Saborios 1

Prosopography of the Byzantine Empire
SexM
FloruitM VII
Dates667 (taq) / 667 (ob.)
Variant NamesShabur;
Sbwr
EthnicityPersian
LocationsAdrianoupolis (near Melitene) (deathplace);
Armeniakoi;
Armeniakoi (officeplace);
Melitene (Armenia);
Adrianoupolis (near Melitene)
TitlesStrategos, Armeniakoi (office)
Textual SourcesBar Hebraeus, Chronographia, tr. E. A. W. Budge, The Chronography of Abu 'l-Faraj (London, 1932; repr. Amsterdam, 1976) (history);
Chronicon Anonymi ad annum 1234 pertinens, ed. and tr. J.-B. Chabot, I = CSCO 81-82 (Paris, 1916-20), II = CSCO 109 (Louvain, 1937) (chronicle);
Michael the Syrian, Chronicle, ed. and tr. J.-B. Chabot, La chronique de Michel le Syrien (Paris, 1899-1904) (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)

Saborios 1 is named as Σαβώριος in Theophanes; as "Sbwr" in Chron. 1234 and as "Shabour, also called Aparasitgan" in Mich. Syr. II 451; on Aparasitgan, see Chabot, La Chronique de Michel le Syrien, p. 451, note 6. Of Persian descent (Περσογενὴς), in 667 ("in the 26th year of Constans": Chron. 1234) he was strategos of the Armeniakoi (ὁ τῶν Ἀρμενιακῶν στρατηγὸς: Theoph. AM 6159; "one of his, viz. Constans II's (Konstans 1), commanders": Chron. 1234; "general of the Armeniakoi": Mich. Syr. II 451) when he revolted against the emperor Constans II (Konstans 1) and sent an envoy (Sergios 2) to the caliph Mu`awiya 1 promising to subject the Roman empire (Ρωμανία) to him in return for military assistance; he was in the area of Melitene; an Arab force under Fadalas 1 was sent to help him and the emperor's son, Konstantinos 2, sent an army under Nikephoros 1 to attack him, but Saborios 1 died in a riding accident at a place called Adrianoupolis while preparing for war; Theoph. AM 6159, Chron. 1234, §138 (pp. 282-286), Mich. Syr. II 451-454. On Adrianoupolis, see Ramsay, Historical Geography, p. 142 (placing it in Phrygia Paroreios, which however is a very long way from Melitene).

Described as "captain of the host of the Armaniko", Sapor (Sabhor; Saborios 1) rebelled against the emperor Konstans 1 in the year 977 Sel. (665/666) and sent an envoy, Sergios 2, to the caliph Mu'awiya 1 offering to subjugate to him the lands of the Romans in return for help: Mich. Syr. II 451, Bar Hebr., p. 100. Before the promised help could arrive, Sapor (Saborios 1) died in an accident while riding through the gate of his palace: Mich. Syr. II 454, Bar Hebr., p. 101.

Saborios 1 may perhaps be identical with Saburrus 1.

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