Arsaber
Encyclopedia
Arsaber was a Byzantine
noble who attempted an unsuccessful usurpation of the Byzantine imperial throne in 808.
Arsaber was a noble of Armenian
origin, holding the rank of patrikios, and had served as quaestor
. In February 808, a group of secular and ecclesiastic officials, who were dissatisfied with the rule of Emperor Nikephoros I Logothetes (r. 802–811), formed a conspiracy and acclaimed Arsaber as Byzantine emperor. Emperor Nikephoros, however, discovered the plot and arrested the participants, who were beaten, their properties confiscated, and were ultimately exiled. Arsaber himself was tonsured
and exiled to a monastery in Bithynia
. Arsaber's daughter, Theodosia
, was married to the future Emperor Leo V the Armenian
(r. 813–820). Leo, then a general and hitherto enjoying Nikephoros's favour, was exiled, likely on account of this connection to Arsaber.
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
noble who attempted an unsuccessful usurpation of the Byzantine imperial throne in 808.
Arsaber was a noble of Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
origin, holding the rank of patrikios, and had served as quaestor
Quaestor sacri palatii
The quaestor sacri palatii , in English Quaestor of the Sacred Palace, was the senior legal authority in the late Roman and early Byzantine empires, responsible for drafting laws. In the later Byzantine Empire, the office of the quaestor was altered and it became a senior judicial official for the...
. In February 808, a group of secular and ecclesiastic officials, who were dissatisfied with the rule of Emperor Nikephoros I Logothetes (r. 802–811), formed a conspiracy and acclaimed Arsaber as Byzantine emperor. Emperor Nikephoros, however, discovered the plot and arrested the participants, who were beaten, their properties confiscated, and were ultimately exiled. Arsaber himself was tonsured
Tonsure
Tonsure is the traditional practice of Christian churches of cutting or shaving the hair from the scalp of clerics, monastics, and, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, all baptized members...
and exiled to a monastery in Bithynia
Bithynia
Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...
. Arsaber's daughter, Theodosia
Theodosia, wife of Leo V
-Family:Theodosia was the daughter of Arsaber, a Byzantine patrician. The name and rank of her father were recorded by both Genesius and Theophanes Continuatus, the continuation to the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor. The name of her mother is unknown....
, was married to the future Emperor Leo V the Armenian
Leo V the Armenian
Leo V the Armenian was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 813 to 820. A senior general, he forced his predecessor, Michael I Rangabe, to abdicate and assumed the throne. He ended the decade-long war with the Bulgars, and initiated the second period of Byzantine Iconoclasm...
(r. 813–820). Leo, then a general and hitherto enjoying Nikephoros's favour, was exiled, likely on account of this connection to Arsaber.