Philaretos Brachamios ( el, Φιλάρετος Βραχάμιος;

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 ...

: Փիլարտոս Վարաժնունի, Pilartos

Varajnuni Varazhnuni () was a noble house of old Armenia that ruled the district of Varazhnunik. See also *List of regions of old Armenia This is a list of regions and or districts of ancient Armenia. A *Aghdznik *Aliovit * Amatunik * Angl * Andzevaciq * ...

; la, Philaretus Brachamius) or Vahram Varajnuni was a distinguished

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 ...

general and

warlord A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...

of Armenian heritage, and for a time was a usurper against emperor

Michael VII Michael VII Doukas or Ducas ( gr, Μιχαήλ Δούκας), nicknamed Parapinakes ( gr, Παραπινάκης, lit. "minus a quarter", with reference to the devaluation of the Byzantine currency under his rule), was the senior Byzantine e ...

. Philaretos is attested on seals as ''

taxiarch Taxiarch, the anglicised form of ''taxiarchos'' or ''taxiarchēs'' ( el, ταξίαρχος or ταξιάρχης) is used in the Greek language to mean "brigadier". The term derives from ''táxis'', "order", in military context "an ordered forma ...

es'' (commander of an infantry regiment), as well as ''

protospatharios ''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 ...

'' and ''

topoteretes ( grc-gre, τοποτηρητής, topotērētēs) was a Byzantine technical term, meaning deputy or lieutenant (). As such, it was used in different ways throughout the Empire's history. In the 9th-11th centuries, the was the deputy of senior mil ...

'' (deputy commander) of the Tagmata of

Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...

, then as ''

magistros The ''magister officiorum'' (Latin literally for "Master of Offices", in gr, μάγιστρος τῶν ὀφφικίων, magistros tōn offikiōn) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and the early centu ...

'' and '' doux'' (duke), and finally as ''

kouropalates ''Kouropalatēs'', Latinized as ''curopalates'' or ''curopalata'' ( el, κουροπαλάτης, from lat, cura palatii "he one incharge of the palace"). and Anglicized as curopalate, was a Byzantine court title, one of the highest from the time ...

'' and ''doux''.

Career

Philaretos is described by

Michael the Syrian Michael the Syrian ( ar, ميخائيل السرياني, Mīkhaʾēl el Sūryani:),( syc, ܡܺܝܟ݂ܳܐܝܶܠ ܣܽܘܪܝܳܝܳܐ, Mīkhoʾēl Sūryoyo), died 1199 AD, also known as Michael the Great ( syr, ܡܺܝܟ݂ܳܐܝܶܠ ܪܰܒ݁ܳܐ, ...

as having a "tough and robust character" while

Matthew of Edessa Matthew of Edessa (, Matevos Uṛhayetsi; late 11th century – 1144) was an Armenian historian in the 12th century from the city of Edessa (, ''Uṛha''). Matthew was the superior abbot of Karmir Vank' (Red Convent), near the town of Kaysun, ...

saw him as a "lawless and most evil prince". Philaretos held a high command in the army of

Romanus IV Diogenes Romanos IV Diogenes (Greek: Ρωμανός Διογένης), Latinized as Romanus IV Diogenes, was a member of the Byzantine military aristocracy who, after his marriage to the widowed empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa, was crowned Byzantine Em ...

. In 1069 he was given the command of the main Byzantine army that was protecting the frontier of Mesopotamia while Romanus participated in the siege of Akhlat. He was defeated by the

Seljuk Seljuk or Saljuq (سلجوق) may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * Seljuk (warlord) (di ...

Turks who advanced deep into

and

Lycaonia Lycaonia (; el, Λυκαονία, ''Lykaonia''; tr, Likaonya) was a large region in the interior of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), north of the Taurus Mountains. It was bounded on the east by Cappadocia, on the north by Galatia, on the west by ...

and plundered at will before rapidly retreating with their spoils. He was present at the

Battle of Manzikert The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, theme of Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army and th ...

in 1071, where he commanded a division of Romanus' army, and remained at the head of a considerable body of troops after the disaster. In the aftermath of the battle, he commanded the forces of the fortress Romanopolis, and on Romanus' death he assumed the title of Emperor. As the only remaining Byzantine general in the southeast he established a quasi-autonomous realm in the neighbourhood of

Germanicia Marash (Armenian: Մարաշ), officially Kahramanmaraş () and historically Germanicea (Greek: Γερμανίκεια), is a city in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey and the administrative center of Kahramanmaraş Province. Before 1973, Kahrama ...

, which stretched from

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...

Edessa Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene ...

. The core of his army was composed of 8,000 "Franks" (

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 ...

) under

Raimbaud Raimbaud was an Italo-Norman chief who served under Philaretus Brachamius from 1073 to 1074. He arrived in the East at the head of 8,000 Norman mercenaries who took up service with Philaretus in 1073. They were headquartered at the castle of Afr ...

. In 1078, at the beginning of the rule of

Nikephoros III Botaneiates Nikephoros III Botaneiates, Latinized as Nicephorus III Botaniates ( el, Νικηφόρος Βοτανειάτης, 1002–1081), was Byzantine emperor from 7 January 1078 to 1 April 1081. He was born in 1002, and became a general du ...

, he agreed to abandon his imperial claims on condition that Botaneiates appoint him as the duke of

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� ...

, which included Edessa.Finlay, pg. 50 Several seals testify him as ''

megas domestikos The title of grand domestic ( grc-gre, μέγας δομέστικος, ''mégas doméstikos'') was given in the 11th–15th centuries to the commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army, directly below the Byzantine Emperor. It evolved from the earl ...

'' and '' protokouropalates'', then ''

sebastos ( grc-gre, σεβαστός, sebastós, venerable one, Augustus, ; plural , ) was an honorific used by the ancient Greeks to render the Roman imperial title of . The female form of the title was (). It was revived as an honorific in the 11th-ce ...

'', then even ''

protosebastos The title of ''protosebastos'' ( el, πρωτοσέβαστος, ''prōtosébastos'', "first ''sebastos''") was a high Byzantine court title created by Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. History Although the title first appears in a document of 1049, wher ...

''. He retained his dukedom until the Turks began to press heavily upon him. In December 1084, he lost Antioch to Suleiman I,

Sultan of Rum fa, سلجوقیان روم () , status = , government_type = Hereditary monarchyTriarchy (1249–1254)Diarchy (1257–1262) , year_start = 1077 , year_end = 1308 , p1 = By ...

. In 1087, Edessa fell to Malik Shah and Philaretos escaped back to the fortress of

Germanikeia Marash (Armenian: Մարաշ), officially Kahramanmaraş () and historically Germanicea (Greek: Γερμανίκεια), is a city in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey and the administrative center of Kahramanmaraş Province. Before 1973, Kahrama ...

; however, some sources indicate that he died in 1086. He was the last well-known

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 ...

of the East. His sons handed Germanikeia to the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ru ...

in 1098.

References

* ''Chronicles of

'', translation by A. Dostourian, ''Armenia and the Crusades, 10th to 12th Centuries. The Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa'' (Lanham, MD-London, 1993) * Dadoyan, Seta B. ''The Armenians in the Medieval Islamic World: Armenian Realpolitik in the Islamic World and Diverging Paradigms: Case of Cilicia Eleventh to Fourteenth Centuries''. Transaction Publishers, 2013. * Finlay, George. ''History of the Byzantine and Greek Empires from 1057 - 1453'', volume 2, William Blackwood & Sons, 1854. * Gravett, Christopher, and

Nicolle, David David C. Nicolle (born 4 April 1944) is a British historian specialising in the military history of the Middle Ages, with a particular interest in the Middle East. David Nicolle worked for BBC Arabic before getting his MA at SOAS, University ...

. ''The Normans: Warrior Knights and their Castles''.

Osprey Publishing Osprey Publishing is a British, Oxford-based, publishing company specializing in military history. Predominantly an illustrated publisher, many of their books contain full-colour artwork plates, maps and photographs, and the company produces ov ...

: Oxford, 2006. * C. J. Yarnley. "Philaretos: Armenian Bandit or Byzantine General", in ''

Revue des Études Arméniennes ''Revue des Études Arméniennes'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes articles relating to Classical and medieval Armenian history, art history, philology, linguistics, and literature.Project Beauceant: Chronicle of events between 1050 and 1350
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brachamios, Philaretos 1080s deaths Byzantine people of Armenian descent Byzantine generals Byzantine usurpers Medieval Armenian generals 11th-century Byzantine people Byzantine people of the Byzantine–Seljuk wars Byzantine governors of Antioch Year of birth unknown Domestics of the Schools 11th-century Armenian people Grand Domestics Magistroi Varazhnuni family Protosebastoi Protospatharioi