serviceyears death_date allegiance battles rank article_title name
830s -- 865 865 byzantine empire arab -- byzantine frontier wars domestic of the schools petronas -lrb- general -rrb-
 petronas
petronas -lrb- general -rrb-

petronas -lrb- ; died november 11 , 865 -rrb- was a notable byzantine general and leading aristocrat during the mid-9th century .
petronas was a brother of empress theodora and hence brother-in-law of emperor theophilos , under whom he advanced to the rank of `` patrikios '' and the post of `` droungarios '' of the `` vigla '' regiment .
after theophilos ' death , he played a role in the ending of iconoclasm , but was sidelined along with his brother bardas during the minority of his nephew , michael iii , when power was held by the regent theoktistos .
in 855 , petronas and bardas encouraged michael iii to seize control of the government : theoktistos was murdered , theodora banished to a monastery , bardas became michael 's chief minister , and petronas was tasked with the war against the arabs .
in 863 , he scored a crushing victory at the battle of lalakaon , a feat which marked the gradual beginning of a byzantine counter-offensive in the east .
promoted to `` magistros '' and `` domestikos ton scholon '' , he died in 865 .
