Justinian II
669 – 711 · Generation XVI · Emperor (r. 685–695,705–711) · Heraclian
Justinian (AD 669 – 711). Emperor (r. 685–695,705–711). Married Theodora around AD 705. Son of Constantine IV and Anastasia; last Heraclian emperor. History remembers him as Rhinotmetos, “the Slit-Nosed.” He may have consciously modelled himself on his namesake Justinian I, dreaming of a return to imperial greatness, but he answered dissent with cruelty, and in 695 a popular rising under the general Leontius cost him both throne and nose — a mutilation meant to bar him from power forever. He found refuge with the Khazars, then an army from Tervel of Bulgaria, and in 705 slipped into Constantinople through a disused water conduit to reclaim his crown, a golden replica covering the nose he had lost. His second reign proved harsher than the first; a revolt that began at Cherson proclaimed Philippicus emperor, and in 711 Justinian was seized and executed, his small son Tiberius murdered after him — the end of the house of Heraclius.
One of 7 people of Heraclian (575–711) in this archive. The house that met the Arab conquests and made Greek the language of the empire.
Line of descent: Heraclius the Elder → Heraclius → Heraclius Constantine → Constans II → Constantine IV → Justinian II.
Parents
- Constantine IV (652 – 685)
- Anastasia (660 – ?)
Partners
- Married Theodora (680 – ?) in 705 — one child together
Children
- Tiberius (705 – 711)
Life
- 669 — Born
- 705 — Married Theodora
- 711 — Died