Eustathios ( el, Εὐστάθιος) was the

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 Constantinopl ...

governor (''

strategos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek language, Greek to ...

'') of the

Cibyrrhaeot Theme The Cibyrrhaeot Theme, more properly the Theme of the Cibyrrhaeots ( gr, θέμα Κιβυρραιωτῶν, thema Kibyrrhaiōtōn), was a Byzantine theme encompassing the southern coast of Asia Minor from the early 8th to the late 12th centuries ...

in ca. 909–912. Eustathios is only mentioned by the ''

De Administrando Imperio ''De Administrando Imperio'' ("On the Governance of the Empire") is the Latin title of a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is ("To yown son Romanos"). It is a domes ...

'', a work compiled in the middle of the 10th century by

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 Kar ...

. According to it, in approximately 909/910, he was ''

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 ...

'', ''

asekretis The term ''asekretis'' ( gr, ἀσηκρῆτις, asēkrētis, invariable form) designated a senior class of secretaries in the Byzantine imperial court in the 6th–12th centuries. The term is derived from the Latin ''a secretis'', and in its ...

'', and ''

ek prosopou The title of ''ek prosopou'' ( el, ), meaning "representative", was widely used in the middle Byzantine Empire (9th–12th centuries) for deputies of various office holders. The title could be applied in a generic sense to any senior official, suc ...

'' of the

. Use of the title ''ek prosopou'' ("representative") is ambiguous in the sources, and modern scholars suggest that he was actually the military governor (''

'') of the Cibyrrhaeots, rather than the governor's deputy. He came into conflict with the ''

katepano The ''katepánō'' ( el, κατεπάνω, lit. "he oneplaced at the top", or " the topmost") was a senior Byzantine military rank and office. The word was Latinized as ''capetanus/catepan'', and its meaning seems to have merged with that of the ...

'' of the

Mardaites The Mardaites () or al-Jarajima ( syr, ܡܪ̈ܕܝܐ; ar, ٱلْجَرَاجِمَة / ALA-LC: ''al-Jarājimah''), inhabited the highland regions of the Nur Mountains. The Mardaites were early Christians following either Miaphysitism or Monothelit ...

, a certain Staurakios Platys. Although both were proteges of the powerful ''

logothetes tou dromou The ( gr, λογοθέτης τοῦ δρόμου), in English usually rendered as Logothete of the Course/Drome/ or Postal Logothete, was the head of the department of the Public Post ( la, cursus publicus, gr, δημόσιος δρόμος, de ...

'', Himerios, Eustathios clashed with Staurakios over their jurisdiction, as the latter held his appointment directly from the emperor and was wont to disregard the instructions of the theoretically superior ''strategos''. After remonstrances to Emperor

Leo VI the Wise Leo VI, called the Wise ( gr, Λέων ὁ Σοφός, Léōn ho Sophós, 19 September 866 – 11 May 912), was Byzantine Emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty (although his parentage is unclear), he was very well r ...

, Staurakios was recalled, and his authority transferred to Eustathios. As Eustathios remained in office until late 912, when he was replaced by Emperor

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

with the ''protospatharios'' Niketas, he is most likely to be identified with the anonymous ''strategos'' of the Cibyrrhaeots who was responsible for the equipment of a fleet and crews in preparation for Himerios' great naval expedition in 911, directed against the

Emirate of Crete The Emirate of Crete ( ar, إقريطش, Iqrīṭish or , ''Iqrīṭiya''; gr, Κρήτη, Krētē) was an Islamic state that existed on the Mediterranean island of Crete from the late 820s to the reconquest of the island by the Byzantine Empir ...

or the coasts of

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eustathios 10th-century Byzantine people Byzantine generals Governors of the Cibyrrhaeot Theme Byzantine people of the Arab–Byzantine wars Protospatharioi