Constantine Euphorbenos Katakalon ( el, ) was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

noble and one of the most prominent generals of the reign of

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...

(). A descendant of the noble Katakalon and Euphorbenos families, Constantine is first mentioned in the sources when he commanded the Chomatenoi corps and the Turkish contingent of Alexios Komnenos' army in the

Battle of Kalavrye The Battle of Kalavrye (also Kalavryai or Kalavryta) was fought in 1078 between the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine imperial forces of general (and future emperor) Alexios I Komnenos, Alexios Komnenos and the rebellious governor of Durrës, Dyrrhach ...

in 1078. He appears again in the lists of the Synod of

Blachernae Blachernae ( gkm, Βλαχέρναι) was a suburb in the northwestern section of Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire. It is the site of a water source and a number of prominent churches were built there, most notably the great ...

in 1094, bearing the title of '' protokouropalates'', and ranking in the 20th place among those aristocrats and court officials attending. In the next year, he took part in Alexios' campaign against the

Cumans The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian exonym ), were a Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation. After the Mongol invasion (1237), many so ...

and the impostor pretender Constantine Diogenes. Alexios sent him to attack the Cumans while they were crossing the Zygos pass, but the latter, guided by local

Vlachs "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other E ...

, managed to cross the pass sooner and seize the town of

Goloe Cabyle or Kabyle ( grc, Καβύλη), also known as Calybe or Kalybe (Καλύβη), is a town in the interior of ancient Thrace, west of Develtus, on the river Tonsus. The town later bore the names of Diospolis (Διὸς Πόλις), and Goloë ...

. Katakalon nevertheless attacked the Cuman foraging parties and managed to capture about a hundred prisoners, for which he was promoted to ''

nobelissimos ''Nobilissimus'' (Latin for "most noble"), in Byzantine Greek ''nōbelissimos'' (Greek: νωβελίσσιμος),. was one of the highest imperial titles in the late Roman and Byzantine empires. The feminine form of the title was ''nobilissima'' ...

''. He was next dispatched to assist the city of Adrianople, which was being besieged by the Cumans. He attempted to enter the city from the south, but was surprised by the Cumans on the march, and barely escaped with his life. Shortly after, he assisted Alakaseus in capturing the pretender at Poutza near Adrianople. In 1096, the emperor sent him to rescue the remnants of the

People's Crusade The People's Crusade was the beginning phase of the First Crusade whose objective was to retake the Holy Land, and Jerusalem in particular, from Islamic rule. After in 1095 the head of the Roman Catholic Church Pope Urban II started to urge faith ...

, which had been defeated and almost destroyed by the

Seljuks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

. The Turks withdrew before his advance, and Katakalon managed to rescue the surviving crusaders. In , he was named '' doux'' (military governor) of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

, and held that post at least until 1102/04. One of his surviving seals mentions him as both ''doux'' of Cyprus and ''kouropalates'', rather than ''nobelissimos''; this may imply that Katakalon had already served in this post before, prior to his promotion. In 1108, Katakalon was part of an embassy sent by Alexios to Bohemond, who was besieging the imperial fortress of Dyrrhachium. The Byzantine delegation convinced the Norman prince to seek a settlement with the Empire, and accompanied him to the imperial camp at

Deabolis Devol ( bg, Девол) also Deabolis or Diabolis, ( el, Δεάβολις) was a medieval fortress and bishopric in western Macedonia, located south of Lake Ohrid in what is today the south-eastern corner of Albania (Devoll District). Its precise ...

, where the namesake treaty was signed. Katakalon was one of Alexios' most trusted and esteemed officials. In token of this, his son Nikephoros was given the hand of Maria Komnene, the emperor's second daughter, in marriage. Together they had several children.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Katakalon, Constantine Euphorbenos 12th-century deaths 11th-century Byzantine military personnel 12th-century Byzantine military personnel Byzantine governors of Cyprus Byzantine generals Generals of Alexios I Komnenos Year of birth unknown Constantine Euphorbenos Euphorbenos family