Άλλα Ονόματα Lachanodrakis, Lachanodrasios. Τόπος και Χρόνος Γέννησης First third of the 8th century unknown

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1 Περίληψη : Michael Lachanodrakon was a prominent member of the mlitary aristocracy of Asia Minor in the 8th century. He held various high military offices, most important being that of the strategos of the Theme of Thrakesion. He was conferred senior honorary titles and was one of the closest associates of Emperors Constantine V Kopronymos ( ) and Constantine VI ( ). He distinguished himself as an effective military man in the war against the Arabs, while he was a fervent supporter of the iconclastic policy of Emperor Constantine V Kopronymos, and had an active role in the persecution of iconodules, mainly of monks, of his jurisdiction. Άλλα Ονόματα Lachanodrakis, Lachanodrasios Τόπος και Χρόνος Γέννησης First third of the 8th century unknown Τόπος και Χρόνος Θανάτου 20 July 792 Markellai Κύρια Ιδιότητα military official 1. Biography The place where Michael Lachanodrakon was born remains unknown, and we can only presume that he was born sometime in the first half of the 8 th century. Nothing is known about the social rank of his family or any special education or military training he received in order to rise to the military hierarchy. In any case, his career in the army secured his ascension to the upper social classes. The available sources provide no information about his family status and, because all information comes from iconodule writers and Michael Lachanodrakon was a fervent iconoclast, we are given a negative picture of him by the sources. Names such as "impious", "drakontonymos" (bearing the name of the dragon, of the beast) and "arch-satrap" (refering to his being tyrannical) attached to him, along with the detailed descriptions of tortures he inflicted upon iconodules, exclusively aim to give the impression of an atrocious and fanatic iconoclast. However, such portraits can hardly be described as objective ones. 1 It is certain that Michael, apart from his iconoclastic action, developped a rich military activity in the Asia Minor front against the Arabs. His time coincided with the emergence of the institution of themes and, as a result, the comeback of the Byzantine army on the eastern borders, as well as the beginnings of the border conflicts with the caliphate, which would gradually lead the Byzantines to counter-attack the Arabs. As a particularly effective strategos and powerful personality, Michael Lachanodrakon played a leading role in military operations between 766 and 792. His activityn came to an end on 20 July 792, when he was killed in the battlefield at Markellai during a campaign of Constantine VI against the Bulgarians. 2. Political-Military Career 2.1 Political Actions Information retrieved from sources about the political actions of Michael Lachanodrakon concern the period after 766, when Emperor Constantine V Kopronymos appointed him to the senior office of the strategos of the Theme of Thrakesion. 2 He had already launched a career in the army by the mid-8 th century, while at that time he seems to have been conferred the titles of patrikios and royal protospatharios. The title of senator must have been conferred on him as well. 3 As the strategos of the Theme of Thrakesion, Michael developped intense military activity mainly against the Arabs, although at the same time he actively and fully participated in the political affairs of the empire by loyally serving the iconclastic policy of Emperor Constantine V Kopronymos. Δημιουργήθηκε στις 18/6/2017 Σελίδα 1/5

2 Because of his actions against the iconodules, especially against the monks and the monasteries in the area of his jurisdiction, he was considered as one of the most uncompromising iconoclasts of his time. An illustrative example of this is the destruction of the monastery of Pelekete in western Asia Minor, in 763/764, as described in Vita of Stephen the Younger. According to the latter, Lachanodrakon, ordered by Emperor Constantine V Kopronymos, is said to have invaded the monastery in command of his soldiers during the Divine Liturgy. After he captured thirty-eight of the foremost monks, he subjected the rest of them to a series of tortures, such as beating, burning at the stake, burning of beards and severance of the nose. He then set the monastery afire and took the captive monks to the area of Ephesus, where he killed them. 4 According to later sources, in 769/70 Michael ordered the first persecution of both male and female monks of the Theme of Thrakesion. He first gathered them at the tzykanisterion in Ephesus and then he made them abandon monasticism and get married under the threat of being blinded and banished to Cyprus in case of disobedience. 5 In 771 he set the men s and women s monasteries of his precinct afire, burnt religious books and holy relics and sold the property of the monasteries; he then sent the Emperor the money he had collected. According to the Chronographia of Theophanes, 6 Emperor Constantine V Kopronymos sent him a letter personally thanking and praising him for this actions. All monastic communities of the Theme of Thrakesion were actually eliminated by Military Action The information about the activity of Michael, mainly in the front of Asia Minor but in the Balkans as well, concerns the period after 778, during the reign of Emperor Leo IV ( ), when the conflict about the icons was in decline thanks to the relaxed attitude of the new emperor. It was in 778 that Lachanodrakon took part in a Byzantine campaign against the Arabs as the strategos of Thrace, in command of troops from almost all Asia Minor themes, which shows how high a place he held in military hierarchy. 7 The campaign was launched against the city of Germanikeia of Syria, which the Byzantines did not manage to capture, though. 8 However, it was a successful campaign because the Byzantine forces finally captured lots of prisoners, mainly Syrian Jacobites from the wider region of Germanikeia, which they sacked, while they also defeated an Arab force sent to fight them. The success of Lachanodrakon was greatly celebrated in Constantinople by the Emperor, who settled the Syrian captives in the district of Thrace. The next military success of Michael took place in 780, when, during an Arab raid, he managed to take the invaders by surprise and kill the brother of their commander Thumama ibn al-valid, while the following year he made Abd al-kabir, who had invaded Cappadocia, withdraw without a fight. 9 In 781 Lachanodrakon moved again against the Arab invaders, in command of a large force consisting of soldiers from more than one theme. He confronted the Arabs in the passage of Adata, but the Arab commander avoided to fight the Byzantines. The latter captured some Syrian soldiers and took them to Thrace. 10 During the large-scale invasion of the Arabs under caliph Harun al-rashid against Byzantine territory in 782, the Arabs advanced to the coasts of the Bosporus opposite Constantinople and Michael was defeated during a battle against a part of the Arab army led by al-barmaqi. He is said to have then lost fifteen thousand men. 11 Because of his defeat he was elbowed or even displaced from the office of strategos of the Theme of Thrakesion. However, the main reason for his falling in disgrace must have been the attempt of the Empress Eirene an iconodule who assumed power after Leo IV Khazar died (780), and represented her underage son Constantine VI to purge the army of iconoclasts. Lachanodrakon reappears in 790 on the side of the young Emperor Constantine VI, who assumed power at the age of 19, thus overriding his mother Eirene. Michael was sent by the Emperor to the Armeniakon Theme in order to make the soldiers vow allegiance to the young Emperor and support him against his mother. In that period he must have been conferred the higher honorary title of magistros, possibly as a reward for his support to the Emperor. Finally, in 792 he participated as a strategos on the side of Constantine VI in the campaign against the Bulgarians and was killed on 20 July at Markellai. 1. The sources that provide information about the life and acts of Michael Lachanodrakon are the Chronographia of Theophanes Confessor and the Vita of St. Stephen the Younger, which are both marked by an iconodule zeal and their depiction of Lachanodrakon is therefore rather negative, insisting on his iconoclastic activities and refering to him as a prosecutor of monks. 2. Theophanes Chronographia 1, de Boor, C. (ed.), (Leipzig 1883), pp Δημιουργήθηκε στις 18/6/2017 Σελίδα 2/5

3 3. Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit. Erste Abteilung ( ), vol. 3 (Berlin, New York 2000), pp , see entry Michael Lachanodrakon. 4. Migne, J P. (ed.), Vita Sancti Stephani Junioris, Patrologia Graeca 100, Theophanes Chronographia 1, de Boor, C. (ed.), (Leipzig 1883), pp Theophanes Chronographia 1, de Boor, C. (ed.), (Leipzig 1883), pp Lilie, R.J., Die byzantinische Reaktion auf die Ausbreitung der Araber, Studien zur Strukturwandlung des byzantinischen Staates im 7. und 8. Jahrhundert (Miscellanea Byzantina Monacensia 22, München 1976), p According to the narration of Theophanes, Lachanodrakon took a bribe from the Arab coomander of the city, de Boor, C. (ed.), Theophanes Chronographia (Leipzig 1883), pp However, one should be sceptical towards this information, since the writer is bound to have a negative attitude towards all iconoclasts. 9. This information is provided by the Arab historian at-tabari, Yar-Shater, E., The History of al-tabari XXIX (Series in New Eastern Studies. Bibliotheca Persica, New York 1985), p On the contrary, Theophanes attributes the repulse of al-kabir to sacellarius John, see de Boor, C. (ed.), Theophanes Chronographia (Leipzig 1883), pp Lilie, R.J., Die byzantinische Reaktion auf die Ausbreitung der Araber, Studien zur Strukturwandlung des byzantinischen Staates im 7. und 8. Jahrhundert (Miscellanea Byzantina Monacensia 22, München 1976), p Theophanes Chronographia, de Boor, C. (ed.), (Leipzig 1883), pp. 456, 7. Βιβλιογραφία : Treadgold W.T., A History of the Byzantine State and Society, Stanford 1997 Gero S., Byzantine Iconoclasm during the Reign of Constantine V with particular attention to the oriental sources, Louvain 1977, Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium 384 = Subsidia 52 "Μιχαήλ Λαχανοδράκων, λήμμα no. 5027", Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit. Erste Abteilung ( ) 3, Berlin, New York 2000 Al-Tabari, The History of al-tabari XXIX, Yar-Shater, E., Series in New Eastern Studies. Bibliotheca Persica, New York 1985 Ιωάννης Σκυλίτζης, Σύνοψις Ιστοριών, Thurn, I. (ed.), Ioannis Skylitzae Synopsis Historiarum, Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae 5, Berlin New York 1973 Hollingsworth P.A., "Lachanodrakon, Michael", Kazhdan A., The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium 2, New York - Oxford 1991, 1168 Lilie R.J., Die byzantinische Reaktion auf die Ausbreitung der Araber Studien zur Strukturwandlung des byzantinischen Staates im 7. und 8. Jahrhundert, München 1976, Miscellanea Byzantina Monacensia 22 Ostrogorsky G., Geschichte des Byzantinischen Staates, München 1952, ανατ Δημιουργήθηκε στις 18/6/2017 Σελίδα 3/5

4 Ostrogorsky G., Ιστορία του Βυζαντινού Κράτους, 1-3, Αθήνα 1989, Παναγόπουλος, I. (μτφρ.) Speck P., Kaiser Konstantin VI. Die Legimation einer fremden und der Versuch einer eigenen Herrschaft 1, München 1978 Θεοφάνης, Χρονογραφία, de Boor, C. (ed.), Theophanis Chronographia, Leipzig 1883 Chabot J.B., Chronique de Michel le Syrien, I-IV, J.B. Chabot, Paris "Vita Sancti Stephani Juniores", Patrologia Graeca, Patrologia Graeca, 100, στήλ Δικτυογραφία : Iconoclasm - First phase ( ) Monachism and Iconoclasm Γλωσσάριo : magistros Higher office that Philotheos in his Kletorologion places above the anthypatos. This title lost its importance from the 10th century and gradually disappeared - most probably in the middle of the 12th century. patrikios (from lat. patricius) Higher title of honour, placed, according to the "Tactika" of the 9th and the 10th centuries, between anthypatos and protospatharios. It was given to the most important governors and generals. Gradually, however, it fell into disuse and from the 12th century did not exist any more. protospatharios The first spatharios. A higher byzantine official of the imperial hierarchy which usually permitted participation in the senate. It was awarded even to eunuchs. After the 11th century, it gradually lost its importance. It was also an honorary title. strategos ("general") During the Roman period his duties were mainly political. Οffice of the Byzantine state s provincial administration. At first the title was given to the military and political administrator of the themes, namely of the big geographic and administrative unities of the Byzantine empire. Gradually the title lost its power and, already in the 11th century, strategoi were turned to simple commanders of military units, responsible for the defence of a region. tzykanisterion A stadium-like courtyard when the tzykanion was played; this was a ball game played on horseback (polo-like), imported from Persia (Pers. tshu-qan). Πηγές de Boor, C. (ed.), Theophanes Chronographia 1 (Leipzig 1883). Thurn, I. (ed.), Ioannis Skylitzae Synopsis Historiarum (Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae, Series Berolinensis 5, Berlin New York 1973) Chronique de Michel le Syrien III, trans. J.B. Chabot (Paris ). Migne, J P. (ed.), Vita Sancti Stephani Juniores, Patrologia Graeca 100, column Yar Shater, E. (ed.), The History of al-tabari XXIX (Series in New Eastern Studies. Bibliotheca Persica, New York 1985). Δημιουργήθηκε στις 18/6/2017 Σελίδα 4/5

5 Παραθέματα Mentions to Michael Lachanordakon in Vita of St. Stephen the Younger ʺVita Sancti Stephani Junioresʺ, Patrologia Graeca 100, col εἷς δέ τις τῶν πονηρῶν ἀρχόντων ὁμοιότροπος τοῦ Σατανᾶ, οὗ τὸ ὄνομα ἑκὼν ὑπερβήσομαι δρακοντιαία γὰρ ἐπίκλησις τούτου Vita Steph. Iun τὴν τότε στοτόμαιναν καὶ ἀγριότητα τοῦ ἄρχοντος τῆς Ἀσιάτιδος γαίης ὅνπερ Λαχανοδράκοντα καλοῦσιν Vita Steph. Iun Χρονολόγιο First third of the 8th century: Birth of Michael Lachanodrakon 766: Lachanodrakon is appointed strategos at the Theme of Thrakesion 769/70: Prosecution of the monks in the Theme of Thrakesion 771: The monasteries of the Theme of Thrakesion are destroyed and their property is sold by Lachanodrakon 778: Campaign to Germanikeia 780: Attack to an Arab raiding force in Asia Minor 781: Arab raiders repelled at the narrow passage of Adata 782: After his defeat by the Arab commander al Barmaqi, Lachanodrakon is removed from the post of the strategos of the Thrakesion theme 790: Lachanodrakon is sent to Armeniakon Theme as the representative of Constantine VI 20 July 792: Death of Lachanodrakon in a battle with the Bulgarians at Markellai Δημιουργήθηκε στις 18/6/2017 Σελίδα 5/5