Staurakios or Stauracius (Greek: Σταυράκιος; died January 11, 812) was Byzantine Emperor from July 26 to October 2, 811 in succession to his father, Nikephoros I, who had fallen at the Battle of Pliska. His rule was cut short by a severe wound suffered in the same battle, and he was forced into retirement in a monastery by his brother-in-law, Michael I Rangabe, where he died soon after.
The son of Emperor Nikephoros I, Staurakios had been crowned as co-emperor by his father in December 803. The chronicler Theophanes the Confessor, on top of stating that he was completely unfit to become co-emperor also claimed that Staurakios was guilty of rape, a claim perhaps colored by his hostility to Nikephoros I. On 20 December 807, the Athenian Theophano, a relative of the deposed Empress Irene, was selected by Nikephoros as Staurakios' wife from a company of young ladies, assembled from around the Empire in a bride show. The two were married that same day. During his father’s reign, he had been given command of the elite tagma of the Hikanatoi.
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