Staurakios
Staurakios (Greek: Σταυράκιος, romanized: Staurákios; Latin: Stauracius, early 790s – 11 January 812), was the shortest-reigning Byzantine emperor, ruling for 68 days between 26 July and 2 October 811.
This article is about the Byzantine emperor. For the eunuch minister of Empress Irene, see Staurakios (eunuch).Staurakios
26 July – 2 October 811
25 December 803
Nikephoros I (803 – 811)
Early 790s
11 January 812
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 Nikephoros.
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 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, who acceded to the imperial throne as 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[edit]
Early life and background[edit]
Staurakios was born in the early 790s, probably between 791 and 793, to Nikephoros I and an unknown woman.[1][2][3][a] The historian J. B. Bury stated that he was likely younger than his sister Prokopia.[2] Staurakios was named after his paternal grandfather.[4] His father was likely the same Nikephoros as the one who had been strategos of the Armeniac Theme before being deposed for supporting Empress Irene (r. 797–802).[5] He was also possibly logothetēs tou genikou (finance minister) at the time of Staurakios' birth,[1][6][5] as he achieved this rank by 797.[4] Nikephoros revolted against Irene on 31 October 802 AD, and seized the throne for himself,[6][5] exiling Irene to a convent on the island of Principo.[5] Treadgold comments that this was "a bloodless and relatively harmonious transfer of power", and that while Nikephoros seized the throne from Irene, he did not displace her regime, but rather usurped it for himself.[5] Staurakios was around 10–12 years old at the time Nikephoros became emperor.[1][6] At the beginning of his rule, Nikephoros had strong support from the bureaucracy, and superficially positive relations with the army and clergy.[4]
Treadgold suggests that Nikephoros had witnessed "a good deal of financial mismanagement" before he seized power, but was unable to prevent it at that time. Indeed, one of his first acts as emperor was to seize control of a secret treasury reserve from Irene. Soon after, he took measures to increase the treasury, such as canceling tribute payments to the Abbasid Caliphate, an "exorbitant and humiliating payment", accepting the risk of war. Later, he ended the suspension of urban tariffs and estate taxes that Irene had implemented. Treadgold comments that the suspension of Irene's popular fiscal policies was bold, and risked reducing his own popularity, but that Nikephoros must have considered them too expensive to continue, and was aware that the capital was relatively undertaxed compared to the rest of the empire.[7] He took similar efforts to tackle the issue of corruption, founding a new court where he heard complaints levied by the poor against the elites.[8] While his supporters praised him for championing the poor, opponents declaimed him for his measures against the wealthy. Some of these opponents also alleged greed, but Treadgold comments that this likely referred to the effort Nikephoros put into collecting revenues, as the man himself was famously austere.[9]
Reign as co-emperor[edit]
Staurakios was not given an official government position upon his father's accession to the throne, but, in the summer of 803, a general named Bardanes Tourkos revolted against Nikephoros, prompting a change of course.[1][2] Originally strategos of the Thracesian Theme, Nikephoros had consolidated the five major themes of Asia Minor —Anatolic, Armeniac, Bucellarian, Opsikion, and Thracesian — under Bardanes' control as monostrategos of the combined area.[4] When the Abbasid Caliphate began preparations for an attack that summer, Nikephoros was unable to take command due to an injury sustained in May, the role fell to Bardanes, who advanced his troops and began preparations. There, his troops grumbled over Nikephoros' financial policies, which included the reinstatement of the estate tax on soldiers; by comparison, Bardanes was considered to be very charitable in dividing war spoils, and thus they declared him emperor on July 19.[9] Treadgold comments that although the rebellion theoretically commanded nearly half of the army, Bardanes seemed to lack the commitment to become emperor, and soon discussed terms with Nikephoros, who swore not to harm Bardanes or his soldiers if Bardanes would surrender and enter the monastery, which Bardanes did in early September.[10] Although Nikephoros abided by his pledge not to harm the surrendered men, he did seize a significant amount of money and property from the leaders of the rebellion, and fined four of the themes a year of salary,[11] and exiling some bishops to the remote island of Pantelleria, near Sicily.[12] Nikephoros soon negotiated a moderate deal with the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid, including a small tribute payment.[13]
Although his revolt was put down by early September, it convinced Nikephoros to consolidate his hold on the throne and secure the succession, by declaring Staurakios co-emperor and heir, which he did on Christmas Day of 803.[1][14] Staurakios was crowned by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Tarasios in the Hagia Sophia.[15][16] By making Staurakios emperor, Nikephoros removed any question of the imperial succession and increased his own legitimacy—although Staurakios, now somewhere between the ages of 11 and 13, was not yet old enough to actually exercise power.[1][14] The contemporary chronicler Theophanes the Confessor stated that Staurakios was "completely unfit in appearance, strength, and judgment for such an honor", but this is likely a reflection of Theophanes' own animosity toward Nikephoros and Staurakios.[17] While opponents of Nikephoros decried Staurakios as sickly, Treadgold comments that any health issues he may have had did not prevent later participation in military campaigns; opponents also presented his obedience to his father as a failing.[14]
Historiography[edit]
Because of the brevity of Staurakios' reign, and the shortcomings and bias of the sources, much of his life is unknown.[1][54] The main source for the reigns of both Nikephoros I and Staurakios is Theophanes' Chronographia, which was tainted by Theophanes' dislike of the former, although it does hint that Staurakios possessed a talent for military strategy.[1] Although many historians believe that both Nikephoros and Staurakios have been falsely portrayed as malevolent, few other sources exist for their reign. Most other sources take the form of short references, which provide little insight, and include many errors, especially the Syriac Chronicle of 813. While Michael the Syrian, Bar Hebraeus, Michael Psellos, and the Chronicle of 813 all record the events immediately before the death of Staurakios, the death itself, and ascribe a cause, they are generally inaccurate. Indeed, the Chronicle of 813 even mistakes the time of death of Staurakios, giving it as two months into his reign, rather than nearly six months after the battle.[1] Petros of Alexandria, in his A Brief Survey of Years, which in most areas merely gives the length of reigns for the Byzantine emperors, mentions the alleged poisoning of Staurakios by Prokopia.[26]
Legacy[edit]
Staurakios largely existed in the shadow of Nikephoros; little is known about him. Staurakios only reigned for just over two months, 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".[1] 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.[22]
