Doukas
Encyclopedia
Doukas, latinized as Ducas , from the Latin tile dux
("leader, general", hellenized as doux), is the name of a Byzantine Greek
noble family, whose branches provided several notable generals and rulers to the Byzantine Empire
. The continuity of descent amongst the various branches is not clear though, and historians generally recognize several distinct groups of Doukai based on their occurrence in the contemporary sources. In the words of D.I. Polemis, who compiled the only overview work on the bearers of the Doukas name, in view of this lack of genealogical continuity "it would be a mistake to view the groups of people designated by the cognomen
of Doukas as forming one large family".
Constantine I who had migrated to Constantinople
in the 4th century and allegedly became the city's governor with the title of doux. This tradition is however evidently an invention meant to glorify the family, at the time the Empire's ruling dynasty, by 11th-century court chroniclers. In fact, it is more likely that the surname derives from the relatively common military rank of doux. Nothing is known about the family's origin. Several authors have raised the possibility of an Armenian
descent, but it is almost certain that the Doukai were in fact Greek-speakers, probably from Paphlagonia
, where their estates were located.
(r. 842–855), when he was sent to forcibly convert the Paulicians to Orthodoxy. He is only known as "the son of Doux", although Skylitzes interpolates the name of Andronikos, probably in confusion with Andronikos Doukas (see next). This name is also used by some modern sources, e.g. in the Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit (Andronikos #433).
The first branch of the family to achieve prominence was in the early 10th century (they are usually referred to with the archaic form Doux rather than Doukas in the sources), with Andronikos Doukas
and his son Constantine Doukas
. Both were senior generals during the reign of Emperor Leo VI the Wise
(r. 886–912). In ca. 904, Andronikos engaged in unsuccessful rebellion, and was force to flee to Baghdad
, where he was killed in ca. 910. Constantine managed to escape and was restored to high office, becoming Domestic of the Schools
. He was killed however, along with his son Gregory and nephew Michael, in an unsuccessful coup in June 913. These deaths, along with the castration and exile of Constantine's younger son Stephen and the death of a Nicholas Doukas (of uncertain relation to the others) at the battle of Katasyrtai
in 917, mark the end of the first group of Doukai recorded in the Byzantine sources. It is likely, as the 12th-century historian Zonaras
records, that the Doukai line died out, and that the later bearers of the name were descendants through the female line only.
ns", likely indicating their origin). Its members were Andronikos Doux Lydos and his sons, Christophoros and Bardas, the latter known with the sobriquet Mongos ("hoarse"). It is unclear whether the doux in Andronikos' name is a surname or a military rank; some scholars consider them as belonging to the Doukas clan, although the exact relation, if any, with the earlier Doukai, is impossible to ascertain. The family was involved in the 976–979 rebellion of Bardas Skleros
against Emperor Basil II
(r. 976–1025), but the sons were later pardoned and resumed their careers. Bardas the Mongos is attested as late as 1017, when he led a military expedition against the Khazars
.
The third group of the family, the Doukai of the 11th century, was the more numerous and distinguished one, providing several generals, governors and founding the Doukid dynasty which ruled Byzantium from 1059 to 1081. These Doukai seem to have come from Paphlagonia
, and were exceedingly wealthy, possessing extensive estates in Anatolia
. Again, the relationship of this group with the Doukai of the 9th and 10th centuries is unclear; the contemporary writers Michael Psellos
and Nicholas Kallikles
affirm such a relationship, but Zonaras openly questioned it.
The most famous members of this group were the dynasty's founder, Emperor Constantine X Doukas (r. 1059–1067), his brother John Doukas, katepano
and later Caesar
, Constantine's son Michael VII Doukas (r. 1071–1078), Michael's younger brothers, Konstantios
and Andronikos Doukas
, Michael's son and co-emperor Constantine Doukas
and John's son, the general Andronikos Doukas.
During this period, the family intermarried with other aristocratic clans: before becoming emperor, Constantine X had married into the powerful Dalassenoi
family, and took as a second wife Eudokia Makrembolitissa
, niece of the Patriarch
Michael Keroularios. Further dynastic matches were made with the clans of the Anatolian military aristocracy, including the Palaiologoi
and the Pegonitai. The most important connection however was to the Komnenoi
: in 1077, Alexios Komnenos, then a general and later emperor (r. 1081–1118), married Irene Doukaina
, the great-niece of Constantine X; thereafter, the family name Komnenodoukas was often used. This marriage alliance crucial for Alexios' own rise to the purple: his marriage to a Doukaina made him senior to his elder brother Isaac, and it was Doukai financial and political support that largely facilitated the successful and bloodless coup that brought him to the throne.
(although he lost his title when the future John II Komnenos
was born); and Irene Doukaina's brothers, the protostrator
Michael Doukas
and the megas doux
John Doukas
were among the most prominent military leaders of the late 11th century.
During the 12th century, the prestige of the Doukas name meant that it was often taken as a second surname by members of other families, even if remotely (and usually matrilineally) linked to the actual Doukai, who become relatively obscure after the turn of the century. It is hence impossible to clearly distinguish the numerous holders of the name or to discern their exact relationship with the 11th-century Doukid dynasty. The actual bloodline of Constantine X died out probably before 1100, and the last known descendants of his brother, the Caesar John, lived in the first half of the 12th century. The majority of the 12th-century bearers of the name were therefore most likely members of other families, linked through marriage with the Doukai, who chose to emphasize this relationship due to the prestige the name conferred.
In this way, mingled with other lineages, the Doukas name survived into the last centuries of the Empire, such as the Komnenoi-Doukai of Epirus
and Thessalonica, founded by the descendants of John Doukas
, a grandson of Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina. Other examples include John III Doukas Vatatzes
, Nicaean emperor
(r. 1221–1254), and the late Byzantine historian Doukas.
Dux
Dux is Latin for leader and later for Duke and its variant forms ....
("leader, general", hellenized as doux), is the name of a Byzantine Greek
Byzantine Greeks
Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenised citizens of the Byzantine Empire, centered mainly in Constantinople, the southern Balkans, the Greek islands, Asia Minor , Cyprus and the large urban centres of the Near East...
noble family, whose branches provided several notable generals and rulers to the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. The continuity of descent amongst the various branches is not clear though, and historians generally recognize several distinct groups of Doukai based on their occurrence in the contemporary sources. In the words of D.I. Polemis, who compiled the only overview work on the bearers of the Doukas name, in view of this lack of genealogical continuity "it would be a mistake to view the groups of people designated by the cognomen
Cognomen
The cognomen nōmen "name") was the third name of a citizen of Ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. The cognomen started as a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary cognomina were used to augment the second name in order to identify a particular branch within...
of Doukas as forming one large family".
Origins
Nothing is known for certain about the family's origin. Later tradition, mentioned by the historian Nikephoros Bryennios, held that they descended from a cousin of the Roman EmperorRoman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
Constantine I who had migrated to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
in the 4th century and allegedly became the city's governor with the title of doux. This tradition is however evidently an invention meant to glorify the family, at the time the Empire's ruling dynasty, by 11th-century court chroniclers. In fact, it is more likely that the surname derives from the relatively common military rank of doux. Nothing is known about the family's origin. Several authors have raised the possibility of an Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
descent, but it is almost certain that the Doukai were in fact Greek-speakers, probably from Paphlagonia
Paphlagonia
Paphlagonia was an ancient area on the Black Sea coast of north central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus to the east, and separated from Phrygia by a prolongation to the east of the Bithynian Olympus...
, where their estates were located.
The Doukai of the early 10th century
The first representative of the family appears in the mid-9th century, during the regency of Empress TheodoraTheodora (9th century)
Theodora was a Byzantine Empress as the spouse of the Byzantine emperor Theophilos, and regent of her son, Michael III, from Theophilos' death in 842 to 855...
(r. 842–855), when he was sent to forcibly convert the Paulicians to Orthodoxy. He is only known as "the son of Doux", although Skylitzes interpolates the name of Andronikos, probably in confusion with Andronikos Doukas (see next). This name is also used by some modern sources, e.g. in the Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit (Andronikos #433).
The first branch of the family to achieve prominence was in the early 10th century (they are usually referred to with the archaic form Doux rather than Doukas in the sources), with Andronikos Doukas
Andronikos Doukas (general under Leo VI)
Andronikos Doukas or Doux was a Byzantine general and rebel in the reign of Emperor Leo VI the Wise . The first member of the illustrious Doukas line to achieve prominence as a successful general, his rivalry with the powerful eunuch Samonas led to his revolt and eventual defection to the Arabs in...
and his son Constantine Doukas
Constantine Doukas (usurper)
Constantine Doukas was a prominent Byzantine general. In 904, he stopped the influential eunuch court official Samonas from defecting to the Arabs. In return, Samonas manipulated his father, Andronikos Doukas, into rebelling and fleeing to the Abbasid court in 906/907...
. Both were senior generals during the reign of Emperor Leo VI the Wise
Leo VI the Wise
Leo VI, surnamed the Wise or the Philosopher , was Byzantine emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty , he was very well-read, leading to his surname...
(r. 886–912). In ca. 904, Andronikos engaged in unsuccessful rebellion, and was force to flee to Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, where he was killed in ca. 910. Constantine managed to escape and was restored to high office, becoming Domestic of the Schools
Domestic of the Schools
The Domestic of the Schools was a senior Byzantine military office, extant from the 8th century until at least the early 14th century. Originally simply the commander of the Scholai, the senior of the elite tagmata regiments, the Domestic quickly rose in prominence: by the mid-9th century, its...
. He was killed however, along with his son Gregory and nephew Michael, in an unsuccessful coup in June 913. These deaths, along with the castration and exile of Constantine's younger son Stephen and the death of a Nicholas Doukas (of uncertain relation to the others) at the battle of Katasyrtai
Battle of Katasyrtai
The battle of Katasyrtai occurred in the fall of 917, shortly after the striking Bulgarian triumph at Acheloos near the village of the same names close to the Byzantine capital Constantinople, . The result was a Bulgarian victory....
in 917, mark the end of the first group of Doukai recorded in the Byzantine sources. It is likely, as the 12th-century historian Zonaras
Joannes Zonaras
Ioannes Zonaras was a Byzantine chronicler and theologian, who lived at Constantinople.Under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos he held the offices of head justice and private secretary to the emperor, but after Alexios' death, he retired to the monastery of St Glykeria, where he spent the rest of his...
records, that the Doukai line died out, and that the later bearers of the name were descendants through the female line only.
The Lydoi-Doukai under Basil II
Towards the end of the 10th century there appeared a second family, sometimes known as Lydoi ("the LydiaLydia
Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian....
ns", likely indicating their origin). Its members were Andronikos Doux Lydos and his sons, Christophoros and Bardas, the latter known with the sobriquet Mongos ("hoarse"). It is unclear whether the doux in Andronikos' name is a surname or a military rank; some scholars consider them as belonging to the Doukas clan, although the exact relation, if any, with the earlier Doukai, is impossible to ascertain. The family was involved in the 976–979 rebellion of Bardas Skleros
Bardas Skleros
Bardas Skleros or Sclerus was a Byzantine general who led a wide-scale Asian rebellion against Emperor Basil II in 976–979.-Background:...
against Emperor Basil II
Basil II
Basil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...
(r. 976–1025), but the sons were later pardoned and resumed their careers. Bardas the Mongos is attested as late as 1017, when he led a military expedition against the Khazars
Khazars
The Khazars were semi-nomadic Turkic people who established one of the largest polities of medieval Eurasia, with the capital of Atil and territory comprising much of modern-day European Russia, western Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, large portions of the northern Caucasus , parts of...
.
The Doukas imperial dynasty
Paphlagonia
Paphlagonia was an ancient area on the Black Sea coast of north central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus to the east, and separated from Phrygia by a prolongation to the east of the Bithynian Olympus...
, and were exceedingly wealthy, possessing extensive estates in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
. Again, the relationship of this group with the Doukai of the 9th and 10th centuries is unclear; the contemporary writers Michael Psellos
Michael Psellos
Michael Psellos or Psellus was a Byzantine monk, writer, philosopher, politician and historian...
and Nicholas Kallikles
Nicholas Kallikles
Nicholas Kallikles was a prominent physician and a leading court poet active in the Byzantine court in Constantinople during the reigns of Alexios I Komnenos and John II Komnenos .-Life:Very little is known about Kallikles' life...
affirm such a relationship, but Zonaras openly questioned it.
The most famous members of this group were the dynasty's founder, Emperor Constantine X Doukas (r. 1059–1067), his brother John Doukas, katepano
Katepano
The katepánō was a senior Byzantine military rank and office. The word was Latinized as capetanus/catepan, and its meaning seems to have merged with that of the Italian "capitaneus"...
and later Caesar
Caesar (title)
Caesar is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator...
, Constantine's son Michael VII Doukas (r. 1071–1078), Michael's younger brothers, Konstantios
Konstantios Doukas
Konstantios Doukas , Latinized as Constantius Ducas, was the son of Byzantine Emperor Constantine X Doukas and younger brother of Byzantine Emperor Michael VII Doukas...
and Andronikos Doukas
Andronikos Doukas (co-emperor)
Andronikos Doukas , Latinized as Andronicus Ducas, was the third son of Byzantine Emperor Constantine X Doukas and younger brother of Byzantine Emperor Michael VII Doukas . Unlike his other brothers, he was not named junior co-emperor by his father, and was raised to the dignity only by Romanos IV...
, Michael's son and co-emperor Constantine Doukas
Constantine Doukas
Constantine Doukas or Ducas , was Byzantine co-emperor from c. 1074 to 1078 and from 1081 to 1087. He was the son of Emperor Michael VII Doukas and his Georgian wife Maria of Alania....
and John's son, the general Andronikos Doukas.
During this period, the family intermarried with other aristocratic clans: before becoming emperor, Constantine X had married into the powerful Dalassenoi
Dalassenos
Dalassenos , feminine form Dalassene or Dalassena , was a Byzantine aristocratic family prominent in the 11th century.- Origins and rise to prominence :...
family, and took as a second wife Eudokia Makrembolitissa
Eudokia Makrembolitissa
Eudokia Makrembolitissa was the second wife of the Byzantine emperor Constantine X Doukas. After his death she acted as regent and became the wife of Romanos IV Diogenes...
, niece of the Patriarch
Patriarch of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarch is the Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome – ranking as primus inter pares in the Eastern Orthodox communion, which is seen by followers as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church....
Michael Keroularios. Further dynastic matches were made with the clans of the Anatolian military aristocracy, including the Palaiologoi
Palaiologos
Palaiologos , often latinized as Palaeologus, was a Byzantine Greek noble family, which produced the last ruling dynasty of the Byzantine Empire. After the Fourth Crusade, members of the family fled to the neighboring Empire of Nicaea, where Michael VIII Palaiologos became co-emperor in 1259,...
and the Pegonitai. The most important connection however was to the Komnenoi
Komnenos
Komnenós or Comnenus was the name of a ruling family of the Eastern Roman Empire , who halted the political decline of the Empire from c.1081 to c.1185.-Origins:...
: in 1077, Alexios Komnenos, then a general and later emperor (r. 1081–1118), married Irene Doukaina
Irene Doukaina
Irene Doukaina or Ducaena was the wife of the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos, and the mother of the emperor John II Komnenos and of the historian Anna Komnene.-Succession of Alexios and Irene:...
, the great-niece of Constantine X; thereafter, the family name Komnenodoukas was often used. This marriage alliance crucial for Alexios' own rise to the purple: his marriage to a Doukaina made him senior to his elder brother Isaac, and it was Doukai financial and political support that largely facilitated the successful and bloodless coup that brought him to the throne.
Under the Komnenoi
Their association with the Komnenoi helped ensure the continued prominence and prestige of the Doukas name at the apex of the Byzantine aristocracy into the Komnenian period, and the presence of the family's members amongst the higher officials of the Byzantine state. During the reign of Alexios I, the Doukai continued to play an important role: Constantine Doukas was recognized as heir-apparent and affianced to Anna KomneneAnna Komnene
Anna Komnene, Latinized as Comnena was a Greek princess and scholar and the daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos of Byzantium and Irene Doukaina...
(although he lost his title when the future John II Komnenos
John II Komnenos
John II Komnenos was Byzantine Emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as Kaloïōannēs , he was the eldest son of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina...
was born); and Irene Doukaina's brothers, the protostrator
Protostrator
Prōtostratōr was a Byzantine court office, originating as the imperial stable master, which in the last centuries of the Empire evolved into one of the senior military offices...
Michael Doukas
Michael Doukas (protostrator)
Michael Doukas was a member of the Doukas family, a relative of the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and a senior military figure, with the rank of protostrator, during Alexios' reign. His life is only known through the Alexiad of Anna Komnene and the history of her husband, Nikephoros Bryennios.- Life...
and the megas doux
Megas Doux
The megas doux was one of the highest positions in the hierarchy of the later Byzantine Empire, denoting the commander-in-chief of the Byzantine navy. It is sometimes also given by the half-Latinizations megaduke or megadux...
John Doukas
John Doukas (megas doux)
John Doukas was a member of the Doukas family, a relative of the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and a senior military figure of his reign. As governor of Dyrrhachium he secured the imperial possessions in the western Balkans against the Serbs...
were among the most prominent military leaders of the late 11th century.
During the 12th century, the prestige of the Doukas name meant that it was often taken as a second surname by members of other families, even if remotely (and usually matrilineally) linked to the actual Doukai, who become relatively obscure after the turn of the century. It is hence impossible to clearly distinguish the numerous holders of the name or to discern their exact relationship with the 11th-century Doukid dynasty. The actual bloodline of Constantine X died out probably before 1100, and the last known descendants of his brother, the Caesar John, lived in the first half of the 12th century. The majority of the 12th-century bearers of the name were therefore most likely members of other families, linked through marriage with the Doukai, who chose to emphasize this relationship due to the prestige the name conferred.
In this way, mingled with other lineages, the Doukas name survived into the last centuries of the Empire, such as the Komnenoi-Doukai of Epirus
Despotate of Epirus
The Despotate or Principality of Epirus was one of the Byzantine Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire that emerged in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Empire of Nicaea, and the Empire of Trebizond...
and Thessalonica, founded by the descendants of John Doukas
John Doukas
John Doukas or Ducas , was the eldest son of Constantine Angelos by Theodora Komnene, the seventh child of the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina, from whose family name John Doukas took his own.-Career:Doukas is first attested in an imperial document in 1166...
, a grandson of Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina. Other examples include John III Doukas Vatatzes
John III Doukas Vatatzes
John III Doukas Vatatzes, Latinized as Ducas Vatatzes |Nymphaion]]) was emperor of Nicaea 1221–1254.-Life:John Doukas Vatatzes was probably the son of the general Basileios Vatatzes, Duke of Thrace, who died in 1193, and his wife, an unnamed daughter of Isaakios Angelos and cousin of the Emperors...
, Nicaean emperor
Empire of Nicaea
The Empire of Nicaea was the largest of the three Byzantine Greek successor states founded by the aristocracy of the Byzantine Empire that fled after Constantinople was occupied by Western European and Venetian forces during the Fourth Crusade...
(r. 1221–1254), and the late Byzantine historian Doukas.