Byzantium, with its capital at Constantinople, inherited the Roman Empire’s administrative sophistication but also its penchant for palace intrigue. The emperor’s position was both sacred and precarious. Divine right did not always protect a ruler from ambitious generals, scheming courtiers, or disgruntled soldiers. The result was a long list of emperors who died not by natural causes or in battle, but by the hands of those closest to them.
Maurice (r. 582–602): The Fall of a Capable Emperor
Maurice ascended to the Byzantine throne in 582, inheriting a state beset by external threats and internal financial strain. Despite these challenges, Maurice proved himself a capable and energetic ruler. He secured a favorable peace with Persia, which placed the Sasanian shah in his debt, and managed to push back the Avars and Slavs on the empire’s northern frontiers – all accomplished without raising taxes, a testament to his fiscal prudence and military acumen.
However, Maurice’s reforms and cost-saving measures, especially those affecting the army, sowed the seeds of his downfall. His attempts to reduce army pay and strip soldiers of their booty were met with fierce resistance. The army learned that mutiny could yield results, setting a dangerous precedent. Rumors – likely false – circulated that Maurice had ordered a battle to be thrown to the Avars as punishment for the army, and that he refused to ransom captured soldiers. These stories, whether true or not, eroded his standing with the military.
Maurice’s popularity in Constantinople was also low. He was accused of favoring his own relatives and failed to cultivate support among the city’s populace. During a food shortage in 602, the people protested, throwing stones at the imperial family and mocking them with derisive songs. When the army, led by the centurion Phocas, marched on Constantinople, the city’s inhabitants offered no resistance. Instead, they abused Maurice with chants and even burned down the house of the praetorian prefect.
With no support from either the army or the capital, Maurice fled across the Bosphorus to Chalcedon with his family. He was quickly captured, and in a scene of “undeserved cruelty,” was forced to watch his sons executed before him before sharing their fate. Their heads were displayed publicly, while Maurice’s daughters were sent to a monastery. This brutal episode marked a turning point: it was the first direct military overthrow of a Byzantine emperor since the third century.
Maurice’s death unleashed chaos. Phocas, who replaced him, proved disastrous, and the empire’s fortunes declined sharply. In hindsight, Maurice is seen as the emperor Byzantium needed but did not want – a ruler whose tragic end marked the beginning of the empire’s long slide from superpower status.
Phocas (r. 602–610): The Tyrant’s Violent End
Phocas came to power through the violent overthrow and execution of Maurice, but his own reign was marked by even greater brutality and instability. Initially accepted by the people and the army, Phocas quickly alienated both through his oppressive and arbitrary rule. He executed many members of the aristocracy and confiscated their property, enriching himself and his supporters but impoverishing the state.
Phocas’s regime was characterized by paranoia and cruelty. He purged anyone suspected of disloyalty, including high-ranking officers and senators. His personal conduct further scandalized the court – most notably, his violation of a noblewoman consecrated to God, which brought him widespread condemnation.
By 610, Phocas’s unpopularity had reached its peak. The empire was in turmoil, with external threats mounting and internal order collapsing. Heraclius, the son of the Exarch of Africa, launched a revolt. As Heraclius approached Constantinople, the city’s elites and military officers conspired against Phocas. According to chroniclers, Phocas and his chamberlain Leontius tried to flee with the imperial treasury, but were captured.
Phocas was brought before Heraclius and executed in a particularly gruesome manner: he was stripped, beheaded, dismembered, and his body mutilated in retaliation for his crimes – including the violation of a consecrated woman. His remains, along with those of his closest associates, were burned and their ashes scattered to the winds. The sheer violence of his end reflected the hatred he inspired among all classes of Byzantine society.
Phocas’s reign is remembered as one of the darkest periods in Byzantine history, marked by terror, misrule, and the near-collapse of imperial authority. His violent death was seen as both retribution and a necessary purge for the survival of the state.
Constans II (r. 641–668): The Emperor Killed in His Bath
Constans II, also known as “Constans the Bearded,” ruled during a time of constant military pressure and religious controversy. Early in his reign, he faced the loss of Egypt and other territories to the expanding Arab Caliphate. Despite some successes – such as defeating the Slavs in the Balkans and campaigning in the East – Constans struggled to maintain control and popularity.
Religiously, he became embroiled in the Monothelite controversy, attempting to silence debate by ordering the arrest of Pope Martin I, who was ultimately exiled and died in Cherson. This heavy-handed approach to church affairs further alienated many in the West.
Constans grew increasingly paranoid, especially regarding his own family. He forced his brother Theodosius into holy orders and later had him killed, fearing a potential coup. His own sons were associated with the throne, but his unpopularity in Constantinople led him to leave the capital for Syracuse in Sicily, a move that was widely resented and seen as an abandonment of the imperial city.
On July 15, 668, Constans met a violent end. He was assassinated in his bath by his chamberlain – accounts differ on whether he was killed with a bucket or stabbed with a knife. The motive for his murder remains unclear, but it likely stemmed from his unpopularity and the discontent of those around him. His death was followed by a brief usurpation in Sicily, quickly suppressed by his son and successor, Constantine IV.
Constans II’s assassination underscored the precariousness of imperial power in Byzantium, where even a reigning emperor could fall victim to conspiracy and violence within his own household.
Leo V (r. 813–820): Murder on Christmas Day
Leo V rose to the throne during a period of military crisis, facing renewed Bulgarian threats and internal dissent. His reign is most notable for the revival of iconoclasm, the policy of opposing the veneration of religious images, which reignited fierce religious and political conflict within the empire.
Leo’s decision to restore iconoclasm alienated many, including powerful churchmen and members of the aristocracy. Among his closest associates was Michael of Amorion, whom Leo had imprisoned on suspicion of conspiracy. However, Michael’s supporters managed to free him and plotted Leo’s assassination.
In the early hours of Christmas Day, 820, Leo was murdered in the palace chapel by conspirators loyal to Michael. The assassination was swift and brutal, occurring during a religious service. Michael was immediately proclaimed emperor as Michael II.
The motivations for Leo’s murder were both personal and political. His harsh religious policies and suspicion of his own allies created enemies at court, while his treatment of Michael provided the immediate spark for the conspiracy. Leo’s death triggered further instability, as Thomas the Slav soon rebelled against Michael II, claiming to avenge Leo’s murder and restore imperial legitimacy.
Leo V’s assassination highlighted the lethal consequences of court intrigue and the deep divisions caused by religious policy in Byzantine society.
Nikephoros II Phocas (r. 963–969): The Warrior Emperor Betrayed
Nikephoros II Phocas was celebrated as a brilliant general before ascending the throne, leading successful campaigns against the Arabs and expanding Byzantine territory. His reign as emperor, however, was marked by austerity, religious fervor, and a lack of personal charisma, which alienated the aristocracy and even his own family.
Nikephoros’s strict fiscal policies and his efforts to curb the power of the landed elite made him unpopular among the nobility. His personal life also became a source of scandal: after the death of his first wife, he married Theophano, the widow of his predecessor, Romanos II. This marriage, however, proved his undoing.
The plot against Nikephoros was orchestrated by his nephew and trusted general, John Tzimiskes, with the complicity of Empress Theophano. On a December night in 969, Tzimiskes and a small group of conspirators scaled the palace walls using ropes, killed the guards, and found Nikephoros sleeping on the floor – some accounts say in priestly garments, others in armor. He was murdered in his sleep, and his body was left exposed as a warning.
The assassination shocked Byzantine society, not only for its violence but for the betrayal by those closest to the emperor. The location of his murder became infamous, known as the “Phokas chamber,” and was guarded for centuries. Nikephoros’s death marked a turning point, as Tzimiskes seized the throne, but the trauma of regicide lingered in the Byzantine consciousness.
Andronikos I Komnenos (r. 1183–1185): The Tyrant Torn Apart
Andronikos I Komnenos’s rise to power was marked by intrigue and violence. Initially, he positioned himself as the protector of the young emperor Alexios II, but soon eliminated his rivals, including Alexios’s mother, Maria of Antioch. In September 1183, Andronikos had Alexios murdered and assumed sole power.
Andronikos’s rule was characterized by brutal repression of the aristocracy and sweeping reforms that, while popular with the common people, earned him the enmity of the elite. His anti-aristocratic policies, combined with his penchant for blinding and executing opponents, led to widespread fear and instability. Despite some positive reforms, his reign became increasingly tyrannical.
The turning point came in 1185, when William II of Sicily captured Thessaloniki. The sack of the city was catastrophic, and the people of Constantinople turned against Andronikos. He attempted to flee but was captured. His death was exceptionally brutal: he was paraded through the streets, subjected to torture, and finally torn apart by an enraged mob. Chroniclers describe his end as a fitting retribution for his cruelty, and his body was left unburied as a warning to others.
Andronikos’s downfall marked the end of the Komnenos dynasty in Constantinople and ushered in a period of further instability, with his anti-aristocratic measures quickly reversed by his successors.
Alexios V Doukas (r. 1204): The Last Emperor of Constantinople
Alexios V Doukas came to power in the final days before the Fourth Crusade captured Constantinople. He seized the throne amid chaos, deposing the unpopular Isaac II Angelos and his son Alexios IV. Alexios V attempted to organize the city’s defense against the crusaders, but his efforts were hampered by divisions and the overwhelming force of the attackers.
When the crusaders breached the walls in April 1204, Alexios V fled the city but was soon captured by the new Latin authorities. He was brought before the deposed Isaac II’s widow and was condemned for treason and the murder of Alexios IV. His execution was summary and brutal: he was thrown from the top of the Column of Theodosius, a public and humiliating death meant to serve as a warning to others.
Alexios V’s murder marked the end of Byzantine rule in Constantinople and the beginning of the Latin Empire. His fate symbolized the collapse of centuries of imperial tradition and the violent end of the Byzantine capital’s independence.
Summary
These emperors’ violent deaths underscore the volatility of Byzantine politics, where power was often won and lost through conspiracy, betrayal, and murder. Each assassination reflected deeper currents of social, religious, and political conflict that shaped the empire’s turbulent history.
Being crowned emperor certainly had its perks but also carried an extremely high risk of a violent early end to that reign.
