Aelia Zenonis, probably of Isaurian origin, was the wife of Basiliscus, usurper of the Eastern throne. After only 20 months, Zeno returned to Constantinople to retake his throne without a fight by promising not to shed Basiliscus' blood. After a year of exile in Cappadocia, Zeno executed Basiliscus and his family without bloodshed. They were starved to death.

Aelia Zenonis was the wife of Basiliscus, who was languishing in an undistinguished military career until his sister Aelia Verina became Empress when her husband Leo I became Emperor in 457. Basiliscus was promoted to 'Magister Militum' (Master of Soldiers) in 464, and given command of the eastern forces in the great joint east-west expedition against the Vandals under King Gaiseric at Carthage in 468. His forces, 1,113 ships and over 100,000 men failed miserably due to his incompetence. He retired in disgrace to Heraclea in Thrace in late 468.

Zenonis and Basiliscus had at least one son, Marcus, and it is believed that there were other children of whom nothing is known.

When Verina's husband Leo I died in January of 474, her grandson Leo II took over. Since he was only six years old he created his Isaurian father Zeno his co-Augustus on February 9, 474. Leo II died only nine months later and Zeno assumed sole rule. Neither Verina nor her brother Basiliscus could tolerate the crude Isaurian, and Verina enlisted Basiliscus for military help in a plot to put her lover Patricius, the Master of Offices (and not the son of Aspar), on the throne. Basiliscus in turn enlisted the Thracian 'Magister Militum' Illus and his brother Trocundes. Verina then warned Zeno of the disturbances at Heraclea, and persuaded him that his only safety lay in flight to the east. Zeno gathered his family, his Isaurian guards, and his treasures and fled to Isauria on January 9, 475. Zeno and his Isaurians had not been popular at Constantinopolis (Istanbul, Turkey), and after his flight any remaining Isaurians were massacred by the populace.

Verina's plans were frustrated however when the senate chose not the civil servant Patricius but the self-promoting soldier Basiliscus to succeed Zeno, and Zenonis was proclaimed Augusta. Their young son Marcus was proclaimed Caesar, and soon after Augustus. One of the first acts of Basiliscus was to put Patricius to death, whereupon Verina actually began to plot to restore Zeno! Basiliscus turned out to be even a worse emperor than military commander. His execution of Patricius immediately alienated the only strong supporter he had, his sister. He increased taxation (probably because the treasury was still empty from his ill-fated expedition of 468), and began to impose his Monophysite Christian beliefs throughout the Empire, in opposition to orthodox Christianity. Monophysitism was the belief that Christ had only a single totally divine nature, instead of two natures, human and divine. While Monophysitism was popular in some parts of the east, notably Egypt, it had been condemned as heresy by the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon in 451, and that decision had been accepted in the west and parts of the east, most notably in Constantinopolis. He even tried to dissolve the Patriarchate of Constantinopolis, causing the Patriarch Acacius to drape the altar of Hagia Sophia in black and send the city's priests into mourning. In 476 one of the worst fires in the city's history broke out, and many attributed it to Divine dissatisfaction with Basiliscus.

Later in 476 Basiliscus sent Illus and Trocundes to kill Zeno, but they changed sides when it became apparent that Basiliscus could not maintain his hold on Constantinopolis due to his unpopularity. Additionally, Illus had taken prisoner Zeno's brother Longinus, and that gave him a hold on Zeno. Basiliscus had one last chance in the forces under the command of his nephew Armatus, whom he had promoted to 'Magister Militum', even though it was an open secret in Constantinopolis that Armatus was carrying on an affair with his aunt, the Empress Zenonis. Armatus was dispatched to meet the now advancing forces of Zeno, Illus, and Trocundes, but he was bribed to take a route which missed their advance. Zeno and the brothers then returned in August of 476 to Constantinopolis, where Basiliscus was not able to mount any effective resistance. He and his family fled to the church of Hagia Sophia for protection, but surrendered when they were promised that their blood would not be shed. Accordingly they were sent to Cucusus in Isauria and soon starved to death in late 476.

Dictionary of Roman Coins

References

Carson, R., P. Hill & J. Kent. Late Roman Bronze Coinage. (London, 1960).
Cohen, H. Description historique des monnaies frappées sous l'Empire Romain, Vol. 8: Nepotian to Romulus Augustus, plus tesserae & cotorniates. (Paris, 1888).
Depeyrot, G. Les monnaies d'or de Constantin II à Zenon (337-491). Moneta 5. (Wetteren, 1996).
Grierson, P. & M. Mays. Catalogue of Late Roman Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection. (Washington D.C., 1992).
Hahn, W. Moneta Imperii Romani-Byzantinii. (Vienna, 1989).
Kent, J. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. X, The Divided Empire and the Fall of the Western Parts, AD 395 - 491. (London, 1994).
King, C. & D. Sear. Roman Silver Coins, Vol. V, Carausius to Romulus Augustus. (London, 1987).
Robinson, A. Roman Imperial Coins in the Hunter Coin Cabinet, University of Glasgow, Vol. V. Diocletian (Reform) to Zeno. (Oxford, 1982).
Sear, D. Roman Coins and Their Values, Vol. V: The Christian Empire...Constantine II to Zeno, AD 337 - 491. (London, 2014).
Vagi, D. Coinage and History of the Roman Empire. (Sidney, 1999).

Zenonis, Roman-Byzantine Empress, Wife of Basiliscus

Moneta Historical Research by Tom Schroer

Dictionary of Roman Coins

Obverse Legends

References