Editing Justinian II (section)

==First reign==
Justinian II was the eldest son of Emperor [[Constantine IV]] and [[Anastasia (wife of Constantine IV)|Anastasia]].<ref name="Kazhdan, p. 1084" /> His father appointed him as his heir sometime after October 682, upon the deposition of his uncles [[Heraclius (son of Constans II)|Heraclius]] and [[Tiberius (son of Constans II)|Tiberius]].{{efn|[[Theophanes the Confessor]] states that Constantine ruled alongside Justinian after the fall of Heraclius and Tiberius. However, all the evidence indicates that he became ''[[augustus (title)|augustus]]'' only on his father's death.{{sfn|Grierson|1968|pp=512–514}}}} In 685, at the age of sixteen, Justinian II succeeded his father as sole emperor.{{sfn|Grierson|1968|p=568}}<ref name=EB1911>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Justinian II. |volume=15 |page=602}}</ref>

As a result of Constantine IV's victories, the political situation in the Eastern provinces of the Empire was stable when Justinian ascended the throne.<ref name="Moore, Justinian II">{{harvnb|Moore|1998}}</ref>  After a preliminary strike against the [[Arabs]] in [[Armenia]],<ref name="Norwich, p. 328">{{harvnb|Norwich|1990|p=328}}</ref> Justinian managed to augment the sum paid by the [[Umayyad]] [[Caliph]]s as an annual tribute, and to regain control of part of [[Cyprus]].<ref name="Moore, Justinian II" />  The incomes of the provinces of [[Armenia]] and [[Principality of Iberia|Iberia]] were divided among the two empires.<ref name="Ostrogorsky, pp. 116-122"/>  In 687, as part of his agreements with the Caliphate, Justinian removed from their native [[Lebanon]] 12,000 Christian [[Maronite]]s, who continually resisted the [[Arabs]].<ref name="Bury, p. 321">{{harvnb|Bury|1889|p=321}}</ref>  Additional resettlement efforts, aimed at the [[Mardaites]] and inhabitants of Cyprus, allowed Justinian to reinforce naval forces depleted by earlier conflicts.<ref name="Ostrogorsky, pp. 116-122"/> In 688, Justinian signed a treaty with the Caliph [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan]] which rendered Cyprus neutral ground, with its tax revenue split.<ref>Romilly J.H. Jenkins (1970), ''[https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=acls;cc=acls;view=toc;idno=heb02890.0001.001 Studies on Byzantine History of the 9th and 10th Centuries]'', p. 271.</ref>

This enabled Justinian to turn his attention to the [[Balkans]], where much imperial territory had been lost to [[Slavs|Slavic]] tribes.<ref name="Bury, p. 321" />  In 687 Justinian transferred cavalry troops from [[Anatolia]] to [[Thrace]]. With a great military campaign in 688–689, Justinian defeated the [[List of ancient Slavic peoples|Slavs]] of [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]] and was finally able to enter [[Thessalonica]], the second most important Byzantine city in [[Europe]].<ref name="Ostrogorsky, pp. 116-122"/>

The subdued Slavs were resettled in Anatolia, where they were to provide a military force of 30,000 men.<ref name="Ostrogorsky, pp. 116-122"/> Emboldened by the increase of his forces in Anatolia, Justinian now renewed the war against the Arabs,<ref name="Bury, p. 322">{{harvnb|Bury|1889|p=322}}</ref> winning a battle in Armenia in 693. The Arabs met the challenge by bribing the new army to revolt. Most of the Slavic troops defected during the subsequent [[Battle of Sebastopolis]],<ref>{{harvnb|Norwich|1990|p=330}}</ref> where Justinian was comprehensively defeated and compelled to flee to the [[Propontis]].<ref name="Bury, p. 322" />  There, according to [[Theophanes the Confessor|Theophanes]],<ref>Theophanes: [https://archive.org/details/chronicle-of-theophanes-the-confessor/page/509/mode/1up?view=theater AM 6183]</ref> he vented his frustration by slaughtering as many of the Slavs in and around [[Opsikion]] as he could lay his hands on.<ref>{{harvnb|Norwich|1990|pp=330–331}}</ref>  Meanwhile, a [[Patrician (post-Roman Europe)|Patrician]] named Symbatius rebelled in Armenia<ref name="Bury, p. 322" /> and opened up the province to the Arabs, who proceeded to conquer it in 694–695.<ref name="Ostrogorsky, pp. 116-122"/>

In domestic affairs, the Emperor's bloody persecution of the [[Manichaeism|Manichaeans]],<ref name=EB1911/> and his suppression of the popular traditions of those who were not of Chalcedonian origin, caused dissension within the Church.<ref name="Kazhdan, p. 1084" />  In 692 Justinian convened the so-called [[Quinisext Council]] at Constantinople to put his religious policies into effect.<ref name="Bury, p. 327">{{harvnb|Bury|1889|p=327}}</ref>  The Council expanded and clarified the rulings of the Fifth and Sixth ecumenical councils, but by highlighting differences between the Eastern and Western observances (such as the marriage of priests and the Catholic practice of fasting on Saturdays) it also compromised Byzantine relations with the [[Catholic Church]].<ref>{{harvnb|Norwich|1990|p=332}}</ref>  The emperor ordered [[Pope Sergius I]] arrested, but the militias of Rome and [[Ravenna]] sided with the Pope and rebelled.<ref name="Ostrogorsky, pp. 116-122"/>

Justinian contributed to the development of the [[theme (Byzantine district)|thematic]] organization of the Empire, creating a new theme of [[Hellas (theme)|Hellas]] in southern Greece and numbering the heads of the four major themes of the [[Opsikion]], [[Anatolikon]], [[Thracesian Theme|Thracesion]] and [[Armeniakon]], and the naval [[Karabisianoi]] corps, among the senior administrators of the Empire.<ref name="Ostrogorsky, pp. 116-122"/>  He also sought to protect the rights of peasant freeholders (who served as the main recruitment pool for the imperial armies) against attempts by the aristocracy to acquire their land. This put him in direct conflict with some of the largest landholders in the Empire.<ref name="Ostrogorsky, pp. 116-122"/>
[[File:Mutilation of Justinian II - Giovanni Boccaccio, translated by Laurent de Premierfait (cropped).jpg|thumb|Mutilation of Justinian II on the orders of Leontius in 695, miniature from a 15th century French manuscript.]]
While his land policies threatened the aristocracy, his tax policy was very unpopular with the common people.<ref name="Ostrogorsky, pp. 116-122"/>  Through his agents [[Stephen the Persian|Stephen]] and Theodotos, the emperor raised the funds to gratify his sumptuous tastes and his mania for erecting costly buildings.<ref name="Ostrogorsky, pp. 116-122"/><ref name=EB1911/>  This, plus ongoing religious discontent, conflicts with the aristocracy, and displeasure with his resettlement policy eventually drove his subjects into rebellion.<ref name="Bury, p. 327" /> In 695 the population rose under the leadership of [[Leontius]], the ''[[strategos]]'' of Hellas, and proclaimed him Emperor.<ref name="Ostrogorsky, pp. 116-122"/><ref name=EB1911/> Justinian was deposed and his [[Rhinotomy|nose was cut off]] (later to be replaced by a solid gold replica of his original) to prevent his again seeking the throne: such mutilation was [[Political mutilation in Byzantine culture|common in Byzantine culture]]. He was exiled to [[Cherson (theme)|Cherson]] in the [[Crimea]].<ref name="Ostrogorsky, pp. 116-122"/>  Leontius, after a reign of three years, was in turn dethroned and imprisoned by [[Tiberius III|Apsimarus]], who then assumed the throne.<ref>{{harvnb|Bury|1889|p=354}}</ref><ref name=EB1911/>