Karisterotzes 1 | Prosopography of the Byzantine Empire |
| Sex | M |
| Floruit | M/L VIII |
| Dates | 778 (taq) / 778 (tpq) |
| Variant Names | Kristerotzes; Karterotzes; Basterotzes |
| Locations | Germanikeia (Syria); Armeniakoi |
| Titles | Strategos, Armeniakoi (office) |
| Textual Sources | Anastasius Bibliothecarius, Chronographia Tripartita (Latin translation of the Chronographia of Theophanes), ed. C. de Boor, Theophanes, Chronographia II (Leipzig, 1885), pp. 31-346 (chronicle); Theophanes Confessor, Chronographia, ed. C. de Boor, 2 vols. (Leipzig, 1883-85, repr. Hildesheim/NewYork, 1980); tr. and comm. C. Mango and R. Scott, The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor, Oxford 1997 (chronicle) |
In the manuscripts Karisterotzes 1 name is also spelt Kristerotzes and Karterotzes; in Anastasius Bibliothecarius he is called Basterotzes. In 778 he was commander of the Armeniakoi in the combined armies sent by the emperor Leo IV (Leo 4) against Syria (χιλιάδες ρ', ὧν ἡγοῦντο ... Καριστερότζης τῶν Ἀρμενιάκων); the armies besieged Germanikeia and, though they failed to capture it, they defeated an Arab army under Thoumamas 1: Theoph. AM 6270. His fellow-commanders were Michael Lachanodrakon (Michael 5), Artabasdos 3, Tatzates 1 and Gregorios 10; Karisterotzes 1 was strategos of the Armeniakoi (τὰ στρατεύματα τῶν Ῥωμαίων and οἱ στρατηγοὶ): Theoph. AM 6270. His name should probably have been spelt Baristerotzes, representing the Armenian name Varaz-Tirots. See Rochow, Konstantin V, p. 210 and Mango and Scott, Theophanes p. 623, nn. 4 and 9.
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