Petronas ( el, ; died November 11, 865) was a notable

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 leading aristocrat during the mid-9th century. Petronas was a brother of Empress

Theodora Theodora is a given name of Greek origin, meaning "God's gift". Theodora may also refer to: Historical figures known as Theodora Byzantine empresses * Theodora (wife of Justinian I) ( 500 – 548), saint by the Orthodox Church * Theodora o ...

and hence brother-in-law of Emperor Theophilos, under whom he advanced to 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 aft ...

'' and the post of ''

droungarios A ''droungarios'', also spelled ''drungarios'' ( el, δρουγγάριος, la, drungarius) and sometimes anglicized as Drungary, was a military rank of the late Roman and Byzantine empires, signifying the commander of a formation known as '' dr ...

'' of the '' Vigla'' regiment. After Theophilos' death, he played a role in the ending of

Iconoclasm Iconoclasm (from Greek: grc, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, εἰκών + κλάω, lit=image-breaking. ''Iconoclasm'' may also be conside ...

, but was sidelined along with his brother

Bardas Bardas ( el, Βάρδας; died 21 April 866) was a Byzantine noble and high-ranking minister. As the brother of Empress Theodora, he rose to high office under Theophilos (. Although sidelined after Theophilos's death by Theodora and Theoktisto ...

during the minority of his nephew, Michael III, when power was held by the regent

Theoktistos Theoktistos or Theoctistus (; died November 20, 855) was a leading Byzantine official during the second quarter of the 9th century and the ''de facto'' head of the regency for the underage emperor Michael III from 842 until his dismissal and mu ...

. In 855, Petronas and Bardas encouraged Michael III to seize control of the government: Theoktistos was murdered, Theodora banished to a monastery, Bardas became Michael's chief minister, and Petronas was tasked with the war against the Arabs. In 863, he scored a crushing victory at the

Battle of Lalakaon The Battle of Lalakaon ( gr, Μάχη τοῦ Λαλακάοντος), or Battle of Poson or Porson (), was fought in 863 between the Byzantine Empire and an invading Arab army in Paphlagonia (modern northern Turkey). The Byzantine army was led ...

, a feat which marked the gradual beginning of a Byzantine counter-offensive in the East. Promoted to '' magistros'' and ''

domestikos ton scholon The office of the Domestic of the Schools ( gr, δομέστικος τῶν σχολῶν, domestikos tōn scholōn) was a senior military post of the Byzantine Empire, extant from the 8th century until at least the early 14th century. Originally ...

'', he died in 865.

Biography

Petronas was born to the ''

'' Marinos and

Theoktiste Theoktiste ( el, Θεοκτίστη), also known as Phlorina (Φλώρινα), was the mother of the 9th-century Byzantine empress Theodora, the wife of Emperor Theophilos. Life Theoktiste Phlorina was the spouse of Marinos, an officer in the ...

, and was the younger brother of

and Empress

, the wife of Emperor Theophilos. Three other sisters, Kalomaria, Sophia, and Irene, are recorded by ''

Theophanes Continuatus ''Theophanes Continuatus'' ( el, συνεχισταί Θεοφάνους) or ''Scriptores post Theophanem'' (, "those after Theophanes") is the Latin name commonly applied to a collection of historical writings preserved in the 11th-century Vat. g ...

''. Under Theophilos, he was appointed commander (''droungarios'') of the guard regiment ('' tagma'') of the '' Vigla'', and raised to the rank of ''

''. In 842, as Theophilos lay dying, Petronas and the eunuch

carried out the execution of the ''patrikios''

Theophobos Theophobos ( el, Θεόφοβος) or Theophobus, originally Nasir (), Nasr (), or Nusayr (), was an Iranian commander of the Khurramites who converted to Christianity and entered Byzantine service under Emperor Theophilos (r. 829–843). Raised ...

, a former

Khurramite The Khurramites ( fa, خرمدینان ''Khorram-Dīnân'', meaning "those of the Joyful Religion") were an IranianW. Madelung, "Khurrammiya" in ''Encyclopaedia of Islam''. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianchi, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P ...

convert and general, whose troops had rebelled and proclaimed him emperor at Sinope some years before. Despite his kinship with Theophilos, however, the tale is told that the Emperor once had Petronas stripped naked and flogged in public because he had built a palace that overshadowed the house of a

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can so ...

, in contravention of the law. The palace itself was then torn down, and both the building materials and the plot were left to the widow. Michael III with Theodora and Theoktistos

Michael III with Theodora and Theoktistos

When Theophilos died in 842, Theodora was left as regent to her infant son, Michael III. A regency council was set up headed by Theodora, along with Petronas and Bardas and their relative

Sergios Niketiates Sergios Niketiates ( el, Σέργιος Νικητιάτης, ) was a senior Byzantine official and member of the Amorian dynasty. He is celebrated as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church on 28 June for his role in the restoration of the venerati ...

. Petronas is said to have urged Theodora to rescind Theophilos's iconoclastic policies, which eventually resulted in the restoration of the veneration of

images An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...

in the so-called "

Triumph of Orthodoxy The Feast of Orthodoxy (or Sunday of Orthodoxy or Triumph of Orthodoxy) is celebrated on the first Sunday of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Church and other churches using the Byzantine Rite to commemorate, originally, only the final defeat o ...

" on 11 March 843. Soon after that, Petronas and Bardas were successfully sidelined by the ''

logothetes Logothete ( el, λογοθέτης, ''logothétēs'', pl. λογοθέται, ''logothétai''; Med. la, logotheta, pl. ''logothetae''; bg, логотет; it, logoteta; ro, logofăt; sr, логотет, ''logotet'') was an administrative title ...

'' Theoktistos, while Niketiates was killed in an expedition against the

Cretan Saracens The Emirate of Crete ( ar, إقريطش, Iqrīṭish or , ''Iqrīṭiya''; gr, Κρήτη, Krētē) was an Islamic state that existed on the Mediterranean island of Crete from the late 820s to the reconquest of the island by the Byzantine Empi ...

, leaving the eunuch minister the dominant figure throughout Theodora's regency. In 855, however, Michael III turned fifteen and thus came nominally of age. The young ruler began resenting the dominance of his mother and of Theoktistos, especially after they selected

Eudokia Dekapolitissa Eudokia Dekapolitissa ( el, ) was the empress consort of Michael III (r. 842–867), the last member of the Phrygian Dynasty to rule the Byzantine Empire. Marriage Michael III had succeeded to the throne in 842, when he was two years old. His ...

as his bride, disregarding Michael's attachment to his mistress,

Eudokia Ingerina Eudokia (or Eudocia) Ingerina ( el, Ευδοκία Ιγγερίνα) (c. 840 – c. 882) was a Byzantine Empress as the wife of the Byzantine emperor Basil I, the mistress of his predecessor Michael III, and the mother of emperors Leo VI and Alex ...

. Supported by his uncles Bardas and Petronas, Emperor Michael had Theoktistos seized and killed in late 855, while Petronas undertook the confinement of the empress and her daughters into a

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 ...

. Bardas was now raised to the rank of ''

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a 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 a civil war, an ...

'' and became the effective governor of the Byzantine Empire. In this position, he displayed remarkable energy and ability, and amongst the most important of his policies was a more aggressive stance against 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, ...

in the East. Consequently, Petronas was appointed '' strategos'' of the powerful Thracesian Theme. On his first campaign, against the

Paulicians Paulicianism (Classical Armenian: Պաւղիկեաններ, ; grc, Παυλικιανοί, "The followers of Paul"; Arab sources: ''Baylakānī'', ''al Bayāliqa'' )Nersessian, Vrej (1998). The Tondrakian Movement: Religious Movements in the ...

of Tephrike in 856, he plundered his way through the emirate of Melitene and the Paulician lands to

Samosata Samsat ( ku, Samîsad), formerly Samosata ( grc, Σαμόσατα) is a small town in the Adıyaman Province of Turkey, situated on the upper Euphrates river. It is the seat of Samsat District.Amida in

Upper Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia is the name used for the uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, the region has been ...

. After penetrating deeper into Arab territory than any Byzantine commander since the beginning of the

Muslim conquests The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He estab ...

, he returned victorious with many captives. Petronas with John the monk

In 863, an Arab army, led by the emir of Melitene,

Umar al-Aqta ʿUmar ibn ʿAbdallāh ibn Marwān,. ʿAmr ibn ʿUbaydallāh ibn Marwān, or simply Umar al-Aqta ( ar, عمر الأقطع) surnamed al-Aqtaʾ, "the one-handed" (μονοχεράρης, ''monocherares'', in Greek), and found as Amer or Ambros ( ...

(r. 830s–863), raided deep into Byzantine territory, reaching the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

coast at Amisos. Petronas was placed in charge of all Byzantine troops assembling to confront the invasion, and through a brilliant coordination effort, three separate forces managed to converge on the Arab army, encircle it, and destroy it at the

on September 3, 863. Petronas carried his defeated enemy's head to

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 ( ...

, where he was honored with a triumphal entrance by his nephew. Soon after, he was raised to the rank of '' magistros'' and the position of

Domestic of the Schools The office of the Domestic of the Schools ( gr, δομέστικος τῶν σχολῶν, domestikos tōn scholōn) was a senior military post of the Byzantine Empire, extant from the 8th century until at least the early 14th century. Originally ...

(commander-in-chief of the army). The defeat of the Arabs and their Paulician allies became a turning point in the Arab–Byzantine Wars. With this victory, Petronas and Bardas were able to secure their eastern borders, strengthen the Byzantine state, and set the stage for the Byzantine conquests of the 10th century. The Byzantine chroniclers add that the victorious general did not survive for long after his victory. A hagiography, written by a contemporary, claims that Petronas died on the same day as his spiritual father Saint Anthony the Younger, two years and two months after routing the Arab armies. He was buried in the

Gastria Monastery Sancaktar Hayrettin Mosque ( tr, Sancaktar Hayrettin Câmîi; also ''Sancaktar Hayrettin Mescidi'', where ''Mescit'' is the Turkish word for a small mosque, or ''Sancaktar Mescidi'') is part of a former Eastern Orthodox monastery converted into ...

, where his stone sarcophagus was placed opposite those of his sister, the Empress Theodora, and his nieces.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Petronas The Patrician Byzantine generals Byzantine officials 9th-century Byzantine people 865 deaths Patricii Year of birth unknown Byzantine people of the Arab–Byzantine wars Phrygian dynasty Domestics of the Schools Magistroi Burials at the Monastery of Gastria Governors of the Thracesian Theme