Leo Paraspondylos () was a high-ranking 11th-century

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 ...

official, who served as chief minister to Empress Theodora and Emperor

Michael VI Michael VI Bringas (; died ), also called Stratiotikos (, "the military one, the warlike") and the Old (, ''Geron''), reigned as Byzantine emperor from 1056 to 1057. Career Apparently a relative of the powerful courtier Joseph Bringas (i ...

Biography

Leo's surname is in all probability a sobriquet; he seems to have belonged to the Spondylos family, and was possibly a relative of the general Michael Spondyles. He is attested as an official under

Michael IV the Paphlagonian Michael IV the Paphlagonian (; c. 1010 – 10 December 1041) was Byzantine Emperor from 11 April 1034 to his death on 10 December 1041. The son of a peasant, Michael worked as a money changer until he was found a job at court by his brother ...

(r. 1034–41), and rose in office to become the Empire's chief minister ('' paradynasteuon'') under Theodora (r. 1042–56) and

(r. 1056–57), holding the posts of '' synkellos'' and ''

protosynkellos A protosyncellus, protosynkellos or protosyngel () is the principal deputy of the bishop of an eparchy for the exercise of administrative authority in an Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic church. The equivalent position in the Western Christi ...

''. Leo's contemporary, historian and fellow public servant Michael Attaleiates, considered him an excellent administrator, but it was Paraspondylos' refusal to meet the demands of the Empire's leading generals in 1057 that led to their rebellion and the overthrow of Michael VI and the installation of one of their own number,

Isaac I Komnenos Isaac I Komnenos or Comnenus (; – 1 June 1060) was Byzantine emperor from 1057 to 1059, the first reigning member of the Komnenian dynasty. The son of the general Manuel Erotikos Komnenos, he was orphaned at an early age, and w ...

(r. 1057–59), on the throne. After the rebel victory, Paraspondylos was dismissed from office and exiled from

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 ...

, possibly being forcibly

tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...

d. Although occasionally critical of his rough manners,

Michael Psellos Michael Psellos or Psellus (, ) was a Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek monk, savant, writer, philosopher, imperial courtier, historian and music theorist. He was born in 1017 or 1018, and is believed to have died in 1078, although it has also b ...

intervened on his behalf with Isaac I Komnenos, to little avail. Nothing further is known of Leo thereafter.

References

{{reflist 11th-century Byzantine people 11th-century Byzantine government officials Byzantine prisoners and detainees