Leo Apostyppes or Apostoupes ( el, Λέων ὁ Ἀποστύππης/Ἀποστούπης) 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 ...

military leader active in the 880s. He appears in 880, as military governor ('' strategos'') of the

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

s of Macedonia and

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

, leading the troops of these two provinces in campaign in southern Italy. The expedition was commanded by the ''

protovestiarios ''Protovestiarios'' ( el, πρωτοβεστιάριος, "first ''vestiarios''") was a high Byzantine court position, originally reserved for eunuchs. In the late Byzantine period (12th–15th centuries), it denoted the Empire's senior-most fina ...

'' Prokopios, which possibly indicates that Apostyppes was sent to Italy as reinforcement of the original expedition. The expedition, supported by a fleet under Nasar, was initially successful in its operations to recover the cities of Calabria, but the dual command of the land forces proved fatal when Apostyppes and Prokopios quarreled: during a battle Prokopios found himself in danger, but Apostyppes refused to send troops to his aid, with the result that Prokopios' part of the army was defeated and he himself slain. Apostyppes was able to retreat with his own troops and with the surviving men of Prokopios' detachment, and even went on to capture

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...

. Nevertheless, when Emperor

Basil I Basil I, called the Macedonian ( el, Βασίλειος ὁ Μακεδών, ''Basíleios ō Makedṓn'', 811 – 29 August 886), was a Byzantine Emperor who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a lowly peasant in the theme of Macedonia, he rose in the ...

heard of the events, he dismissed Apostyppes and banished him to house arrest near Kotyaion. Shortly after, however, two of Apostyppes' subordinates, the ''

protostrator ''Prōtostratōr'' ( el, πρωτοστράτωρ) was a Byzantine court office, originating as the imperial stable master. Its proximity to the imperial person led to a highly visible role in imperial ceremonies, and served as a springboard for ...

'' Baianos and the ''

koubikoularios ''Cubicularius'', Hellenized as ''koubikoularios'' ( gr, κουβικουλάριος), was a title used for the eunuch chamberlains of the imperial palace in the later Roman Empire and in the Byzantine Empire. The feminine version, used for the ...

'' Chamaretos, wrote to the Emperor accusing Apostyppes of having planned Prokopios' death since the beginning, and of plotting against Basil himself. The two sons of Apostyppes, Bardas and David, learned of these accusations and killed Baianos, whereupon they along with Leo tried to flee to the

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

. They were intercepted by the ''

manglabites The Manglabites or Manglavites ( el, μαγ ��αβίται, ''manglabitai''; sing. μαγ ��αβίτης, ''manglabitēs'') were a corps of bodyguards in the Byzantine Empire. Etymology Their name derives from the term ''manglabion'' (μαγγλά ...

'' Bartzapedon however, who killed Bardas and David when they tried to resist. Leo was brought back to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

, where he had an eye and an arm cut off and was banished to

Mesembria Mesembria ( grc, Μεσημβρία; grc-x-doric, Μεσαμβρία, Mesambria) was an important Greek city in ancient Thrace. It was situated on the coast of the Euxine and at the foot of Mount Haemus; consequently upon the confines of Moe ...

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Apostyppes, Leo 9th-century Byzantine people Byzantine generals Byzantine prisoners and detainees Byzantine rebels Prisoners and detainees of the Byzantine Empire Byzantine people of the Arab–Byzantine wars Byzantine Italy Governors of the Theme of Macedonia Governors of the Theme of Thrace