Byzantine Empire Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων (Ancient Greek) Imperium Romanum (Latin)
820–867
The Byzantine Empire in 864 AD after the Christianization of Bulgaria.
Capital	Constantinople
Common languages	Greek
Government	Bureaucratic semi-elective monarchy
Emperor
• 820–829	Michael II
• 829–842	Theophilos
• 842–867	Michael III
History
• accession ofMichael II	820
• assassination of Michael III	867
Preceded by Succeeded by Byzantine Empire under the Nikephorian dynasty Byzantine Empire under the Macedonian dynasty First Bulgarian Empire Emirate of Crete Emirate of Sicily

TheAmorian dynasty (or Phrygian dynasty) ruled theByzantine Empire from 820 to 867. The Amorian dynasty continued the policy of restorediconoclasm (the "Second Iconoclasm") started by the previous non-dynastic emperorLeo V in 813, until its abolition byEmpress Theodora with the help ofPatriarch Methodios in 842.^[1] The continued iconoclasm further worsened relations between the East and the West, which were already bad following the papal coronations of a rival line of "Roman Emperors" beginning withCharlemagne in 800. Relations worsened even further during the so-calledPhotian Schism, whenPope Nicholas I challengedPhotios' elevation to the patriarchate. However, the era also saw a revival in intellectual activity which was marked by the end of iconoclasm under Michael III, which contributed to the upcomingMacedonian Renaissance.

During the Second Iconoclasm, the Empire began to see systems resemblingfeudalism being put in place, with large and local landholders becoming increasingly prominent, receiving lands in return for military service to the central government.^[2] Similar systems had been in place in the Roman Empire ever since the reign ofSeverus Alexander during the third century, when Roman soldiers and their heirs were granted lands on the condition of service to the Emperor.^[3]

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Michael was originally a high-ranking soldier serving under EmperorMichael I Rangabe of theNikephorian dynasty. He aidedLeo V in his overthrow of Michael I, but, as relations worsened between Leo and Michael, Leo eventually sentenced Michael to death. In response, Michael led a conspiracy that resulted in the assassination of Leo on Christmas 820. Taking the throne for himself, Michael II was immediately faced with a revolt byThomas the Slav, which became a civil war that lasted four years and almost cost Michael the throne. Michael continued the practice of iconoclasm, which had been reinvigorated by Leo V.

The reign of Michael II saw two major military disasters that would have permanent effects on the Empire: the beginning of theMuslim conquest of Sicily, and theloss of Crete to the Saracens.

Michael was not popular among the Orthodox clergy, but he would prove himself a competent statesman and administrator, eventually bringing much-needed stability to the Empire following decades of strife and warfare and even restorations of the military. He was succeeded by his only son, Theophilos, upon his death in 829.

Theophilos succeeded Michael II in 829 and was the last Byzantine Emperor to support iconoclasm.^[4] Theophilos waged war against the Arabs throughout the entirety of his reign, being forced to war on two fronts as Sicily had been taken and Arab armies continued to march from the East as well. The defence after the invasion ofAnatolia by theAbbasidCaliphAl-Ma'mun in 830 was led by the Emperor himself, but the Byzantines were defeated and lost several fortresses. In 831 Theophilos retaliated by leading a large army intoCilicia and capturingTarsus. The Emperor returned toConstantinople in triumph, but in the autumn he was defeated inCappadocia. Another defeat in the same province in 833 forced Theophilos to sue for peace, which he obtained the next year, after the death of Al-Ma'mun.

War continued, and Theophilos personally led armies into Mesopotamia in 837, capturingMelitene andArsamosata with a massive army numbering 70,000.^[5] Further battles and attacks would take place until Theophilos died of disease in 842. He was succeeded by his son Michael III.

Michael III would play a vital role in the Byzantine resurgence of the 9th century. As Michael was merely two years old when his father died, the Empire was governed by aregency headed by his mother Theodora, her uncle Sergios, and the ministerTheoktistos. The empress hadiconodule sympathies and deposed the patriarch,John VII, replacing him with the iconoduleMethodios I in 843. This put an end to the second spell oficonoclasm.^[6] Michael and his supporters overthrew this regency in 857, becoming Emperor proper.^[7]

His reign would see continued war against the Arabs and due to his pleasure-loving nature he was nicknamed "the Drunkard" by later chroniclers sympathetic to his murderer and successorBasil I.

Nikephoros I emperor of the Romans 802-811 NIKEPHORIAN DYNASTY

Irene of Athens empress of the Romans 797-802

Theophano of Athens

Staurakios emperor of the Romans 811

Prokopia

Michael I Rangabe emperor of the Romans 811-813

Bardanes Tourkos

Maria of Amnia

Constantine VI emperor of the Romans 780-797

Leo V the Armenian emperor of the Romans 813-820

Barka

1.Thekla

Michael II emperor of the Romans 820-829 AMORIAN/PHRYGIAN DYNASTY

2.Euphrosyne

Anastasios Martinakios

(1)Theophilos emperor of the Romans 829-842

saintTheodora from Paphlagonia

Inger Martinakios

Anna nun

Constantine prince

Michael III emperor of the Romans 842-867

Eudokia Ingerina

Basil I emperor of the Romans 867-886 MACEDONIAN DYNASTY

• Family tree of Byzantine emperors

• 860s disestablishments
• Phrygian dynasty
• 9th century in the Byzantine Empire
• Feudalism in Europe
• 820s establishments
• Amorium

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