John Kourkouas ( gr, Ἰωάννης Κουρκούας, Ioannes Kourkouas) was a senior

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 ...

military commander in 970–971.

Biography

John was a scion of the

Kourkouas The Kourkouas or Curcuas ( grc-x-medieval, Κουρκούας, from , ''Gurgen'') family was one of the many nakharar families from Armenia that migrated to the Byzantine Empire during the period of Arab rule over Armenia (7th–9th centuries). The ...

family, a clan of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

origin that had established itself as one of the chief families among the

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

n military aristocracy by the early 10th century. His father,

Romanos Kourkouas Romanos Kourkouas ( el, Ῥωμανός Κουρκούας) was a Byzantine aristocrat and senior military leader in the mid-10th century. Biography Romanos was a scion of the Kourkouas family, a clan of Armenian origin that had established itself ...

, was a senior military commander in the 960s, and the son of the great general

John Kourkouas John Kourkouas ( gr, Ἰωάννης Κουρκούας, Ioannes Kourkouas, ), also transliterated as Kurkuas or Curcuas, was one of the most important generals of the Byzantine Empire. His success in battles against the Muslim states in the Ea ...

, who held the post of

Domestic of the Schools The office of the Domestic of the Schools ( gr, δομέστικος τῶν σχολῶν, domestikos tōn scholōn) was a senior military post of the Byzantine Empire, extant from the 8th century until at least the early 14th century. Originally ...

(commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army) for 22 years and led the Byzantine armies against the Muslim border emirates in the period 926–944. John was also cousin of

John Tzimiskes John I Tzimiskes (; 925 – 10 January 976) was the senior Byzantine emperor from 969 to 976. An intuitive and successful general, he strengthened the Empire and expanded its borders during his short reign. Background John I Tzimiskes ...

, another general who became emperor on 969–976. John is first mentioned in 970, during the Byzantine campaigns in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

in the aftermath of the

invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

by Sviaroslav of

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...

. At the time, John held the high rank of , likely due to his kinship with the new emperor. The main Byzantine forces, under the veteran commander

Bardas Skleros Bardas Skleros (Greek: Βάρδας Σκληρός) or Sclerus was a Byzantine general who led a wide-scale Asian rebellion against Emperor Basil II during the years 976 to 979. Background Bardas belonged to the great family of the Skleroi, wh ...

, were occupied in Anatolia with the suppression of the revolt of

Bardas Phokas the Younger Bardas Phokas (or Phocas) ( el, ) (–13 April 989) was an eminent Byzantine general who took a conspicuous part in three revolts for and against the ruling Macedonian dynasty. First rebellion Bardas was a scion of the Phokas family, the mos ...

, so Kourkouas received command of an army sent to Arcadiopolis to confront Sviatoslav's Rus'.. According to the contemporary historian

Leo the Deacon Leo the Deacon ( el, Λέων ο Διάκονος) (born c. 950) was a Byzantine Greek historian and chronicler. He was born around 950 at Kaloe in Asia Minor, and was educated in Constantinople, where he became a deacon in the imperial palace. Whi ...

, he was inexperienced, and prone to idleness and drunkenness, and thus encouraged the Rus' to persist in their raids into the Byzantine territories in

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...

. After the suppression of Phokas' revolt, in summer 971, Tzimiskes himself set out at the head of the imperial army against the Rus'. The Byzantines laid siege to the fortress of

Dorostolon Silistra ( bg, Силистра ; tr, Silistre; ro, Silistra) is a town in Northeastern Bulgaria. The town lies on the southern bank of the lower Danube river, and is also the part of the Romanian border where it stops following the Danube. Sil ...

on the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

, which became the scene of several fights as the Rus' sortied to destroy the Byzantines'

siege engines A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent heavy castle doors, thick city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some are immobile, constructed in place to attack enemy fortifications from a distance, while other ...

. During one such sortie against the positions held by Kourkouas, he was killed after he fell from his horse; judging from his richly decorated armour, the Rus' initially thought that they had killed Tzimiskes himself. Leo the Deacon claims that he had been drunk and, and just received an imperial reprimand for having pillaged churches in Bulgaria.

References

Sources

* * * {{Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit, volume=online 971 deaths 10th-century Byzantine military personnel

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

Magistroi Byzantines killed in battle