Michael Protospatharios ( it, Michele Protospatario) 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 ...

catepan of Italy The Catepanate (or Catapanate) of Italy ( el, ''Katepaníkion Italías'') was a province of the Byzantine Empire from 965 until 1071. At its greatest extent, it comprised mainland Italy south of a line drawn from Monte Gargano to the Gulf of Sa ...

from 1031 to 1033. He was sent to Bari after his predecessor, Pothos Argyrus, was killed in battle with the Saracens who took

Cassano allo Ionio Cassano all'Ionio, also named Cassano allo Ionio, is a town and '' comune'' in province of Cosenza of Calabria, southern Italy, known in Roman times as ''Cassanum''. It lies in a fertile region in the concave recess of a steep mountain, 60 k ...

in Calabria. Michael was high and lofty official in the imperial court of

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 ( ...

. He held several high-ranking titles. At the height of his career, his full title was: ', that is, "

Chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

, catepan of Italy, and kritēs of the vēlonThe term ''vēlon'' can stand for either sail, curtain or banner (from

latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

velum Velum may refer to: Human anatomy * Superior medullary velum, anterior medullary velum or valve of Vieussens, white matter, in the brain, which stretches between the superior cerebellar peduncles ** Frenulum of superior medullary velum, a sligh ...

''). In this case it denotes the curtain behind which the judges assembled (

ODB ODB may refer to: People * Ol' Dirty Bastard (1968–2004), American rapper and founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan * ODB (wrestler) (born 1978), Stage name of American professional wrestler Jessica Kresa * Original David Baker (born 1972), a monik ...

, p. 2157). and the

Hippodrome The hippodrome ( el, ἱππόδρομος) was an ancient Greek stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. The name is derived from the Greek words ''hippos'' (ἵππος; "horse") and ''dromos'' (δρόμος; "course"). The term is used i ...

". The ''kritēs'' was probably an officer in charge of processing requests for the audience of the emperor. Michael arrived in Italy early in 1032 with a new army, composed not only of recruits from the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

or the

auxiliaries Auxiliaries are support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties such as garrison troops, ...

, but also from the elite troops of

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

and Syria. It is unknown what became of this grand army, however, as Michael was replaced in 1033 by Constantinos Opos.

References

Sources

*Gay, Jules. ''L'Italie méridionale et l'empire Byzantin: Livre II''. Burt Franklin: New York, 1904.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Protospatharios, Michael 11th-century catepans of Italy