Photios (Greek: Φώτιος, fl. c. 872/3) was a Byzantine renegade and convert to Islam who served the Emirate of Crete as a naval commander in the 870s. Photios appears briefly in the narrative of the 10th-century chronicler Theophanes Continuatus, whose work was later reused almost without change by the 11th-century historian John Skylitzes. The Byzantine chroniclers call Photios "a warlike and energetic fellow", and report that he served the Arab emir of Crete, Shu'ayb ("Saet" in Greek). In c. 872 or 873, Shu'ayb sent Photios to command a major naval raiding expedition against the Byzantine Empire, ruled at the time by Emperor Basil I the Macedonian (r. 867–886). With over 50 vessels, Photios devastated the shores of the Aegean Sea, reaching even as far as Prokonnesos, in the vicinity of Co