Aelia Verina (Greek: Βερίνα; died 484) was the Eastern Roman empress as the wife of Leo I. She was a sister of Emperor Basiliscus. Her daughter Ariadne also became empress. Verina was the maternal grandmother of Leo II.

Family

The origins of Verina and her brother Basiliscus are unknown. They are considered likely to have ancestry in the Balkans but nothing more specific is known. They are assumed to have at least one sister as a hagiography of Daniel the Stylite names a brother-in-law of Verina and Basiliscus as Zuzus.

Stefan Krautschick in his historical work Zwei Aspekte des Jahres 476 (1986) advanced a theory that the two siblings were related to Odoacer, the first barbarian King of Italy. The theory relies on passage 209.1 in the fragmentary chronicle of John of Antioch, a 7th-century monk. The chronicler has been tentatively identified with John of the Sedre, Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch from 641 to 648. The passage records the assassination of Armatus by Onoulphus. Based on interpretation Odoacer was brother to either Onoulphus alone or to both men. The second interpretation was introduced by Krautschick and has gained the support of (among others) Alexander Demandt and Patrick Amory. Armatus was identified as nephew of Verina and Basiliscus in other Byzantine sources, including a hagiography of Daniel the Stylite and the Suda. The theory would make both Onoulphus and Odoacer nephews of Verina and Basiliscus.

Verina and Leo had three children. Their eldest daughter Ariadne was born prior to the death of Marcian (reigned 450–457). Ariadne had a younger sister, Leontia. Leontia was first betrothed to Julius Patricius, a son of Aspar, but their engagement was probably annulled when Aspar and another of his sons, Ardabur, were assassinated in 471. Leontia then married Marcian, a son of Anthemius and Marcia Euphemia. The couple led a failed revolt against Zeno in 478–479. They were exiled to Isauria following their defeat. Leo was at this point the tribune of the Mattiarii, a regiment wielding the mattea (Latin for mace) as their weapon.

Marcian had been proclaimed an Augustus while marrying Pulcheria, sister of Theodosius II. Due to the marriage, he was considered a member of the Theodosian dynasty. His only daughter was from a previous marriage and not considered heiress to the dynasty, thus with his death the dynastic succession ended. The Byzantine army and the Byzantine Senate had to elect a new Augustus. Aspar, the magister militum ("Master of soldiers") of the Eastern Roman Empire, may have been unable to claim the throne for himself due to his Alanic origins and Arian religious beliefs. Though his family had served in the Roman military for generations, Aspar was still considered a barbarian and the majority of the ruling class of the Eastern Roman Empire had accepted the Nicene Creed.

Aspar used his influence in order to become a kingmaker, having earlier engineered the elevation of Marcian who had served a middler-rank officer under him. He was able to pick Leo, a candidate among his own subordinate officers, probably counting on his continued loyalty. The Senate accepted the choice.

In 461, Leo founded the Excubitors as a counterbalance to the soldiers under Aspar. He recruited the majority of its members from among the sturdy and warlike Isaurians. In 466, Tarasicodissa, an Isaurian officer of the Excubitors came forth with evidence that Ardabur, a son of Aspar, was guilty of treason. The scandal caused a rift in the relations of Leo and Aspar, leaving the former relying even more on the Excubitors.

In 467, the alliance of Leo and Tarasicodissa was sealed with the marriage of Ariadne to the officer. To make himself more acceptable to the Roman hierarchy and the native Greek-speaking population of Constantinople, the new son-in-law of the imperial couple changed his name to Zeno. Their only known son of Ariadne and Zeno, Leo II, was born within the year.

In 471, Aspar and Ardabur were murdered within the Great Palace of Constantinople by orders of Leo. Leo earned the nickname "Macelles" (the Butcher) for the manner of the deaths. Verina remained at the Palace.

Widowed empress

Leo I died on 18 January 474 and was succeeded by his grandson Leo II, who had been crowned co-emperor on 17 November 473. Since Leo II was too young to rule himself, Verina and Ariadne as his guardians and elders of the imperial family prevailed upon him to crown Zeno as co-emperor, which he did on February 9, 474. When Leo became ill and died on November 17 in aged 7, Zeno became sole emperor with Ariadne as empress. But Verina, who had unofficially served as regent during her grandson's short reign, was unhappy with the new situation.

Also, Verina was not content in the role of a widow. According to both Candidus and John of Antioch, she found a lover in the person of Patricius, a former Praetorian prefect. at the Hebdomon palace, by the palace ministers and the Senate.

John of Antioch and the hagiography of Daniel the Stylite imply that Verina was tricked in supporting the conspiracy. Candidus and John of Antioch report that Verina was hoping to use the conspiracy to replace Zeno with Patricius, restoring herself to the position of empress in the process. However, Basiliscus was crowned as soon as Zeno had abandoned the city. According to Malalas, Verina had to crown Basiliscus herself as the only person of imperial rank present within the capital. There is some doubt whether the description of Verina's motivation by Candidus and John of Antioch was accurate or just reflected the hostility of the chroniclers to her. According to Candidus, after the death of Patricius, Verina intrigued in favour of Zeno, but her plan was discovered by Basiliscus, and only the intercession of Armatus spared her life.

Alliance with Illus

In 483 or 484, Illus rose in rebellion against Zeno. Verina still had her imperial rank and so could still crown another Augustus. He released her from confinement and had her crown Leontius, a general, as an Augustus in Tarsus.

John Malalas describes that Verina joined the new alliance with fervor, corresponding with various cities and trying to win their support for the revolt. However, there is some doubt over the sincerity of both her new convictions and her political "friendship" with her old enemy. She may in effect have still been Illus' prisoner and acted under his command to preserve her safety. She notably did not join Leontius and Illus in their campaign for Antioch but was sent to the fortress of Papyrius in Isauria. This predecessor was probably Leo I, the tale attributing a third daughter to Verina.

Cyril Toumanoff identified two children of this marriage. Mithridates of Iberia and Leo of Iberia. This younger Leo was father of Guaram I of Iberia. The accuracy of the descent is unknown.

References

  • An article on her by Geoffrey B. Greatrex
  • Passage of "People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489-554" of Patrick Amory, discussing theory of barbatian origins
  • Profile of her husband in The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire
  • Profile of her sister-in-law Euphemia in The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire
  • A pedigree of her alleged daughter Helena

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