Stylianos Zaoutzes
Encyclopedia
Stylianos Zaoutzes was a high Byzantine
official of Armenian origin. Rising to high rank under Byzantine emperor Basil I
(reigned 867–886), he then rose further to prominence under Basil's successor Emperor Leo VI the Wise
(r. 886–912), who had a close friendship and possible an affair with Stylianos's daughter Zoe Zaoutzaina
. Stylianos Zaoutzes was Leo's leading minister during the first half of his reign, and was awarded the unique title of basileopator
. His standing and influence declined after 895, but in 898, he became Leo's father-in-law when the Byzantine emperor married Zoe. He died in 899, in the same year as Zoe. Following an attempted coup by his relatives, the Zaoutzes clan was deprived of the considerable power it had amassed under Stylianos's tutelage.
Zaoutzes was of Armenian
descent, and was born in the thema of Macedonia. It has been theorized by N. Adontz that Stylianos might be the son of a contemporary strategos
of Macedonia named Tzantzes, the name also of Stylianos's son, but the connection is ultimately impossible to prove. According to Steven Runciman
, the surname Zaoutzes derives from the Armenian word Zaoutch, "negro", reflecting Stylianos's particularly dark complexion. In the same vein, Stylianos was known among Byzantines as "the Ethiopian
". Whatever his exact ancestry, he shared ethnic and geographical origin with the Emperor Basil I the Macedonian, a factor that probably played an important role in his ascent to high office during the latter's reign.
In late 882, the young Leo, Basil's second son and heir after the death of his elder brother Constantine in 879, was wedded to Theophano
, a member of the Martinakes family. The bride was the choice of empress Eudokia Ingerina
, and did not please Leo, who instead preferred the company of Zoe Zaoutzaina
, the beautiful daughter of Stylianos Zaoutzes. Whether Zoe was actually his mistress is uncertain; Leo himself strenuously denied this in later accounts. At that point, Zaoutzes held the post of mikros hetaireiarches, i.e. commander of the junior regiment of the Byzantine emperor's mercenary bodyguard, the hetaireia
. Leo's relations with his father Basil were always strained, and when Theophano informed him of this affair, Basil reportedly became enraged, beat Leo until he bled, and married Zoe off to one Theodore Gouzouniates. Furthermore, in 883, Leo was denounced as plotting against Basil and was imprisoned; it was only through the intervention of patriarch Photios
and Stylianos Zaoutzes that he was not also blinded. This affair does not seem to have hurt Stylianos's standing with Basil or his career, for by the end of Basil's reign he was protospatharios
and megas hetaireiarches (senior commander of the hetaireia).
Leo spent three years in prison, until released and restored to his rank in late July 886. Here too Zaoutzes played a major role, as he personally pleaded with the Byzantine emperor to secure Leo's release. By that time, Basil was ailing, and on August 12, 886, he was gravely wounded during a hunt. Zaoutzes's participation in the hunt raised suspicions of a conspiracy, but his complicity is generally rejected, as Basil survived for nine days, during which he did not punish Zaoutzes. Upon Basil's death, Leo was crowned emperor, but Zaoutzes, awarded the titles of patrikios and magistros and the office of logothetes tou dromou
, effectively assumed control of the government, directing state policy. One tradition, based on the Vita Euthymii (the hagiography
of Patriarch Euthymios I
), holds that Basil himself appointed Stylianos as regent (epitropos), but other sources indicate that his ascent to power was more gradual. It is indicative of his authority that most of Leo's ordinances (novels) are directed to him in person, and in 893, he succeeded in getting his protégé, Antony Kauleas, elected as Patriarch of Constantinople
. In the same period (between 886 and 893), Emperor Leo VI himself delivered a homily on a church built on Zaoutzes's orders in Constantinople.
His rise to prominence was only solidified in 891–893, when Stylianos was given the newly created title of basileopator
("father of the emperor"). His promotion to this new and enigmatic title has been a subject of controversy, as neither the reasons for the creation of the title nor its exact functions are known. The early date of his elevation precludes a relation to the eventual rise of his daughter Zoe to the imperial throne as Leo's empress. Gratitude for his support against Basil may have played a role, and a common theory is that the office implied some form of tutorship over the emperor. The office certainly confirmed Stylianos as the senior secular official of the Byzantine Empire. However, although Zaoutzes has traditionally been regarded as an all-powerful regent over a weak Byzantine emperor, in no small part due to the account provided in the Vita Euthymii, the actual relationship between the two may have been quite different. A more careful evaluation of the source material has led modern scholarship to conclude that Leo was actively involved in government, and that Zaoutzes as chief minister was loyal and obsequious to his master.
An assessment of his record as the Byzantine Empire's first minister is difficult. Of the few available sources on his career, the Vita Euthymii, compiled years after Zaoutzes's death, is extremely hostile, seeking to pin the responsibility for several of the reign's failures or unpopular decisions on him, and thus preserve Leo from blame. The account of the Vita is further colored by the fierce rivalry between Stylianos and Euthymios, then a synkellos and Leo's spiritual father, over influence on the Byzantine emperor. Thus the Vita accuses Stylianos of being responsible for the sacking of the successful general Nikephoros Phokas the Elder
from the army, as well as for the outbreak of hostilities with Bulgaria
in 893: allegedly, two of his protégés moved the main market for Bulgarian goods from Constantinople
to Thessalonica and then proceeded to extract exorbitant fees from the Bulgarian merchants. When Leo, at the behest of Stylianos, rejected the merchants' protests, the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon I
found a pretext to attack Byzantium. It has, however, been recently suggested by Paul Magdalino that the transfer was in fact Leo's initiative, aiming to enrich Thessalonica, whose patron saint, Saint Demetrius, he showed special favor to.
. In the next year, however, both Zoe and Stylianos died. Following their deaths, Leo proposed to marry yet again, choosing Eudokia Baïana
as his wife. Zaoutzes's numerous relatives, who had benefited from his patronage, were fearful of losing their positions to the new Empress's relations, and conspired to overthrow Leo. Chief among them was Basil, Zoe's nephew. The plot, however, was betrayed by the eunuch servant Samonas
, and the conspiracy suppressed. The Zaoutzes relatives were exiled or confined to monasteries, and the clan's power broken. Samonas himself was richly rewarded: he was taken into the imperial service and rapidly promoted, becoming parakoimomenos
by 908, before he too fell from favor.
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...
official of Armenian origin. Rising to high rank under Byzantine emperor Basil I
Basil I
Basil I, called the Macedonian was a Byzantine emperor of probable Armenian descent who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a simple peasant in the Byzantine theme of Macedonia, he rose in the imperial court, and usurped the imperial throne from Emperor Michael III...
(reigned 867–886), he then rose further to prominence under Basil's successor Emperor Leo VI the Wise
Leo VI the Wise
Leo VI, surnamed the Wise or the Philosopher , was Byzantine emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty , he was very well-read, leading to his surname...
(r. 886–912), who had a close friendship and possible an affair with Stylianos's daughter Zoe Zaoutzaina
Zoe Zaoutzaina
Zoe Zaoutzaina was the second wife of the Byzantine emperor Leo VI the Wise. She was the daughter of Stylianos Zaoutzes, a high-ranking bureaucrat during the reign of her husband.-Royal mistress:...
. Stylianos Zaoutzes was Leo's leading minister during the first half of his reign, and was awarded the unique title of basileopator
Basileopator
Basileopatōr was one of the highest secular titles of the Byzantine Empire. It was an exceptional post , and conferred only twice in the Empire's history...
. His standing and influence declined after 895, but in 898, he became Leo's father-in-law when the Byzantine emperor married Zoe. He died in 899, in the same year as Zoe. Following an attempted coup by his relatives, the Zaoutzes clan was deprived of the considerable power it had amassed under Stylianos's tutelage.
Origins and early career
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....
descent, and was born in the thema of Macedonia. It has been theorized by N. Adontz that Stylianos might be the son of a contemporary 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 Macedonia named Tzantzes, the name also of Stylianos's son, but the connection is ultimately impossible to prove. According to Steven Runciman
Steven Runciman
The Hon. Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman CH — known as Steven Runciman — was a British historian known for his work on the Middle Ages...
, the surname Zaoutzes derives from the Armenian word Zaoutch, "negro", reflecting Stylianos's particularly dark complexion. In the same vein, Stylianos was known among Byzantines as "the Ethiopian
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
". Whatever his exact ancestry, he shared ethnic and geographical origin with the Emperor Basil I the Macedonian, a factor that probably played an important role in his ascent to high office during the latter's reign.
In late 882, the young Leo, Basil's second son and heir after the death of his elder brother Constantine in 879, was wedded to Theophano
Theophano, wife of Leo VI
- Family :She was a daughter of Constantine Martiniakos. Her further ancestry is uncertain. However, Theophanes Continuatus, a continuation of the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor by writers active during the reign of Constantine VII, records the story of a possible ancestor during the reign...
, a member of the Martinakes family. The bride was the choice of empress Eudokia Ingerina
Eudokia Ingerina
Eudokia Ingerina was the wife of the Byzantine emperor Basil I, the mistress of his predecessor Michael III, and the mother to both the Emperors Leo VI and Alexander and Patriarch Stephen I of Constantinople.-Family:...
, and did not please Leo, who instead preferred the company of Zoe Zaoutzaina
Zoe Zaoutzaina
Zoe Zaoutzaina was the second wife of the Byzantine emperor Leo VI the Wise. She was the daughter of Stylianos Zaoutzes, a high-ranking bureaucrat during the reign of her husband.-Royal mistress:...
, the beautiful daughter of Stylianos Zaoutzes. Whether Zoe was actually his mistress is uncertain; Leo himself strenuously denied this in later accounts. At that point, Zaoutzes held the post of mikros hetaireiarches, i.e. commander of the junior regiment of the Byzantine emperor's mercenary bodyguard, the hetaireia
Hetaireia
The Hetaireia or Hetaeria was a term used to describe a corps of bodyguards of the Byzantine Empire. Its name means "the Company", echoing the ancient Macedonian Companion cavalry. The imperial Hetaireia, composed chiefly of foreigners, formed part of the Byzantine imperial guard alongside the...
. Leo's relations with his father Basil were always strained, and when Theophano informed him of this affair, Basil reportedly became enraged, beat Leo until he bled, and married Zoe off to one Theodore Gouzouniates. Furthermore, in 883, Leo was denounced as plotting against Basil and was imprisoned; it was only through the intervention of patriarch Photios
Photios
Photios is a Greek name. Variants include the latinized Photius and the modern Fotios, Photis, Fotis.It commonly refers to Photios I of Constantinople Photios (Φώτιος) is a Greek name. Variants include the latinized Photius and the modern Fotios, Photis, Fotis.It commonly refers to Photios I of...
and Stylianos Zaoutzes that he was not also blinded. This affair does not seem to have hurt Stylianos's standing with Basil or his career, for by the end of Basil's reign he was 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 megas hetaireiarches (senior commander of the hetaireia).
Rise to prominence
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...
, effectively assumed control of the government, directing state policy. One tradition, based on the Vita Euthymii (the 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...
of Patriarch Euthymios I
Patriarch Euthymius I of Constantinople
Euthymius I Synkellos was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 907 to 912. He came to the office after Emperor Leo VI forced Nicholas I Mystikos to resign over Nicholas' refusal to sanction the Emperor's fourth marriage.The Vita Euthymii, or The Life of Euthymius, along with the...
), holds that Basil himself appointed Stylianos as regent (epitropos), but other sources indicate that his ascent to power was more gradual. It is indicative of his authority that most of Leo's ordinances (novels) are directed to him in person, and in 893, he succeeded in getting his protégé, Antony Kauleas, elected as Patriarch of Constantinople
Patriarch of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarch is the Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome – ranking as primus inter pares in the Eastern Orthodox communion, which is seen by followers as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church....
. In the same period (between 886 and 893), Emperor Leo VI himself delivered a homily on a church built on Zaoutzes's orders in Constantinople.
His rise to prominence was only solidified in 891–893, when Stylianos was given the newly created title of basileopator
Basileopator
Basileopatōr was one of the highest secular titles of the Byzantine Empire. It was an exceptional post , and conferred only twice in the Empire's history...
("father of the emperor"). His promotion to this new and enigmatic title has been a subject of controversy, as neither the reasons for the creation of the title nor its exact functions are known. The early date of his elevation precludes a relation to the eventual rise of his daughter Zoe to the imperial throne as Leo's empress. Gratitude for his support against Basil may have played a role, and a common theory is that the office implied some form of tutorship over the emperor. The office certainly confirmed Stylianos as the senior secular official of the Byzantine Empire. However, although Zaoutzes has traditionally been regarded as an all-powerful regent over a weak Byzantine emperor, in no small part due to the account provided in the Vita Euthymii, the actual relationship between the two may have been quite different. A more careful evaluation of the source material has led modern scholarship to conclude that Leo was actively involved in government, and that Zaoutzes as chief minister was loyal and obsequious to his master.
An assessment of his record as the Byzantine Empire's first minister is difficult. Of the few available sources on his career, the Vita Euthymii, compiled years after Zaoutzes's death, is extremely hostile, seeking to pin the responsibility for several of the reign's failures or unpopular decisions on him, and thus preserve Leo from blame. The account of the Vita is further colored by the fierce rivalry between Stylianos and Euthymios, then a synkellos and Leo's spiritual father, over influence on the Byzantine emperor. Thus the Vita accuses Stylianos of being responsible for the sacking of the successful general Nikephoros Phokas the Elder
Nikephoros Phokas the Elder
Nikephoros Phokas the Elder was one of the great generals in the service of the Eastern Roman Emperor Basil I.Descended from the Phokas family, one of the large land-holding families of Anatolia, Nikephoros Phokas rose to the positions of patrikios and domestikos ton scholon. He succeeded in...
from the army, as well as for the outbreak of hostilities with Bulgaria
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...
in 893: allegedly, two of his protégés moved the main market for Bulgarian goods from 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:...
to Thessalonica and then proceeded to extract exorbitant fees from the Bulgarian merchants. When Leo, at the behest of Stylianos, rejected the merchants' protests, the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon I
Simeon I of Bulgaria
Simeon I the Great ruled over Bulgaria from 893 to 927, during the First Bulgarian Empire. Simeon's successful campaigns against the Byzantines, Magyars and Serbs led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion ever, making it the most powerful state in contemporary Eastern Europe...
found a pretext to attack Byzantium. It has, however, been recently suggested by Paul Magdalino that the transfer was in fact Leo's initiative, aiming to enrich Thessalonica, whose patron saint, Saint Demetrius, he showed special favor to.
Fall from favor and death
Nevertheless, all this has led to the enduring image of an ineffectual leadership in foreign and military affairs under Zaoutzes. This may explain why, despite the resumption of Leo's affair with Zoe, the relationship between Zaoutzes and the Byzantine emperor became strained: tales of an alleged plot by Zaoutzes's son to murder the Byzantine emperor in 894/895 indicate a rift between the two, and although Zaoutzes himself was not involved, a major quarrel between him and Leo ensued shortly after. Although they were reconciled, his standing seems to have declined further thereafter, as two of his protégés, found guilty of accepting bribes, were punished by Leo. Nevertheless, in late summer 898, following the death of Theophano in December 865 or 866 and of Zoe's first husband Gouzouniates in early 898, Leo at last married Zoe, raising her to AugustaAugusta (honorific)
Augusta was the imperial honorific title of empresses. It was given to the women of the Roman and Byzantine imperial families. In the third century, Augustae could also receive the titles of Mater castrorum and Mater Patriae .The title implied the greatest prestige, with the Augustae able to...
. In the next year, however, both Zoe and Stylianos died. Following their deaths, Leo proposed to marry yet again, choosing Eudokia Baïana
Eudokia Baïana
Eudokia Baïana was the third wife of Leo VI the Wise.The work Theophanes Continuatus was a continuation of the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor by other writers, active during the reign of Constantine VII. The work records the few details known about her.According to Theophanes, Eudokia came...
as his wife. Zaoutzes's numerous relatives, who had benefited from his patronage, were fearful of losing their positions to the new Empress's relations, and conspired to overthrow Leo. Chief among them was Basil, Zoe's nephew. The plot, however, was betrayed by the eunuch servant Samonas
Samonas
Samonas was an Arab-born eunuch, who was captured by the Byzantines and became one of the most influential officials of the Byzantine Empire during the first decade of the 10th century.- Life :...
, and the conspiracy suppressed. The Zaoutzes relatives were exiled or confined to monasteries, and the clan's power broken. Samonas himself was richly rewarded: he was taken into the imperial service and rapidly promoted, becoming parakoimomenos
Parakoimomenos
The parakoimōmenos was a Byzantine court position, usually reserved for eunuchs. Many of its holders, especially in the 9th and 10th centuries, functioned as the Byzantine Empire's chief ministers.-History and functions:...
by 908, before he too fell from favor.