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    Illus

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    Flavius Illus was a Roman general who played an important role in the Eastern Roman Empire under Emperors Zeno and Basiliscus in the late 5th century AD. He initially supported Basiliscus' revolt against Zeno, but then switched sides and helped Zeno regain power. Illus went on to defeat another usurper, Marcianus, but later fell out of favor with Zeno and the Empress Verina. He supported a revolt by Leontius against Zeno, but their forces were besieged by an army sent by Zeno. Illus was ultimately killed during this final rebellion against Zeno.

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    Illus

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    Flavius Illus was a Roman general who played an important role in the Eastern Roman Empire under Emperors Zeno and Basiliscus in the late 5th century AD. He initially supported Basiliscus' revolt against Zeno, but then switched sides and helped Zeno regain power. Illus went on to defeat another usurper, Marcianus, but later fell out of favor with Zeno and the Empress Verina. He supported a revolt by Leontius against Zeno, but their forces were besieged by an army sent by Zeno. Illus was ultimately killed during this final rebellion against Zeno.

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    Flavius Illus was a Roman general who played an important role in the Eastern Roman Empire under Emperors Zeno and Basiliscus in the late 5th century AD. He initially supported Basiliscus' revolt against Zeno, but then switched sides and helped Zeno regain power. Illus went on to defeat another usurper, Marcianus, but later fell out of favor with Zeno and the Empress Verina. He supported a revolt by Leontius against Zeno, but their forces were besieged by an army sent by Zeno. Illus was ultimately killed during this final rebellion against Zeno.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    18 views5 pages

    Illus

    Uploaded by

    SashimiTourloublanc
    Flavius Illus was a Roman general who played an important role in the Eastern Roman Empire under Emperors Zeno and Basiliscus in the late 5th century AD. He initially supported Basiliscus' revolt against Zeno, but then switched sides and helped Zeno regain power. Illus went on to defeat another usurper, Marcianus, but later fell out of favor with Zeno and the Empress Verina. He supported a revolt by Leontius against Zeno, but their forces were besieged by an army sent by Zeno. Illus was ultimately killed during this final rebellion against Zeno.

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    Illus

    Flavius Illus[1] (Greek: Ἴλλους or Ἰλλοῦς; died 488) was a Roman general, who played an important role
    in the reigns of the eastern emperors Zeno and Basiliscus.

    Illus supported the revolt of Basiliscus against Zeno, then switched sides, supporting the return of Zeno
    (475-476). Illus served Zeno well, defeating the usurper Marcianus, but came into conflict with the
    dowager empress Verina, and supported the revolt of Leontius. This rebellion failed and Illus was killed.

    Contents
    Origins
    Under Basiliscus
    Against Marcianus
    Patronage of Pamprepius and conflict with Verina
    Usurpation of Leontius and death of Illus
    Footnotes
    References
    Primary sources
    Secondary sources
    External links

    Origins
    Illus (Greek: Ἴλλους or Ἰλλοῦς)[2] was an Isaurian, but
    the time and place of his birth are unknown; he had a
    brother, called Trocundes. Illus is said to have held
    various offices under the Emperor Leo I (457—474),
    and to have been an intimate friend of Zeno,
    apparently before his accession. John Malalas
    considered Illus an uncle of Zeno.[3] However, we first
    read of him in Zeno's reign, at a time during which he
    was hostile to Zeno. Tremissis issued by Emperor Zeno. Illus played an
    important role in Zeno's reign, by first supporting a
    usurper, Basiliscus, then helping Zeno regain the
    Under Basiliscus purple and defeat another usurper (Marcianus), and
    finally creating and supporting a third usurper,
    Basiliscus, brother of the dowager empress Verina, the Leontius.
    widow of Leo, had expelled Zeno from
    Constantinople in 475 and sent an army in pursuit of
    him under Illus and his brother Trocundes into Isauria, where Zeno had taken refuge. The brothers defeated
    the fugitive emperor (July 476) and blockaded him on a hill ironically named "Constantinople" by the
    locals.[4] Illus also captured Zeno's brother, Longinus, as a tool to keep Zeno under control.[5]
    During the blockade, Illus and Trocundes were
    secretly encouraged by the Senate in Constantinople to
    support Zeno against Basiliscus, with whom they had
    had a falling-out; Illus himself was discontent with the
    usurper for permitting the killing of the Isaurians who
    remained in the capital after Zeno's flight.[5] So Illus
    and Trocundes were persuaded by the promises and
    gifts of Zeno to embrace his side, and to march with
    united forces towards the capital. At Nicaea in Solidus issued by Basiliscus. Basiliscus was the
    Bithynia they were met by the troops of Basiliscus brother of Verina, the widow of Emperor Leo I. With
    under his nephew and general Armatus, but he too the help of his sister and others, Illus among them,
    was overcome and Basiliscus, forsaken by his he forced Emperor Zeno to flee from
    supporters, was dethroned and put to death (477). Constantinople, seizing the imperial throne. His
    rule however was short-lived, since he alienated
    the Church of Constantinople when he displayed
    Against Marcianus Monophysite sympathies.

    Illus was sole consul in 478, and in 479 he was


    instrumental in crushing the dangerous revolt of Marcianus, grandson of the Byzantine emperor of that
    name, and son of Anthemius, emperor of the West. Marcianus had married Leontia, daughter of the late
    Emperor Leo by Verina, and sister of Ariadne, Zeno's wife. His revolt took place at Constantinople, where
    he defeated the troops of Zeno with the support of the mob, and besieged him in the palace. For a moment
    Illus wavered, but his failing courage or fidelity was restored by the assurances of an Egyptian soothsayer
    whom he patronised. Marcianus's forces were corrupted by Illus; and Marcianus himself, with his brothers
    Procopius and Romulus, was taken. The brothers escaped, but Marcianus was sent, either to Tarsus in
    Cilicia, and made a priest in the church there, or to the foot of Papurius, or Papyrius, a stronghold in Isauria,
    then used as a state prison.

    Trocundes, the brother of Illus, was consul 482; and Illus himself enjoyed the dignities of patricius and
    magister officiorum. He is said to have employed his power and influence well, and to have rendered good
    service to the state in peace as well as in war. He assiduously cultivated science and literature.

    Patronage of Pamprepius and conflict with Verina


    It was perhaps his literary predilections that made him the friend and patron of Pamprepius, for whom he
    obtained a salary from the public revenue, and to whom also he made an allowance from his private
    resources. Pamprepius was a native of Thebes, or, according to others, of Panopolis in Egypt, an avowed
    heathen, and eminent as a poet, a grammarian, and especially for his skill in divining the future. Pamprepius
    was hated both by Zeno and by the dowager empress Verina, and during the absence of Illus, who had
    gone on some business into Isauria, they banished him on a charge of attempting to divine future events in
    favour of Illus and against the emperor. Illus, knowing that his intimacy with him had been the real cause of
    his banishment, received him into his household, and, on his return to the capital, took him with him. The
    date of these events is doubtful: it is possible that they occurred before Marcian's revolt, though a later date
    is on the whole more probable.

    Zeno was prone to jealousy, so it is not surprising that the commanding position and popular favour of Illus
    rendered him an object of suspicion, and that the emperor in various ways sought to rid himself of him. The
    ambitious Verina was also his enemy and plotted against his life. The assassin she employed, an Alan, is
    said to have wounded Illus. However, this is doubtful, because historians have confounded her plot with a
    later one by her daughter Ariadne. At any rate Verina's attempt failed. Zeno, equally jealous of her and of
    Illus, banished her at the instance of the latter, and confined her in the fort of Papurius. There is some doubt
    as to the time of these events. Candidus places her banishment before the revolt of Marcian, and Theodore
    Lector attributes its cause to her part in the revolt of Basiliscus. It is not unlikely, indeed, that she was
    banished twice, once before Marcian's revolt, for her connections with Basiliscus, and again after Marcian's
    revolt, for her plot against Illus. From prison she managed to get Ariadne to plead for her release, first to
    Zeno, and then to Illus, to whom the emperor had referred her. Illus not only refused her request, but also
    charged her with wishing to place another person on her husband's throne. This irritated her and she, like
    her mother, attempted to assassinate Illus. Jordanes ascribes her hatred to another cause: he says that Illus
    had infused jealous suspicions into Zeno's mind which had led Zeno to attempt her life, and that her
    knowledge of these things stimulated her to revenge. The assassin whom she employed failed to kill Illus,
    but cut off his ear in the attempt. The assassin was taken, and Zeno, who appears to have been privy to the
    affair, was unable to prevent his execution.

    Usurpation of Leontius and death of Illus


    Illus, with his friend Pamprepius, now retired from court. He
    went first to Nicaea, and then, on pretence of change of air to
    cure his wound, to the East, where he was made general of all
    the armies with the power of appointing the provincial officers.
    Marsus, an Isaurian officer of some repute, who had first
    introduced Pamprepius to Illus, and the patrician Leontius,
    another well-known officer of Syrian origin, either
    accompanied him or joined him in the East. Illus's brother
    Trocundes probably also joined them. Having traversed Asia
    Minor, they raised the standard of revolt in 483 or 484. Illus
    declared Leontius emperor, defeated the army of Zeno near
    Antioch, and, having drawn over the Isaurians to his party and
    captured Papurius, released Verina, and induced her to crown
    Leontius at Tarsus and send a circular letter to the imperial Bronze weight with the name of Theodoric
    officers at Antioch, Egypt, and the East by which they were the Great, King of the Ostrogoths and
    prevailed upon to join Illus. This important service did not, ruler of Italy. Theodoric served under
    however, prevent Illus from sending Verina back to Papurius, Zeno, and was the leader of the army that
    where she soon after closed her restless life. besieged the fort of Papurius and captured
    and killed Illus' brother, Trocundes (484).
    In 485 Zeno sent a fresh army against the rebels, which was
    said to have consisted of Macedonians and Scythians
    (Tillemont speculates, not unreasonably, that these were Ostrogoths) under John the Hunchback, or, more
    probably, John the Scythian, and Theodoric the Amal, who was at this time consul. John defeated the
    rebels near Seleucia (which town of that name is not clear, perhaps the Isaurian Seleucia) and drove them
    into the fort of Papurius where he blockaded them. From this difficulty, Trocundes attempted to escape and
    gather forces for their relief, but was taken by the besiegers and put to death. Illus and Leontius were
    ignorant of his fate, and, encouraged by Pamprepius who gave them assurances of Trocundes's return and
    of ultimate victory, held out with great tenacity for over three years. In the fourth year, the death of
    Trocundes was discovered, and Illus, enraged at the deceit practised on him by Pamprepius, put him to
    death. The fort was soon after taken by the treachery of Trocundes's brother-in-law, who had been sent for
    the purpose from Constantinople by Zeno, and Illus and Leontius were beheaded (488) and their heads sent
    to the emperor.

    Tillemont and Le Beau regard the revolt of Illus as an attempt to re-establish paganism, but for this view
    there seems no foundation. We do not know that Illus was a pagan, though Pamprepius was; it is more
    likely that Illus was a man of no fixed religious principles, and that his revolt originated either in ambition,
    or in a conviction that his only prospect of safety from the intrigues of his enemies and the suspicions of
    Zeno was the deposition of the emperor. It is remarkable that Edward Gibbon does not mention the name of
    Illus, and scarcely notices his revolt.

    Footnotes
    1. "Flavius Illus" in a papyrus. Full name in Oxyrhynchus Papyri (http://www.papyri.info/ddbdp/
    p.oxy;63;4392/).
    2. John Malalas 15.12 (https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110876017.301)
    3. Cambridge University History vol. 14, page 149
    4. Sudas, s.v. Ζήνων
    5. Williams, p. 185.

    References

    Primary sources
    "Παμπρένιος (Pamprenios)". Suda.
    Joannes Zonaras. Compendium of History.
    Theophanes. Chronographia (https://archive.org/details/chronographia00bekkgoog).
    Evagrius. Historia Ecclesiae.

    Secondary sources
    Armory, Patrick (1997). People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489-554. Cambridge
    University Press. pp. 282–283. ISBN 0-521-52635-3.
    Cameron, Averil; Ward-Perkins, Bryan.; Whitby, Michael (2000), The Cambridge ancient
    history 14. Late Antiquity: empire and successors, A.D. 425 - 600, Cambridge University
    Press, ISBN 0-521-32591-9
    Williams, Stephen; Gerard Friell (1999). The Rome that did not fall. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-
    15403-0.

    The text of this article is based on Smith, (https://web.archive.org/web/20080504214355/ht


    tp://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/1677.html)Dictionary of Greek and Roman
    Biography and Mythology, v. 1, page 569-570 (https://web.archive.org/web/200805042143
    55/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/1677.html)

    External links
    Giftopoulou, Sofia (2005). "Rebellion of Illοs and Leontios against Zeno, 484-488" (http://ww
    w.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=10022). Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor. Foundation of
    the Hellenic World. Retrieved 14 July 2012.

    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Illus&oldid=1074386488"

    This page was last edited on 28 February 2022, at 00:31 (UTC).


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