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{{About|the Byzantine empress|the African-American physician, suffragist and clubwoman|Verina Morton Jones|the district in Spain|Veriña}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name           = Verina
| consort        = yes
| title          = [[Augusta (honorific)|Augusta]]
| image          = Empress Verina coin (cropped).png
| caption        = Coin of Verina
| full name      = Aelia Verina
| succession     = [[List of Roman empresses|Empress of the Roman Empire]]
| moretext       = (in the [[Eastern Roman Empire|East]])
| reign          = 457 – 474
| spouse         = [[Leo I the Thracian]]
| issue          = [[Ariadne (empress)|Ariadne]], [[Leontia (daughter of Leo I)|Leontia]], unnamed son
| dynasty        = [[House of Leo|Leo]]
| father         =
| mother         =
| birth_date     =
| birth_place    =
| death_date     = 484
| death_place    = [[Papyrius]] fortress, [[Isauria]]<br />(modern-day [[Bozkır]], [[Konya Province|Konya]], [[Turkey]])
| place of burial=
}}

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

==Family==
The origins of Verina and her brother [[Basiliscus]] are unknown. They are considered likely to have ancestry in the [[Balkans]]<ref>[http://www.roman-emperors.org/basilis.htm Hugh Elton, "Flavius Basiliscus (AD 475-476)"]</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/dan-stylite.html ''The Life of Daniel The Stylite'', translation by Elizabeth Dawes (1948)], chapter 69)"</ref>

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]].<ref name="Ostrogothic Italy 2003 page 282">[[Patrick Amory]], ''Passage of "People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489-554"'' (2003)], page 282</ref> The theory relies on passage 209.1 in the fragmentary chronicle of [[John of Antioch (chronicler)|John of Antioch]], a 7th-century monk. The chronicler has been tentatively identified with [[John of the Sedre]], [[List of Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs of Antioch|Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch]] from 641 to 648.<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08468a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia, "John of Antioch"]</ref> 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]]<ref>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/dan-stylite.html ''The Life of Daniel The Stylite'', translation by Elizabeth Dawes (1948)])"</ref> and the [[Suda]]. The theory would make both Onoulphus and Odoacer nephews of Verina and Basiliscus.<ref name="Ostrogothic Italy 2003 page 282" />

However a counterargument to the theory is given by [[Penny Macgeorge]] in her own study ''Late Roman Warlords'' (2003), pages 284–285, based on the silence of both [[John Malalas]] and [[Malchus (historian)|Malchus]] on a blood relation of Odoacer to the [[House of Leo]]. Both historians were chronologically closer to the recorded events than John of Antioch.

If accepted the theory of Krautschick would give Verina a [[barbarian]] origin. Her ancestry would still be uncertain due to contradictory accounts on the ancestry of Odoacer. Various sources have identified him as one of the [[Goths]], the [[Rugians]], the [[Sciri]] and the [[Thuringii]].<ref name="Ostrogothic Italy 2003 page 282" /> All four were [[Germanic peoples]], with the Goths, Rugians and Sciri grouped by ethnologists within the [[Germanic peoples|East Germanic tribes]]. His father [[Edeco|Edeko]] was leader of the Sciri but it is unclear if he was born in the tribe or married into it. Other sources identify Edeko as one of the [[Huns]], possibly because of his service under [[Attila the Hun]].<ref name="Ostrogothic Italy 2003 page 282" /> According to Amory, the varying ethnographic identities of both men may reflect both their mixed ancestry and their political association with the various groups.

The presence of Verina in the Roman court has been attributed by Demandt to "the osmosis of the late Roman and Germanic aristocracies". In other words, the practice of intermarriage between the Roman military aristocracy and the dynasties derived from it on the one hand and various Germanic families of [[foederati]].<ref name="Ostrogothic Italy 2003 page 282" />

==Marriage==
Verina married Leo, a [[Thraco-Roman]] officer of the [[East Roman army]]. According to [[Jordanes]] and [[John Malalas]], her husband was one of the [[Bessi]], a tribe of [[Thracians]]. [[Theodorus Lector]], [[Theophanes the Confessor]], [[Georgios Kedrenos]] and [[Michael the Syrian]] report Leo born in [[Thrace]]. However the [[Bibliotheca (Photius)|Bibliotheca]] of [[Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople]] quotes [[Candidus Isaurus|Candidus]] in placing his birthplace in [[Dacia]].<ref name="ReferenceA">[[Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire]], vol. 2</ref>

Verina and Leo had three children. Their eldest daughter [[Ariadne (empress)|Ariadne]] was born prior to the death of [[Marcian]] (reigned 450–457).<ref name="Hugh Elton, Leo I 457-474 A.D">[http://www.roman-emperors.org/leo1.htm Hugh Elton, "Leo I (457-474 A.D.)"]</ref> Ariadne had a younger sister, [[Leontia (daughter of Leo I)|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 (consul 447)|Ardabur]], were assassinated in 471. Leontia then married  [[Marcian (usurper)|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.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

An unnamed son was born in 463. He died five months following his birth. The only sources about him are a [[horoscope]] by [[Rhetorius]] and a [[hagiography]] of [[Daniel the Stylite]].<ref name="ReferenceA" />

==Empress consort==
In January, 457 Marcian succumbed to a disease, allegedly [[gangrene]]. He was survived by his daughter Euphemia and his son-in-law [[Anthemius]].<ref>[http://www.roman-emperors.org/marcian.htm Geoffrey S. Nathan, Marcian (450-457 A.D.)]</ref> Leo was at this point the [[tribune]] of the Mattiarii, a regiment wielding the mattea ([[Latin]] for [[mace (bludgeon)|mace]]) as their weapon.

Marcian had been proclaimed an ''[[Augustus (honorific)|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 [[Alans|Alanic]] origins and [[Arianism|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]].<ref name="penelope.uchicago.edu">[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/BURLAT/10*.html#1 J. B. Bury, ''History of the Later Roman Empire from the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian'' (1923)]</ref>

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.<ref name="penelope.uchicago.edu" /> On 7 February 457, Leo was crowned by [[Patriarch Anatolius of Constantinople]], the first such coronation known to involve a Patriarch.<ref name="Hugh Elton, Leo I 457-474 A.D" /> At this point Verina became the Empress consort. She probably added "[[Aelia (gens)|Aelia]]" to her name at her proclamation as an Augusta. The name had become standard for Augustas of the Theodosian dynasty. During her tenure as empress, she exerted influence over her husband and his court, living a life of luxurious royal comfort and peaceful.<ref name="roman-emperors.org">[http://www.roman-emperors.org/verina.htm Geoffrey B. Greatrex , "Aelia Verina, Wife of Leo I"]</ref>

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 (consul 447)|Ardabur]], a son of Aspar, was guilty of [[treason]].<ref>[http://www.roman-emperors.org/zeno.htm Hugh Elton, Zeno (AD 474-491)]</ref> 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 [[Medieval Greek|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 (emperor)|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.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> Zeno was left by default as the main supporter of Leo within the [[Byzantine army]].<ref name="Hugh Elton, Leo I 457-474 A.D" />

Leo II was proclaimed [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]] in October, 473 and effectively became the designated heir to the throne by virtue of being the closest male relative of Leo I. On 18 January 474, Leo I died of [[dysentery]]. Their grandson immediately succeeded him.<ref>[http://www.roman-emperors.org/leo2.htm Hugh Elton, Leo II (AD 474)]</ref> Verina remained at the Palace.

==Widowed empress==
Since Leo II was too young to rule himself, Verina and Ariadne 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, Zeno became sole emperor with Ariadne as empress.

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]].<ref name="roman-emperors.org" /> Verina had originally supported Zeno while the young emperor Leo II was still alive. Not long after her grandson's death, Verina turned against her son-in-law. She still retained imperial status with a portion of the palace for herself, but she still harbored ambitions for her former position. [[John Malalas]] attributes her hostility to an argument between them over a request the senior empress had made on her son-in-law. Malalas does not clarify what was the request. A modern interpretation suggests that the request concerned her second marriage to Patricius. Which Zeno had reasons to refuse to prevent Patricius from emerging as a rival candidate for the throne.<ref name="roman-emperors.org" />

Verina conspired against Zeno with her lover Patricius, her brother [[Basiliscus]], the [[Isauria]]n general [[Illus]], and general [[Theodoric Strabo]], forcing Zeno to flee [[Constantinople]] in 475. Zeno fled to his native lands, bringing with him some of the Isaurians living in Constantinople, and the imperial treasury. Basiliscus was then acclaimed as ''Augustus'' on 9 January 475<ref>There exists a horoscope made on the day of Basiliscus' coronation —12 January 475, at 9 am—, probably by a supporter of Zeno. The horoscope, preserved with the horoscopes of other two usurpers of Zeno through Arab sources, correctly predicts the end of Basiliscus' rule in two years. See {{cite book |last=Barton |first=Tamsyn |title=Power and knowledge: Astrology, physiognomics, and medicine under the Roman Empire |date=December 2002 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=0-472-08852-1 |pages=60 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="roman-emperors.org" />

Whatever the case, Patricius served early in the new reign as the ''[[Magister officiorum|Magister Officiorum]]''. Eventually, Basiliscus ordered the death of Patricius, as the officer was a natural candidate to overthrow the new emperor.  Consequently, Verina later intrigued against Basiliscus, seeking revenge for her lover's execution.<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/BURLAT/12*.html J. B. Bury, ''History of the Later Roman Empire from the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian'' (1923)]</ref> According to [[Candidus Isaurus|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.<ref name="roman-emperors.org" />

In 476, both Illus and Armatus defected to the side of Zeno, who, in August, besieged Constantinople. Theodoric the Amal (later known as [[Theodoric the Great]]), the leader of the [[Pannonia]]n Goths, had allied to Zeno. Theodoric would have attacked Basiliscus and his Thracian Goth ''[[foederati]]'' led by Theodoric Strabo, receiving, in exchange, the title of ''magister militum'' held by Strabo and the payments previously given to the Thracian Goths. It has been suggested that Constantinople was defenseless during Zeno's siege because the ''Magister Militum'' Strabo had moved north to counter this menace. The Senate opened the gates of the city to Zeno, allowing the deposed emperor to retake the throne with Ariadne as empress.

==Rivalry with Illus==
The brief reign of Basiliscus does not seem to have resulted in lasting hatred between Verina and either Zeno or Ariadne. However it did result in hatred between Verina and the turncoat general [[Illus]]. The hagiography of Daniel the Stylite considers Illus responsible for pulling Verina into the initial conspiracy while hiding its actual goals. He was, in her mind, directly or indirectly responsible for the death of Patricius.<ref name="roman-emperors.org" />

In 477, a first assassination attempt on Illus was prevented by a [[Slavery in ancient Rome|slave]]. Though primary sources do not associate Verina with it, later historians have suggested that this was indeed the case. In 478, a second assassination attempt on Illus was prevented by Epinicus, a long-time favourite of Verina. Epinicus allowed Illus custody of the prisoner and the interrogation resulted in a confession implicating Verina.<ref name="roman-emperors.org" />

Illus recuperated from the attack in his native Isauria and reportedly refused to return to Constantinople while Verina was still residing in the Palace. Zeno agreed to banish her from the capital and she indeed never returned during her life. According to John of Antioch, Verina was at first confined in a monastery located at [[Tarsus (city)|Tarsus]]. She was then sent first to [[Dalisandus (disambiguation)|Dalisandus]] (two namesake cities existed  in Isauria and [[Pamphylia]]) and secondly to Cherris in Isauria.<ref name="roman-emperors.org" />

In 478–479, the revolt of [[Marcian (usurper)|Marcian]], a son of [[Anthemius]] took place. He was married to Leontia, the second daughter of Leo I and Verina. His claim to the throne relied on his wife being a [[Porphyrogenita]]. In theory Leontia outranking her older sister Ariadne who was born previous to the elevation of her parents to the throne. Marcian and his brothers Procopius and Romulus launched their [[coup d'état]] in Constantinople. They were besieging the palace when Illus arrived with reinforcements from [[Chalcedon]]. John of Antioch attributes the entire revolt to Verina but the actual extent of her involvement is uncertain.<ref name="roman-emperors.org" />

In 480, Verina was still confined in Isauria under the custody of Illus. However she was able to correspond with Ariadne and convinced her daughter to intervene on her behalf. Ariadne endeavoured to obtain her release, first from Zeno, and then from Illus, to whom the emperor referred her. Illus not only refused her request, but charged her with wishing to place another person on her husband's throne. This irritated her; and she, like her mother, attempted to assassinate Illus. [[Jordanes]] ascribes her hatred to another cause: he says that Illus had infused jealous suspicions into Zeno's mind which had led Zeno to try an attempt on her life, and that her knowledge of these things stimulated her to revenge. The assassin whom she employed failed to kill Illus, but cut off his ear in the attempt. The assassin was taken, and Zeno, who appears to have been privy to the affair, was unable to prevent his execution.<ref name="roman-emperors.org" /><ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080504214355/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/1677.html Smith, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', v. 1, page 569–570]}}</ref>

==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 (usurper)|Leontius]], a general, as an Augustus in Tarsus.<ref name="roman-emperors.org" /> The revolt also had religious meaning as the rebels were [[Chalcedonian]] Christians while Zeno was an adherent of [[Monophysitism]].<ref name="Warren T. Treadgold 1997 pages 161-174">[Warren T. Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society (1997), pages 161–174]</ref>

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.<ref name="roman-emperors.org" />

The revolt failed to gain sufficient support and the rebels had to withdraw from Antioch back to Papyrius. Zeno sent an army including both Romans and [[Ostrogoths]] under [[John the Scythian]] which managed to defeat them. The fort was besieged from 484 to 488. Verina died early in the siege;<ref name="Warren T. Treadgold 1997 pages 161-174" /> whether her death was violent or not is uncertain. According to Malalas, when the siege ended the corpse of Verina was recovered and sent to Ariadne for burial.<ref name="roman-emperors.org" />

==Possible descendants==
The ''[[Georgian Chronicle]]'', a 13th-century compilation drawing from earlier sources, reports a marriage of [[Vakhtang I of Iberia]] to Princess Helena of Byzantium, identifying her as a daughter of the predecessor of Zeno.<ref>[http://rbedrosian.com/gc5.htm"Georgian Chronicle", Chapters 13-14. Translation by Robert Bedrosian (1991)]</ref> 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==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.roman-emperors.org/verina.htm An article on her by Geoffrey B. Greatrex]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=7ndeDi_fwq0C&pg=PA282 Passage of "People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489-554" of Patrick Amory, discussing theory of barbatian origins]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=QCIaBQTCg0IC&pg=PA663 Profile of her husband in The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=QCIaBQTCg0IC&pg=PA423 Profile of her sister-in-law Euphemia in The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire]
*[http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~cousin/html/p221.htm#i25460 A pedigree of her alleged daughter Helena]

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{{s-bef|before=[[Pulcheria]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Byzantine Emperors|Byzantine Empress consort]]|years=457&ndash;474}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ariadne (empress)|Ariadne]]}}
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{{Roman empresses}}

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[[Category:5th-century births]]
[[Category:484 deaths]]
[[Category:House of Leo]]
[[Category:Aelii]]
[[Category:5th-century Byzantine empresses]]