Kesta Styppiotes facts for kids

Kesta Styppiotes or Stypeiotes (Greek: Κεστά Στυππιώτης/Στυπειώτης; died September 11, 883) was a high-ranking military leader in the Byzantine Empire. For a short time around 883, he held the important position of Domestic of the Schools, which meant he was the commander-in-chief of the entire Byzantine army.

Kesta's last name, Styppiotes, suggests he came from the town of Stypion, which is now called Štip. His first name, Kesta, hints that he might have had a Slavic or Bulgar background.

Becoming a Commander

In 883, Kesta took over the role of Domestic of the Schools. He replaced Andrew the Scythian, who had lost his position. There are a few ideas why Andrew was removed. Some say it was because of a disagreement between Emperor Basil I the Macedonian and his son, Leo VI the Wise. Andrew might have been seen as supporting Leo. Others believe Andrew was accused of being too cautious against the Arabs from Tarsus, even after winning a battle against them.

The Battle and Kesta's Fate

Kesta Styppiotes then led the Byzantine army himself against the Arabs. However, he was not careful enough in his leadership. The Tarsian Arabs, led by Yazaman al-Khadim, managed to surprise the Byzantine camp with a night attack. The Byzantines were completely overwhelmed.

According to the historian al-Tabari, this battle happened on September 11, 883. The Byzantine army suffered a huge defeat. Arab writers, perhaps exaggerating a bit, claimed that 70,000 out of 100,000 Byzantine soldiers were killed. Kesta Styppiotes died in the battle, along with the military governors (called strategoi) of the Anatolic Theme and Cappadocia. The commander of Koron fortress barely escaped, even though he was badly hurt.

After this terrible defeat, Andrew the Scythian was given back his job as Domestic of the Schools.

Aftermath of the Defeat

It is likely that some of the Byzantine soldiers captured during this disaster were part of a prisoner exchange in February 884. This was when prisoners were traded between the Byzantines and the Arabs.

Many years later, in 965, when Tarsus was finally captured by the Byzantines, Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas found and recovered seven gold and silver crosses. These crosses had been taken by Yazaman during the battle where Kesta Styppiotes was killed.

Sources

• Fields, Philip M., ed. (1987). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXXVII: The ʿAbbāsid Recovery: The War Against the Zanj Ends, A.D. 879–893/A.H. 266–279. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies.. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-88706-054-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=igltYwUE764C.
• Guilland, Rodolphe (1967). [Kesta Styppiotes at Google Books "Le Domestique des Scholes"] (in French). Recherches sur les institutions byzantines. Berliner byzantinische Arbeiten 35. I. Berlin and Amsterdam: Akademie-Verlag & Adolf M. Hakkert. pp. 426–468. OCLC 878894516. Kesta Styppiotes at Google Books.
• Lilie, Ralph-Johannes (2013). "Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit Online. Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Nach Vorarbeiten F. Winkelmanns erstellt".. Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter.