Following the deposition of the

Byzantine empress This is a list of Roman and Byzantine empresses. A Roman empress was a woman who was the wife of a Roman emperor, the ruler of the Roman Empire. The Romans had no single term for the position: Latin and Greek titles such as '' augusta'' (Gre ...

Irene of Athens Irene of Athens ( el, Εἰρήνη, ; 750/756 – 9 August 803), surname Sarantapechaina (), was Byzantine empress consort to Emperor Leo IV from 775 to 780, regent during the childhood of their son Constantine VI from 780 until 790, co-ruler ...

, the throne of the

Byzantine Empire 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 ...

passed to a relatively short-lived dynasty, the Nikephorian dynasty, named after its founder,

Nikephoros I Nikephoros I or Nicephorus I ( gr, Νικηφόρος; 750 – 26 July 811) was Byzantine emperor from 802 to 811. Having served Empress Irene as '' genikos logothetēs'', he subsequently ousted her from power and took the throne himself. In r ...

. The empire was in a weaker and more precarious position than it had been for a long time and its finances were problematic.Jenkins. Byzantium The Imperial Centuries AD 610-1071. p. 117 During this era Byzantium was almost continually at war on two frontiers which drained its resources, and like many of his predecessors, Nikephoros (802–811) himself died while campaigning against the Bulgars to the north. Furthermore, Byzantium's influence continued to wane in the west with the crowning of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...

(800–814) as

Holy Roman emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

Pope Leo III Pope Leo III (died 12 June 816) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 26 December 795 to his death. Protected by Charlemagne from the supporters of his predecessor, Adrian I, Leo subsequently strengthened Charlemagne's position ...

at Old St. Peter's Basilica in Rome in the year 800 and the establishment of a new empire in Western Europe laying claim to the universal Roman monarchy.

Nikephoros I, 802–811

had been the empire's finance minister and on Irene's deposition immediately embarked on a series of fiscal reforms. His administrative reforms included re-organisation of the ''

themata The themes or ( el, θέματα, , singular: , ) were the main military/administrative divisions of the middle Byzantine Empire. They were established in the mid-7th century in the aftermath of the Slavic invasion of the Balkans and Muslim co ...

''. He survived a civil war in 803 and, like most of the Byzantine emperors, found himself at war on three fronts. He suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Krasos in Phrygia in 805 and died on a campaign against the Bulgars.

Nikephoros' successors, 811–813

Nikephoros was succeeded by his son and co-emperor, Staurakios (811). However, he was severely wounded in the same battle in which his father died and, after much controversy regarding the succession, was persuaded to abdicate later that year by the husband of his sister

Prokopia Prokopia ( Greek: Προκοπία; c. 770 – after 813) was the Empress consort of Michael I Rhangabe of the Eastern Roman Empire. She was a daughter of Nikephoros I. The name of her mother is not known. Her only known sibling is Staurakios. M ...

, Michael I (811–813), who succeeded him. Michael I pursued more diplomatic than military solutions. However, he engaged the Bulgar

Khan Khan may refer to: *Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan *Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name *Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...

Krum Krum ( bg, Крум, el, Κροῦμος/Kroumos), often referred to as Krum the Fearsome ( bg, Крум Страшни) was the Khan of Bulgaria from sometime between 796 and 803 until his death in 814. During his reign the Bulgarian territor ...

, the same who claimed the lives of his two predecessors, and was also defeated, severely weakening his position. Aware of a likely revolt he chose to abdicate given the grisly fate of so many prior overthrown emperors, ending the brief dynasty of Nikephoros.

Family tree of the Nikephorian dynasty

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nikephorian dynasty 810s disestablishments 9th century in the Byzantine Empire 802 establishments 9th-century disestablishments in Asia 9th-century disestablishments in Europe

Nikephoros I, 802–811

Nikephoros' successors, 811–813

Family tree of the Nikephorian dynasty

See also

References