Philippicus

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.