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George Maniaches
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 11th century. He was the catepan of Italy in 1042. He is known as Gyrgir in Scandinavian sagas. He is popularly said to have been extremely tall and well built, almost a giant. Biography Maniakes was a Greek general of the Byzantine Empire who first became prominent during a campaign in 1030–1031, when the Byzantine Empire was defeated at Aleppo but went on to capture Edessa from the Arabs. His greatest achievement was the partial reconquest of Sicily from the Arabs beginning in 1038. Here, he was assisted by the Varangian Guard, which was at that time led by Harald Hardrada, who later became king of Norway. There were also Norman mercenaries with him, under William de Hauteville, who won his nickname ''Iron Arm'' by defeating the emir o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Constantinople. It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire remained the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in Europe. The terms "Byzantine Empire" and "Eastern Roman Empire" were coined after the end of the realm; its citizens continued to refer to their empire as the Roman Empire, and to themselves as Romans—a term which Greeks continued to use for themselves into Ottoman times. Although the Roman state continued and its traditions were maintained, modern historians prefer to differentiate the Byzantine Empire from Ancient Rome ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John The Orphanotrophos
John the ''Orphanotrophos'' ( gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Ὀρφανοτρόφος), was the chief court eunuch (''parakoimomenos'') during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Romanos III (r. 1028–1034). John was born in the region of Paphlagonia. His family was Greek and it was said that they had been engaged in some disreputable trade, perhaps money-changing or, according to George Kedrenos, forgery. John was the eldest of five brothers. Two, Constantine and George, were also eunuchs, while the other two, Niketas and Michael, were 'bearded' men; the latter became Michael IV the Paphlagonian after John introduced him to the reigning empress Zoë. According to Michael Psellos, the two became lovers and could have hatched a plot to assassinate Zoë's husband, then reigning. Romanos was presumably killed in his bath on 11 April 1034. Certain contemporary sources implicate John in this assassination. Background John first comes to historical attention as ''protonotarios'' and tru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Synodianos
Synodianos was very briefly the catepan of Italy in 1042 (February – April). He was appointed by Michael V after the death of the Emperor Michael IV. He immediately demanded the surrender of all the formerly Greek cities of Apulia and began assembling an army to retake them when he was recalled in April 1042 by the Empress Zoe after the death of Michael V. 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. 11th-century catepans of Italy {{Europe-mil-bio-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Castello Maniace
The Castello Maniace is a citadel and castle in Syracuse, Sicily, southern Italy. It is situated at the far point of the Ortygia island promontory, where it was constructed between 1232 and 1240 by the Emperor Frederick II. It bears the name of George Maniakes, the Byzantine general who besieged and took the city in 1038. Originally, one could only enter the castle over a bridge spanning a moat (now filled). A feature of the castle is the decorated portal. Today the castle is open to the public and is a local tourist attraction in Syracuse. History The first fort was built here in 1038 by George Maniakes, an Armenian general and later the Catepan of Italy, after he captured Syracuse from the Arabs on behalf of the Emperor Michael IV. Frederick II, as King of Sicily, had his architect Riccardo da Lentini rebuild it in 1232–1240. King Peter III of Aragon resided here with his family in 1288. From 1305 to 1536 the castle was used as a residence by numerous queens of Sicily. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maniace
Maniace (Italian: ''Maniace''; Sicilian dialect: ''Maniaci'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about east of Palermo and about northwest of Catania. The municipality bears the name of George Maniakes ( el, Γεώργιος Μανιάκης; it, Giorgio Maniace), a Byzantine general of the 11th century and catepan of Italy, known for his victories against the Arabs in Sicily. Main sights Castello di Maniace The Castello di Maniace (aliter ''Castello Bronte'' and ''Castello dei Nelson'' ("Castle of the Nelsons")) is a manor house built on the site of a former ancient monastery 1 km east of the centre of the small village of Maniace and 5 km north of the large town of Bronte, on the eastern foothills of Mount Etna. From 1799 to 1981 it was the seat of the Dukes of Bronte, English noblemen, the first of whom was Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (1758-1805), in 1799 created Duke of Bronte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capital city, capital of the geographic regions of Greece, geographic region of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, the administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Central Macedonia and the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace. It is also known in Greek language, Greek as (), literally "the co-capital", a reference to its historical status as the () or "co-reigning" city of the Byzantine Empire alongside Constantinople. Thessaloniki is located on the Thermaic Gulf, at the northwest corner of the Aegean Sea. It is bounded on the west by the delta of the Vardar, Axios. The Thessaloniki (municipality), municipality of Thessaloniki, the historical center, had a population of 317,778 in 2021, while the Thessaloniki metro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ("the Great City"), Πόλις ("the City"), Kostantiniyye or Konstantinopolis ( Turkish) , image = Byzantine Constantinople-en.png , alt = , caption = Map of Constantinople in the Byzantine period, corresponding to the modern-day Fatih district of Istanbul , map_type = Istanbul#Turkey Marmara#Turkey , map_alt = A map of Byzantine Istanbul. , map_size = 275 , map_caption = Constantinople was founded on the former site of the Greek colony of Byzantion, which today is known as Istanbul in Turkey. , coordinates = , location = Fatih, İstanbul, Turkey , region = Marmara Region , type = Imperial city , part_of = , length = , width ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maria Skleraina
Maria Skleraina (died 1045), often referred to as ''the Skleraina'', was the political adviser, official mistress, and wife of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos, controversially given the title of '' Sebastē''. Of the prominent Skleros family, she was known for her charming appearance and character, and was married to Constantine IX prior to his succession to the throne, but the marriage was not considered legal by the church. Constantine became emperor in 1042 by his marriage to empress Zoë Porphyrogenita Zoë Porphyrogenita ( grc-x-medieval, Ζωή Πορφυρογέννητη "life"; 978 – 1050) was a member of the Macedonian dynasty who breifly reigned as Byzantine Empress in 1042, alongside her sister Theodora. Before that she was enthr ..., who accepted his continued relationship with Maria Skleraina. Skleraina was not acknowledged as Constantine's wife but stayed at court officially as his mistress. She played an important role at court, acting as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catapanate 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 Salerno. North of that line, Amalfi and Naples also maintained allegiance to Constantinople through the catepan. The Italian region of ''Capitanata'' derives its name from '' katepanikion''. History Following the fall of the Exarchate of Ravenna in 751, Byzantium had been absent from the affairs of southern Italy for almost a century, but the accession of Basil I (reigned 867–886) to the throne of Constantinople changed this: from 868 on, the imperial fleet and Byzantine diplomats were employed in an effort to secure the Adriatic Sea from Saracen raids, re-establish Byzantine dominance over Dalmatia, and extend Byzantine control once more over parts of Italy. As a result of these efforts, Otranto was taken from the Saracens in 873, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constantine IX
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 chose him as a husband and co-emperor in 1042, although he had been exiled for conspiring against her previous husband, Emperor Michael IV the Paphlagonian. The couple shared the throne with Zoë's sister Theodora Porphyrogenita. Zoë died in 1050, and Constantine continued his collaboration with Theodora until his own death five years later. Constantine waged wars against groups which included the Kievan Rus', the Pechenegs and, in the East, the rising Seljuq Turks. Despite the varying success of these campaigns, the Byzantine Empire largely retained the borders established after the conquests of Basil II, even expanding eastwards when Constantine annexed the wealthy Armenian kingdom of Ani. Constantine accordingly may be considered the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Captive Maniakes Is Brought To Constantinople
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with pronouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of pronoun ''thee'') when followed by a v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Byzantines Under Georgios Maniakes Land At Sicily And Defeat The Arabs
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with pronouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of pronoun ''thee'') when followed by a v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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