Philippicus

Philippicus
Emperor of the Romans
A solidus of Philippicus
Byzantine emperor
Reign4 November 711 – 3 June 713
PredecessorJustinian II
SuccessorAnastasius II
BornBardanes
Pergamum, Thracesian Theme
(now Bergama, Izmir, Turkey)
Died713
FatherNicephorus
SealPhilippicus's signature

Philippicus (Latin: Filepicus; Greek: Φιλιππικός, romanized: Philippikós), born Bardanes (Greek: Βαρδάνης, romanized: Bardánēs; Armenian: Վարդան, Vardan) was Byzantine emperor from 711 to 713. He took power in a coup against the unpopular emperor Justinian II, whose second regnal period (705-711) was a rule of terror. Philippicus reign was short-lived and his two policies implemented upon accession to the throne did not win him popular vote. His deposition was the result of a plot that was conceived by the count of the Opsician army, George Buraphus who sent a band of soldiers to abduct and blind the emperor. During his brief reign, Philippicus supported monothelitism in Byzantine theological disputes, and saw conflict with the First Bulgarian Empire and the Umayyad Caliphate.