Nikephoros Palaiologos ( el, Νικηφόρος Παλαιολόγος; died 18 October 1081) 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 ...

general of the 11th century.

Biography

Nikephoros is the first known member of the

Palaiologos The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; grc-gre, Παλαιολόγος, pl. , female version Palaiologina; grc-gre, Παλαιολογίνα), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greek f ...

family, which would eventually rise to become the last ruling dynasty of the

Byzantine Empire 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 ...

from 1259 to 1453. He had two sons, George and Nicholas.

George Palaiologos George Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Γεώργιος Παλαιολόγος) was a Byzantine general, one of the most prominent military commanders and supporters of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118). He was the son of the first know ...

also became a general and was one of the chief supporters 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 ...

(r. 1081–1118). Through George and his great-great-grandson Andronikos Palaiologos, the later Palaiologan dynasty draws its descent. Nikephoros is first attested during the short reign of

Romanos 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 ...

(r. 1068–1071). A

Doukas The House of Doukas, Latinized as Ducas ( el, Δούκας; feminine: Doukaina/Ducaena, Δούκαινα; plural: Doukai/Ducae, Δοῦκαι), from the Latin title '' dux'' ("leader", "general", Hellenized as 'ðouks'', is the name of a Byzan ...

partisan, he was hostile to Romanos and a member of the opposition around the ''

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

'' John Doukas and Michael Psellos.. After the fall of Romanos following the disastrous Battle of Manzikert (1071), Nikephoros was dispatched east against the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

mercenary

Roussel de Bailleul Roussel de Bailleul (died 1077), also known as ''Phrangopoulos'' ( gr, Φραγγόπουλος, , son-of-a-Frank) and ''Norman Chief Roussel'' (lit. tr, Norman Reisi Ursel), or in the anglicized form Russell Balliol was a Norman adventurer (or ex ...

, who had rebelled against imperial rule. After gathering some 6,000 mercenaries in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, he confronted Roussel, but his Georgian troops defected and he was defeated. In 1077, he is recorded as '' doux'' of

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

. Although loyal to the Doukas dynasty and Emperor

Michael VII Doukas 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 ...

(r. 1071–1078), he did permit his son George to join the rebellion of

Nikephoros 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 ...

, who became emperor as Nikephoros III (r. 1078–1081). In 1081, he again remained loyal to Botaneiates when the

Komnenoi Komnenos ( gr, Κομνηνός; Latinized Comnenus; plural Komnenoi or Comneni (Κομνηνοί, )) was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185, and later, as the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγαλοκομνην� ...

under Alexios Komnenos rose up, even though his son George and the Doukai supported the Komnenian cause. According to

Anna Komnene Anna Komnene ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the ''Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...

's '' Alexiad'', father and son even met during the Komnenian forces' entry into

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 ( ...

on 1 April 1081, in what Basile Skoulatos describes as one of the "most passionate" scenes of the work.. Even then, Nikephoros tried to induce Botaneiates to resist, urging him to give him command of the

Varangian Guard The Varangian Guard ( el, Τάγμα τῶν Βαράγγων, ''Tágma tōn Varángōn'') was an elite unit of the Byzantine Army from the tenth to the fourteenth century who served as personal bodyguards to the Byzantine emperors. The Varangi ...

and try to defend the imperial palace, but in vain. He then tried to mediate and proposed that Alexios be adopted by Botaneiates and assume ''de facto'' control over the Empire, while the latter would retain the honorary position of emperor, but at the insistence of ''Caesar'' John Doukas, the Komnenoi rejected this proposal. Eventually, Botaneiates abdicated.. Nikephoros accepted Alexios as his new emperor, and accompanied him in his campaign in the same year against the Normans under Robert Guiscard. He fought and died at the Battle of Dyrrhachium against Guiscard's forces on 18 October 1081.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Palaiologos, Nikephoros 11th-century births 1081 deaths Year of birth unknown 11th-century Byzantine military personnel Byzantine generals Byzantines killed in battle Nikephoros Generals of Alexios I Komnenos Byzantine people of the Byzantine–Norman wars