Akameros (, )—his original name was probably Akamir—was the "''

archon ''Archon'' (, plural: , ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem , meaning "to be first, to rule", derived from the same ...

'' of the

Sclavenes The ' (in Latin) or ' ( various forms in Greek) were early Slavic tribes that raided, invaded and settled in the Balkans in the Early Middle Ages and eventually became one of the progenitors of modern South Slavs. They were mentioned by early By ...

of Belzetia" (), an autonomous South Slavic community in Central Greece under

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

sovereignty, in the late 8th century. He is mentioned only once, by

Theophanes the Confessor Theophanes the Confessor (; 759 – 817 or 818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking up the religious life. Theophanes attended the Second C ...

,Mango & Scott (1997) pp. 651–652Curta (2006), p. 110 as leading a plot involving the sons of

Constantine V Constantine V (; July 718 – 14 September 775) was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. As an able military leader, Constantine took advantage of Third Fitna, civil war ...

() – the former ''

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war. He ...

es''

Nikephoros Nikephoros (), Nikiforos or Nicephorus is a Greek male name, meaning "Bringer of Victory", which was commonly used among the Byzantine Empire's aristocracy. It may refer to: Rulers * Nikephoros I Logothetes, Byzantine emperor 802–811 * Nikeph ...

and Christopher, and their younger brothers Niketas, Anthimos and Eudokimos – who had been deposed,

mutilated Mutilation or maiming (from the ) is severe damage to the body that has a subsequent harmful effect on an individual's quality of life. In the modern era, the term has an overwhelmingly negative connotation, referring to alterations that rend ...

by their elder brother, the emperor

Leo IV the Khazar Leo IV the Khazar (; 25 January 750 – 8 September 780) was Byzantine emperor from 775 to 780 AD. He was born to Emperor Constantine V and Empress Tzitzak in 750. He was elevated to co-emperor in the next year, in 751, and married to Irene of ...

().Hollingsworth (1991), p. 1476 After Leo's death, his wife,

Irene of Athens Irene of Athens (, ; 750/756 – 9 August 803), surname Sarantapechaena (, ), 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 from 792 unti ...

(), deposed her son

Constantine VI Constantine VI (, 14 January 771 – before 805), sometimes called the Blind, was Byzantine emperor from 780 to 797. The only child of Emperor Leo IV, Constantine was named co-emperor with him at the age of five in 776 and succeeded him as sol ...

() in 797, and sent his uncles in exile to

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

so that they would not threaten her rule. In March 799, Akameros, in collusion with troops from the local

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software. * Theme (linguistics), topic * Theme ( ...

of Hellas, planned to seize them and declare one of them emperor. The plot was foiled however as Irene was informed of it, and the Empress sent a trusted kinsman to Athens: the brothers were blinded and moved to the island of Panormos in the

Marmara Sea The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is a small inland sea entirely within the borders of Turkey. It links the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Turkey's E ...

. Nothing further is heard of Akameros. The area of Belzetia has been identified by some scholars with the area of settlement of the

Belegezitai The Belegezites (, ''Belegezitai'') were a South Slavs, South Slavic (''Sklavenoi'') tribe that lived in the area of Thessaly in the Early Middle Ages. They are one of the tribes listed in the ''Miracles of Saint Demetrius''. Geography According ...

around

Demetrias Demetrias () was a Greek city in Magnesia in ancient Thessaly (east central Greece), situated at the head of the Pagasaean Gulf, near the modern city of Volos. History It was founded in 294 BCE by Demetrius Poliorcetes, who removed th ...

in eastern

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

, but this is probably an error, and the origin of Belzetia has to be sought with another Slavic tribe, the Berzetai.

References

Sources

* * * * {{citation, last1=Mango, first1=Cyril, author1-link=Cyril Mango, last2=Scott, first2=Roger, title=The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor. Byzantine and Near Eastern History, AD 284–813, location=Oxford, United Kingdom, publisher=Oxford University Press, year=1997, isbn=0-19-822568-7 8th-century Byzantine people 8th-century Slavs Byzantine governors South Slavic history Medieval Central Greece 8th-century Greek people 8th century in Greece Slavic warriors Archons