Longibardopoulos ( gr, Λογγιβαρδόπουλος, "son of the Lombard"; 1071–1073) was a Byzantine general, a mercenary chief, one of the commanders stationed in Macedonia during the

Uprising of Georgi Voiteh The Uprising of Georgi Voyteh ( bg, Въстание на Георги Войтех, sr, Словенски устанак у Поморављу - ''Slav Uprising in Pomoravlje'') was a Bulgarian uprising in the Byzantine theme of Bulgaria in 1072 ...

(1072).

Life

A Lombard chief, or possibly

Italo-Norman The Italo-Normans ( it, Italo-Normanni), or Siculo-Normans (''Siculo-Normanni'') when referring to Sicily and Southern Italy, are the Italian-born descendants of the first Norman conquerors to travel to southern Italy in the first half of the ...

, he joined the Byzantine army rather than submit to the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...

during their conquest of southern Italy. In 1072, an uprising was prepared by the Bulgarian and Slavic nobility in

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

led by

Georgi Voiteh Georgi Voyteh ( bg, Георги Войтех) was an 11th-century Bulgarian aristocrat from Skopje who started a major uprising in Byzantine Bulgaria against the Byzantine rule.Dennis P. Hupchick, The Bulgarian-Byzantine Wars for Early Medieval Ba ...

, known in modern historiography as the

. The rebels chose

Constantine Bodin Constantine Bodin ( Bulgarian and sr, italic=no, Константин Бодин, ''Konstantin Bodin''; 1072–1101) was a medieval king and the ruler of Duklja, the most powerful Serbian principality of the time, from 1081 to 1101, succee ...

, a Serbian prince, the son of

Michael I Michael I may refer to: * Pope Michael I of Alexandria, Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark in 743–767 * Michael I Rhangabes, Byzantine Emperor (died in 844) * Michael I Cerularius, Patriarch Michael I of Constantinopl ...

Duklja Duklja ( sh-Cyrl, Дукља; el, Διόκλεια, Diokleia; la, Dioclea) was a medieval South Slavic state which roughly encompassed the territories of modern-day southeastern Montenegro, from the Bay of Kotor in the west to the Bojana Ri ...

, as their leader, as he was a maternal descendant of the Bulgarian Emperor

Samuil Samuel (also Samuil; bg, Самуил, ; mk, Самоил/Самуил, ; Old Church Slavonic: Самоилъ; died October 6, 1014) was the Tsar (''Emperor'') of the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 6 October 1014. From 977 to 997, he was a ...

; in the autumn of 1072 Constantine Bodin arrived at

Prizren ) , settlement_type = Municipality and city , image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg , imagesize = 290px , image_caption = View of Prizren , image_alt = View of Prizren , image_flag ...

, where he was proclaimed Emperor of the Bulgarians. A Byzantine army under Damianos Dalassenos was immediately sent from

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

to help the ''

strategos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek language, Greek to ...

'' of the

Theme of Bulgaria The Theme of Bulgaria () was a province of the Byzantine Empire established by Emperor Basil II after the conquest of Bulgaria in 1018. Its capital was Scupi (or Skoupoi) and it was governed by a strategos. The local inhabitants were ''Bulgaria ...

Nikephoros Karantenos Nikephoros Karantenos, Latinized as Nicephorus Carantenus (), was a Byzantine general known for fighting against the Bulgarians in the Balkans and the Normans in Italy. The main sources for his life is the continuator (''Skylitzes Continuatus'') of ...

. In the battle that followed the Byzantine army was completely defeated. Dalassenos and several other Byzantine commanders, including Longibardopoulos, were captured and Skopje was taken by the rebel troops.Златарски
II: 142-143
Литаврин, 404-405; Павлов

/ref> Longibardopoulos was subsequently married to a sister of Constantine Bodin, and was put in command of an army consisting mainly of "

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...

and

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

".; Scylitzes Continuatus: 163–165 He was dispatched against the Byzantines, whom he had earlier served. Despite some initial success, Bodin was subsequently captured at Taonion or Pauni (in southern Kosovo), in December 1073 and then sent to

, then

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

, where he spent several years, while Voiteh died ''en route''. When Michael of Duklja heard of the capture of his son, he sent Longibardopoulos to rescue him, but instead, Longibardopoulos defected to the Byzantines.

References

Primary sources

Skylitzes Continuatus John Skylitzes, commonly Latinized as Ioannes, la, Johannes, label=none, la, Iōannēs, label=none Scylitzes ( el, Ἰωάννης Σκυλίτζης, ''Iōánnēs Skylítzēs'', or el, Σκυλίτση, ''Skylítsē'', label=none ; la, ...

External links

*{{cite web, title=Longibardopoulos, ally of the Serbs in 1072, year=2006, wor
Prosopographical Reading of Byzantine Sources, 1025-1150
url=http://db.pbw.kcl.ac.uk/pbw2011/entity/person/106425, access-date=2014-08-27, archive-date=2014-09-03, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903054101/http://db.pbw.kcl.ac.uk/pbw2011/entity/person/106425, url-status=dead Byzantine generals 11th-century Byzantine military personnel 11th-century births 11th-century deaths Lombard warriors Italo-Normans Byzantine mercenaries Byzantine prisoners of war 11th-century Lombard people