Sisinnios Triphyllios ( el, Σισίννιος Τριφύλλιος, died 26 July 811) was one of the senior dignitaries of the Roman Empire during the reign of

Empress An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Irene of Athens (797–802) and her successor Emperor

Nikephoros I Nikephoros I or Nicephorus I ( gr, Νικηφόρος; 750 – 26 July 811) was Byzantine emperor from 802 to 811. Having served Empress Irene as '' genikos logothetēs'', he subsequently ousted her from power and took the throne himself. In r ...

(802–811). Sisinnios first appears in Irene's unique triumphal procession on Easter Monday, 1 April 799, through the imperial capital, Constantinople. At the time, he held the post of ''

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 ...

'' (military governor) of Thrace, the theme closest to Constantinople, and holder of the supreme dignity of '' patrikios''. He was one of the four ''patrikioi'' (along with Bardanes Tourkos,

Constantine Boilas Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

, and Sisinnios' brother Niketas) leading the four white horses which drew the imperial carriage, a role which marked these men out as the most prominent of Irene's supporters among the high dignitaries of the state.Winkelmann et al. (2001), p. 163 Despite their earlier support of Irene, the Triphyllioi brothers opposed the rising influence of the eunuch Aetios (who replaced Sisinnios as ''strategos'' of Thrace with his own brother Leo sometime in 801/802) and the fiscal policies adopted by Irene over the next years. They were thus among the leaders of her overthrow by the

General Logothete The ( gr, λογοθέτης τοῦ γενικοῦ, often called or simply (, 'the general ogothete), and usually rendered in English as the General Logothete, was in charge of the 'general financial ministry', the of the middle Byzantine Em ...

, on 31 October 802. As a ''patrikios'', Sisinnios remained influential under Nikephoros, but is not recorded as having held any specific post. The death of his brother on 30 April 803 is rumoured by some Eastern Roman chroniclers to have been ordered by Nikephoros, but given Sisinnios' close relations with the emperor throughout the latter's reign, this is unlikely. Sisinnios was among the magnates who accompanied Nikephoros on his campaign against the

Bulgars The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as nomad ...

in spring-summer 811, and was among those slain in the disastrous

Battle of Pliska The Battle of Pliska or Battle of Vărbitsa Pass was a series of battles between troops, gathered from all parts of the Byzantine Empire, led by the Emperor Nicephorus I, and the First Bulgarian Empire, governed by Khan Krum. The Byzantines plu ...

on 26 July.Treadgold (1988), pp. 170, 174

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Triphyllios, Sisinnios 8th-century births 811 deaths 8th-century Byzantine people 9th-century Byzantine people Byzantine generals Patricii Byzantines killed in battle Byzantine people of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars Governors of the Theme of Thrace