Chapter 16 - The Period of Decline - Part 02

cost him the throne. He was deposed in 813 AD by an Armenian soldier named Leo. Leo V, as he was known, became emperor in 813 AD and faced another Bulgar attack from Krum. Luckily Krum died suddenly in 814 AD as he was preparing for the attack, which never materialized. Krum’s son, Omurtag, in the meantime arranged a peace treaty with the Byzantines. Omurtag needed the Byzantines as allies to help him protect his western frontiers against Frankish expansion under Charlemagne and his successors. With the Bulgars in check, Leo decided to delve into the iconoclastic controversy. Like most soldiers he ended up on the unpopular side. Leo V was assassinated in 820 AD and was replaced by Michael II who was also a soldier. Michael II’s reign began in 820 AD and was plagued by outbreaks of rebellion. His nine years of reign were mainly memorable for the loss of Crete to the Corsairs and the invasion of Sicily by the Aghlabids. Michael II established the Phrygian dynasty and his son Theophilus and grandson Michael III each occupied the Byzantine throne in turn. Michael’s son Theophilus reigned from 829 to 842 AD during which time hostilities between the Byzantines and Muslims were renewed. The Muslims invaded Cappadocia and Theophilus was forced to concentrate all his military efforts on the war against them. The consequence was that he could no longer support the campaign in Sicily and in 842 AD Sicily was lost to the Saracens. Meanwhile the war with the Muslims in the east raged on and neither side was able to gain advantage. Theophilus died in 842 AD and the government was passed on to a council of regents on behalf of his four year old son, Michael III. At the head of the regency council was Michael’s mother, the empress Theodora. Theodora was an image worshipper and did her best to reverse her late husband's iconoclast policies and soon began to persecute the iconoclasts. When Michael reached the age of eighteen, in 856 AD, he removed his mother from active duty and ruled the empire with his disreputable drinking companion, Uncle Bardas, first as councilor than as colleague. When Michael became tired of Bardas he dropped him from council and promoted another drinking companion, Basil the Macedonian, to Caesar. About a year later, Basil the Macedonian became tired of Michael and murdered him after a heavy drinking bout. Already being Caesar, Basil assumed the position of emperor in 867 AD without any opposition, thus inaugurating the Macedonian dynasty which reigned for nearly two centuries.