Michael II



         


Michael II, called Psellus, "the stammerer," or "the Amorian" (770-829) reigned as Byzantine emperor 820 - 829. Born in Amorium in Phrygia, he began his career as a private soldier, but rose by his talents to the rank of general.

He had favoured the enthronement of his old companion in arms Leo the Armenian (813), but, detected in a conspiracy against that emperor, had been sentenced to death in December 820; his partisans, however, succeeded in assassinating Leo and called Michael from the prison to the throne as the first representative of the Amorian dynsaty..

Several features marked his reign: a struggle against his brother general, Thomas, who aimed at the throne (822-824); the conquest of Crete by the Saracens in 823; and the beginning of their attacks upon Sicily (827).

In spite of his iconoclastic sympathies, he endeavoured to conciliate the image-worshippers, but incurred the wrath of the monks by entering into a second marriage with Euphrosyne, daughter of Constantine VI, who had previously taken the veil.

This is a list of Byzantine Emperors.

Note: It is difficult to determine when exactly the Roman Empire ends and the Byzantine Empire begins; Diocletian split the Roman Empire into eastern and western halves for administrative purposes in 284. Candidates for the "first" Byzantine emperor include Constantine I (the first Christian emperor, who moved the capital to Constantinople), Valens (the Battle of Adrianople (378) provides one of the traditional cut-off events to mark the start of the medieval period), Arcadius (treating Theodosius I as the last emperor of a single Roman Empire), and Zeno I (as the last western emperor Romulus Augustus was deposed during his reign). Others date the beginning of the Empire even as late as Heraclius (who replaced the traditional Roman imperial title of "Augustus" with "Basileus", the Greek word for "Emperor", and discontinued the use of Latin by making Greek the official language). Numismatists note the monetary reforms of Anastasius I in 498, which used the Greek numbering system. Of course, the Byzantines themselves continued to think of their empire as "Roman" for over a millennium.

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Constantinian dynasty

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Non-dynastic

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Valentinian-Theodosian dynasty

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Dynasty of Leo

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Justinian dynasty

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Non-dynastic

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Heraclian dynasty

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Non-dynastic

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Isaurian dynasty

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Non-dynastic

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Amorian (or Phrygian) dynasty

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Macedonian dynasty

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Non-dynastic

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Ducaian-Comnenan dynasty

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Angelan dynasty

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Lascaran dynasty (in exile in the Empire of Nicaea during the time of the Latin Empire)

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Palaeologan Dynasty (restored at Constantinople)

In 1453 Mehmed II overthrew the Byzantine Empire and claimed the title of Caesar; his successors continued this claim. See Osmanli for the complete list of Ottoman sultans.

See also:


This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.







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