Michael I Rhangabe ( gr, Μιχαὴλ Ῥαγγαβέ; ''c''. 770 – 11 January 844) was
Byzantine emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...
from 811 to 813.
Michael was the son of the patrician
Theophylact Rhangabe
Theophylact Rhangabe or Theophylaktos Rhangabe ( gr, Θεοφύλακτος, ὁ τοῦ Ῥαγγαβέ, ), was a Byzantine Greeks, Greek admiral, and the father of the emperor Michael I Rhangabe (ruled 811–813).
Life
He is known only from his ...
, the admiral of the
Aegean fleet. He married
Prokopia, the daughter of the former Emperor
Nikephoros I, and received the high
court dignity of ''
kouropalatēs'' after his father-in-law's accession in 802.
Life
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. When Michael's wife Prokopia failed to persuade her brother to name Michael as his successor, a group of senior officials (the ''
magistros''
Theoktistos
Theoktistos or Theoctistus (; died November 20, 855) was a leading Byzantine official during the second quarter of the 9th century and the ''de facto'' head of the regency for the underage emperor Michael III from 842 until his dismissal and mu ...
, the
Domestic of the Schools
The office of the Domestic of the Schools ( gr, δομέστικος τῶν σχολῶν, domestikos tōn scholōn) was a senior military post of the Byzantine Empire, extant from the 8th century until at least the early 14th century. Originally ...
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. 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
The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
, and recognized
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 ...
as ''
imperator'' and ''
basileus'' (Emperor), but not Emperor of the Romans.
In exchange for that recognition,
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
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
Nesebar (often transcribed as Nessebar and sometimes as Nesebur, bg, Несебър, pronounced ) is an ancient city and one of the major seaside resorts on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, located in Burgas Province. It is the administrative cen ...
) by the Bulgarians. After an initial success in spring 813, Michael's army prepared for a major engagement at
Versinikia near
Adrianople in June. The imperial army was defeated, while
Leo the Armenian fled from the battle. 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). His sons were castrated and relegated into monasteries, one of them, Niketas (renamed
Ignatios), eventually becoming
Patriarch of Constantinople. Michael died on 11 January 844.
Family
By his wife
Prokopia, Michael I had at least five children:
* Georgo, a daughter
*
Theophylact, crowned co-emperor on Christmas 811, became a monk after 813.
* Niketas, later Patriarch
Ignatios of Constantinople
St. Ignatius or Ignatios ( el, Ιγνάτιος), (c. 798 – 23 October 877) was a Patriarch of Constantinople from July 4, 847, to October 23, 858, and from November 23, 867, to his death on October 23, 877. In the Catholic Church and East ...
( 798 – 877)
* Staurakios, crowned co-emperor on Christmas 811, pre-deceased his father
* Theophano, a daughter
Gallery
File:Coronation of a Byzantine co-emperor on a shield, Madrid Skylitzes.jpg, Coronation of Michael I from the 12th-century ''Madrid Skylitzes
The ''Madrid Skylitzes'' is a richly illustrated illuminated manuscript of the ''Synopsis of Histories'' ( el, Σύνοψις Ἱστοριῶν, ), by John Skylitzes, which covers the reigns of the Byzantine emperors from the death of Nicep ...
'', probably drawn from an earlier original source.
References
Sources
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Further reading
*
* Gregory, T. (2005). ''A History of Byzantium'' (Blackwell History of the Ancient World), Wiley-Blackwell .
See also
*
List of Byzantine emperors
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Michael 01
9th-century Byzantine emperors
Nikephorian dynasty
Byzantine people of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars
Eastern Orthodox monks
Year of birth unknown
844 deaths
810s in the Byzantine Empire
Kouropalatai
Rangabe family