This coin struck during the regency of Theodora shows how Michael was less prominent than his mother, who is represented as ruler alone on the obverse, and even than his sister Thecla, who is depicted together with the young Michael on the reverse of this coin.

Michael III (839 – 867), "the Drunkard", was grandson of Michael II, and succeeded his father Theophilus as Byzantine emperor when he was three years old in 842. Image File history File links Solidus-Michael_III-sb1686. ... Image File history File links Solidus-Michael_III-sb1686. ... Theodora was the wife of the Byzantine emperor Theophilus. ... Events Louis the Pious attempts to divide his empire among his sons. ... Events September - Basil I becomes sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire. ... Michael II, called Psellus, the stammerer, or the Amorian (770-829) reigned as Byzantine emperor 820 - 829. ... Theophilus (813 - 842) was Byzantine emperor from 829 to 842. ... This is a list of Byzantine Emperors. ... Events Oaths of Strasbourg — alliance of Louis the German and Charles the Bald against emperor Lothar — sworn and recorded in vernacular languages. ...

During his minority, the empire was governed by his mother Theodora, who in spite of several defeats inflicted upon her generals maintained the frontiers against the Saracens of Baghdad and Crete. The regent displayed her religious zeal by restoring veneration of icons in 842 and persecuting the Paulician heretics, but she entirely neglected the education of her son. As a result, Michael reportedly grew up a debauchee, and fell under the sway of his uncle Bardas, who induced him to banish Theodora to a convent and practically assumed the chief control in 857. Theodora was the wife of the Byzantine emperor Theophilus. ... For the rugby club Saracens see Saracens (rugby club) The term Saracen comes from Greek sarakenoi. ... Location of Baghdad within Iraq Baghdad (Arabic: ‎ translit: , Kurdish: Bexda, from Persian Baagh-daad meaning given by God) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate. ... Crete (Greek Κρήτη Kriti; called Candia in the Venetian period and Turkish: Girit) is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea. ... The Savior (1410s, by Andrei Rublev) For other senses of this word, see icon (disambiguation). ... Bogomils was the name of a defunct Gnostic social-religious movement and doctrine which originated in Macedonia in X century at the time of Peter I of Bulgaria (927-969) as a reaction of the state and clerical oppression. ... Bardas was the regent (856-866) of Byzantine Emperor Michael III. Bardas was apparently the son of Marinos Mamikonian and the brother of Theodora, the wife of Byzantine Emperor Theophilus. ... Events Viking raid of Dorestad. ...

Bardas justified this usurpation by introducing various internal reforms; in the wars of the period Michael himself took a more active part. During a conflict with the Saracens of the Euphrates (856 - 863), the emperor sustained a personal defeat in 860, which was retrieved by a great victory on the part of his uncle Petronas in Asia Minor. Michael III This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... The Euphrates (the traditional Greek name for the river, Kurdish: Fırat, Arabic: الفرات; Al-Furat, Old Persian: Ufrat, Syriac: ܦܪܘܬ/ܦܪܬ; Prâth/Frot, Turkish: Fırat, Assyrian Akkadian: Pu-rat-tu, Hebrew: פְּרָת) is the westernmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia (Beth Nahrain in Syriac), the other being the... Events Year of the Fire Rat begins in January. ... Events Constantine I succeeds as king of Scotland. ... Events First attack on Constantinople by Swedish Vikings (the Rus, see Varangians). ... Anatolia (Greek: ανατολη anatole, rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to the Asian portion of Turkey. ...

Emperor Michael III under the guidance of Patriarch Photius I, sent in 860 the Saints Cyril and Methodius as envoys to the Khazar Khagan in an effort to stop the expansion of Judaism in the Khazar tribe. This mission was a failure. Photius (b. ... Saints Cyril and Methodius painted by Jan Matejko. ... The Khazars were a Turkic semi-nomadic people from Central Asia who adopted Judaism. ... Khagan, alternatively spelled Chagan, Qaqan etc. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people with around 14 million followers (as of 2005 [1]). It is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths and one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. ...

In 861 Michael and Bardas invaded Bulgaria and secured the conversion of the king to Christianity. On the sea the empire suffered under the ravages of the Cretan corsairs; and in 865 the first pillaging expedition of the Rus' endangered the Bosporus. In 862 Cyril and Methodius were sent to Great Moravia to a new missionary expedition to expand the Eastern Christianity faith. Events Carloman revolts against his father Louis the German. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the New Testament accounts of the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus of Nazareth, known by Christians as Jesus Christ. ... Events Ethelred succeeds as king of Wessex (or 866). ... Rus is a term used to describe the ethnic group of eastern Slavs from which modern Russians have descended, as well as the earliest Russian states. ... Bosporus - photo taken from International Space Station. ... Events Rurik gained control of Novgorod. ... Cyril is the name of several historic figures: Saint Cyril -- godfather of Cyrillic 800 A.D. Saint Cyril of Alexandria -- Archbishop of Alexandria 412 A.D. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem -- Theologian 315-380 A.D. Cyril of Turaw -- see the history of Belarus Sir Cyril Burt -- Psychologist The name Cyril... Saint Methodius (Greek: Μεθόδιος; Church Slavonic Мефодии) (b. ... Great Moravia (Old Church Slavonic approximately Велья Морава, Czech Velká Morava, Slovak Veľká Morava, Latin Magna Moravia) was a Slav state existing on the territory of present-day Moravia and Slovakia between 833 and the early 10th century. ... Eastern Christianity refers collectively to the Christian traditions which developed in Greece, the Balkans, the rest of Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, and the Middle East over several centuries of religious antiquity. ...

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Michael III

In 867 Michael was assassinated by Basil the Macedonian, a former groom, who had overthrown the influence of Bardas and in 866 been elevated by Michael to the highest posts in the government, even marrying Michael's favorite mistress, Eudokia Ingerina. Michael's unflattering reputation in later centuries was largely a result of Basil's propaganda, which sought to justify his usurpation of power. Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Basil, his son Constantine, and his second wife, emperess Eudoxia Ingerina. ... Events Fujiwara no Yoshifusa becomes regent of Japan, starting the Fujiwara regentship. ... Eudokia Ingerina (Greek: Ευδοκία) (c. ...

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.