Anastasius I Dicorus

Anastasius I, known as Dicorus, who lived from around 430 to 9 July 518, was eastern Roman emperor from 491 to 518, a career civil servant chosen by the Empress Ariadne, widow of his predecessor Zeno, to assume the throne at age sixty one. His reign was marked by significant reforms and improvements in the empire's government, finances, economy and bureaucracy, achievements that gave his successors, especially Justinian I, a stable foundation for more ambitious policies later. Anastasius was a Monophysite Christian whose personal beliefs created considerable tension throughout his reign as the empire grew more religiously divided, and he holds the distinction of being the last non-Chalcedonian to rule the Byzantine Empire. He died childless in Constantinople and was succeeded by Justin I; by the end of his reign the treasury held approximately three hundred twenty thousand pounds of gold, about twenty three million solidi.