Petronas (The Patrician)
Encyclopedia
Petronas the Patrician was a notable Byzantine
general and leading aristocrat during the mid-9th century. The uncle of Emperor Michael III
, by the time of his death, he held the titles of magistros and patrikios, and had commanded the elite Scholai
and Vigla regiments.
, the wife of emperor Theophilos
and of Bardas
. Three other sisters, Kalomaria, Sophia and Irene, are recorded by the historian Theophanes Continuatus
.
Under Theophilos, he was appointed droungarios of the tagma
of the Vigla
, and raised to the rank of patrikios. In 840 or 842, Theophilos ordered him to decapitate the patrician Theophobos
, a Khurramite
Kurdish or Persian convert and general whose troops had proclaimed him emperor at Sinope
some years before. Despite his relation to Theophilos however, the tale is told that the emperor once had Petronas been stripped naked and flogged in public because he had built a palace that overshadowed the house of a widow. The palace itself was then torn down, and both the building materials and the plot were left to the widow.
When Theophilos died in 842, Theodora was left as regent to her infant son, Michael III
, and Petronas is said to have urged Theodora to rescind Theophilos' iconoclastic policies. He was however sidelined under the regency of Theodora and the logothetēs Theoktistos
. When Michael III came of age in 855 however, he began resenting the dominance of his mother and of Theoktistos, as well as of the latter's overbearing behavior. Supported by his uncles Bardas and Petronas, Michael had Theoktistos seized and killed in late 855 or early 856, while Petronas undertook the confinement of the empress and her daughters into a monastery.
Bardas, raised to the rank of Caesar
and effective governor of the Empire, displayed remarkable energy and ability. Amongst the most important of the Caesars policies was a more aggressive stance against the Arabs in the East. Petronas was appointed stratēgos
of the Thracesian Theme
. On his first campaign, against the Paulicians of Tephrike in 856, he plundered his way through the Emirate of Melitene and the Paulician lands to Samosata
and Amida
. Having penetrated deeper into Arab territory than any Byzantine commander since the Muslim conquests
, he returned victorious with many captives.
In 863, another Arab army, led by the emir of Melitene, Umar al-Aqta
, penetrated deep into Byzantine territory, reaching the Black Sea coast at Amisos. Petronas was placed in charge of all Byzantine forces; through a brilliant coordination effort, three separate forces managed to converge on the Arab army, encircle it and destroy it at the battle of Lalakaon on 3 September 863. Petronas carried his defeated enemy's head to Constantinople
, where he was honored with a triumphal entrance by his nephew. Soon after, he was raised to the rank of magistros and Domestic of the Schools
.
The defeat of the Arabs and their Paulician allies became a turning point in the Byzantine–Arab Wars. With this victory Petronas and Bardas were able to secure their eastern borders, strengthen the Byzantine state and set the stage for the conquests of the 10th century. The Byzantine chroniclers add that the victorious general did not survive for long after the glorious battle of Lalakaon. 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, where his stone sarcophagus
was placed opposite those of his sister, the empress Theodora, and his nieces.
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...
general and leading aristocrat during the mid-9th century. The uncle of Emperor Michael III
Michael III
Michael III , , Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian-Phrygian Dynasty...
, by the time of his death, he held the titles of magistros and patrikios, and had commanded the elite Scholai
Scholae Palatinae
The Scholae Palatinae , were an elite military guard unit, usually ascribed to the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great as a replacement for the equites singulares Augusti, the cavalry arm of the Praetorian Guard...
and Vigla regiments.
Life
He was born to the droungarios Marinos and Theoktiste, and was the younger brother of empress TheodoraTheodora (9th century)
Theodora was a Byzantine Empress as the spouse of the Byzantine emperor Theophilos, and regent of her son, Michael III, from Theophilos' death in 842 to 855...
, the wife of emperor Theophilos
Theophilos (emperor)
Theophilos was the Byzantine emperor from 829 until his death in 842. He was the second emperor of the Phrygian dynasty, and the last emperor supporting iconoclasm...
and of Bardas
Bardas
Bardas 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' death by Theodora and Theoktistos, in 856 he engineered Theoktistos' fall and became the regent for his nephew, Michael III...
. Three other sisters, Kalomaria, Sophia and Irene, are recorded by the historian Theophanes Continuatus
Theophanes Continuatus
Theophanes Continuatus or Scriptores post Theophanem is the Latin name commonly applied to a collection of historical writings preserved in the 11th-century Vat. gr. 167 manuscript. Its name derives from its role as the continuation, covering the years 813–961, of the chronicle of Theophanes the...
.
Under Theophilos, he was appointed droungarios of the tagma
Tagma (military)
The tagma is a term for a military unit of battalion or regiment size. The best-known and most technical use of the term however refers to the elite regiments formed by Byzantine emperor Constantine V and comprising the central army of the Byzantine Empire in the 8th–11th centuries.-History and...
of the Vigla
Vigla (tagma)
The Vigla , also known as the Arithmos and in English as the Watch, was one of the elite tagmata of the Byzantine army. It was established in the latter half of the 8th century, and survived until the late 11th century...
, and raised to the rank of patrikios. In 840 or 842, Theophilos ordered him to decapitate the patrician Theophobos
Theophobos
Theophobos or Theophobus , originally Nasr, was a Persian or Kurdish commander in Byzantine service under Emperor Theophilos ....
, a Khurramite
Khurramites
The Khurramites were an Iranian religious and political movement with its roots in the movement founded by Mazdak. An alternative name for the movement is the Muḥammira "Red-Wearing Ones" , a reference to their symbolic red dress.-Origins and History:The sect was founded by the Persian cleric...
Kurdish or Persian convert and general whose troops had proclaimed him emperor at Sinope
Sinope
Sinope may refer to:*Sinop, Turkey, a city on the Black Sea, historically known as Sinope** Battle of Sinop, 1853 naval battle in the Sinop port*Sinope , in Greek mythology, daughter of Asopus*Sinope , a moon of the planet Jupiter...
some years before. Despite his relation to Theophilos however, the tale is told that the emperor once had Petronas been stripped naked and flogged in public because he had built a palace that overshadowed the house of a widow. The palace itself was then torn down, and both the building materials and the plot were left to the widow.
When Theophilos died in 842, Theodora was left as regent to her infant son, Michael III
Michael III
Michael III , , Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian-Phrygian Dynasty...
, and Petronas is said to have urged Theodora to rescind Theophilos' iconoclastic policies. He was however sidelined under the regency of Theodora and the logothetēs Theoktistos
Theoktistos
Theoktistos was an influential senior Byzantine official during the reigns of Michael II and his son Theophilos, and regent for the underage Michael III...
. When Michael III came of age in 855 however, he began resenting the dominance of his mother and of Theoktistos, as well as of the latter's overbearing behavior. Supported by his uncles Bardas and Petronas, Michael had Theoktistos seized and killed in late 855 or early 856, while Petronas undertook the confinement of the empress and her daughters into a monastery.
Bardas, raised to the rank of Caesar
Caesar (title)
Caesar is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator...
and effective governor of the Empire, displayed remarkable energy and ability. Amongst the most important of the Caesars policies was a more aggressive stance against the Arabs in the East. Petronas was appointed stratēgos
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 Thracesian Theme
Thracesian Theme
The Thracesian Theme , more properly known as the Theme of the Thracesians , was a Byzantine theme in western Asia Minor , comprising the ancient regions of Ionia, Lydia and parts of Phrygia and Caria....
. On his first campaign, against the Paulicians of Tephrike in 856, he plundered his way through the Emirate of Melitene and the Paulician lands to Samosata
Samosata
Samosata was an ancient city on the right bank of the Euphrates whose ruins existed at the modern city of Samsat, Adıyaman Province, Turkey until the site was flooded by the newly-constructed Atatürk Dam....
and Amida
Amida (Roman city)
Amida was an ancient city located where modern Diyarbakır, Turkey. The Roman writers Ammianus Marcellinus and Procopius consider it a city of Mesopotamia, but it may be more properly viewed as belonging to Armenia Major....
. Having penetrated deeper into Arab territory than any Byzantine commander since the Muslim conquests
Muslim conquests
Muslim conquests also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests, began with the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He established a new unified polity in the Arabian Peninsula which under the subsequent Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates saw a century of rapid expansion of Muslim power.They...
, he returned victorious with many captives.
In 863, another Arab army, led by the emir of Melitene, Umar al-Aqta
Umar al-Aqta
‘Umar ibn ‘Abdallah ibn Marwan , surnamed al-Aqta’, "the one-handed", and found as Amer or Ambros in Byzantine sources, was the Arab emir of Malatya from the 830s until his death in battle in 863...
, penetrated deep into Byzantine territory, reaching the Black Sea coast at Amisos. Petronas was placed in charge of all Byzantine forces; through a brilliant coordination effort, three separate forces managed to converge on the Arab army, encircle it and destroy it at the battle of Lalakaon on 3 September 863. Petronas carried his defeated enemy's head to 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:...
, where he was honored with a triumphal entrance by his nephew. Soon after, he was raised to the rank of magistros and Domestic of the Schools
Domestic of the Schools
The Domestic of the Schools was a senior Byzantine military office, extant from the 8th century until at least the early 14th century. Originally simply the commander of the Scholai, the senior of the elite tagmata regiments, the Domestic quickly rose in prominence: by the mid-9th century, its...
.
The defeat of the Arabs and their Paulician allies became a turning point in the Byzantine–Arab Wars. With this victory Petronas and Bardas were able to secure their eastern borders, strengthen the Byzantine state and set the stage for the conquests of the 10th century. The Byzantine chroniclers add that the victorious general did not survive for long after the glorious battle of Lalakaon. A hagiography
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
, 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, where his stone sarcophagus
Sarcophagus
A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
was placed opposite those of his sister, the empress Theodora, and his nieces.