Nikephoros Euphorbenos Katakalon ( gr, Νικηφόρος Εὐφορβηνός Κατακαλών) 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 ...

aristocrat and son-in-law of Emperor

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 ...

(). He was the son of the distinguished general

Constantine Euphorbenos Katakalon Constantine Euphorbenos Katakalon ( el, ) was a Byzantine noble and one of the most prominent generals of the reign of Alexios I Komnenos (). A descendant of the noble Katakalon and Euphorbenos families, Constantine is first mentioned in the so ...

, one of Alexios' most trusted officials. As a token of Alexios' appreciation for Constantine, Nikephoros was married to the ''

porphyrogennete Traditionally, born in the purple (sometimes "born to the purple") was a category of members of royal families born during the reign of their parent. This notion was later loosely expanded to include all children born of prominent or high-ranking ...

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

, the emperor's second daughter, and raised to the rank of ''

panhypersebastos The title of ( gr, πανυπερσέβαστος, , venerable above all) was a Byzantine court title created by Alexios I Komnenos () using the imperial root (the Greek translation of ). It was always conferred to members of aristocratic families ...

''. From the ''

Alexiad The ''Alexiad'' ( el, Ἀλεξιάς, Alexias) is a medieval historical and biographical text written around the year 1148, by the Byzantine princess Anna Komnene, daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. It was written in a form of artificial ...

'', he is known to have participated in combat against the

Cumans The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian language, Russian Exonym and endonym, exonym ), were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confede ...

in 1095, alongside his father, where he distinguished himself by his bravery. It is unknown when he died, but he is recorded as being dead by 1130. With Maria, he had numerous children, but only two sons,

Alexios 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 ...

and Andronikos, are known by name, having held senior positions later in the century. Another son, John, is known only by his commemoration in the ''

typikon A typikon (or ''typicon'', ''typica''; gr, , "that of the prescribed form"; Slavonic: Тvпико́нъ ''Typikonə'' or Оуставъ, ''ustavə'') is a liturgical book which contains instructions about the order of the Byzantine Rite of ...

'' of the

Monastery of Christ Philanthropos A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

. The couple also had an unknown number of daughters (at least three according to Varzos), as their existence is mentioned in the ''typikon'' of the

Kecharitomene Monastery The Theotokos Kecharitomene Monastery ( gr, Θεοτόκος Κεχαριτωμένη, , Theotokos Kecharitomene , Mother of God, full of grace) was a female convent built in the early 12th century in the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, by Empres ...

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Katakalon, Nikephoros Euphorbenos 12th-century deaths 11th-century Byzantine people 12th-century Byzantine people Family of Alexios I Komnenos Nikephoros Year of birth unknown Panhypersebastoi Euphorbenos family