Michael II the Amorian (
GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
: Μιχαήλ Β',
Mikhaēl II), also called
Traulos or
Psellos (Τραυλός, Ψηλλος,
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
Psellus), meaning "the Stammerer", (died October 2,
829-Europe:* Egbert of Wessex conquers Mercia and is recognized as Bretwalda.* The Saracens ravage the coast of Dalmatia.* Oldest known mention of the city of Wiesbaden .* synod of Mainz-Byzantine Empire:...
) reigned as Byzantine emperor from 820 to his death.
Michael was born in 770 in
AmoriumAmorium was a city in Phrygia, Asia Minor which was founded in the Hellenistic period, flourished under the Byzantine Empire, and declined after the Arab sack of 838. Its ruins are located near the village of Hisarköy, Turkey....
in
PhrygiaIn antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
, into a family of professional soldier peasants who received for their military service land from government. His family belonged to Judeo-Christian sect of
athinganoi whose members were of mixed Cappadocian and Jewish descent. Michael's Jewish grandparents converted to Christianity but belonging to
athinganoi allowed them to uphold many Jewish religious rituals. Athinganoi were numerous in Anatolia and together with
ArmeniansThe Armenians are a nation and ethnic group which originated in the Caucasus and the Armenian Highland. It is estimated that there are 8 million Armenians around the world. There is a large concentration of Armenians in the Caucasus, especially in Armenia, and there is a significant presence in...
formed the backbone of the Byzantine army of that era. Michael began his career as a private soldier, but taking part in many of the Byzantine wars, he rose by his talents to the rank of general. He married
TheklaThekla was the first Empress consort of Michael II of the Byzantine Empire.- Family :Thekla is considered a daughter of Bardanes Tourkos and his wife Domnika. Her parents are considered to be Armenians. The nickname of her father means "the Turk" or "the Turkified" but his connection to the Turkic...
, daughter of his superior, the theme commander general Bardanes Tourkos who was of Armenian and Khazarian Turkic origin. His friend during these years was an ambitious and scheming officer of Armenian descent, the future Emperor
Leo V the ArmenianLeo V the Armenian , , was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 813 to 820.-Life:...
who was married to another daughter of Bardanes Tourkos. Michael and Leo abandoned Bardanes Tourkos when he rebelled against Emperor
Nikephoros INikephoros I or Nicephorus I, Logothetes or Genikos , was Byzantine emperor from 802 to 811, when he was killed in the disastrous Battle of Pliska....
in 803. Michael was instrumental in the overthrow (by Leo) of
Michael I RangabeMichael I Rangabe was Byzantine Emperor from 811 to 813.Michael was the son of the patrician Theophylaktos Rangabe, the admiral of the Aegean fleet...
in 813 after Rangabe’s continuing military defeats against the Bulgarians, and under Leo V, Michael rose to second after the Emperor in command of Imperial army. He became disgruntled with Leo V, however, when the Emperor divorced Michael's sister-in-law. On
Christmas EveChristmas Eve, December 24, is the night before Christmas Day, which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.-Western Churches:Many Roman Catholics and Anglicans traditionally celebrate a midnight Mass which begins sometime before midnight on Christmas Day; this ceremony, which is held in churches...
820, Leo V accused him of conspiracy, jailed him and sentenced him to death but postponed the execution until after Christmas. Michael, who enjoyed a reputation as an honest and reliable man, was much more popular in the army than the always scheming and treacherous Leo V, and his partisans freed him. Michael organized the
assassinationAn Assassination is the targeted killing of a public figure.Assassinations may be prompted by ideological, political, or military reasons. Additionally, assassins may be motivated by financial gain, revenge, personal public recognition, or mental illness....
of Leo V during the Christmas mass in
Hagia SophiaHagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey...
.
Michael was immediately proclaimed Emperor, still wearing the chains from the prison in his hands. Later the same day, he was crowned by
Patriarch Theodotos I of ConstantinopleTheodotos I Kassiteras, latinized as Theodotus I Cassiteras , Patriarch of Constantinople from April 1, 815 to January 821.Theodotos was born in Nakoleia as the son of Michael Melissenos by the sister of Eudokia, the last wife of Emperor Constantine V. Theodotos had become attached to the court...
. In his internal policy, Michael II supported
iconoclasmIconoclasm, Greek for "image-breaking", is the deliberate destruction within a culture of the culture's own religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually for religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major domestic political or religious changes...
, but tacitly encouraged reconciliation with the iconodules, whom he generally stopped persecuting and allowed to return from exile. These included the former Patriarch Nikephoros and
Theodore of StoudiosTheodore the Studite, also called St Theodore of Stoudios or St Theodore of Studium , was a Byzantine monk and abbot of the Stoudios monastery in Constantinople. He played a major role in the revivals both of Byzantine monasticism and of classical literary genres in Byzantium...
, who failed, however, to influence the emperor to abandon iconoclasm. One of the few victims of the emperor's policy was the future patriarch Methodios I.
Michael's accession whetted the appetite of his former comrade-in-arms
Thomas the SlavThomas the Slav was originally a Byzantine military and naval commander entrusted with a very high command during the reign of Emperor Leo V the Armenian. However, upon the death of Leo and the accession as emperor of the former general Michael who was a rival of Thomas, he started to stir up...
, who set himself up as rival emperor in
AnatoliaAnatolia is a geographic region of Western Asia, comprising most of the modern Republic of Turkey. The region is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Caucasus to the northeast, the Iranian plateau to the southeast, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and the Aegean Sea to the west...
and successfully transferred his forces into
ThraceThrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded on the north by the Balkan Mountains, on the south by the Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea and on the east by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara...
, effectively besieging the capital in December 821. Although Thomas did not obtain the support of some of the Anatolian themes, he secured the support of the naval theme and their ships, allowing him to tighten his grip on
ConstantinopleConstantinople was the imperial capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire...
. In his quest for support, Thomas presented himself as the champion of the poor, reduced taxation, and concluded an alliance with
Al-Ma'munAbū Jaʿfar Abdullāh al-Māʾmūn ibn Harūn was an Abbasid caliph who reigned from 813 until his death in 833...
of the
AbbasidThe Abbasid Caliphate was the third of the Islamic Caliphates of the Islamic Empire. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphs from all but Al Andalus....
CaliphThe Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the leader of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transliterated version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
ate, having himself crowned emperor by the
Patriarch of Antioch Job.
Michael II gained the support of former Byzantine enemy
Omurtag of BulgariaOmurtag or Omortag was a Great Khan of Bulgaria from 815 to 831. He is known as "the Builder".In the very beginning of his reign he signed a 30-year peace treaty with the Byzantines which remained in force to the end of his life...
who came to his aid. Michael II forced Thomas to lift his siege of Constantinople in the spring of 823. Michael besieged Thomas in Arkadioupolis (
LüleburgazLüleburgaz is a town and district of Kırklareli Province in the Marmara region of Turkey.-Facts:...
)and forced his surrender in October. Michael inherited a seriously weakened military, and was unable to prevent the conquest of
CreteCrete is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea at 8,336 km²...
by 10,000
ArabArab people or Arabs are an ethnic group whose members identify along linguistic, cultural or genealogical grounds...
s (who had 40 ships) in 824, or to recover the island with an expedition in 826. In 827 the Arabs also invaded
SicilySicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous region of Italy. Several much smaller islands surrounding it are considered to be part of Sicily....
, taking advantage of local infighting, and besieged
SyracuseSyracuse is a historic city in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Syracuse. The city is famous for its rich Greek history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture and association to Archimedes, playing an important role in ancient times as one of the top powers of the Mediterranean world;...
. By 829 their invasion had failed and they were expelled from the island.
After the death of Thekla, in c. 823, Michael II married
EuphrosyneEuphrosyne , a daughter of Byzantine emperor Constantine VI, the last representative of the Isaurian dynasty, and Maria of Amnia.- Life :...
, a daughter of
Constantine VIConstantine VI was Byzantine Emperor from 780 to 797.Constantine VI was the only child of Emperor Leo IV and Irene. Constantine was crowned co-emperor by his father in 776, and succeeded as sole emperor at the age of nine under the regency of Irene in 780.In 782 he was betrothed to Rotrude, a...
and
Maria of AmniaMaria of Amnia was the first Empress consort of Constantine VI of the Byzantine Empire.-Family:Maria was born in Amnia, Paphlagonia. The name of her father is unknown. Her mother has been identified as Hypatia by Christian Settipani. Her maternal grandfather was Saint Philaretos, a magnate from...
. This marriage was probably intended to strengthen Michael's position as emperor, but it incurred the opposition of the clergy, as Euphrosyne had previously become a nun. Michael II died on October 2,
829-Europe:* Egbert of Wessex conquers Mercia and is recognized as Bretwalda.* The Saracens ravage the coast of Dalmatia.* Oldest known mention of the city of Wiesbaden .* synod of Mainz-Byzantine Empire:...
.
Because of his Judeo-Christian origin and iconoclasm, Michael II was not popular among Orthodox clergy, who depicted him as an ignorant and poorly educated peasant, but Michael II was a competent statesman and administrator. He brought stability to most of the Byzantine Empire for the first time in many generations and began restoration of Byzantine military. The system of government and military built by Michael II enabled the Empire under his grandson
Michael IIIMichael III the Drunkard , , Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Phrygian Dynasty.-Life:...
to gain the Byzantines the ascendency in their struggles with the Abbasid Caliphate and to withstand all the vicissitudes of Byzantine palace life; Michael II's direct descendants, the Amorian dynasty followed by the so-called
Macedonian dynastyThe Macedonian dynasty ruled the Byzantine Empire from 867 to 1056, following the Amorian dynasty. During this period, the Byzantine state reached its greatest expanse since the Muslim conquests, and the Macedonian Renaissance in letters and arts began...
, ruled the Empire for more than two centuries, inaugurating the
Byzantine Renaissance of the ninth and tenth centuriesMacedonian Renaissance is a label sometimes used to describe the period of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire , especially the 10th century, which some scholars have seen as a time of increased interest in classical scholarship and the assimilation of classical motifs into Christian...
.