Empress Verina's Riot: Zeno Flees, Basiliscus Seizes Throne
Dowager Empress Verina orchestrated a riot in Constantinople that forced her son-in-law Emperor Zeno to flee the capital, aiming to install her lover Patricius on the throne. The Byzantine Senate defied her by instead proclaiming the general Basiliscus as emperor. This palace coup demonstrated the volatile interplay between imperial women, military commanders, and senatorial power that defined Byzantine succession politics.
January 9, 475
1551 years ago
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