Andrew the Scythian

Andrew the Scythian
Died	after 887
Allegiance	Byzantine Empire
Years of service	ca. 860 – after 887
Rank	Domestic of the Schools
Wars	Arab–Byzantine wars

Andrew the Scythian (died after 887) was a senior Byzantine military officer who distinguished himself in the Arab–Byzantine wars, going on to hold the post of Domestic of the Schools during the last years of the reign of Basil I the Macedonian and in the early reign of Leo VI the Wise, until his death. He played a major role in the domestic affairs of Leo's early reign, especially in the dismissal and trial of Patriarch Photios.

According to the chronicler Genesios and the continuators of Georgios Monachos, Andrew descended from the "western Scythians", whence the sobriquet "the Scythian" given to him by modern scholars. In reality, "Scythians" was an archaizing Byzantine term for the Slavs.

Andrew may be identifiable as the man of the same name who commanded the imperial bodyguard, the Hetaireia, when the young Basil the Macedonian served there during his swift rise from a simple stable groom to high office in the late 850s and early 860s as a protégé of Emperor Michael III (reigned 842–867). When Basil came to power after assassinating Michael, Andrew rose to higher office. In the 870s, as hypostrategos (deputy commander) of the Opsician Theme, he distinguished himself in the wars against the Arab raids into Asia Minor, and was rewarded by the titles of patrikios and the post of Domestic of the Schools (commander-in-chief).

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