Michael I Rangabe
Michael I Rangabe was a well-intentioned but ultimately weak emperor whose inability to manage the Bulgarian crisis led to his overthrow after less than two years. He came to power as the brother-in-law of Staurakios, elevated by court factions. Unlike his predecessor Nikephoros I, Michael was generous to the church and the monastics, ending the fiscal disputes that had embittered the previous reign. He reconciled with the Stoudite monks and the patriarch. His foreign policy included diplomatic recognition of Charlemagne's imperial title in 812. Against the Bulgars under Khan Krum he failed decisively, and his campaign collapsed without a decisive engagement. A conspiracy formed around the general Leo the Armenian. In June 813 Leo was acclaimed emperor by the army, and Michael, remarkably for a deposed Byzantine emperor, was allowed to abdicate peacefully, take monastic vows, and retire with his family. He lived for another three decades as the monk Athanasios and died peacefully in 844, an almost unprecedented end for a deposed Byzantine ruler.
- Lived: 770 CE – 844 CE
- Nationality: byzantine
- Roles: emperor, head_of_state
