Theophilos: Biography, Facts and Career

Theophilos (Greek: Θεόφιλος, romanized: Theóphilos, sometimes Latinised as Theophilus; c. 812 – 20 January 842) was Byzantine Emperor from 829 until his death in 842. He was the second emperor of the Amorian dynasty and the last emperor to support iconoclasm. Theophilos was well-educated in the imperial household. Upon his accession to the throne he faced the dual threat of the Abbasid Caliphate in Asia Minor and the Aghlabids in Sicily, and personally led armies against both foes from 831 onwards. He won fleeting victories but the retaliation of Caliph al-Mu'tasim (r. 833–842) was devastating, as was most humiliating in the Sack of Amorion in 838, the ancestral home of Theophilos' Amorian dynasty. Internal strife within the Caliphate allowed the Byzantines to recover. Theophilos engaged in many construction and renovation projects. One of his closest allies was the learned and cosmopolitan John the Grammarian, and they both improved relations with the Caliph and appreciated Arabic culture. He also secured nominal overlordship over the Principality of Serbia, uniting against their common enemy, the First Bulgarian Empire. The military defeats to the Arabs inspired a more intensely iconoclastic policy than what Theophilos inherited from his father Michael II, and he persecuted many clerics for refusing to submit to the imperial will. After his death, his wife Theodora rescinded this policy but also defended his broader reputation. Accordingly the historical record preserves a picture of Theophilos as a just ruler and keen constructor and administrator, alongside rebukes of his iconoclasm.

Quick facts about Theophilos

• Full name: Theophilos
• Born: 0813-01-01
• Nationality: Byzantine Empire
• Known as: Royal
• Wikidata ID: Q60199

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