I recently read an article by Lars Brownworth, creator of the “12 Byzantine Rulers” podcast, on Leo V’s sentencing of his top general, Michael the Amorian. Essentially, on Christmas Eve of 820, the Byzantine Emperor Leo heard some rumors that Michael was plotting to assassinate him. Upon learning it was true, Leo sentenced him to death. But rather than a simple execution, Brownworth claims Leo wanted to tie Michael “to an ape and [hurl him] into the furnace that heated the imperial palace.”

The articles on Michael II and Leo V from Ancient History Encyclopedia likewise comply with Brownworth’s statement. But upon looking through my other Middle Byzantine history books- Byzantium: The Apogee, by J.J. Norwich, The Making of Byzantium, by Mark Whittow, and Byzantium: The Imperial Centuries, by Romilly Jenkins- they simply state that Leo wanted to burn him in the furnace. There is no mention of an ape. Furthermore, translations of primary sources such as Genesius’ On the Reign of Emperors and Skylitzes’ Synopses make no mention of an ape.

That begs the question, where did Brownworth get his claim of Michael being chained to an ape from? If it is true, was it commonplace for the Byzantine Emperors to use outlandish execution methods?

Bibliography:

Norwich, J.J. Byzantium: The Apogee. New York: Knopf, 1992.

Jenkins, Romilly. Byzantium: The Imperial Centuries, 610-1071. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1987.

Whittow, Mark. The Making of Byzantium. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1996

Genesios, Joseph, A. Kaldellis. (trans.) On the Reigns of the Emperors. Byzantina Australiensia, 11. Canberra: Australian Association for Byzantine Studies, 1998.

Skylitzes, John, and John Wortley. John Skylitzes: A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811–1057: Translation and Notes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.