Sergios 2 | Prosopography of the Byzantine Empire |
| Sex | M |
| Floruit | M VII |
| Dates | 667 (taq) / 667 (ob.) |
| Variant Names | S'rgy;
Sargi |
| Locations | Anisa (deathplace);
Damascus;
Arabissos (Armenia Prima);
Anisa |
| Titles | Doux, Armeniakoi (office) |
| Textual Sources | Bar 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) |
Sergios 2 was a military commander (Σέργιον τὸν στρατηλάτην - perhaps a dux in the area of the Armeniac theme; see below): Theoph. AM 6159. He was sent as envoy to Mu`awiya 1 by the rebel Saborios 1 to request military assistance in 667; he reached Damascus before the rival envoy Andreas 1 (sent by Konstantinos 2, son of Constans II (Konstans 1)) and by force of habit stood up as a mark of respect when Andreas 1 entered; later Sergios 2 remained seated and provoked a quarrel with Andreas 1, insulting him as neither man nor woman (οὐκ εἶ ἀνήρ, οὐδὲ γυνή, i.e. Andreas was a eunuch); his mission was a success and he returned in advance to inform Saborios 1 that Arab help was coming, but he fell into an ambush (near Arabissus; Theoph.) prepared by Andreas 1 and was captured (see Anonymus 5); he was delivered to Andreas 1 at Amnesia (perhaps Anisa), where Andreas 1 had him castrated and then executed: Theoph. AM 6159, Chron. 1234, §138 (pp. 282-286). The significance of stratelates is not clear, nor whether it refers to the office held by Sergios 2 before the revolt of Saborios 1 or after. If the former, he may have been a dux in the area under Saborios 1 or perhaps a tourmarches of the Armeniakoi; if the latter, he may have been appointed strategos by Saborios 1.
The story is repeated in other oriental sources. Named as "Sargi", he was an envoy sent to the caliph Mu`awiya 1 by Sapor (Saborios 1) in the year 977 Sel. (665/666) asking for help with Saborios 1's rebellion against the emperor Constans II (Konstans 1); on hearing this, another envoy, Andreas 1, was sent to Mu`awiya 1 by Konstantinos 2, the son of Konstans 1; at Mu`awiya 1's court Sergios 2 at first did obeisance to Andreas 1, as a form of respect, but later refrained and instead spoke insultingly to him, alluding to the fact that he was a eunuch; Mu`awiya 1 granted Sapor's request for help and Sergios 2 set off for home but en route was waylaid by troops under orders from Andreas 1; taken to Andreas 1 he was first castrated and then impaled: Mich. Syr. II 451-454, Bar Hebr., pp. 100-101.
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