Constantine Maniakes (; ) was a senior

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 ...

court official of the mid-9th century.

Biography

Maniakes was probably descended from a noble

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

family. He came to the Byzantine court in the reign of Emperor Theophilos (r. 829–842), as a member of a delegation from the Armenian princes, and was left in the Byzantine capital,

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, as a hostage.Winkelmann et al. (2000), p. 578Guilland (1967), p. 569 His intelligence and physical qualities soon marked him out, and he quickly won the confidence of Theophilos and rose in the court hierarchy. By the end of Theophilos's reign, he was ''droungarios'' of the Watch. He retained this post after Theophilos's death, and it was he who in 843 enforced the deposition of

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...

John VII Grammatikos, who later falsely accused Maniakes of torturing him. His influence in the imperial court was high during the regency of Empress Theodora and

Theoktistos Theoktistos or Theoctistus (; died 20 November 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 ...

, as well as after, during the sole reign of

Michael III Michael III (; 9/10 January 840 – 24 September 867), also known as Michael the Drunkard, was Byzantine emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian dynasty, Amorian (or Phrygian) dynasty. He ...

(r. 842–867). He eventually rose to the rank of ''

patrikios The patricians (from ) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 B ...

'' and the post of ''

logothetes tou dromou The (), in English usually rendered as Logothete of the Course/Drome/ or Postal Logothete, was the head of the department of the Public Post (, , or simply , ), and one of the most senior fiscal ministers (logothetes) of the Byzantine Empire. H ...

'' ("Postal Logothete", effectively foreign minister), the latter in 866–867 according to

Rodolphe Guilland Rodolphe Joseph Guilland (5 March 1888 – 5 October 1981) was a French Byzantinist. Life Born in 1888, he completed his thesis on Nicephorus Gregoras (a biography in 1926, and his edited correspondence in 1927), and succeeded his teacher Charles ...

. After Theoktistos's fall in 855, engineered by Theodora's brother

Bardas Bardas (; died 21 April 866) was a Byzantine noble and high-ranking minister. As the brother of Empress Theodora, he rose to high office under Theophilos (. Although sidelined after Theophilos's death by Theodora and Theoktistos, in 855 he en ...

, Maniakes tried in vain to save Theoktistos from execution. Maniakes was one of the sponsors of

Basil the Macedonian Basil I, nicknamed "the Macedonian" (; 811 – 29 August 886), was List of Byzantine emperors, Byzantine emperor from 867 to 886. Born to a peasant family in Macedonia (theme), Macedonia, he rose to prominence in the imperial court after gainin ...

, who later became emperor (r. 867–886), during his early days in the imperial court. According to Genesios and other Byzantine chroniclers, Maniakes was related to the future emperor, who was of partial Armenian descent. Maniakes was also a firm opponent of Patriarch Photios and consequently a friend and ally of Photios's rival Ignatios, even aiding him during the latter's imprisonment at Bardas's orders. During the murder of Bardas by Basil the Macedonian in April 866, Constantine protected Michael III through the subsequent tumult. He was one of Michael III's partners in the emperor's favourite pastime,

chariot racing Chariot racing (, ''harmatodromía''; ) was one of the most popular Ancient Greece, ancient Greek, Roman Empire, Roman, and Byzantine Empire, Byzantine sports. In Greece, chariot racing played an essential role in aristocratic funeral games from ...

, and is last mentioned in the races held on 1 September 866 in the hippodrome of the Saint Mamas Palace.

Family

Traditionally, Constantine Maniakes has been identified with the father of Thomas, a ''patrikios'' and ''logothetes'' in the early 10th century, and as the father or grandfather of the historian Genesios, but more recent research by Patricia Karlin-Hayter and Tadeusz Wasilewski has undermined this hypothesis.Winkelmann et al. (2000), pp. 578, 579

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maniakes, Constantine 9th-century Byzantine people Byzantine people of Armenian descent Logothetai tou dromou Patricii 9th-century Armenian people