Theoktistos 1 | Prosopography of the Byzantine Empire |
| Sex | M |
| Floruit | E VIII |
| Dates | 713 (taq) / 718 (ob.) |
| Locations | Constantinople; Constantinople (officeplace) |
| Occupation | Secretary |
| Titles | Protoasekretis (office) |
| Textual Sources | Nicephorus, Breviarium Historiae, ed. C. Mango, Nikephoros, Patriarch of Constantinople: Short History; prev. ed. C. de Boor Nicephori ArchiepiscopiConstantinopolitani Opuscula Historica Leipzig 1880 (history); 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) |
During the reign of Anastasios II (713-715) (called Artemios, i.e. Anastasios 6) Theoktistos 1 was head of the imperial secretaries (τὸν πρώτιστον τῶν βασιλικῶν γραμματέων): Nic. Brev. de Boor 56, Mango 57:12. At his death in 718 he was protoasekretis (Θεόκτιστον πρωτοασηκρήτην): Theoph. AM 6211. Perhaps he served continuously as protoasekretis under Anastasios II (Anastasios 6), Theodosios III (Theodosios 2) and Leo III (Leo 3), but given the circumstances of the overthrow of Anastasios 6 it is perhaps more likely that he was reappointed under Leo III (Leo 3). In 718 he was invited by Artemios (the deposed emperor Anastasios II, Anastasios 6) to help him regain the throne, but was then arrested and tortured to make him confess his role in the plot before he was beheaded along with Niketas 3 Xylinites: Nic. Brev. 56. Theophanes only records that he was one of the friends and colleagues (ὡς φίλους καὶ συνδρόμους αὐτοῦ) of Artemios (Anastasios 6) who was executed (along with Isoes 1 and Niketas 2) by Leo 3 after the attempt failed: Theoph. AM 6211.
(Publishable link for this person: )