In 837, Theophilos raised him to the rank of "patrikios" and sent him together with the general Theophobos in a campaign against the Abasgians, but the Byzantines were defeated. With the death of Theophilos, his son Michael III () ascended the throne. As he was only two years old, a regency council was set up headed by Theodora. Bardas and his brother Petronas, as well as their relative Sergios Niketiates, were also members, but it was the logothete Theoktistos who quickly established himself as Theodora's chief advisor. Bardas still played an active role in the early days of the regency, encouraging Theodora to abandon Iconoclasm for good and taking part in the investigations that led to the deposition of the pro-iconoclast patriarch John the Grammarian and the restoration of the veneration of icons in 843. Bardas was quickly sidelined by Theoktistos, however. According to Symeon the Logothete, Theoktistos blamed Bardas for the desertions that led to the Byzantine defeat in the Battle of Mauropotamos against the Abbasids in 844, even though the logothete himself had led the Byzantine army. As a result of these accusations, Bardas was exiled from Constantinople for an undetermined period of time.