| Michael I Rangabe | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emperor of the Romans | |||||
 Michael I, as depicted in the 11th century Madrid Skylitzes. | |||||
| Byzantine emperor | |||||
| Reign | 2 October 811 – 11 July 813 | ||||
| Coronation | 2 October 811 Hagia Sophia | ||||
| Predecessor | Staurakios | ||||
| Successor | Leo V | ||||
| Co-emperors | Theophylact (811–813) Staurakios (II) (811–?) | ||||
| Born | c. 770 | ||||
| Died | 11 January 844 (aged 73) Prote Island (now Kınalıada, Turkey) | ||||
| Burial | Church on Prote Island, transferred to the Monastery of Satyros[1] | ||||
| Spouse | Prokopia | ||||
| Issue | Theophylaktos Staurakios Niketas Georgo Theophano | ||||
| |||||
| Dynasty | Nikephorian | ||||
| Father | Theophylact Rhangabe | ||||
Michael I Rangabé (also spelled Rangabe or Rhangabe; Greek: Μιχαὴλ Ῥαγγαβέ; c. 770 – 11 January 844) was Byzantine emperor from 811 to 813.
Michael was the son of the patrician Theophylact Rhangabe, the admiral of the Aegean fleet.[2] He married Prokopia, the daughter of the former Emperor Nikephoros I,[3] and received the high court dignity of kouropalatēs after his father-in-law's accession in 802.
Life
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Michael was the son of the patrician Theophylact Rhangabe, the admiral of the Aegean fleet.[2] The Rangabé family was of Greek origin.[4]
Michael survived Nikephoros' disastrous campaign against Krum of Bulgaria, and was considered a more appropriate candidate for the throne than his severely injured brother-in-law Staurakios.[3] When Michael's wife Prokopia failed to persuade her brother to name Michael as his successor, a group of senior officials (the magistros Theoktistos, the Domestic of the Schools Stephen, and Patriarch Nikephoros) forced Staurakios to abdicate in his favor on 2 October 811.
Michael I attempted to carry out a policy of reconciliation, abandoning the exacting taxation instituted by Nikephoros I. While reducing imperial income, Michael generously distributed money to the army, the bureaucracy, and the Church.[5] Elected with the support of the Orthodox party in the Church, Michael diligently persecuted the iconoclasts and forced the Patriarch Nikephoros to back down in his dispute with Theodore of Stoudios, the influential abbot of the monastery of Stoudios. Michael's piety won him a very positive estimation in the work of the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor.
In 812 Michael I reopened negotiations with the Franks, and recognized Charlemagne as imperator and basileus (Emperor), but not Emperor of the Romans.[6][7][8] In exchange for that recognition, Venice was returned to the Empire. However, under the influence of Theodore, Michael rejected the peace terms offered by Krum and provoked the capture of Mesembria (Nesebar) by the Bulgarians. After initial success in spring 813, Michael's army prepared for a major engagement at Versinikia near Adrianople in June.[3] The imperial army was defeated, while Leo the Armenian fled from the battle.[3] With conspiracy in the air, Michael preempted events by abdicating on 11 July 813 in favor of the general Leo the Armenian and becoming a monk (under the name Athanasios).[9][3] His sons were castrated to end the dynasty and were relegated to monasteries,[9] one of them, Niketas (renamed Ignatios), eventually becoming Patriarch of Constantinople.[10] Michael died on 11 January 844.[11]
Family
By his wife Prokopia, Michael I had at least five children:
- Georgo, a daughter[12]
- Theophylact, crowned co-emperor on Christmas 811, became a monk after 813.[13]
- Niketas, later Patriarch Ignatios of Constantinople (c. 798 – 877)[10]
- Staurakios, crowned co-emperor on Christmas 811, pre-deceased his father[14]
- Theophano, a daughter[15]
Gallery
Solidus of Michael I and his son Theophylact
Coronation of Michael I from the 12th-century Madrid Skylitzes, probably drawn from an earlier unrelated source.[16]
Byzantines and Bulgarians clash at Versinikia in 813.
The armies of Michael I (below) and Krum (above) prepare for battle after negotiations failed..png.webp)
Depiction of Michael I in the 15th-century Mutinensis gr. 122.
References
- ↑ PBW, Michael 7.
- 1 2 Venning 2006, p. 218.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Bradbury 2004, p. 64.
- ↑ Vasiliev, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich (1958). History of the Byzantine Empire, 324–1453. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 271.
...Michael I, a member of the Greek family of Rangabé, married to Procopia, a sister of the unfortunate Strauracius and a daughter of Nicephorus I.
- ↑ Ostrogorsky 1986, p. 197.
- ↑ eum imperatorem et basileum appellantes, cf. Royal Frankish Annals, a. 812.
- ↑ Eichmann, Eduard (1942). Die Kaiserkrönung im Abendland: ein Beitrag zur Geistesgeschichte des Mittelalters, mit besonderer Berücksichtigung des kirchlichen Rechte, der Liturgie und der Kirchenpolitik. Echter-Verlag. p. 33.
- ↑ Canning 1996, p. 70.
- 1 2 Luttwak 2009, p. 182.
- 1 2 Bury 1912, p. 14.
- ↑ Anthony 2017, p. 8.
- ↑ PBW, Georgo 1.
- ↑ PBW, Theophylaktos 9.
- ↑ PBW, Staurakios 12.
- ↑ PBW, Theophano 2.
- ↑ Tsamakda, Vasiliki (2002). The Illustrated Chronicle of Ioannes Skylitzes in Madrid. Leiden: Alexandros. pp. 43–47. ISBN 978-9080647626.
Sources
- Joseph Genesius (1998) [10th century]. Genesios on the Reigns of the Emperors: Translation and Commentary. Translated by Anthony, Kaldellis. Brill.
- Bradbury, Jim (2004). The Routledge Companion to Medieval Warfare. Routledge.
- Bury, John Bagnell (1912). A History of the Eastern Roman Empire from the Fall of Irene to the Accession of Basil I, (802–867). Macmillan and Co.
- Kazhdan, Alexander (1991). "Michael I Rangabe". The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford University Press. p. 1362. ISBN 0195046528..
- Canning, Joseph (1996). A History of Medieval Political Thought: 300–1450. Routledge.
- Luttwak, Edward N. (2009). The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire. Harvard University Press.
- Martindale, J.R. (2001). Prosopography of the Byzantine Empire. ISBN 978-1897747322.
- Ostrogorsky, George (1986). History of the Byzantine State. Rutgers University Press.
- Venning, T., ed. (2006). A Chronology of the Byzantine Empire. Palgrave Macmillan.
Further reading
- Treadgold, Warren (1997). A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-2630-2.
- Gregory, T. (2005). A History of Byzantium (Blackwell History of the Ancient World), Wiley-Blackwell .
See also
External links
