Petronas the Patrician , was a notable
ByzantineThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
general and leading aristocrat during the mid-9th century. By the time of his death, he held the titles of
magistros and
patrikios, and had commanded the elite
ScholaiThe Scholae Palatinae , were an elite military guard unit, usually ascribed to the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great as a replacement to the Praetorian Guard...
and
Vigla regiments.
Life
He was born to the
droungarios Marinos and Theoktiste, and was the younger brother of empress
TheodoraTheodora was the wife of the Byzantine emperor Theophilus.-Family:Originally from Paphlagonia, Theodora was of Armenian aristocratic descent....
, the wife of emperor
TheophilosTheophilos or Theophilus or Theophilou was Byzantine emperor of Armenian origin from 829 to 842. He was the second emperor of the Phrygian dynasty.-Life:...
and of
BardasBardas was a Byzantine noble and high-ranking minister the regent of Byzantine Emperor Michael III.- Life :He was born to the droungarios Marinos and Theoktiste, and was the elder brother of empress Theodora, the wife of emperor Theophilos and of Petronas...
. Three other sisters, Kalomaria, Sophia and Irene, are recorded by the historian
Theophanes ContinuatusTheophanes Continuatus is the Latin name commonly applied to a collection of writings that were intended to continue the chronicle of Theophanes Confessor, whose account ends in 813. It is preserved is preserved in a single eleventh-century manuscript and it covers the period 813-961.-External...
.
Under Theophilos, he was appointed
droungarios of the
tagmaThe tagma is a term for a military unit of battalion size. The best-known use of the term however refers to the elite regiments comprising the central imperial army of the middle and late Byzantine Empire.-History and role:...
of the
ViglaThe 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 8th century, and survived until the late 11th century...
, and raised to the rank of patrician. in 840 or 842, Theophilos ordered him to decapitate the patrician Theophobos, a Kurdish convert and general whose troops had proclaimed him emperor at
SinopeSinope can refer to:*Sinop, Turkey, a city on the Black Sea, historically known as Sinope*Sinope , in Greek mythology, daughter of Asopus and eponym of Sinop*Sinope , a moon of the planet Jupiter*Sinope Gospels...
. 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 IIIMichael III the Drunkard , , Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Phrygian Dynasty.-Life:...
, and Petronas is said to have urges Theodora to rescind Theophilos iconoclastic policies. He was however sidelined under the regency of Theodora and the
logothetēs TheoktistosTheoktistos , 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
CaesarCaesar , Latin: 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 Caesar's policies was a more aggressive stance against the Arabs in the East. Petronas was appointed
stratēgosStrategos, 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 ThemeThe Thracesian Theme , more properly 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.As with the other themes, the exact date of foundation is unclear: earlier scholars believed it...
. 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
SamosataSamosata 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
AmidaAmida can mean:*Amida or Amitabha, an important Buddha in East Asian Buddhism*Amida , a beetle genus*Amidah, the central prayer of the Jewish services*Amidakuji, a way of drawing lots*Amitabh Bachchan, an actor...
. Having penetrated deeper into Arab territory than any Byzantine commander since the
Muslim conquestsMuslim conquests , also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests, began after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad...
, he returned victorious with many captives.
In 863, another Arab army, led by the emir of Melitene, Amr 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 LalakaonThe Battle of Lalakaon or Battle of Poson was fought in 863 between the Byzantine Empire and an invading Arab army in Paphlagonia...
on 3 September 863. Petronas carried his defeated enemy's head to
ConstantinopleConstantinople was the imperial capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire...
, where he was honored with a triumphal entrance by his nephew. Soon after, he was raised to the rank of
magistros and
domestikosDomestikos , in English sometimes [the] Domestic, was a civil, ecclesiastic and military office in the late Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire.- Military usage :...
of the
ScholaiThe Scholae Palatinae , were an elite military guard unit, usually ascribed to the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great as a replacement to the Praetorian Guard...
regiment.
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
hagiographyHagiography is the study of saints. A hagiography, from the Greek and , refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of ecclesiastical and secular leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though...
, 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
sarcophagusA 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 the word came to refer...
was placed opposite those of his sister, the empress Theodora, and his nieces.
Sources