Staurakios or Stauracius (; ca. 800 – bef. 11 July 813) was the third son of the

Byzantine emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

Michael I Rangabe () and grandson, on his mother's side, of

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 ...

(). He was junior co-emperor alongside his father during the latter's reign.

Biography

Staurakios was born to

Michael Rhangabe Michael I Rangabe (also spelled Rhangabe; ; c. 770 – 11 January 844) was Byzantine emperor from 811 to 813. A courtier of Emperor Nikephoros I (), he survived the disastrous campaign against the Bulgars and was preferred as imperial successor ...

and

Prokopia Prokopia (; c. 770 – after 813) was the empress consort of Michael I Rhangabe of the Eastern Roman Empire. She was a daughter of Nikephoros I. The name of her mother is not known. Her only known sibling is Staurakios. Marriage Prokopia married ...

. He was the couple's third child, according to the list of his siblings given in the

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...

of Patriarch Ignatius I of Constantinople.. The same source also states that he was crowned alongside his brother Theophylakt. He was named after his maternal uncle, emperor

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 ...

. Following the death of Nikephoros in the

Battle of Pliska The Battle of Pliska or Battle of Vărbitsa Pass was a series of battles between troops, gathered from all parts of the Byzantine Empire, led by the Emperor Nicephorus I, and the First Bulgarian Empire, governed by Khan Krum. The Byzantines pl ...

on 26 July 811 and the crippling of his only son and heir Staurakios in the same battle, on 2 October the Byzantine Senate and the '' tagmata'' guard units acclaimed Nikephoros's son-in-law Michael Rhangabe as emperor and forced Staurakios to abdicate. Michael immediately set about to consolidate his rule, distributing lavish gifts, crowning his wife as '' augusta'' on 12 October, and finally, crowning Staurakios as co-emperor in the

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...

on Christmas Day, 25 December 811. Nothing further is known of Staurakios rather than he died in unknown circumstances before 11 July 813, when Michael, faced with a military revolt under

Leo the Armenian Leo V the Armenian (, ''Léōn ho Arménios''; 775 – 25 December 820) was the Byzantine emperor from 813 to 820. He is chiefly remembered for ending the decade-long war with the Bulgars, as well as initiating the second period of Byzantine ico ...

, abdicated the throne. He pre-deceased his father.

References

Sources

* * * {{authority control 800s births 810s deaths 9th-century Byzantine emperors Byzantine junior emperors Nikephorian dynasty Sons of Byzantine emperors Monarchs who died as children Medieval child monarchs