Staurakios 1 was a eunuch: Theoph. AM 6274 (τὸν εὐνοῦχον), AM 6291 (τῶν εὐνούχων ... Ἀέτιος ... Νικήταν ... τῷ Σταυρακίῳ). A eunuch, in 782 he was patrikios and logothetes of the dromos and is described as the leading figure of the day and the person in charge of the government (Σταυράκιον, τὸν πατρίκιον καὶ λογοθέτην τοῦ δρόμου, τὸν εὐνοῦχον, πρωτεύοντα πάντων τῶν τηνικαῦτα ὄντων καὶ τὰ πάντα διοικοῦντα); it was allegedly through hatred of him that the strategos of the Boukellarioi, Tatzates 1, deserted to the Arabs; later in 782 Staurakios 1 went with Petros 8 and Antonios 1 to negotiate peace with the Arabs under Harun 1; through carelessness for their own safety they fell into Harun 1's hands; the peace that was subsequently made strongly favoured the Arabs: Theoph. AM 6274. On the events of this campaign, see Tritle, Byz 47 (1977), pp. 292-294. In 783 Staurakios was patrikios and logothetes of the oxys dromos; he was sent by the empress Eirene (Eirene 1) against the Slav tribes at Thessalonike and in Hellas whom he subdued and made tributary to the Byzantine empire; he also entered the Peloponnesos from where he took many prisoners and much booty back to the empire: Theoph. AM 6275 (Σταυράκιον τὸν πατρίκιον καὶ λογοθέτην τοῦ ὀξέος δρόμου). He returned from his success over the Slav tribes in January 784 and celebrated his victory in the hippodrome (ἐθριάμβευσε τὰ ἐπινίκια ἐπὶ ἱπποδρομίας): Theoph. AM 6276. On the importance accorded to this victory, cf. Ostrogorsky, History, p. 192. In September 786, after the disruption of the Ecumenical Council in Constantinople by troops of the tagmata, Staurakios 1, patrikios and logothetes (Σταυράκιον τὸν πατρίκιον καὶ λογοθέτην), was sent to Thrace by the empress Eirene 1 to the peratic themes (the armies of the themata of Asia Minor) where he persuaded them to support her and expel from Constantinople the troops who still supported iconoclasm: Theoph. AM 6279. In 787 he was still patrikios and logothetes of the dromos; he was present at the eighth and final session of the Second Council of Nikaia (the Seventh Ecumenical Council), held on 21 November in the palace of the Magnaura in Constantinople; after the empress (Eirene 1) and emperor (Konstantinos 8) had signed the statement of the faith Staurakios 1 delivered it back to the patriarch Tarasios 1: Mansi XIII 416 (διὰ Σταυρακίου τοῦ πανευφήμου πατρικίου καὶ λογοθέτου τοῦ δρόμου).

Close confidant and adviser of Constantine VI (Konstantinos 8) and the empress Eirene 1, and effective controller of the palace, in 788 he was involved in choosing a suitable bride for Konstantinos 8: Nicetas, Vita S. Philareti, p. 143, line 5 (τὸν τῶν ἀνάκτων ἐπιστήθιον, ὃς ἅπαντα ἐδιοίκει τὰ τοῦ παλατίου) and line 14 (ὁ πρῶτος τοῦ παλατίου). The words referring to him actually occur in one MS only of the work; see pp. 91, 102-103. Still patrikios and logothetes in 789 and 790, his power supposedly aroused the anger of the emperor Constantine VI (Konstantinos 8) since people went to consult Staurakios 1 rather than him (ἐλυπεῖτο βλέπων Σταυράκιον τὸν πατρίκιον καὶ λογοθέτην τὰ πάντα κατέχοντα καὶ πάντας πρὸς αὐτὸν προερχομένους, [καὶ] μηδενὸς τολμῶντος τῷ βασιλεῖ συχνάσαι); a plot was formed by the emperor and some close allies (Damianos 1, Petros 8 and Theodoros 14) to overthrow Staurakios 1 and exile him to Sicily, but early in 790 it was uncovered and Staurakios 1 obtained the support of the empress Eirene 1 to punish and exile those involved and to chastise the emperor: Theoph. AM 6282, cf. Zon. XV 11. 17 (attempts were made to remove him; he is called Σταυράκιον τὸν πατρίκιον καὶ λογοθέτην τὰ πάντα δυνάμενον). In December 790 the tables were turned after the armies of Asia Minor gave their support to Constantine VI (Konstantinos 8), and Staurakios 1 was flogged and tonsured and sent into exile in the thema of the Armeniakoi: Theoph. AM 6283, cf. Zon. XV 11. 27 (exiled). Patrikios, in August 792 he joined Eirene 1 in advising Constantine VI to have Alexios 1 blinded in order to remove a rival to the throne: Theoph. AM 6284 (Σταυρακίου, τοῦ προρρηθέντος πατρικίου). Still patrikios (Σταυράκιον τὸν πατρίκιον), in March 797 he accompanied the emperor Constantine VI (Konstantinos 8) when he set out on an expedition against the Arabs; he and other close allies of the empress Eirene 1 allegedly feared that the zeal of the troops and of the emperor might result in a victory for Constantine VI and make of no effect the plans of Eirene 1 to overthrow him; they therefore bribed members of the Vigla to report that the Arabs had fled home, so that the expedition was cancelled: Theoph. AM 6289.

Patrikios, he was one of Eirene 1's closest confidants, together with Aetios 1, after Eirene 1 became sole ruler; he and Aetios 1 were open rivals, each allegedly hoping to secure the throne for one of their own relatives after the death of Eirene 1: Theoph. AM 6290 (οἱ δὲ δύο πατρίκιοι, ὅ τε Σταυράκιος καὶ Ἀέτιος). In an Arab raid in 798, the imperial stables at Malagina (in Bithynia) were seized and horses owned by Staurakios 1 were driven off, as well as the imperial carriage (see Abdulmalik 2); in summer 799 a conspiracy against Staurakios 1 by Aetios 1 and Niketas 11 convinced the empress that he was plotting against her; he defended himself with difficulty and barely escaped with his life, and thereafter bore a grudge against the two men: Theoph. AM 6291. In February 800 (indiction eight) he planned a rebellion in Constantinople, suborning the scholarioi and the exkoubitores and their officers; the empress forbade all government servants (πάντα στρατευόμενον) to associate with him, and Aetios 1 and Niketas 11 with others resisted him; he fell ill, coughing up blood from his chest and lungs, but was apparently convinced by his supporters (who included doctors, monks (described as not real monks) and soothsayers - οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ κόλακες καὶ ἀνόητοι, οὐ μόνον ἰατροί, ἀλλὰ καὶ τινες ἀμόναχοι μοναχοὶ καὶ γόητες) that he would survive and become emperor himself, and he planned a revolt based in Cappadocia against Aetios 1; however he died on 3 June 800, and the revolt collapsed and his supporters were punished and exiled: Theoph. AM 6292. Described as an opponent of Aetios 1: Theoph. AM 6294.

Called Saturekios, he was a Roman army commander allegedly early in the reign of Nikephoros I (Nikephoros 8), when Harun al-Rashid (Harun 1) was busy building Sopatra; he went to the Peloponnesos, long in Arab hands, and captured and garrisoned it, returning with many prisoners, and sheep, horses and camels: Bar Hebr., p. 120.

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