Foreign Policy and Wars
The principal wars in which Anastasius was engaged were the Isaurian War and the War with Persia.
The former, which lasted from 492 to 497, was stirred up by the supporters of Longinus, the brother of Zeno who had been candidate to his succession against Anastasius. The battle of Cotyaeum in 492 "broke the back" of the revolt, but guerrilla warfare continued in the Isaurian mountains for some years longer.
In the war with Sassanid Persia (502–505), Theodosiopolis and Amida were captured by the enemy, but the Persian provinces also suffered severely and the Byzantines recovered Amida. Both adversaries were exhausted when peace was made (506) on the basis of the status quo. Anastasius afterwards built the strong fortress of Daras to hold in check the Persians in Nisibis. The Balkan provinces however were left denuded of troops and were devastated by invasions of Slavs and Bulgars; to protect Constantinople and its vicinity against them the emperor built the Anastasian Wall, extending from the Propontis to the Euxine.
Read more about this topic: Anastasius I (emperor)
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