Nikephoritzes ( Greek : Νικηφορίτζης ) was an influential Byzantine eunuch official, who served as chief minister and virtual ruler of the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Emperor Michael VII Doukas (r. 1071–1078). His actual name was Nikephoros ; he received the nickname "Nikephoritzes" ("little Nikephoros") as a result of his relative youth when he first entered service in the court. He became widely unpopular due to his harsh taxation and meddling with Constantinople 's grain supply, as well as for his neglect of Asia Minor in the face of Turkish encroachment. This resentment led to the outbreak of two major rebellions in 1077, and the eventual abdication of Michael VII. Nikephoritzes himself was captured and tortured to death.
20-577: Nikephoritzes was born in the Bucellarian Theme and entered service in the imperial secretariat under Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos (r. 1042–1055). Under Constantine X Doukas (r. 1059–1067), he was sent away from the court to assume the governorship of Antioch , because he allegedly slandered the Empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa , accusing her of adultery . Following the emperor's death and her assumption of
40-456: A capable administrator, his financial measures and centralizing tendencies were generally resented. With the exception of Kekaumenos , who praises him as "an excellent man in everything, most reasonable, experienced in both military and administrative matters although a eunuch, generous, very clever, and capable of understanding and speaking properly", the other sources all relate stories of his greed and corruption. In this, they focus especially on
60-552: A full theme. The strategos of the Bucellarians is attested for the first time in 767, providing a terminus ante quem for its creation. His headquarters were at Ancyra , the former capital of Opsikion , and he belonged to the second tier of strategoi with an annual salary of 30 pounds of gold. According to Arab geographers, he commanded some 8,000 troops. The court ranks of the Bucellarian strategoi ranged from
80-461: A state monopoly. According to Michael Attaleiates , admittedly a hostile source, his policies resulted in shortages in grain and inflation of its price. By the winter of 1076/1077, Constantinople was experiencing famine . At the same time, a rebellion broke out in the Danubian province of Paristrion , because Nikephoritzes stopped payment of the annual subsidies to the local mixobarbaroi and
100-512: The Opsikion as formed part of the Emperor's policy to reduce the latter's power. The name of the theme derives from the late Roman Bucellarii , elite cavalry troops of Gothic or Roman origin, often found as privately recruited bodyguard troops. By the early 7th century, they formed an elite division in the Opsikion field force, coming under a domestikos before their elevation to
120-598: The Pechenegs . The vestarches Nestor, who was sent to settle things, joined the rebellion. Notably, the rebels demanded only one thing, the dismissal of Nikephoritzes, and when they took Rhaidestos, they burned down the corn warehouse. Michael VII prevaricated in his reply, whereupon Nestor with his Pecheneg allies withdrew north into the Paristrion, which hence and for the next two decades effectively passed out of imperial control. Nikephoritzes also tried to reform
140-588: The Bucellarians and the Paphlagonians", whose seal is attested in the 10th century, was the commander of this naval contingent. However, evidence points to the fact that the 10th-century fleet was composed of merchantmen and transport ships, not warships. Initially, the theme stretched from the Black Sea coast to the central Anatolian plateau , bordering the Optimatoi and the rump of the Opsikion in
160-695: The army, and revived the regiment of the Immortals . The military situation during his administration was particularly grave, with Serb attacks and the Bulgarian uprising of Constantine Bodin , while in Asia Minor the imperial government had to face the rebellion of Roussel de Bailleul , as well as the ever-increasing Turkish infiltration of Asia Minor in the aftermath of the Battle of Manzikert , to which it failed to respond adequately. Although undeniably
180-466: The forcible suppression of the opposition, but Michael VII eventually decided to abdicate in favour of Botaneiates, on March 31, 1078. Nikephoritzes fled the capital and sought refuge in Heraclea Pontica , where Roussel de Bailleul was encamped. Roussel, however, had him arrested and delivered to the new emperor. Nikephoritzes was then exiled to the island of Prote and then Oxeia , where he
200-480: The mid-level spatharios to the higher protospatharios , with a single occurrence of the more exalted patrikios in the 10th century. Claudiopolis is the only attested base of one of the theme's tourmai . Despite it being originally a cavalry theme ( thema kaballarikon ), the Bucellarians, as well as the later Paphlagonian theme, also included a small fleet, active in the Black Sea . The " katepano of
220-667: The monastery at Hebdomon , which he administrated, and where he gathered his personal fortune. Opposition coalesced around the Patriarch of Antioch Aemilian, an old enemy of Nikephoritzes from his time in Antioch, with support from several bishops and the capital's guilds. In addition, in the summer of 1077, Nikephoros Bryennios in the Balkans and Nikephoros Botaneiates in Asia Minor rebelled against Michael VII. Bryennios marched against Constantinople, hoping it would surrender, but
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#1732783285322240-517: The new themes of Cappadocia (around Lake Tatta ) and Charsianon (east of the Halys River ). In the 9th century, it comprised two towns and thirteen fortresses, while five towns are recorded in the 10th century. Following the Battle of Manzikert , the Norman rebel Roussel de Bailleul set up a splinter state in 1073. Ruling from Ancyra , he continued to expand in central Anatolia, until he
260-516: The pillaging of its suburbs by his troops deterred the capital's inhabitants, and he had to retreat. In turn, a group of bishops opposing Nikephoritzes gathered in Hagia Sophia on January 7, 1078, and proclaimed Botaneiates emperor. Nikephoritzes responded by forcibly removing them from the cathedral, for which he was excommunicated by the Patriarch of Constantinople . Alexios Komnenos , who had risen to high command under Nikephoritzes, suggested
280-670: The regency, he was imprisoned. He was released by the new emperor, Romanos IV Diogenes (r. 1068–1071), and appointed as praetor (civil governor) of the combined themes of Hellas ( Central Greece ) and the Peloponnese . On the assumption of power by Michael VII in 1071, Nikephoritzes was recalled to serve in the imperial government by the new emperor's uncle, the Caesar John Doukas , who valued his administrative skills. Back in Constantinople , Nikephoritzes
300-468: The state, trying to restore its strength and re-establish central control. His first priority was to replenish the treasury. For this he resorted to brutal taxation, which caused major hardship both in the provinces and in Constantinople. He also established a central warehouse ( phoundax ) at Rhaidestos in an effort to centralize, regulate, and better tax the corn supply of Constantinople, forming
320-644: The west, the Anatolic theme in the south, and the Armeniac theme in the east. In the 9th century, however, probably c. 820, the northeastern half of the theme was detached and formed, perhaps with some territory from the Armeniac theme, the new theme of Paphlagonia . Its extent was further reduced under Emperor Leo VI the Wise (r. 886–912), when eight southern and southeastern banda were removed to form part of
340-544: Was appointed logothetes tou dromou , and his power grew rapidly. Not only did he soon sideline the other ministers, including the hereto powerful Michael Psellos , but in autumn 1073, Nikephoritzes forced the Caesar himself to withdraw from active participation in the governance of the Byzantine Empire and retire to his estates. As the de facto ruler of the Byzantine Empire, Nikephoritzes set about reorganizing
360-468: Was brutally tortured by the megas hetaireiarches Romanos Straboromanos and died as a result. Bucellarian Theme The Bucellarian Theme ( Greek : Βουκελλάριον θέμα , Boukellarion thema ), more properly known as the Theme of the Bucellarians ( Greek : θέμα Βουκελλαρίων , thema Boukellariōn ) was a Byzantine theme (a military-civilian province) in northern Asia Minor (modern Turkey ). It
380-641: Was created around the middle of the 8th century, comprising most of the ancient region of Paphlagonia and parts of Galatia and Phrygia . The theme was established sometime after 743 and before 767 by the Emperor Constantine V (r. 741–775), following the suppression of the revolt of Artabasdos , the Count of the Opsikion . The new theme, along with that of the Optimatoi was split off from
400-659: Was toppled by Alexios Komnenos and the land was ceded to the Seljuks in 1075. During the Komnenian restoration , the northern parts of the former theme were retaken but the theme itself wasn't reestablished. The name Boukellariōn , however, survived as a geographical designation in Byzantine sources up until 1263. Nikephoros Bryennios the Elder Too Many Requests If you report this error to
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