Pardos was the

catepan of Italy The Catepanate (or Catapanate) of Italy ( el, ''Katepaníkion Italías'') was a province of the Byzantine Empire from 965 until 1071. At its greatest extent, it comprised mainland Italy south of a line drawn from Monte Gargano to the Gulf of S ...

briefly in 1042 following the short term of

George Maniakes George Maniakes (, transliterated as Georgios Maniaces, Maniakis, or Maniaches, , ; died 1043) was a prominent general of the Byzantine Empire of Byzantine Greek origin during the 1 ...

. In July 1042, Maniakes was disgraced and recalled by

Constantine IX Monomachos Constantine IX Monomachos ( grc-x-medieval, Κωνσταντῖνος Μονομάχος, translit=Kōnstantinos IX Monomachos; 1004 – 11 January 1055), reigned as Byzantine emperor from June 1042 to January 1055. Empress Zoë Porphyrogenita ...

at the behest of Romanus Sclerus, brother of the emperor's mistress. According to Johannes Skylitzes, Romanus had even raped Maniakes' wife. In September 1042, Pardo arrived with an army at

Otranto Otranto (, , ; scn, label= Salentino, Oṭṛàntu; el, label=Griko, Δερεντό, Derentò; grc, Ὑδροῦς, translit=Hudroûs; la, Hydruntum) is a coastal town, port and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertil ...

to take over command from Maniakes. According to

Lupus Protospatharius Lupus Protospatharius Barensis was the reputed author of the ''Chronicon rerum in regno Neapolitano gestarum'' (also called ''Annales Lupi Protospatharii''), a concise history of the Mezzogiorno from 805 to 1102. He has only been named as the aut ...

, he brought a

chrysobull A golden bull or chrysobull was a decree issued by Byzantine Emperors and later by monarchs in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, most notably by the Holy Roman Emperors. The term was originally coined for the golden seal (a ''bull ...

, but the meaning of this is uncertain.Chalandon, p. 103 (n8). Pardos was accompanied by Nicholas, Archbishop of Bari, who, though under the jurisdiction of the

Roman see The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

, was apparently a Byzantine loyal, and by Tubaki, a ''

protospatharius ''Prōtospatharios'' ( el, πρωτοσπαθάριος) was one of the highest court dignities of the middle Byzantine period (8th to 12th centuries), awarded to senior generals and provincial governors, as well as to foreign princes. History Th ...

''. It is probable that the archbishop had joined the catepan in a prior landing, during which the Greeks had negotiated with the Lombard rebel leader Argyrus. Subsequently, Argyrus abandoned the Lombard cause for the Greek. Pardos and Tubaki were arrested at Otranto, however, and executed by Maniakes, who was acclaimed emperor by his troops.

References

Sources

* Chalandon, Ferdinand. ''Histoire de la domination normande en Italie et en Sicile''.

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, 1907. 1042 deaths 11th-century catepans of Italy Executed Byzantine people 11th-century executions by the Byzantine Empire Year of birth unknown {{Europe-mil-bio-stub