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Michael II (, ; 770 – 2 October 829), called the Amorian (ὁ ἐξ Ἀμορίου, ) and the Stammerer (ὁ Τραυλός, or ὁ Ψελλός, ), reigned as Byzantine emperor from 25 December 820 to his death on 2 October 829, the first ruler of the Amorian dynasty.
Born in Amorium, Michael was a soldier, rising to high rank along with his colleague Leo V the Armenian (). He helped Leo overthrow and take the place of Emperor Michael I Rhangabe. However, after they fell out Leo sentenced Michael to death. Michael then masterminded a conspiracy which resulted in Leo's assassination at Christmas in 820. Immediately he faced the long revolt of Thomas the Slav, which almost cost him his throne and was not completely quelled until spring 824. The later years of his reign were marked by two major military disasters that had long-term effects: the beginning of the Muslim conquest of Sicily, and the loss of Crete to Andalusian Arab pirates. Domestically, he supported and strengthened the resumption of official iconoclasm, which had begun again under Leo V.
Michael first rose to prominence as a close aide ( spatharios) of the general Bardanes Tourkos, alongside his future antagonists Leo the Armenian and Thomas the Slav. He married Bardanes' daughter Thekla, while Leo married another daughter. Michael and Leo abandoned Bardanes shortly after he rebelled against Emperor Nikephoros I in 803, and they were rewarded with higher military commands: Michael was named the Emperor's Count of the Tent. Michael was instrumental in Leo's overthrow of Michael I Rhangabe in 813, after Rangabe's repeated military defeats against the Bulgarians. Under Leo V, Michael was appointed to command the elite tagma of the Excubitors.
Thekla and Michael had only one known son, Theophilos (813 – 20 January 842). The existence of a daughter called Helena is possible but there is a contradiction between different sources. Helena is known as the wife of Theophobos, a patrician executed in 842 for conspiring to gain the throne for himself. George Hamartolos and Theophanes report him marrying the sister of the Empress Theodora. Joseph Genesius records Theophobos marrying the sister of the Emperor Theophilos. Whether Helena was sister or sister-in-law to Theophilos is thus unclear.
Michael became disgruntled with Leo V when he divorced Michael's sister-in-law. In late 820, agents of the Postal Logothete uncovered a plot led by Michael to overthrow Leo, who then imprisoned Michael and sentenced him to death by burning. Empress consort Theodosia secured a postponement of the execution until after Christmas. This allowed Michael to rally undetected plotters to assassinate Leo on Christmas morning in the palace chapel and castrate his sons to prevent the continuation of his dynasty. Michael was immediately proclaimed emperor, while still wearing prison chains on his legs. Later the same day, he was crowned by Patriarch Theodotus I of Constantinople.
In his quest for support, Thomas presented himself as a champion of the poor, reduced taxation, and concluded an alliance with al-Ma'mun of the Abbasid Caliphate, having himself crowned as emperor by the iconodule Greek Patriarch of Antioch, Job, in the Church of Cassian, then in Abbasid territory, taking the imperial name Constantine. Having amassed a large army, perhaps of 80,000 men as some sources report, Thomas marched into Thrace, winning the support of the theme as well as the Armeniacs and Chaldians. He besieged the capital in December 821. Although Thomas did not win over all the Anatolian themes, he secured the support of the naval theme and their ships, allowing him to intensify his siege of Constantinople. At this point, Michael's usurpation was prevented only by the Walls of Constantinople.
In summer 822, the imperial fleet was able to destroy the rebel fleet with Greek fire. The primary sources disagree over whether a large Bulgar force under Khan Omurtag of Bulgaria was acting on Michael's request or of its own accord, nevertheless in spring 823 it marched against Thomas, forcing him to lift his siege of Constantinople. The Bulgars defeated Thomas and many of his men began to desert, leading him to retreat to Arcadiopolis. Michael besieged Thomas in Arcadiopolis and starved him out, leading his supporters to hand him over to the Emperor, who put him to death. The last outbreak of resistance was put down in Anatolia in spring 824. By the end of 823, Michael's power was firmly established and he had negotiated peace with the Bulgars despite their raiding and pillaging in Thrace during Thomas' revolt.
Michael attempted a reconciliation of the iconoclast controversy with Theodore and Nikephoros but they remained determined in their rejection of any compromise between iconoclasm and iconodulia. Theodore insisted that the matter should be resolved by a council presided over by Nikephoros or by the pope as a final arbiter. Nikephoros wrote his Refutation of the Acts of the 815 Council of Constantinople. Michael denied that the pope had any authority to intervene in the Eastern Church, so when the abbot Methodios, later Patriarch of Constantinople, arrived in Constantinople with a definition of orthodoxy from Pope Paschal I, he was considered a traitor and imprisoned. This was the only case of oppression of iconodules by Michael recorded in primary sources, and he generally pursued a benevolent policy, hoping he would be able to convert iconodules through dialogue. He wrote to the Carolingian Emperor, Louis the Pious (), defending the iconoclast position as represented in the synod of 815, and affirming belief in the veneration of relics. He gave an account of Thomas the Slav's revolt and appealed to Louis to suppress eastern monks who were spreading anti-Byzantine propaganda in Rome. He also expressed his disapproval of certain practices associated with iconodules including the mixing of fragments of icons with the Eucharist, the use of icons as altar tables and as sponsors in baptism or tonsure. This is corroborated by other reports of the extensive cult of images which had developed by the ninth century. Another case of Byzantine diplomacy with the Franks was the gift of the manuscript of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite to Louis' court in 827, which was purposefully chosen because Louis' adviser Hilduin, abbot of Saint-Denis, chose Dionysius as his abbey's patron saint.
Michael inherited a seriously weakened military and was unable to prevent the conquest of Crete in 826 by 10,000 Arabs pirates from al-Andalus (who had 40 ships), or to recover the island with an expedition. The pirates had been exiled by the Umayyad emir of al-Andalus and captured Alexandria in 825 but were driven out. Crete was only recovered in 961, and until then remained a base for raiding parties into the Aegean Sea and eastern Mediterranean. In 828, the Cibyrrhaeot navy and army achieved some successes, but was destroyed in a surprise attack and the stratēgos of the theme was killed. However in 829, the imperial fleet succeeded in driving the pirates out of the Cyclades.
Sicily lacked both a dominant political and culture centre, like Ravenna, Rome or Naples, and an autonomous local military elite, so its population were either divided or reacted passively during the crises of the 820s. Discontent began with the revolt of Thomas the Slav, and developed with Michael's attempt to raise taxation in 826. An anti-imperial faction arose, led by the tourmarchēs of Sicily, Euphemios, who had led successful raids in North Africa. In 827, the stratēgos Constantine tried to arrest him, although his motive was unclear. It was likely in response to Euphemios' disloyalty, but later legends report that he wanted to punish Euphemios for abducting his niece from a nunnery and forcing her into marriage. In any event, word of Constantine's intention reached Euphemios when he was raiding on the North African shore, and caused him to initiate a rebellion, seizing Syracuse, proclaiming himself emperor and then killing the stratēgos Constantine after defeating him at Catania. Some of Euphemios' supporters deserted him for the imperial government, and he was defeated by another garrison commander, which forced him to flee to the Aghlabid emir, Ziyadat Allah I of Ifriqiya, who recognised his title and gave him a fleet. In June 827, a predominantly Arab force landed on the west of the island at Mazara, beginning an invasion. The Byzantines fared poorly at first, retaining control only of a few strongholds and Syracuse. With the death of Euphemios and the arrival of a new stratēgos in 829 came a series of successes which secured imperial authority by the end of Michael's reign.
Although he arranged the assassination of Leo V, Michael continued with his form of iconoclasm in what came to be known as the "second" Byzantine iconoclasm. This iconoclasm was less intransigent than the first; iconodules were not accused of idolatry and images that were suspended high up (and thus unable to be venerated) were permitted to remain in churches. Nevertheless, many iconodule clergymen remained staunchly opposed, especially Patriarch Nikephoros I of Constantinople who was deposed by Leo V but remained active in polemics against imperial authority during Michael's reign.
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