Aetios or Aetius was a Byzantine

Byzantine

Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...

 eunuch

Eunuch

A eunuch is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences...

 official, one of the most trusted advisers of Byzantine empress Irene of Athens (r. 797–802). After Irene's rise to sole rule, Aetios developed an intense rivalry with her eunuch chief minister Staurakios

Staurakios (eunuch)

Staurakios was a Byzantine eunuch official, who rose to be one of the most important and influential associates of Byzantine empress Irene of Athens . He effectively acted as chief minister during her regency for her young son, Emperor Constantine VI Staurakios (or Stauracius) (died on June 3,...

. After Staurakios's death, Aetios became the leading man in the state. He plotted to usurp the throne for his brother, Leo, but lost power when Irene was deposed in 802.

Early years and rivalry with Staurakios

Aetios first appears in 790, when he was a protospatharios

Protospatharios

Prōtospatharios was one of the highest court dignities of the middle Byzantine period , awarded to senior generals and provincial governors, as well as to foreign princes.-History:...

and a confidant of Irene, then the Byzantine empress-mother and regent for her young son, Emperor Constantine VI (r. 780–797). In the autumn of that year, Irene tried to sideline her son and assume full rule over the Byzantine Empire. This, however, caused a mutiny by the army in favour of the young Byzantine emperor. Constantine was installed as sole ruler, Irene confined to a palace in Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

, and her eunuch protégés, including Aetios, exiled.

Aetios was restored to his position, along with the other eunuchs, when Irene was recalled to power as a co-ruler in 792. In August 797, Irene and her powerful eunuch minister Staurakios

Staurakios (eunuch)

Staurakios was a Byzantine eunuch official, who rose to be one of the most important and influential associates of Byzantine empress Irene of Athens . He effectively acted as chief minister during her regency for her young son, Emperor Constantine VI Staurakios (or Stauracius) (died on June 3,...

 succeeded in overthrowing and blinding (and possibly also killing) Emperor Constantine VI, thus assuming governance of the state. The deposed Byzantine emperor's uncles, the sons of Emperor Constantine V

Constantine V

Constantine V was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775; ); .-Early life:...

 (r. 741–775), who had in the past been involved in plots against Irene, were still a potential threat. They were persuaded to seek refuge in the cathedral of Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey...

, where the capital's populace would supposedly rally to them and declare one of them Byzantine emperor. No such support materialized; instead, Aetios managed to achieve their surrender, and they were exiled to Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

.

Irene now divided her favour between Staurakios, her old-established chief minister, and Aetios. This began a period of intense rivalry between the two and their supporters, as they raced to place their relatives in positions of power, so as to secure control of the Byzantine Empire after Irene's eventual death. This competition came to the fore in 797/798, and intensified in May 799, when Irene fell seriously ill. Aetios, who had won the backing of Niketas Triphyllios, the commander of the Scholai guards, accused Staurakios before the Byzantine empress of plotting to usurp the throne. Irene duly convened a council at the Palace of Hieria

Hieria

Hieria , modern Fenerbahçe, was a suburb of Byzantine-era Constantinople . It is prominent in the city's history as the site of an imperial palace....

 where she severely rebuked her favourite minister, but Staurakios escaped with an apology.

Staurakios in turn began to distribute bribes amongst the men and lower officers of the Scholai and Exkoubitores regiments, trying to win their support for an eventual coup. Aetios again went to Irene, who in February 800 forbade anyone from the military to contact Staurakios. Coupled with Aetios's own appointment to the powerful post of strategos

Strategos

Strategos, plural strategoi, is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor...

of the Anatolic Theme

Anatolic Theme

The Anatolic Theme , more properly known as the Theme of the Anatolics was a Byzantine theme in central Asia Minor...

, this restored a precarious balance between the two camps. Soon after, Staurakios became very ill, but he continued plotting against Aetios, instigating a revolt against him in Cappadocia

Cappadocia

Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine...

 before dying in June 800.

Supremacy and downfall of Aetios

The revolt was quickly and brutally subdued, and with his rival's death, Aetios stood supreme amongst Empress Irene's court. He likely succeeded Staurakios as logothetes tou dromou

Logothetes tou dromou

The logothetēs tou dromou , in English usually rendered as Logothete of the Course/Drome/Dromos or Postal Logothete, was the head of the department of the Dromos, the Public Post , and one of the most senior ministers of the Byzantine Empire.- History and functions :The exact origin and date of...

, while retaining control of the Anatolics and adding to his command the Opsician Theme. He gained a victory in 800 against the Arabs

Arab

Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

, which was followed, however, by a defeat in 801. In 801/802, Aetios appointed his brother Leo as monostrategos of the themes of Thrace

Thrace (theme)

The Theme of Thrace was a province of the Byzantine Empire located in the south-eastern Balkans, comprising varying parts of the eponymous geographic region during its history.-History:...

 and Macedonia. Controlling thus the armies closest to Constantinople, which comprised about a third of the Byzantine Empire's entire military forces, he was well placed to make Leo emperor. In the words of the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor

Theophanes the Confessor

Saint Theophanes Confessor was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy, who became a monk and chronicler. He is venerated on March 12 in the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church .-Biography:Theophanes was born in Constantinople of wealthy and noble iconodule parents: Isaac,...

, he "ruled by [Irene's] side

Paradynasteuon

The paradynasteuōn was a term used, especially in the Byzantine Empire, to designate a ruler's favorite, often raised to the position of chief minister. Probably deriving from Thucydides, it was used in the later Roman Empire for people with great authority...

 and was usurping power on behalf of his brother". Consequently, in 802, Aetios was instrumental in the rejection of a marriage offer from Charlemagne

Charlemagne

Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...

, which Irene had apparently seriously considered.

Aetios's plans for his brother's elevation faltered with the opposition of the other courtiers, who resented his influence and the insulting manner with which he treated them. Chief among them were Nikephoros

Nikephoros I

Nikephoros I or Nicephorus I, Logothetes or Genikos was Byzantine emperor from 802 to 811, when he was killed in the Battle of Pliska....

, Irene's finance minister (logothetes tou genikou

Logothetes tou genikou

The logothetēs tou genikou , often called genikos logothetēs or simply ho genikos , and usually rendered in English as the General Logothete, was in charge of the "general financial ministry", the genikon [logothesion] of the middle Byzantine Empire.-History and functions:The genikon was...

), but also Niketas Triphyllios, Aetios's former ally, and Leo Sarantapechos, a relative of the Byzantine empress. Fearing an imminent coup by Aetios, the conspirators, in the morning of October 31, 802, entered the Great Palace

Great Palace of Constantinople

The Great Palace of Constantinople — also known as the Sacred Palace — was the large Imperial Byzantine palace complex located in the south-eastern end of the peninsula now known as "Old Istanbul", modern Turkey...

 and acclaimed Nikephoros emperor. Irene was deposed and allowed to retire to a convent

Convent

A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...

.

It is not known what became of Aetios after that. He most likely lost power upon Nikephoros's accession, but he may be the patrikios Aetios who was killed, along with Nikephoros himself, in the Battle of Pliska

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 Genik, and Bulgaria, governed by Khan Krum...

against the Bulgars on July 26, 811.

Sources