Twenty Years' Anarchy

A period of Byzantine political instability from Justinian II’s deposition in 695 to Leo III’s accession in 717, marked by rapid changes of emperor and military coups.

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Byzantine Empire: The medieval continuation of the Roman Empire, centered on Constantinople and lasting until 1453. The anarchy was a crisis within this empire’s political and military institutions.
Justinian II: Byzantine emperor who ruled from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711. His deposition in 695 began the period, and his restoration briefly interrupted it.
Leontios' revolt: The revolt that deposed Justinian II in 695 and made Leontios emperor. It marks the rupture that began the period’s sequence of contested reigns.
Leo III the Isaurian: Byzantine emperor from 717 to 741 and founder of the Isaurian dynasty. His accession in 717 is conventionally treated as the period’s endpoint.
Byzantine army: The land forces of the Byzantine Empire, organized through evolving provincial and central commands. Military commanders and troops repeatedly helped depose or install emperors.
Leontios: Byzantine emperor from 695 to 698, who came to power after Justinian II’s first deposition. He was the first emperor in the succession of rulers that followed Justinian II’s removal.
Justinian II's restoration: Justinian II’s return to the Byzantine throne in 705 after years in exile. His restoration demonstrated that deposition did not settle claims to the throne.
Isaurian dynasty: The Byzantine imperial dynasty founded by Leo III and continued by his successors through 802. Its establishment replaced the rapid turnover of emperors with a longer-lasting ruling house.
Byzantine themes: Provincial military-administrative districts of the Byzantine Empire, especially prominent from the seventh century onward. Thematic commanders and forces formed part of the political landscape behind imperial coups.
Tiberios III: Byzantine emperor from 698 to 705, formerly an admiral who seized power from Leontios. His coup continued the cycle of military seizure and unstable rule.