| Michael II | |
|---|---|
| Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans | |
 Michael II, from theMadrid Skylitzes | |
| Byzantine emperor | |
| Reign | 25 December 820 – 2 October 829 |
| Coronation | 25 December 820 |
| Predecessor | Leo V |
| Successor | Theophilos |
| Co-emperor | Theophilos |
| Born | 770 Amorium,Phrygia,Anatolic Theme (nowHisarköy,Afyonkarahisar,Turkey) |
| Died | 2 October 829 (aged 59) |
| Consort | Thekla Euphrosyne |
| Issue | Theophilos |
| Dynasty | Amorian dynasty |
| Amorian dynasty | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chronology | ||
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| Succession | ||
| ||
Michael II (Greek:Μιχαὴλ,Mikhaḗl; 770 – 2 October 829), calledthe Amorian (ὁ ἐξ Ἀμορίου,ho ex Amoríou) andthe Stammerer (ὁ Τραυλός,ho Travlós orὁ Ψελλός,ho Psellós),[1] reigned asByzantine emperor from 25 December 820 to his death on 2 October 829, the first ruler of theAmorian dynasty.
Born inAmorium, Michael was a soldier, rising to high rank along with his colleagueLeo V the Armenian (r. 813–820). He helped Leo overthrow and take the place of EmperorMichael I Rhangabe. However, after they fell out Leo sentenced Michael to death. Michael then masterminded a conspiracy which resulted in Leo's assassination at Christmas in 820. Immediately he faced the long revolt ofThomas the Slav, which almost cost him his throne and was not completely quelled until spring 824. The later years of his reign were marked by two major military disasters that had long-term effects: the beginning of theMuslim conquest of Sicily, and theloss of Crete to Andalusian Arab pirates. Domestically, he supported and strengthened the resumption of officialiconoclasm, which had begun again under Leo V.
Michael was bornc. 770 inAmorium, inPhrygia, into aCappadocian family of professional peasant-soldiers who received land from the government for their military service. They may have been members of the sect of theAthinganoi.[2]
Michael first rose to prominence as a close aide (spatharios) of the generalBardanes Tourkos, alongside his future antagonistsLeo the Armenian andThomas the Slav. He married Bardanes' daughterThekla, while Leo married another daughter. Michael and Leo abandoned Bardanes shortly after he rebelled against EmperorNikephoros I in 803, and they were rewarded with higher military commands: Michael was named the Emperor'sCount of the Tent. Michael was instrumental in Leo's overthrow ofMichael I Rhangabe in 813, after Rangabe's repeated military defeats against the Bulgarians. Under Leo V, Michael was appointed to command the elitetagma of theExcubitors.
Thekla and Michael had only one known son,Theophilos (813 – 20 January 842). The existence of a daughter called Helena is possible but there is a contradiction between different sources. Helena is known as the wife ofTheophobos, a patrician executed in 842 for conspiring to gain the throne for himself.George Hamartolos and Theophanes report him marrying the sister of the EmpressTheodora.Joseph Genesius records Theophobos marrying the sister of the Emperor Theophilos. Whether Helena was sister or sister-in-law to Theophilos is thus unclear.
Michael became disgruntled with Leo V when he divorced Michael's sister-in-law. In late 820, agents of thePostal Logothete uncovered a plot led by Michael to overthrow Leo, who then imprisoned Michael and sentenced him todeath by burning. Empress consortTheodosia secured a postponement of the execution until after Christmas. This allowed Michael to rally undetected plotters to assassinate Leo on Christmas morning in the palace chapel andcastrate his sons to prevent the continuation of his dynasty. Michael was immediately proclaimed emperor, while still wearing prison chains on his legs. Later the same day, he wascrowned by PatriarchTheodotus I of Constantinople.[2]
In his internal policy, Michael II supportediconoclasm, but he tacitly encouraged reconciliation with theiconodules, whom he generally stopped persecuting, allowing those exiled by EmperorLeo V the Armenian to return. These included the former patriarchNikephoros,Anthony the Confessor, andTheodore the Stoudite, who failed, however, to persuade the emperor to abandon iconoclasm. Michael also did not restore the exiled iconodules to their previous positions. Theodore also requested permission to restore icons, resume relations with thebishop of Rome and recognise him as the head of all churches and therefore arbiter of disputes. Michael allowed iconodules to follow their conscience outside of Constantinople but did not make any further concessions, refusing to change imperial policy and banning discussion of theCouncil of Hieria (754),Second Council of Nicaea (787) andCouncil of Constantinople (815). When Patriarch Theodotos died in 821, Michael appointed the iconoclastAntony, bishop ofSyllaion, against the aspirations of the iconodules.[3][4][5]
Michael's accession prompted his former comrade-in-armsThomas the Slav to set himself up as rival emperor inAnatolia to avenge Leo V. He had been made thetourmarchēs of theFoederati (a command in theAnatolic Theme) by Leo, and so bore at least nominal allegiance to him. Thestratēgos ofSicily, Gregory, also proclaimed allegiance to Leo against Michael but was killed by soldiers under thetourmarchēsEuphemios which secured the loyalty of the Sicilian fleet to Michael. Thomas was supported by theBucellarian,Paphlagonian andCibyrrhaeotthemes, while Michael held the European part of the Empire including theOpsikion (commanded by his relative Katakylas),Thracesian,Armeniac andChaldian themes. To strengthen his position, he won the support of iconodules by stopping persecution, recalling exiled bishops and offering to reinstate PatriarchNikephoros I of Constantinople if he ignored theiconoclast controversy, which he refused to do.[6][7]
In his quest for support, Thomas presented himself as a champion of the poor, reduced taxation, and concluded an alliance withal-Ma'mun of theAbbasid Caliphate, having himself crowned as emperor by the iconodule GreekPatriarch of Antioch,Job, in theChurch of Cassian, then in Abbasid territory, taking the imperial nameConstantine. Having amassed a large army, perhaps of 80,000 men as some sources report, Thomas marched intoThrace, winning the support of the theme as well as the Armeniacs and Chaldians. He besieged the capital in December 821. Although Thomas did not win over all the Anatolian themes, he secured the support of the naval theme and their ships, allowing him to intensify his siege ofConstantinople. At this point, Michael's usurpation was prevented only by theWalls of Constantinople.[8][9][10]
In summer 822, the imperial fleet was able to destroy the rebel fleet withGreek fire. The primary sources disagree over whether a large Bulgar force under KhanOmurtag of Bulgaria was acting on Michael's request or of its own accord, nevertheless in spring 823 it marched against Thomas, forcing him to lift his siege of Constantinople. The Bulgars defeated Thomas and many of his men began to desert, leading him to retreat toArcadiopolis. Michael besieged Thomas in Arcadiopolis and starved him out, leading his supporters to hand him over to the Emperor, who put him to death. The last outbreak of resistance was put down in Anatolia in spring 824. By the end of 823, Michael's power was firmly established and he had negotiated peace with the Bulgars despite their raiding and pillaging in Thrace during Thomas' revolt.[11][12]
The warfare damaged the rural economy, in particular the region around Constantinople, and manyDalmatian coastal towns cast off imperial authority, which was not reinstated until the reign ofBasil I (r. 867–886). Michael tried to reunite the Empire by pardoning many of Thomas' supporters and marrying the daughter ofConstantine VI andMaria of Amnia,Euphrosyne, of the illustrious iconoclastIsaurian dynasty, although she herself was an iconodule. The marriage thus gave Michael's rule a degree of legitimacy, but it caused some outrage since his first wife,Thekla had only recently died, and Euphrosyne was anun. Nevertheless, the marriage helped to stabilise his authority and position.[13][14]
Michael attempted a reconciliation of theiconoclast controversy with Theodore and Nikephoros but they remained determined in their rejection of any compromise between iconoclasm and iconodulia. Theodore insisted that the matter should be resolved by a council presided over by Nikephoros or by the pope as a final arbiter. Nikephoros wrote hisRefutation of theActs of the 815 Council of Constantinople. Michael denied that the pope had any authority to intervene in the Eastern Church, so when the abbotMethodios, later Patriarch of Constantinople, arrived in Constantinople with a definition of orthodoxy fromPope Paschal I, he was considered a traitor and imprisoned. This was the only case of oppression of iconodules by Michael recorded in primary sources, and he generally pursued a benevolent policy, hoping he would be able to convert iconodules through dialogue. He wrote to theCarolingian Emperor,Louis the Pious (r. 814–840), defending the iconoclast position as represented in the synod of 815, and affirming belief in the veneration ofrelics. He gave an account of Thomas the Slav's revolt and appealed to Louis to suppress eastern monks who were spreading anti-Byzantine propaganda inRome. He also expressed his disapproval of certain practices associated with iconodules including the mixing of fragments of icons with theEucharist, the use of icons asaltar tables and as sponsors inbaptism ortonsuring. This is corroborated by other reports of the extensive cult of images which had developed by the ninth century.[15][16] Another case of Byzantine diplomacy with the Franks was the gift of the manuscript ofPseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite to Louis' court in 827, which was purposefully chosen because Louis' adviserHilduin, abbot of Saint-Denis, choseDionysius as his abbey'spatron saint.[17]
In 824, Michael sent a fleet to raid theSyrian coast and sackSozopetra. Caliph al-Ma'mun mounted a combined land and naval raid in 825, but it did not cause much long-term damage and Michael did not retaliate, leaving the eastern frontier in a hostile stalemate.[13][18]
Michael inherited a seriously weakened military and was unable to prevent theconquest of Crete in 826 by 10,000Arab pirates fromal-Andalus (who had 40 ships), or to recover the island with an expedition. The pirates had been exiled by theUmayyademir of al-Andalus and capturedAlexandria in 825 but were driven out. Crete was only recovered in 961, and until then remained a base for raiding parties into theAegean and easternMediterranean. In 828, the Cibyrrhaeot navy and army achieved some successes, but was destroyed in a surprise attack and thestratēgos of the theme was killed. However in 829, the imperial fleet succeeded in driving the pirates out of theCyclades.[19][20][18]
Sicily lacked both a dominant political and culture centre, likeRavenna,Rome orNaples, and an autonomous local military elite, so its population were either divided or reacted passively during the crises of the 820s. Discontent began with the revolt ofThomas the Slav, and developed with Michael's attempt to raise taxation in 826. An anti-imperial faction arose, led by thetourmarchēs of Sicily,Euphemios, who had led successful raids inNorth Africa. In 827, thestratēgos Constantine tried to arrest him, although his motive was unclear. It was likely in response to Euphemios' disloyalty, but later legends report that he wanted to punish Euphemios for abducting his niece from anunnery and forcing her into marriage. In any event, word of Constantine's intention reached Euphemios when he was raiding on the North African shore, and caused him to initiate a rebellion, seizingSyracuse, proclaiming himself emperor and then killing thestratēgos Constantine after defeating him atCatania. Some of Euphemios' supporters deserted him for the imperial government, and he was defeated by another garrison commander, which forced him to flee to theAghlabidemir,Ziyadat Allah I of Ifriqiya, who recognised his title and gave him a fleet. In June 827, a predominantly Arab force landed on the west of the island atMazara, beginning an invasion. The Byzantines fared poorly at first, retaining control only of a few strongholds and Syracuse. With the death of Euphemios and the arrival of a newstratēgos in 829 came a series of successes which secured imperial authority by the end of Michael's reign.[21][22]
Michael maintained his policy of compromise and neutrality between iconoclasm and iconodulia until his death, and was supported throughout by Patriarch Antony. In October 829, Michael ordered the release of prisoners, reflecting his moderate policy. On 2 October, he died fromkidney failure. He was succeeded peacefully by his sonTheophilos and Theophilos's stepmotherEuphrosyne, since Theophilos was only seventeen years old.[23]
Because of his iconoclasm, Michael was not popular among the clergy, who depicted him as an ignorant and poorly educated peasant, but he was a competent statesman and administrator. EmpressTheodora (r. 842–856) defended her husbandTheophilos, which mitigated thedamnatio memoriae against him and his father Michael, nevertheless the later iconodule sources were highly critical of them. The civil war, which was the most ferocious since theHeraclian revolt (608–610), gravely weakened the imperial government, which saw the beginning of the century-long struggle overSicily with theAghlabids and the loss ofCrete toArab pirates fromal-Andalus. Both islands became bases for future raids of the coasts of southernItaly and in theAegean, as well as the conquest ofBari in 842. However, by the end of Michael's reign he had begun a restoration of the Byzantine military. The system of government and military built by Michael enabled the Empire under his grandsonMichael III to gain ascendancy in their struggles with theAbbasids and to withstand all the vicissitudes of Byzantine palace life. Michael II's direct descendants, theAmorian dynasty followed by the so-calledMacedonian dynasty, ruled the Empire for more than two centuries, inaugurating theByzantine Renaissance of the 9th and 10th centuries.[20][24][25]
Although he arranged the assassination of Leo V, Michael continued with his form of iconoclasm in what came to be known as the "second"Byzantine iconoclasm. This iconoclasm was less intransigent than the first; iconodules were not accused ofidolatry and images that were suspended high up (and thus unable to be venerated) were permitted to remain in churches. Nevertheless, many iconodule clergymen remained staunchly opposed, especially PatriarchNikephoros I of Constantinople who was deposed by Leo V but remained active in polemics against imperial authority during Michael's reign.[5]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Michael (emperors)".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 359–360.Michael II Born: 770 Died: 2 October 829 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Byzantine emperor 25 December 820 – 2 October 829 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Leo V in 814 | Roman consul 820 | Succeeded by Theophilos in 830 |
| International | |
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| People | |
