Niketas ( el, Νικήτας) was the eldest son of 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 ...

general and usurper

Artabasdos Artavasdos or Artabasdos ( el, or , from Armenian: Արտավազդ, ''Artavazd'', ''Ardavazt''), Latinized as Artabasdus, was a Byzantine general of Armenian descent who seized the throne from June 741 or 742 until November 743, in usurpatio ...

(r. 741–743). He served as a general during his father's usurpation against Emperor

Constantine V Constantine V ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantīnos; la, Constantinus; July 718 – 14 September 775), was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. As an able ...

(r. 741–775).

Biography

Niketas was the eldest son of Artabasdos. His mother may have been

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 12 ...

, but it is not certain: Paul Speck hypothesized that he descended from an earlier marriage, since Artabasdos named his younger brother Nikephoros, and not him, as co-emperor. According to the

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...

of Michael Synkellos, there were further seven siblings, whose names are not mentioned.. In 741 Artabasdos rebelled against his brother-in-law Constantine V, and was crowned emperor. Niketas was then appointed ''

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

Armeniac Theme The Armeniac Theme ( el, , ''Armeniakoi hema'), more properly the Theme of the Armeniacs (Greek: , ''thema Armeniakōi'') was a Byzantine theme (a military-civilian province) located in northeastern Asia Minor (modern Turkey). History The Armen ...

(some sources call him ''

monostrategos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek to mean military general. In the Hellenist ...

'', "commander-in-chief"). In August 742 or 743, however, he was defeated in the Battle of Modrine by the forces of Emperor Constantine V. Niketas fled the field, but regrouped his scattered army and resumed the pursuit of Constantine up to Chrysopolis.. Defeated once again by Constantine at a battle near

Nicomedia Nicomedia (; el, Νικομήδεια, ''Nikomedeia''; modern İzmit) was an ancient Greek city located in what is now Turkey. In 286, Nicomedia became the eastern and most senior capital city of the Roman Empire (chosen by the emperor Diocletia ...

, he was captured and imprisoned. After Constantine regained

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 overthrew Artabasdos in November 743, Niketas was blinded along with his father and Nikephoros and paraded through the

Hippodrome of Constantinople Sultanahmet Square ( tr, Sultanahmet Meydanı) or the Hippodrome of Constantinople ( el, Ἱππόδρομος τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, Hippódromos tēs Kōnstantinoupóleōs; la, Circus Maximus Constantinopolitanus; t ...

. Nothing is known of him thereafter with certainty; the hagiography of Michael Synkellos records that the deposed imperial family was confined in the Chora Monastery, where Niketas died and was buried, but this is most probably a later invention.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Niketas (Son Of Artabasdos) 8th-century Byzantine people Byzantine generals Byzantine people of Armenian descent Governors of the Armeniac Theme Sons of Byzantine emperors