Tatzates or Tatzatios (, from Tačat) was a prominent
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 ...
general of
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 ...
descent, who in 782 defected to the
Abbasids
The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes i ...
and was appointed governor of ''
Arminiya
Arminiya, also known as the Ostikanate of Arminiya (, ''Hayastani ostikanut'yun'') or the Emirate of Armenia (, ''imārat armīniya''), was a political and geographic designation given by the Muslim Arabs to the lands of Greater Armenia, Cauca ...
''.
Biography
Tatzates belonged to the noble Armenian Andzevatsi family. Probably in the 750s, he came to the Byzantine Empire and entered the service of Emperor
Constantine V
Constantine V (; July 718 – 14 September 775) was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. As an able military leader, Constantine took advantage of Third Fitna, civil war ...
(r. 741–775)... Under Constantine V, he reportedly fought against the
Bulgars
The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic peoples, Turkic Nomad, semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region between the 5th and 7th centu ...
, and achieved the position 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 ...
'' (general and governor of a
theme
Theme or themes may refer to:
* Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos
* Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software.
* Theme (linguistics), topic
* Theme ( ...
) by circa 760. It is not known which themes he commanded, but by 776 he led the Bucellarian Theme.. In the same year, he led his army in a successful expedition against the
Arabs
Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world.
Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...
, reaching
Samosata
Samsat (, Ottoman Turkish صمصاد ''Semisat''), formerly Samosata () is a small town in the Adıyaman Province of Turkey, situated on the upper Euphrates river. It is the seat of Samsat District.Germanikeia under the overall command of Michael Lachanodrakon, and in 781 he fought, again under Lachanodrakon, in the Byzantine victory at
Caesarea
Caesarea, a city name derived from the Roman title " Caesar", was the name of numerous cities and locations in the Roman Empire:
Places
In the Levant
* Caesarea Maritima, also known as "Caesarea Palaestinae", an ancient Roman city near the modern ...
over an Arab invasion led by 'Abd al-Kabir.
In 782, the Abbasid Caliph's son,
Harun al-Rashid
Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn ibn Muḥammad ar-Rāshīd (), or simply Hārūn ibn al-Mahdī (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Hārūn al-Rāshīd (), was the fifth Abbasid caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, reigning from September 786 unti ...
(Caliph in 786–809), campaigned against the Byzantine Empire and invaded
Asia Minor
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
. The Byzantines, under the
eunuch
A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...
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 ...
, managed to cut off Harun's return and encircle his army. Tatzates chose this moment to defect to Harun with many of his men. His defection, however, was kept secret for a while, allowing Harun to seize the Byzantine envoys, Staurakios among them, who had come to negotiate a truce. The Abbasid commander was thus able to dictate harsh terms to Empress-regent
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 ...
.
The reasons for this action are not fully clear.
Theophanes the Confessor
Theophanes the Confessor (; 759 – 817 or 818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking up the religious life. Theophanes attended the Second C ...
cites his hatred for Irene's favourite Staurakios, while the Armenian historian Ghevond Yerets, more plausibly, suggests that he lost favour at court and feared his imminent replacement as part of Irene's policy of removing Constantine V's staunchly
iconoclast
Iconoclasm ()From . ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a back-formation from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''. is the social belie ...
generals from power.. Theophanes also records that in his defection, Tatzates left behind his wife and all his property, and that they joined him only later, when peace was signed; Armenian sources, however, report that he took them with him when he defected. Harun appointed Tatzates as governor of ''
Arminiya
Arminiya, also known as the Ostikanate of Arminiya (, ''Hayastani ostikanut'yun'') or the Emirate of Armenia (, ''imārat armīniya''), was a political and geographic designation given by the Muslim Arabs to the lands of Greater Armenia, Cauca ...
'' (the Transcaucasian principalities). He was killed during a campaign against the
Khazars
The Khazars ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a nomadic Turkic people who, in the late 6th century CE, established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, a ...