Michael III "the Drunkard" of Byzantium (19 January 840-23 September 867) was the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 842 to 867, succeeding Theophilos of Byzantium and preceding Basil the Macedonian.
Biography[]
Michael was born on 19 January 840 to Emperor Theophilos of Byzantium, and he was from the House of Amorios. Michael succeeded his father as emperor at the age of two, and as he grew up, courtiers fought for influence over him. In 857 he relegated his mother Theodora and his sisters to a monastery after overthrowing the regency, and Michael became the sole emperor. One day, Michael took a peasant named Basil the Macedonian as his bodyguard after witnessing him beating a Bulgarian champion in wrestling, but he later became interested in giving Basiliskianos imperial titles instead of Basil. Fearing that he would lose influence, Basil and a group of close family members killed Michael and Basiliskianos while they were insensibly drunk, and Basil became the first king of the House of Makedon to rule the Byzantine Empire.