Symbatios or Sabbatios, surnamed the Armenian () 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 ...

aristocrat and official in the mid-860s. Symbatios was the son-in-law of the ''

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 ...

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 ...

, the ''de facto'' ruler of the

Byzantine Empire 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 History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

during the later reign of his nephew

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 ...

(). By 866, he held 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 position 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 ...

''. Despite his ties to Bardas, he was a leading member in the conspiracy that resulted in the murder of Bardas on 21 April 866, in hopes of succeeding him. When Emperor Michael III publicly justified the murder of Bardas on 26 May, he claimed that Symbatios and another high court official, the chamberlain

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 ...

, had warned him that Bardas intended to depose him. However, Michael promoted Basil the Macedonian rather than Symbatios, who had to content himself with being named ''

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

Thracesian Theme The Thracesian Theme (, ''Thrakēsion thema''), more properly known as the Theme of the Thracesians (, ''thema Thrakēsiōn'', often simply , ''Thrakēsioi''), was a Byzantine theme (a military-civilian province) in western Asia Minor (modern Tu ...

. From there he rebelled in summer 866 against the growing power of Basil, along with the governor of the

Opsician Theme The Opsician Theme (, ''thema Opsikiou'') or simply Opsikion (Greek: , from ) was a Byzantine theme (a military-civilian province) located in northwestern Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Created from the imperial retinue army, the ''Opsikion'' was the ...

, George Peganes. The rebellion was defeated in the following winter, and its leaders were arrested. Symbatios was

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 ...

, losing one eye and his right hand. He was publicly humiliated by being forced to beg for three days in the ta Laousou quarter, before being put under house arrest. When Basil the Macedonian deposed Michael III and became sole emperor in September 867; however, he lifted the banishment of Symbatios and the other rebels, and restored their property to them.

References

Sources

* {{Use dmy dates, date=March 2017 9th-century births 9th-century Byzantine people 9th-century deaths 9th-century rebels Byzantine people of Armenian descent Byzantine rebels Governors of the Thracesian Theme Patricii Byzantine prisoners and detainees