Symbatios or Sabbatios, surnamed the Armenian ( gr, Συμβάτιος/Σαββάτιος ὁ Ἀρμένιος) was a senior

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 ...

aristocrat and official in the mid-860s. Symbatios was the son-in-law of the ''

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...

Bardas Bardas ( el, Βάρδας; died 21 April 866) was a Byzantine Empire, Byzantine noble and high-ranking minister. As the brother of Empress Theodora (wife of Theophilos), Theodora, he rose to high office under Theophilos (emperor), Theophilos (. ...

, the ''de facto'' ruler of the

Byzantine Empire 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 ...

during the later reign of his nephew

Michael III Michael III ( grc-gre, Μιχαήλ; 9 January 840 – 24 September 867), also known as Michael the Drunkard, was Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian (or Phrygian) dynasty. ...

(). By 866, he held the rank of ''

patrikios The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after ...

'' and the position of ''

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 ...

''. Despite his ties to Bardas, he was a leading member in the conspiracy that resulted in the murder of Bardas on 21 April 866, in hopes of succeeding him. When Emperor Michael III publicly justified the murder of Bardas on 26 May, he claimed that Symbatios and another high court official, the chamberlain

Basil the Macedonian Basil I, called the Macedonian ( el, Βασίλειος ὁ Μακεδών, ''Basíleios ō Makedṓn'', 811 – 29 August 886), was a Byzantine Emperor who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a lowly peasant in the theme of Macedonia, he rose in the ...

, had warned him that Bardas intended to depose him. However, Michael promoted Basil the Macedonian rather than Symbatios, who had to content himself with being named ''

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 Thracesian Theme. From there he rebelled in summer 866 against the growing power of Basil, along with the governor of the

Opsician Theme The Opsician Theme ( gr, θέμα Ὀψικίου, ''thema Opsikiou'') or simply Opsikion (Greek: , from la, Obsequium) was a Byzantine theme (a military-civilian province) located in northwestern Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Created from the imp ...

, George Peganes. The rebellion was defeated in the following winter, and its leaders were arrested. Symbatios was

mutilated Mutilation or maiming (from the Latin: ''mutilus'') refers to severe damage to the body that has a ruinous effect on an individual's quality of life. It can also refer to alterations that render something inferior, ugly, dysfunctional, or imper ...

, losing one eye and his right hand. He was publicly humiliated by being forced to beg for three days in the ta Laousou quarter, before being put under house arrest. When Basil the Macedonian deposed Michael III and became sole emperor in September 867; however, he lifted the banishment of Symbatios and the other rebels, and restored their property to them.

References

Sources

* {{Use dmy dates, date=March 2017 9th-century births 9th-century Byzantine people 9th-century deaths Byzantine people of Armenian descent Byzantine rebels Governors of the Thracesian Theme Patricii Byzantine prisoners and detainees