Theoktistos Bryennios ( el, Θεόκτιστος Βρυέννιος, ) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

nobleman and a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

general who quelled a Slavic rebellion in the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge whi ...

in 842. Theoktistos Bryennios is the first known member of the aristocratic Bryennios family, which survived until the end of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

and reached its apogee in the 11th–12th centuries, when it provided several senior military commanders and contended for the throne. He is known only from the 10th-century '' De administrando imperio'' of Emperor

Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe K ...

(reigned 913–959), which records that at the beginning of the regency of Empress

Theodora Theodora is a given name of Greek origin, meaning "God's gift". Theodora may also refer to: Historical figures known as Theodora Byzantine empresses * Theodora (wife of Justinian I) ( 500 – 548), saint by the Orthodox Church * Theodora ...

, i.e. in 842, the ''

protospatharios ''Prōtospatharios'' ( el, πρωτοσπαθάριος) was one of the highest court dignities of the middle Byzantine period (8th to 12th centuries), awarded to senior generals and provincial governors, as well as to foreign princes. History Th ...

'' Bryennios was appointed military governor (''

strategos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek to mean military general. In the Hellenisti ...

'') of the

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

, and sent with a large army, comprising troops from all of Byzantium's western provinces, against a large-scale revolt of the local Slavs that had broken out in the last years of Theodora's husband, Emperor Theophilos (r. 829–842). This was the second large-scale Slavic uprising in a generation, the first having been the attack on Patras in the mid-9th century, the defeat of which was followed by the imposition of Byzantine rule over the semi-independent Slavic tribes, and the beginning of their gradual

Hellenization Hellenization (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonization often led to the Hellenization of indigenous peoples; in th ...

. Bryennios was successful in suppressing the revolt and subduing the Slavic tribes, except for two, the

Ezeritai The Ezeritai ( el, ) were a Slavic tribe that settled in the Peloponnese in southern Greece during the Middle Ages. In the early decades of the 7th century, Slavic tribes ( Sclaveni) settled throughout the Balkans following the collapse of the ...

and the

Melingoi The Melingoi or Milingoi ( el, Μηλιγγοί) were a Slavic tribe that settled in the Peloponnese in southern Greece during the Middle Ages. In the early decades of the 7th century, Slavic tribes (Sclaveni) settled throughout the Balkans follow ...

. Bryennios forced them to withdraw from the lowlands of the

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word ''laconic''—to speak in a blunt, con ...

n plain to the mountains

Taygetos The Taygetus, Taugetus, Taygetos or Taÿgetus ( el, Ταΰγετος, Taygetos) is a mountain range on the Peloponnese peninsula in Southern Greece. The highest mountain of the range is Mount Taygetus, also known as "Profitis Ilias", or "Prophet ...

and

Parnon Parnon or Parnonas ( el, Πάρνων/Πάρνωνας) or Malevos (Μαλεβός) is a mountain range, or massif, on the east of the Laconian plain and the Evrotas valley. It is visible from Athens above the top of the Argive mountains. The ...

, and imposed on them the obligation to pay an annual tribute, of 300 gold ''

solidi The ''solidus'' (Latin 'solid'; ''solidi'') or nomisma ( grc-gre, νόμισμα, ''nómisma'', 'coin') was a highly pure gold coin issued in the Late Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire. Constantine introduced the coin, and its weigh ...

'' for the Ezeritai and 60 ''solidi'' for the Melingoi. The Melingoi and Ezeritai would once again rebel against Byzantine authority in 921/2, but were again suppressed by the ''strategos'' Krenites Arotras.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bryennios, Theoktistos 9th-century Byzantine people

Theoktistos Theoktistos or Theoctistus (; died November 20, 855) was a leading Byzantine official during the second quarter of the 9th century and the ''de facto'' head of the regency for the underage emperor Michael III from 842 until his dismissal and mu ...

Byzantine generals Byzantine governors of the Peloponnese People of medieval Greece South Slavic history 9th century in Greece Protospatharioi