Artabasdos or Artavasdos ( or , from Armenian: Արտավազդ, Artavazd, Ardavazt), Latinized as Artabasdus, was a Byzantine general of Armenian descent who seized the throne from June 741 until November 743, in usurpation of the reign of Constantine V. Rise to power In about 713, Emperor Anastasius II appointed Artabasdos as governor (stratēgos) of the Armeniac theme (Θέμα Άρμενιάκων, Thema Armeniakōn), the successor of the Army of Armenia, which occupied the old areas of the Pontus, Armenia Minor, and northern Cappadocia, with its capital at Amasea. After Anastasius' fall, Artabasdos made an agreement with his colleague Leo, the governor of the Anatolic theme, to overthrow the new Emperor Theodosius III. This agreement was sealed with the engagement of Leo's daughter Anna to Artabasdos, and the marriage took place after Leo III ascended the throne in March 717. Artabasdos was awarded the rank of kouropalates ("master of the palace") and became commander (count, komēs) of the Opsikion theme, while retaining control of his original command. In June 741, after the accession of Leo's son Constantine V to the throne, Artabasdos resolved to seize the throne and attacked his brother-in-law while the latter was traversing Asia Minor to fight the Arabs on the eastern frontier. While Constantine fled to Amorion, Artabasdus seized Constantinople amid popular support and was crowned emperor. Reign and downfall While it seems Artabasdos abandoned his predecessor's religious policy of Iconoclasm and restored Orthodoxy with some support, there is actually little support from contemporary sources. Soon after his accession, Artabasdus crowned his wife Anna as augusta and his son Nikephoros as co-emperor, while putting his other son Niketas in charge of the Armeniac theme. But while Artabasdus could rely also on the support of the themes of Thrace and Opsikion, Constantine secured for himself the support of the Anatolic and Thracesian themes.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Overview

Artabasdos or Artavasdos ( or , from Armenian: Արտավազդ, Artavazd, Ardavazt), Latinized as Artabasdus, was a Byzantine general of Armenian descent who seized the throne from June 741 until November 743, in usurpation of the reign of Constantine V. Rise to power In about 713, Emperor Anastasius II appointed Artabasdos as governor (stratēgos) of the Armeniac theme (Θέμα Άρμενιάκων, Thema Armeniakōn), the successor of the Army of Armenia, which occupied the old areas of the Pontus, Armenia Minor, and northern Cappadocia, with its capital at Amasea. After Anastasius' fall, Artabasdos made an agreement with his colleague Leo, the governor of the Anatolic theme, to overthrow the new Emperor Theodosius III. This agreement was sealed with the engagement of Leo's daughter Anna to Artabasdos, and the marriage took place after Leo III ascended the throne in March 717. Artabasdos was awarded the rank of kouropalates ("master of the palace") and became commander (count, komēs) of the Opsikion theme, while retaining control of his original command. In June 741, after the accession of Leo's son Constantine V to the throne, Artabasdos resolved to seize the throne and attacked his brother-in-law while the latter was traversing Asia Minor to fight the Arabs on the eastern frontier. While Constantine fled to Amorion, Artabasdus seized Constantinople amid popular support and was crowned emperor. Reign and downfall While it seems Artabasdos abandoned his predecessor's religious policy of Iconoclasm and restored Orthodoxy with some support, there is actually little support from contemporary sources. Soon after his accession, Artabasdus crowned his wife Anna as augusta and his son Nikephoros as co-emperor, while putting his other son Niketas in charge of the Armeniac theme. But while Artabasdus could rely also on the support of the themes of Thrace and Opsikion, Constantine secured for himself the support of the Anatolic and Thracesian themes.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Artabasdos or Artavasdos ( or , from Armenian: Արտավազդ, Artavazd, Ardavazt), Latinized as Artabasdus, was a Byzantine general of Armenian descent who seized the throne from June 741 until November 743, in usurpation of the reign of Constantine V.