in 754.{{Sfn|Sumner|1976|pp=291–294}} Byzantine historians [[Cyril Mango]] and [[Roger Scott (Byzantine historian)|Roger Scott]] do not view this theory as likely, as it would mean that Theodosius lived for thirty more years after his abdication.{{sfn|Neil|2000}} Cyril Mango proposed that it was actually Theodosius III's son who became bishop, rather than the son of Tiberius.{{sfn|Sumner|1976|p=292}}

Theodosius was allegedly unwilling to be emperor and according to Theophanes:{{sfn|Sumner|1976|p=291}}
{{quote|When the malefactors arrived at Adramyttium, being leaderless they found there a local man named Theodosius, a receiver of public revenues, non-political and a private citizen. They urged him to become Emperor. He, however, fled to the hills and hid. But they found him and forced him to accept acclamation as Emperor.{{sfn|Sumner|1976|p=291}}}}

He was acclaimed as Emperor Theodosius III by the troops of the Opsician Theme at [[Adramyttium]] in {{circa}} May 715.{{sfn|Neil|2000}}{{sfn|Sumner|1976|p=291}} Anastasius led his army into [[Bithynia]] in the Opsician Theme to crush the rebellion. Rather than remaining to fight Anastasius, Theodosius led his fleet to [[Üsküdar#Chrysopolis|Chrysopolis]], across the [[Bosporus]] from Constantinople. From Chrysopolis, he launched a six-month-long siege of Constantinople, before supporters within the capital managed to open the gates for him, allowing him to seize the city in November 715. Anastasius remained at [[Nicaea]] for several months, before finally agreeing to abdicate and retire to a monastery.{{sfn|Neil|2000}}{{sfn|Haldon|1990|pp=80, 82}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|pp=344–345}}

===Reign===
[[Image:Solidus Theodosius III (obverse).jpg|right|upright=0.91|thumb|Coin of Theodosius with the title {{lang|la|[[augustus (title)|augustus]]}}|alt=A gold coin bearing the image of Theodosius]]
One of Theodosius' first acts as emperor was to reinstate the depiction of the [[Sixth Ecumenical Synod]] in the [[Great Palace of Constantinople]],{{sfn|Neil|2000}}{{sfn|Ostrogorsky|1957|p=135}} which Emperor [[Philippicus Bardanes]] had removed, earning himself the epithet of "Orthodox" in the ''[[Liber Pontificalis]]'' for this action.{{sfn|Neil|2000}}{{efn|Some sources, such as [[George Ostrogorsky]], state that Anastasius II was the first to reinstate the image of the Sixth Ecumenical Synod, citing [[Agathon the Diacon]].{{sfn|Ostrogorsky|1957|p=136}}}} Theodosius, whom Byzantine sources convey as being both unwilling and incapable, was viewed by many of his subjects as a puppet emperor of the troops of the Opsician Theme. Thus he was not recognized as legitimate by the [[Anatolic Theme|Anatolic]] and the [[Armeniac Theme|Armeniac]] Themes, under their respective {{lang|grc|[[strategos|strategoi]]}} (generals) [[Leo the Isaurian]] and [[Artabasdos]].{{sfn|Lilie|1976|p=124}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|p=345}} Although they had not taken any action to prevent the overthrowal of Anastasius, they took issue with Theodosius' ascension, and Leo proclaimed himself Byzantine emperor in the summer of 716.{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|p=345}}{{sfn|Mango|Scott|1997|pp=538–539}}{{sfn|Bury|1889|p=378}} He also sought the support of the Arabs, who viewed the Byzantine disunity as advantageous, and thought the confusion would weaken the Byzantine Empire and make it easier to take Constantinople.{{sfn|Guilland|1955|pp=118–119}}{{sfn|Lilie|1976|p=125}} Theodosius negotiated a treaty with the [[Bulgarians|Bulgarian]] khan Tervel ({{reign|700|721}}), likely to secure his support against an imminent Arab attack. The treaty fixed the border between the Byzantine Empire and the [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarian Empire]] at [[Thrace]], ceding the [[Zagore (region)|Zagori]]a region to the Bulgarians, as well as stipulating the payment of tribute to the Bulgarians, the return of fugitives, and some trade agreements.{{sfn|Neil|2000}}

Around this time, Sulayman had begun advancing into Byzantine territory, laying siege to [[Amorium]], and a separate force entered [[Cappadocia]].{{sfn|Bury|1889|p=381}} Negotiations with Leo led them to withdraw.{{sfn|Jenkins|1987|pp=62–63}} Leo began to march his troops to Constantinople soon after declaring himself emperor, first capturing [[Nicomedia]], where he found and captured, among other officials, Theodosius' son, and then marched to Chrysopolis. After his son was captured, Theodosius, taking the advice of [[Germanus I of Constantinople|Patriarch Germanus]] and the Byzantine Senate, agreed to abdicate and recognize Leo as emperor.{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|p=345}}{{sfn|Haldon|1990|pp=82–83}}{{sfn|Mango|Scott|1997|pp=540, 545}} Bury states that the elite of Constantinople, who might otherwise have sided with the inoffensive Theodosius, who would be unlikely to politically weaken them, sided with Leo, as Theodosius was not competent enough to deal with the Arab threat. He further states that the meeting of the Patriarch, senate, and chief officials, which chose Leo over Theodosius, was done with the knowledge and consent of Theodosius himself, who accepted the decision.{{sfn|Bury|1889|p=383}} Bury postulates that, without the threat of the Arabs, it is possible that Theodosius may have retained power, and a succession of nominal emperors might have followed him, controlled by court officials and the elites.{{sfn|Bury|1889|pp=385–386}}

Leo entered Constantinople and definitively seized power on 25 March 717, allowing Theodosius and his son, also named Theodosius, to retire to a monastery as monks.{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|p=345}}{{sfn|Mango|Scott|1997|pp=540, 545}}{{sfn|Lilie|1976|pp=127–128}} After his retirement to a monastery, Theodosius might have become the bishop of Ephesus, if he was the same person as Theodosius, son of Tiberius, in {{circa|729}}, and, if he is the same, died on 24 July 754 according to Sumner. Either he or his son is buried in the [[Church of St. Philip (Ephesus)|Church of St. Philip]] in [[Ephesus]].{{sfn|Neil|2000}}{{Sfn|Sumner|1976|p=293}} Little is known of the reign of Theodosius III.{{sfn|Kazhdan|1991|p=2052}}

== References ==
===Notes===
{{notelist}}
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|20em}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin}}
* {{The End of the Jihad State}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bury |first1=John Bagnell |title=A History of the Later Roman Empire, from Arcadius to Irene (395 A.D. to 565 A.D.) |date=1889 |publisher=[[Pennsylvania State University]] |location=University Park, Pennsylvania |oclc=83109100|author-link=J. B. Bury|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofeastern00buryuoft}}
* {{EI2 |article=Sulaymān b. ʿAbd al-Malik |last=Eisener |first=R. |authorlink= |volume=9 |pages=821–822}}
* {{cite journal | first=Rodolphe | last=Guilland | author-link=Rodolphe Guilland | title = L'Expedition de Maslama contre Constantinople (717–718) | journal=Études byzantines | year=1955 | pages = 109–133 | language= fr | publisher=Publications de la Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines de Paris | location=Paris | oclc=603552986 |trans-title=Maslama's Expedition to Constantinople (717–718)}}
* {{cite book | first = John F. | last = Haldon | title = Byzantium in the Seventh Century: The Transformation of a Culture. Revised Edition | year = 1990 | publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]] |location = Cambridge | isbn = 978-0-521-31917-1 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pSHmT1G_5T0C |author-link=John Haldon}}
* {{cite book |last1=Harrack |first1=Amir |title=The Chronicle of Zuqnin, Parts III and IV A.D. 488–775 |date=1999 |publisher=[[Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies]] |location=Toronto|isbn=978-0-88844-286-4 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Jenkins |first1=Romilly J. H. |title=Byzantium: The Imperial Centuries, AD 610-1071 |date=1987 |publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] |location=Toronto |isbn=978-0-8020-6667-1|author-link=Romilly Jenkins|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O5JqH_NXQBsC}}
* {{cite book|last1=Kazhdan|first1=Alexander P.|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium|date=1991|isbn=978-0-19-504652-6|location=Oxford|author-link=Alexander Kazhdan|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|url=https://archive.org/details/odb_20210521}}
* {{cite book | last=Lilie | first=Ralph-Johannes | authorlink = Ralph-Johannes Lilie | title=Die byzantinische Reaktion auf die Ausbreitung der Araber. Studien zur Strukturwandlung des byzantinischen Staates im 7. und 8. Jhd. | language=de | location=Munich |publisher = Institut für Byzantinistik und Neugriechische Philologie der Universität München | year=1976 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7mUbAAAAYAAJ |volume=22–23|trans-title=The Byzantine Response to the Spread of the Arabs. Studies on the Structural Change of the Byzantine State in the 7th and 8th Centuries}}
* {{cite book | last1=Mango | first1=Cyril | author1-link=Cyril Mango | last2=Scott | first2=Roger | title=The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor. Byzantine and Near Eastern History, AD 284–813 | location=Oxford | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=1997 | isbn=0-19-822568-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/ByzantineAndNearEasternHistoryAD284813/mode/1up}}
* {{Cite book|title=History of the Byzantine State|last=Ostrogorsky|first=George|publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]]|year=1957|isbn=0-8135-0599-2|location=New Brunswick, New Jersey|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofbyzanti00ostr|author-link=George Ostrogorsky}}
* {{cite web | url = https://roman-emperors.sites.luc.edu/theodiii.htm | last = Neil | first= Bronwen | title = Theodosius III (715–717)| work = [[De Imperatoribus Romanis]] | year = 2000 | access-date = 8 August 2023 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Sumner |first=Grant |title = Philippicus, Anastasius II and Theodosius III |journal=Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies |year=1976 |volume=XVII |pages=287–294 |url = https://grbs.library.duke.edu/article/view/7911/4803 |publisher=University of Toronto|archive-date=16 January 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200116201010/https://grbs.library.duke.edu/article/view/7911/4803|issn=0017-3916}}
* {{A History of the Byzantine State and Society}}
* {{cite book |last1=Vasiliev |first1=A. A. |title=History of the Byzantine Empire: Vol. 1, 324–1453 |date=1980 |publisher=[[University of Wisconsin Press]] |isbn=978-0-2998-0925-6 |orig-year=1958 |location=[[Madison, Wisconsin]] |author-link=Alexander Vasiliev (historian) |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofbyzanti0000vasi }}

{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite journal | last=Brooks | first=E. W. | title = The Campaign of 716–718 from Arabic Sources | journal=[[The Journal of Hellenic Studies]] | volume=XIX | publisher=The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies | year=1899 | url = https://archive.org/stream/journalofhelleni19soci#page/18/mode/2up | doi=10.2307/623841 | jstor=623841|author-link=Ernest Walter Brooks|pages=20–21| s2cid=163360931 |ref=none}}
{{refend}}

{{-}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef
| before = [[Anastasius II (emperor)|Anastasius II]]
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = [[Byzantine Emperor]]
| years = May 715 – 25 March 717
}}
{{s-aft
| after = [[Leo III the Isaurian|Leo III]]
}}
{{S-off}}
{{s-bef | before=[[Anastasius II (emperor)|Anastasius II]] in 714,<br />then lapsed}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Roman consul]] | years=716 }}
{{s-aft | after= Lapsed,<br />[[Leo III the Isaurian|Leo III]] in 718}}
{{s-end}}
{{Roman Emperors}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theodosios Iii}}
[[Category:710s in the Byzantine Empire]]
[[Category:8th-century Byzantine emperors]]
[[Category:8th-century deaths]]
[[Category:8th-century rebels]]
[[Category:Bishops of Ephesus]]
[[Category:Tax collectors]]
[[Category:Twenty Years' Anarchy]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Year of death unknown]]
[[Category:Byzantine consuls]]
[[Category:Byzantine emperors who abdicated]]