Theophilos (Greek: Θεόφιλος; 813 – 20 January 842) was the Byzantine Emperor from 829 until his death in 842. He was the second emperor of the Phrygian dynasty, and the last emperor supporting iconoclasm. Theophilos personally led the armies in his life-long war against the Arabs beginning in 831.
Theophilos was the son of the Byzantine Emperor Michael II and his wife Thekla, and the godson of Emperor Leo V the Armenian. Michael II crowned Theoph...
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Theophilos (Greek: Θεόφιλος; 813 – 20 January 842) was the Byzantine Emperor from 829 until his death in 842. He was the second emperor of the Phrygian dynasty, and the last emperor supporting iconoclasm. Theophilos personally led the armies in his life-long war against the Arabs beginning in 831.
Theophilos was the son of the Byzantine Emperor Michael II and his wife Thekla, and the godson of Emperor Leo V the Armenian. Michael II crowned Theophilos co-emperor in 822, shortly after his own accession. Unlike his father, Theophilos received an extensive education, and showed interest in the arts. On 2 October 829, Theophilos succeeded his father as sole emperor.
Theophilos continued in his predecessors' iconoclasm, though without his father's more conciliatory tone, issuing an edict in 832 forbidding the veneration of icons. He also saw himself as the champion of justice, which he served most ostentatiously by executing his father's co-conspirators against Leo V immediately after his...
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