Photeinos ( el, Φωτεινός) was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

commander and governor active in the 820s. He is first mentioned following the

Muslim conquest The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He esta ...

of the island of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

in the mid-820s. At the time, he was military governor ('' strategos'') of the Anatolic Theme, and was entrusted by Emperor

Michael II the Amorian Michael II ( gr, Μιχαὴλ, , translit=Michaēl; 770–829), called the Amorian ( gr, ὁ ἐξ Ἀμορίου, ho ex Amoríou) and the Stammerer (, ''ho Travlós'' or , ''ho Psellós''), reigned as Byzantine Emperor from 25 December 820 to ...

(reigned 820–829) with recovering the island. Upon his request, he was later reinforced with troops under the ''

protospatharios ''Prōtospatharios'' ( el, πρωτοσπαθάριος) was one of the highest court dignities of the middle Byzantine period (8th to 12th centuries), awarded to senior generals and provincial governors, as well as to foreign princes. History Th ...

'' Damian. Both were defeated by the Arabs, however: Damian fell, and Photeinos was barely able to escape with his life. Despite this failure, he was soon entrusted with another important mission, being sent to

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

as its ''strategos'' to counter the rebellion and defection of the local ''

tourmarches A ''turma'' (Latin for "swarm, squadron", plural ''turmae''), (Greek: τούρμα) was a cavalry unit in the Roman army of the Republic and Empire. In the Byzantine Empire, it became applied to the larger, regiment-sized military-administrative di ...

'' Euphemius to the

Aghlabids The Aghlabids ( ar, الأغالبة) were an Arab dynasty of emirs from the Najdi tribe of Banu Tamim, who ruled Ifriqiya and parts of Southern Italy, Sicily, and possibly Sardinia, nominally on behalf of the Abbasid Caliph, for about a c ...

of Ifriqiya. He was probably the successor of the ''strategos'' Constantine Soudas, whom Euphemius had killed, but some scholars equate the two men. Greek historian Christos Makrypoulias on the other hand estimates that this is highly unlikely, and that he must have been appointed ''strategos'' in Sicily before the expedition to Crete. Nothing is known of him after his dispatch to the island. Photeinos was also the great-grandfather of

Zoe Karbonopsina Zoe Karbonopsina, also Karvounopsina or Carbonopsina, ( el, Ζωὴ Καρβωνοψίνα, translit=Zōē Karbōnopsina), was an empress and regent of the Byzantine empire. She was the fourth spouse of the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise and th ...

, the fourth wife of Emperor

Leo VI the Wise Leo VI, called the Wise ( gr, Λέων ὁ Σοφός, Léōn ho Sophós, 19 September 866 – 11 May 912), was Byzantine Emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty (although his parentage is unclear), he was very well ...

(r. 886–912).

References

Sources

* * {{cite journal , last=Makrypoulias , first=Christos G. , title=Byzantine Expeditions against the Emirate of Crete c. 825–949 , journal= Graeco-Arabica , volume=7–8 , year= 2000 , pages=347–362 9th-century Byzantine people Byzantine governors of Sicily Byzantine people of the Arab–Byzantine wars Governors of the Anatolic Theme