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THEOPHILUS

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Originally appearing in Volume V26, Page 787 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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THEOPHILUS , See also:

East See also:

ROMAN

Roman See also:

EMPEROR (Fr. empereur, from the Lat. imperator)

emperor (829–842), the second of the " Phrygian " See also:

DYNASTY (Gr. &vvaareta, sovereignty, the position of a hevnori7r, lord, ruler, from SuvaaBay to be able, Suvaµas, power)

dynasty. Unlike his See also:

FATHER

father See also:

Michael II., he declared himself a pronounced iconoclast. In 832 he issued an See also:

EDICT (Lat. edictum, from e, out, and dicere, to say, speak)

edict strictly forbidding the See also:

WORSHIP (i.e. " worth-ship," O. Eng. weor8scipe)

worship of images; but the stories of his cruel treatment of recalcitrants are probably exaggerated. At the See also:

time of his See also:

ACCESSION (from Lat. accedere, to go to, to approach)

accession, the Sicilians were still engaged in hostilities with the See also:

SARACENS

Saracens, but Theophilus was obliged to, devote all his energies to the See also:

war against the caliphs of See also:

BAGDAD, or BAGHDAD

Bagdad (see See also:

CALIPHATE

CALIPHATE, especially See also:

SECT

sect. C., § 8). This war was caused by Theophilus, who afforded an See also:

asylum to a number of See also:

Persian refugees, one of whom, called Theophobus after his See also:

CONVERSION (Lat. conversio, from convertere, to turn or ,change)

conversion to See also:

CHRISTIANITY

Christianity, married the emperor's See also:

SISTER

sister See also:

Helena, and became one of his generals. The Roman arms were at first successful; in 837 See also:

SAMOSATA (Eau6vara, -arum, Ptol. v. 15 § r 1 ; Strabo xvi. 749)

Samosata and Zapetra (Zibatra, Sozopetra), the See also:

BIRTH (a word common in various forms to Teutonic languages from the root of the verb " to bear ")

birth-See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place of Motasim, were taken and destroyed. Eager for revenge, Motasim assembled a vast See also:

army, one See also:

DIVISION (from Lat. dividere, to break up into parts, separate)

division of which defeated Theophilus, who commanded in See also:

PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person, at Dasymon, while the other advanced against Amorium, the See also:

CRADLE (of uncertain etymology, possibly connected with " crate " and " creel," i.e. basket; the derivation from a Celtic word, with a sense of rocking, is scouted by the New English Dictionary)

cradle of the Phrygian dynasty. After a brave resistance of fifty-five days, the See also:

CITY (through Fr. cite, from Lat. civitas)

city See also:

fell into Motasim's hands through treachery (23rd of See also:

SEPTEMBER (Lat. septem, seven)

September 838). See also:

THIRTY

Thirty thousand of the inhabitants were slain, the See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest sold as slaves, and the city razed to the ground. Theophilus never recovered from the See also:

BLOW, JOHN (1648-1708)

blow, his See also:

HEALTH

health gradually failed, and he died at the beginning of 842. His See also:

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character has been the subject of considerable discussion, some regarding him as one of the ablest of the See also:

BYZANTINE

Byzantine emperors, others as an See also:

ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary See also:

ORIENTAL

oriental See also:

DESPOT (Gr. Sc-va6rgs, lord or master; the origin of the first part of the Gr. word is unknown, the second part is cognate with rbvcs, husband, Lat. potens, powerful)

despot, an overrated and insignificant ruler.

There is no doubt that he did his best to check corruption and oppression on the See also:

PART

part of his officials, and administered See also:

JUSTICE (Lat. justitia)

justice with strict impartiality, although his punishments did not always See also:

FIT

fit the See also:

CRIME (Lat. crimen, accusation)

crime. In spite of the drain of the war in See also:

ASIA

Asia and the large sums spent by Theophilus on See also:

BUILDING

building, See also:

commerce, See also:

INDUSTRY (Lat. industria, from indu-, a form of the pre, position in, and either stare, to stand, or struere, to pile up)

industry, and the finances of the See also:

EMPIRE

empire were in a most flourishing See also:

CONDITION (Lat. condicio, from condicere, to agree upon, arrange; not connected with conditio, from condere, conditum, to put together)

condition, the See also:

CREDIT (Lat. credere, to believe)

credit of which was in See also:

GREAT

great measure due to the highly efficient See also:

ADMINISTRATION (Lat. administrare, to serve)

administration of the See also:

DEPARTMENT (Fr. departement, from departir, to separate into parts)

department. Theophilus, who had received an excellent See also:

EDUCATION

education from See also:

John Hylilas, the grammarian, was a great admirer of See also:

MUSIC

music and a See also:

LOVER, SAMUEL (1797-1868)

lover of See also:

ART

art, although his See also:

TASTE (from Lat. taxare, to touch sharply; tangere, to touch)

taste was not of the highest. He strengthened the walls of See also:

Constantinople, and built a See also:

HOSPITAL (Lat. haspitalis, the adjective of hospes, host or guest)

hospital, which continued in existence till the latest times of the Byzantine Empire. See See also:

ZONARAS, JOANNES (JOHN)

Zonaras, xv. 25—29; Cedrenus, pp. 513—533; See also:

THEOPHANES

Theophanes continuatus, iii.; See also:

Gibbon, Decline and Fall, chaps. 48 and 52; F. G. See also:

SCHLOSSER, FRIEDRICH CHRISTOPH (1776—1861)

Schlosser, Geschichte der bilderstiirmenden Kaiser (1812) ; G. See also:

FINLAY, GEORGE (1799-1875)

Finlay, See also:

HISTORY

History of See also:

GREECE

Greece, ii. (1897) p.

142; G. F. See also:

HERTZBERG, EWALD FRIEDRICH, COUNT VON (1725-1795)

Hertzberg, Geschichte der Byzant'iner and See also:

DES

des osmanischen Reiches, bk. i. (See also:

Berlin, 1883) ; H. Gelzer, " Abriss der byzantinischen Kaisergeschichte " in C. See also:

KRUMBACHER, CARL (1856–1909)

Krumbacher's Geschichte der byzantinischen Litteratur (2nd ed. 1897) ; and authorities under ROMAN EMPIRE, LATER. On the See also:

early See also:

CAMPAIGNS

campaigns against the See also:

ARABS

Arabs see J. B. See also:

Bury, in Journ. See also:

HELL (0. Eng. hel, a Teutonic word from a root meaning " to cover," cf. Ger. Holle, Dutch hel)

Hell. See also:

STUD

Stud. See also:

XXIX

xxix., 1909, pt. i.

End of Article: THEOPHILUS

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