Niketas Triphyllios (; died 30 April 803) was one of the highest officials of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

during the reign of

empress The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

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 ...

(797–802), holding the position of

Domestic of the Schools The office of the Domestic of the Schools () was a senior military post of the Byzantine Empire, extant from the 8th century until at least the early 14th century. Originally simply the commander of the '' Scholai'', the senior of the elite '' tag ...

. Niketas first appears in Irene's unique triumphal procession on Easter Monday, 1 April 799. At the time, he was already Domestic of the Schools (commander of the elite '' Scholai'' regiment) and holder of the supreme dignity 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 ...

''. Niketas was one of the four ''patrikioi'' (along with

Bardanes Tourkos Bardanes, nicknamed , "the Turk" (, ), was a Byzantine general who launched an unsuccessful rebellion against Emperor Nikephoros I () in 803. Although a major supporter of Byzantine empress Irene of Athens (), soon after her overthrow he was ap ...

, Constantine Boilas, and Niketas' brother Sisinnios) leading the four white horses which drew the imperial carriage, a role that marks him out as one of the most prominent of Irene's supporters among the high dignitaries of the state.Guilland (1967), p. 436 A few weeks later, in May, Irene's health worsened considerably and the issue of her succession became opened. At this point Niketas (and possibly his brother too) allied himself with the eunuch Aetios to curb the influence of Irene's powerful eunuch chief minister,

Staurakios Staurakios or Stauracius (; early 790s – 11 January 812) was the shortest-reigning Byzantine emperor, ruling for 68 days between 26 July and 2 October 811. He was born in the early 790s, probably between 791 and 793, to Nikephoros I and an ...

. The two went before the empress and accused him of conspiring to seize the throne. Staurakios managed to escape with a rebuke from the empress, but took steps to gather armed support to counter Aetios' and Niketas' control of the army's senior officers. The two camps remained at a stalemate thereafter until February 800, when Staurakios was forbidden to have contacts with the military and Aetios was promoted to the powerful post of ''

strategos ''Strategos'' (), also known by its Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized form ''strategus'', is a Greek language, Greek term to mean 'military General officer, general'. In the Hellenistic world and in the Byzantine Empire, the term was also use ...

'' of the

Anatolic Theme The Anatolic Theme (, ''Anatolikon hema'), more properly known as the Theme of the Anatolics (Greek: , ''thema Anatolikōn''), was a Byzantine theme (a military-civilian province) in central Asia Minor (modern Turkey). From its establishment, it ...

. Despite the fact that Staurakios fell ill soon after, his supporters launched a rebellion on his behalf in

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

. Staurakios however died on 3 June 800, before news of this reached the capital; the revolt was swiftly suppressed.Winkelmann et al. (1999), p. 421 Despite his earlier support of Irene, Triphyllios opposed the fiscal policies adopted by the empress over the next year, as well as the rising influence of Aetios, who replaced Niketas' brother Sisinnios as ''strategos'' of

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

with his own brother Leo. He was thus among the leaders of her overthrow by the

General Logothete The (, often called or simply (, 'the general ogothete), and usually rendered in English as the General Logothete, was in charge of the 'general financial ministry', the of the middle Byzantine Empire.. History and functions The was respo ...

Nikephoros I Nikephoros I (; 750 – 26 July 811), also known as Nicephorus I, was Byzantine emperor from 802 to 811. He was General Logothete (finance minister) under Empress Irene, but later overthrew her to seize the throne for himself. Prior to becomi ...

, on 31 October 802. He remained in his post as Domestic of the Schools until his sudden death on 30 April 803. The imperial chroniclers reporting the rumour that he was poisoned on the orders of Nikephoros, but given Nikephoros' continued close relation with Sisinnios, this is unlikely.Treadgold (1988), pp. 118–119, 129

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Triphyllios, Niketas 8th-century births 803 deaths 8th-century Byzantine people 9th-century Byzantine people Byzantine generals Patricii Domestics of the Schools