Justinian II Executes Rivals in Hippodrome Chaos
Justinian II ordered the public execution of his predecessors Leontios and Tiberios III in the Hippodrome of Constantinople in 706, forcing them to lie prostrate before him while he rested his feet on their necks before the crowd. He then had them dragged to the Hippodrome's execution grounds and beheaded. Justinian had been deposed and mutilated in 695, his nose slit by Leontios, who was himself overthrown by Tiberios in 698. Justinian spent a decade in exile before returning with Bulgar mercenaries to reclaim his throne in 705. His brutal vengeance against anyone who had supported his overthrow, combined with erratic policy decisions and punitive taxation, alienated virtually every faction in the empire. Within five years, his own generals rebelled. Justinian was captured, beheaded, and his six-year-old son was murdered to prevent any future Heraclian restoration.
February 15, 706
1320 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Byzantine Empire
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Hippodrome of Constantinople
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Leontios
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Tiberios III
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Justinian II
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Byzantine Empire
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Justinian II
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Leontius
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Tiberius III
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Hippodrome of Constantinople
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Theodosius II
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Codex Theodosianus
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