Anonymus 173 was an official, wealthy and of high rank: Ignatius, Vita Tarasii 34, lines 8-10 (τις τῶν ἐν τέλει, περιφανείᾳ καὶ δόξῃ καὶ πλούτῳ κομῶν, ᾧ καὶ τὸ βασιλικὸν ξίφος ἐν ἀξίας τιμῇ περιεκεῖτο; he was probably a basilikos spatharios). He was accused of stealing a large amount of money and was harshly questioned and then interred in a dark prison where his treatment was cruel; escaping one night, he sought asylum at the altar in the Church of Hagia Sophia; he was surrounded by his guards, who prevented access to him, but the patriarch Tarasios 1 contrived to take him food and give him help; eventually he was seized by the guards, when under Tarasios 1's supervision he was answering a call of nature, and was carried off to the palace; Tarasios 1 went to the Palace of Eleutherios, to complain to the empress, and, being denied access, imposed a penance on those who had seized the man and threatened them with excommunication if Anonymus 173 suffered any harm; they ceased from torturing the man and after further enquiries, from which it emerged that the man was innocent, he was released: Ignatius, Vita Tarasii 34- 37. Since the empress alone is mentioned, the date may have been during the sole reign of Eirene 1, between 787 and 802.

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