Michael I of Byzantium (770-11 January 844) was the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 811 to 813, succeeding Stavrakios of Byzantium and preceding Leo V of Byzantium.
Biography[]
Michael was born in 770 to the House of Rangabes, a dynasty of Orthodox Christian Greeks. He was the son of Theophylact Rangabes, the admiral of the Aegean Sea fleet of the Byzantine Empire. Michael married the daughter of Emperor Nicephorus I of Byzantium, and he succeeded Nicephorus as Emperor on his death in 811 at the Battle of Pliska. He reigned until 813, when his general Leo overthrew him and became Leo V of Byzantium. He died in 844.