Staurakios

Staurakios or Stauracius ( gr, Σταυράκιος, links=no; early 790s – 11 January 812AD) was Byzantine emperor from 26 July to 2 October 811. He was born in the early 790s, probably between 791 and 793, to Nikephoros I and an unknown woman. Nikephoros seized the throne of the Byzantine Empire from Empress Irene in 802, and elevated Staurakios to co-emperor on 25 December 803. On 20 December 807, a bride show was held by Nikephoros to select a wife for Staurakios, which resulted in his marriage to Theophano of Athens, a kinswoman of Irene. Little else is known of him until he came to take the throne upon the death of Nikephroros.

Staurakios took part in an invasion of the Bulgarian Khanate in 811, alongside his father and brother-in-law. Although initially successful, with the Byzantines laying siege to the Bulgarian capital of Pliska and defeating a relief force, they were soon ambushed by Khan Krum, and trapped in a small valley. The Bulgarians then attacked, starting the Battle of Pliska on 26 July 811, wherein much of the Byzantine army was destroyed, and Nikephoros was slain. Carried back to Constantinople by litter, Staurakios was declared emperor on 26/28 July 811, despite his severe injuries from the battle, which included the severing of his spine. While this was done to maintain legitimacy in the succession, the question of his successor was hotly debated. His reign was short due to the political uncertainties surrounding his wounds; he was usurped by his brother-in-law, Michael I Rhangabe, on 2 October 811. After being removed from power, he was sent to live in a monastery, where he stayed until he died, either of gangrene or poisoned by his sister, Prokopia, on 11 January 812.

Biography

Early life and background

Staurakios was born in the early 790sAD, probably between 791 and 793, to Nikephoros I and an unknown woman, and named Staurakios after his paternal grandfather. Staurakios father was very likely the same Nikephoros as the one who had been of the Armeniac Theme, before he was deposed for his support of Empress-regnant Irene ( 797–802). He was also possibly (finance minister) at the time of Staurakios birth, as he achieved this rank before 797.

After Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III, in opposition to Irene; under the pretense that Irene was ineligible to hold it as a woman, and the throne was therefore vacant. In reality, this act was a result of the nascent Problem of two emperors; Historian Warren Treadgold says that "...no one in East or West had any idea as realistic as recognizing the existence of separate western and eastern empires." but rather that the matter was a dispute over who held the throne of a "...theoretically universal and indivisible Roman Empire." While the Byzantine claim was empowered by history and constitutional succession, the Holy Roman Empire of Charlemagne both held the city of Rome and greater strength. Unable to take military action, Irene and Charlemagne ignored each other for a time. This did not last, as in early 802 Irene was made aware that Charlemagne planned to invade Sicily, and began peace talks. After a period of negotiations, Charlemagne proposed to resolve the issue by marrying Irene, to unite the empire, while denying neither their throne. Treadgold comments that "Any real union between the Germanic feudal congeries habits". No known coins were minted for the sole reign of Staurakios, perhaps because it was not considered worthwhile to make new coin dies for a man who was mortally wounded. Grierson makes the comment that the discovery of for Empress-regnants Zoë Porphyrogenita ( 1042) and Theodora Porphyrogenita ( 1042) reveals that a reign of roughly two months might justify a mint in creating coins for the ruler, and therefore coins of Staurakios might exist, yet undiscovered; however, Grierson considers it equally likely that the dying emperor simply continued to mint the old coins, under his father's name. Numismatist Maria Vrij comments that "producing new coins in the emperor’s name can hardly have been a pressing concern, since his very survival was not certain". She also states the possibility that the absence of coins for the sole reign of Staurakios might be a result of a "dearth of archaeological material", but states that as time passes without the discovery of such coins, the possibility becomes more remote, but is "technically possible and therefore worth acknowledging."

Legacy

Staurakios largely existed in the shadow of Nikephoros, and little or nothing is truly known about him. Staurakios reigned only two months and eight days, and was therefore unable to leave a mark on the empire as his father had done. Hints from the ''Chronographia'' suggest that Staurakios wielded strategic understanding, and perhaps that Staurakios was as strong-willed as his father, but his character is otherwise unknown. For these reasons, historian Matthew Marsh comments that "he remains a brief and shadowy figure in the history of the Empire". Both Nikephoros and Staurakios were generally successful in maintaining the borders of the Byzantine Empire, although they did not achieve much military success, occasionally being forced to make humiliating concessions to powerful enemies, such as the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid.

References

Notes

Primary sources

* Bar Hebraeus, ''Makhtbhanuth Zabhne''
*'' Chronicle of 813''
* John Skylitzes, ''Synopsis of Histories''
* Joseph Genesius, ''On the Reigns of the Emperors''
* Michael the Syrian, ''Chronicle''
* Michael Psellos, ''Historia syntomos''
* Nikephoros I of Constantinople, ''Breviarium Historicum''
*Petros of Alexandria, ''A Brief Survey of Years''
* Theophanes the Confessor, ''Chronicle''

Citations

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{{Roman Emperors

8th-century births
812 deaths
810s in the Byzantine Empire
9th-century Byzantine emperors
Nikephorian dynasty
Christian monks
Year of birth unknown
Byzantine people of Arab descent
Sons of Byzantine emperors