Michael I (Byzantium)

Michael I. on a contemporary coin

Michael I. Rhangabes ( Middle Greek Μιχαὴλ Αʹ ὁ Ραγκαβές ; * around 770; † January 11, 844 on the island of Proti near Constantinople ) was Byzantine emperor from 811 to 813 .

Life

Michael was probably born around 770. His father Theophylactus , who had held the dignity of a patrician , was in 780 at the failed usurpation attempt of the emperor Nikephorus against Irene and Constantine VI. been involved. Michael was married to Prokopia, the daughter of Nikephorus I , and was promoted to administrator of the palace ( Kuropalates ). After the death of Nikephorus, his son Staurakios had ascended the throne, whereby he acted clumsily according to the chronicle of Theophanes . Michael was finally made emperor in early October 811 in a revolt against his brother-in-law Staurakios . Michael appointed his son Theophylactus to be his co-emperor .

Domestically, it was important that Michael granted Charlemagne the imperial title in 812 . Since Michael had been elected with the support of the Orthodox party in the church, he made the student abbot Theodoros his adviser, with Theodoros in contrast to the patriarch (and chronicler) Nikephoros . Michael also took action against the Iconoclasts and Paulicians . There were unsuccessful peace negotiations with the Bulgarenkhan Krum after the Bulgarians had repeatedly plundered parts of Macedonia and Thrace .

When Michael finally took military action against them, he was crushed on June 22, 813 in the Battle of Versinikia . Michael came under increasing pressure; after Leon the Armenian was proclaimed emperor by his troops in July 813, Michael abdicated and went as a monk to the island of Proti, where he lived undisturbed until his death in 844. His sons Theophylactes, Staurakios and Niketas (the later Patriarch Ignatios) also had to become monks and were castrated to exclude them from the line of succession. He also had daughters Georgo and Theophano.

literature

• Leslie Brubaker, John F. Haldon: Byzantium in the Iconoclast era. c. 680-850. A history. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge et al. 2011, ISBN 978-0-521-43093-7 .
• Erwin window: Michael I. Rangabe . In: Biographical Lexicon on the History of Southeast Europe . Volume 3. Munich 1979, p. 174 f.
• Ralph-Johannes Lilie , Claudia Ludwig, Thomas Pratsch, Ilse Rochow, Beate Zielke: Prosopography of the Middle Byzantine Period . 1st department: (641−867). Volume 3: Leon (# 4271) - Placentius (# 6265). Created after preliminary work by F. Winkelmann . Published by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences. De Gruyter, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-11-016673-9 , p. 247ff. (Sources and literature)

Web links

Commons : Michael I.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

predecessor	Office	successor
Staurakios	Emperor of Byzantium 811–813	Leo V.