Himerios (

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 ...

: ), also Himerius, was 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 Constantinopl ...

administrator and admiral of the early 10th century, best known as the commander of the Byzantine navy during its struggles with the resurgent Muslim navies in the period 900–912.

Biography

Nothing is known about Himerios's early life. He was married to the sister of

Zoe Karbonopsina Zoe Karbonopsina, also Karvounopsina or Carbonopsina, ( el, Ζωὴ Καρβωνοψίνα, translit=Zōē Karbōnopsina), was an empress and regent of the Byzantine empire. She was the fourth spouse of the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise and th ...

, the mistress and later wife of 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. 886–912), and his career was the direct result of this relationship. Initially a '' protasēkrētis'', Himerios was given command of the Byzantine fleet in 904. A Muslim fleet under

Leo of Tripoli Leo of Tripoli ( el, Λέων ὸ Τριπολίτης), known in Arabic as Rashīq al-Wardāmī (), and Ghulām Zurāfa (), was a Greek renegade and fleet commander for the Abbasid Caliphate in the early tenth century. He is most notable for h ...

was heading towards

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

and had already driven back the Byzantines under the ''

droungarios tou ploimou The ''droungarios'' of the Fleet ( el, δρουγγάριος τοῦ πλοΐμου/τῶν πλοΐμων, ''droungarios tou ploïmou/tōn ploïmōn''; after the 11th century δρουγγάριος τοῦ στόλου, ''droungarios tou stol ...

'' Eustathios Argyros. Eustathios was replaced by Himerios, who, however, did not have to fight, as the

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

withdrew on their own. The two fleets encountered each other off

Thasos Thasos or Thassos ( el, Θάσος, ''Thásos'') is a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea. It is the northernmost major Greek island, and 12th largest by area. The island has an area of and a population of about 13,000. It forms a separate r ...

, but the Byzantines chose not to give battle. As a result, the Arabs were able to besiege and sack

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

, the Byzantine Empire's second-largest city, and sail home unopposed. On St. Thomas's day (6 October) in 906, Himerios managed to score his first victory over the Arabs,.. and it was probably then that he was awarded the high state office of '' logothetēs tou dromou'' (effectively foreign minister). Another victory followed in 909, and in the next year, he led an expedition on the Syrian coast: Laodicea was sacked, its hinterland plundered, and many prisoners captured, with minimal losses. At the same time, Himerios also landed on

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

, which for centuries had been demilitarized as a condominium with the

Caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

. The recovery of the island was temporary only, as in 911 or 912,

Damian of Tarsus Damian of Tarsus (Greek: Δαμιανός ό Ταρσεύς, ; died 924), surnamed Ghulam Yazman (" slave/page of Yazman"), was a Byzantine Greek convert to Islam, governor of Tarsus in 896–897 and one of the main leaders of naval raids against t ...

assaulted Cyprus. Eventually, the previous ''status quo'' was restored.. In meantime, in the autumn of 911, Himerios had set out on a new attempt to retake

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

. He commanded a fleet of 177

dromon A dromon (from Greek δρόμων, ''dromōn'', "runner") was a type of galley and the most important warship of the Byzantine navy from the 5th to 12th centuries AD, when they were succeeded by Italian-style galleys. It was developed from the an ...

s with 43,000 men, and set the island's capital,

Chandax Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban Ar ...

, under siege. The siege had lasted for six months, when news arrived from Constantinople that the emperor was ill and dying. Consequently, Himerios abandoned the fruitless siege and set sail for the capital. However, as his fleet was rounding

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of masti ...

, they fell into a Saracen ambush set by Leo of Tripoli and Damian of Tarsus (April 912): the Byzantines were annihilated, and Himerios himself only narrowly escaped. Following this defeat and the death of Emperor Leo, he was dismissed by the new 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 ...

(r. 912–913), and exiled to the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

of Kamba, where he died six months later..

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Himerios Byzantine admirals Logothetai tou dromou 10th-century Byzantine people 918 deaths Byzantine people of the Arab–Byzantine wars 9th-century births Medieval Aegean Sea