Theophilos (813–842)
Born 813 CE, died 842 CE.
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's 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.
Text from the Wikipedia article Theophilos_(emperor), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.