Anastasius I

Anastasius I Dicorus (Ancient Greek: Ἀναστάσιος, romanized: Anastásios, Latin: Anastasius; c. 430 – 9 July 518) was Eastern Roman emperor from 491 to 518. A career civil servant, he came to the throne at the age of 61 after being chosen by Ariadne, the wife of his predecessor, Zeno. His reign was characterized by reforms and improvements in the empire's government, finances, economy and bureaucracy. The resulting stable government, reinvigorated monetary economy and sizeable budget surplus allowed the empire to pursue more ambitious policies under his successors, most notably Justinian I. Since many of Anastasius' reforms proved long-lasting, his influence over the empire endured for centuries.

Anastasius was a Monophysite Christian and his personal religious tendencies caused tensions throughout his reign in the empire that was becoming increasingly divided along religious lines. He was the last non-Chalcedonian to rule the Byzantine Empire (although Heraclius similarly tried to push a middle ground belief, namely Monothelitism, to unite the Monophysites, Miaphysites and Diophysites of the empire, but was also ultimately unsuccessful and condemned by the Orthodox Church).