Nikephoritzes
Encyclopedia
Nikephoritzes was an influential Byzantine
eunuch
official, who served as chief minister and virtual ruler of the Byzantine Empire
during the reign of Emperor Michael VII Doukas (r. 1071–1078). His actual name was Nikephoros; he received the nickname "Nikephoritzes" ("little Nikephoros") as a result of his relative youth when he first entered service in the court. He became widely unpopular due to his harsh taxation and meddling with Constantinople
's grain supply, as well as for his neglect of Asia Minor
in the face of Turkish encroachment. This resentment led to the outbreak of two major rebellions in 1077, and the eventual abdication of Emperor Michael VII. Nikephoritzes himself was captured and tortured to death.
Nikephoritzes was born in the Bucellarian Theme
and entered service in the imperial secretariat under Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos
(r. 1042–1055). Under Emperor Constantine X Doukas (r. 1059–1067), he was sent away from the court to assume the governorship of Antioch
, because he allegedly slandered the Empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa
, accusing her of adultery
. Following the Byzantine emperor's death and her assumption of the regency, he was imprisoned. He was released by Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes (r. 1068–1071) and appointed as praetor
(civil governor) of the combined themes of Hellas
(Central Greece
) and the Peloponnese
. On the assumption of power by Michael VII in 1071, Nikephoritzes was recalled to serve in the imperial government by the new emperor's uncle, the Caesar
John Doukas, who valued his administrative skills. Back in Constantinople
, Nikephoritzes was appointed logothetes tou dromou
, and his power grew rapidly. Not only did he soon sideline the other ministers, including the hereto powerful Michael Psellos
, but in autumn 1073, Nikephoritzes forced the Caesar himself to withdraw from active participation in the governance of the Byzantine Empire and retire to his estates.
As the de facto ruler of the Byzantine Empire, Nikephoritzes set about reorganizing the state, trying to restore its strength and re-establish central control. His first priority was to replenish the treasury. For this he resorted to brutal taxation, which caused major hardship both in the provinces and in Constantinople. He also established a central warehouse (phoundax) at Rhaidestos in an effort to centralize, regulate, and better tax the corn supply of Constantinople, forming a state monopoly. According to Michael Attaleiates, admittedly a hostile source, his policies resulted in shortages in grain and inflation
of its price. By the winter of 1076/1077, Constantinople was experiencing famine
. At the same time, a rebellion broke out in the Danubian
province of Paristrion, because Nikephoritzes stopped payment of the annual subsidies to the local mixobarbaroi
and the Pechenegs. The vestarches
Nestor, who was sent to settle things, joined the rebellion. Notably, the rebels demanded only one thing, the dismissal of Nikephoritzes, and when they took Rhaidestos, they burned down the corn warehouse. Emperor Michael VII prevaricated in his reply, whereupon Nestor with his Pecheneg allies withdrew north into the Paristrion, which hence and for the next two decades effectively passed out of imperial control.
Nikephoritzes also tried to reform the army, and revived the regiment of the Immortals
. The military situation during his administration was particularly grave, with Serb attacks and the Bulgarian uprising of Constantine Bodin, while in Asia Minor the imperial government had to face the rebellion of Roussel de Bailleul
, as well as the ever-increasing Turkish infiltration of Asia Minor
in the aftermath of the Battle of Manzikert
, to which it failed to respond adequately. Although undeniably a capable administrator, his financial measures and centralizing tendencies were generally resented. With the exception of Kekaumenos
, who praises him as "an excellent man in everything, most reasonable, experienced in both military and administrative matters although a eunuch, generous, very clever, and capable of understanding and speaking properly", the other sources all relate stories of his greed and corruption. In this, they focus especially on the monastery at Hebdomon, which he administrated, and where he gathered his personal fortune.
Opposition coalesced around the Patriarch of Antioch
Aemilian, an old enemy of Nikephoritzes from his time in Antioch, with support from several bishops and the capital's guilds. In addition, in the summer of 1077, Nikephoros Bryennios
in the Balkans
and Nikephoros Botaneiates in Asia Minor rebelled against Emperor Michael VII. Bryennios marched against Constantinople, hoping it would surrender, but the pillaging of its suburbs by his troops deterred the capital's inhabitants, and he had to retreat. In turn, a group of bishops opposing Nikephoritzes gathered in Hagia Sophia
on January 7, 1078, and proclaimed Botaneiates Byzantine emperor. Nikephoritzes responded by forcibly removing them from the cathedral, for which he was excommunicated by the Patriarch of Constantinople
. Alexios Komnenos
, who had risen to high command under Nikephoritzes, suggested the forcible suppression of the opposition, but Emperor Michael VII eventually decided to abdicate in favour of Botaneiates, on March 31, 1078.
Nikephoritzes fled the capital and sought refuge in Heraclea Pontica
, where Roussel de Bailleul was encamped. Roussel, however, had him arrested and delivered to the new Byzantine emperor. Nikephoritzes was then exiled to the island of Prote and then Oxeia
, where he was brutally tortured by the megas hetaireiarches Romanos Straboromanos and died as a result.
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...
eunuch
Eunuch
A eunuch is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences...
official, who served as chief minister and virtual ruler of 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...
during the reign of Emperor Michael VII Doukas (r. 1071–1078). His actual name was Nikephoros; he received the nickname "Nikephoritzes" ("little Nikephoros") as a result of his relative youth when he first entered service in the court. He became widely unpopular due to his harsh taxation and meddling with 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:...
's grain supply, as well as for his neglect of Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
in the face of Turkish encroachment. This resentment led to the outbreak of two major rebellions in 1077, and the eventual abdication of Emperor Michael VII. Nikephoritzes himself was captured and tortured to death.
Life and career
Bucellarian Theme
The Bucellarian Theme , more properly known as the Theme of the Bucellarians was a Byzantine theme in northern Asia Minor...
and entered service in the imperial secretariat under Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos
Constantine IX Monomachos
Constantine IX Monomachos, Latinized as Constantine IX Monomachus , c. 1000 – January 11, 1055, reigned as Byzantine emperor from June 11, 1042 to January 11, 1055. He had been chosen by the Empress Zoe as a husband and co-emperor in 1042, although he had been exiled for conspiring...
(r. 1042–1055). Under Emperor Constantine X Doukas (r. 1059–1067), he was sent away from the court to assume the governorship of Antioch
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
, because he allegedly slandered the Empress 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...
, accusing her of adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
. Following the Byzantine emperor's death and her assumption of the regency, he was imprisoned. He was released by Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes (r. 1068–1071) and appointed as praetor
Praetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
(civil governor) of the combined themes of Hellas
Hellas (theme)
The Theme of Hellas was a Byzantine military-civilian province located in southern Greece. The theme encompassed parts of Central Greece, Thessaly and, until circa 800, the Peloponnese...
(Central Greece
Central Greece
Continental Greece or Central Greece , colloquially known as Roúmeli , is a geographical region of Greece. Its territory is divided into the administrative regions of Central Greece, Attica, and part of West Greece...
) and the Peloponnese
Peloponnese (theme)
The Theme of the Peloponnese was a Byzantine military-civilian province encompassing the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece. It was established in circa 800, and its capital was Corinth.-History:...
. On the assumption of power by Michael VII in 1071, Nikephoritzes was recalled to serve in the imperial government by the new emperor's uncle, the Caesar
Caesar (title)
Caesar is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator...
John Doukas, who valued his administrative skills. Back in 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:...
, Nikephoritzes was appointed logothetes tou dromou
Logothetes tou dromou
The logothetēs tou dromou , in English usually rendered as Logothete of the Course/Drome/Dromos or Postal Logothete, was the head of the department of the Dromos, the Public Post , and one of the most senior ministers of the Byzantine Empire.- History and functions :The exact origin and date of...
, and his power grew rapidly. Not only did he soon sideline the other ministers, including the hereto powerful Michael Psellos
Michael Psellos
Michael Psellos or Psellus was a Byzantine monk, writer, philosopher, politician and historian...
, but in autumn 1073, Nikephoritzes forced the Caesar himself to withdraw from active participation in the governance of the Byzantine Empire and retire to his estates.
As the de facto ruler of the Byzantine Empire, Nikephoritzes set about reorganizing the state, trying to restore its strength and re-establish central control. His first priority was to replenish the treasury. For this he resorted to brutal taxation, which caused major hardship both in the provinces and in Constantinople. He also established a central warehouse (phoundax) at Rhaidestos in an effort to centralize, regulate, and better tax the corn supply of Constantinople, forming a state monopoly. According to Michael Attaleiates, admittedly a hostile source, his policies resulted in shortages in grain and inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
of its price. By the winter of 1076/1077, Constantinople was experiencing famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
. At the same time, a rebellion broke out in the Danubian
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
province of Paristrion, because Nikephoritzes stopped payment of the annual subsidies to the local mixobarbaroi
Mixobarbaroi
Mixobarbaroi was an ethnographical term first used in Classical Greece by authors to denote people who lived in the frontiers of the oikoumene, and had qualities of both the civilized peoples and the barbarians, as seen in the works of Euripides, Plato and Xenophon...
and the Pechenegs. The vestarches
Vestarches
Vestarchēs was a senior Byzantine honorific dignity in use from the late 10th to the early 12th centuries.Vestarchēs means "head of the vestai", another group of high court dignitaries...
Nestor, who was sent to settle things, joined the rebellion. Notably, the rebels demanded only one thing, the dismissal of Nikephoritzes, and when they took Rhaidestos, they burned down the corn warehouse. Emperor Michael VII prevaricated in his reply, whereupon Nestor with his Pecheneg allies withdrew north into the Paristrion, which hence and for the next two decades effectively passed out of imperial control.
Nikephoritzes also tried to reform the army, and revived the regiment of the Immortals
Immortals (Byzantine)
The Immortals were one of the elite tagmata military units of the Byzantine Empire, first raised during the late 10th century. The name derives from a- + thanatos .-History:...
. The military situation during his administration was particularly grave, with Serb attacks and the Bulgarian uprising of Constantine Bodin, while in Asia Minor the imperial government had to face the rebellion of Roussel de Bailleul
Roussel de Bailleul
Roussel de Bailleul , also known as Phrangopoulos , was a Norman adventurer who travelled to Byzantium and there received employ as a soldier and leader of men from the Emperor Romanus IV Roussel de Bailleul (also Ursellus de Ballione in Latin or Roscelin or Roskelin de Baieul, called Urselius by...
, as well as the ever-increasing Turkish infiltration of Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
in the aftermath of the Battle of Manzikert
Battle of Manzikert
The Battle of Manzikert , was fought between the Byzantine Empire and Seljuq Turks led by Alp Arslan on August 26, 1071 near Manzikert...
, to which it failed to respond adequately. Although undeniably a capable administrator, his financial measures and centralizing tendencies were generally resented. With the exception of Kekaumenos
Kekaumenos
Kekaumenos is the family name of the otherwise anonymous Byzantine author of the Strategikon, a manual on military and household affairs composed c. 1078. He was apparently of Graeco-Armenian origin and the grandson of the doux of Hellas...
, who praises him as "an excellent man in everything, most reasonable, experienced in both military and administrative matters although a eunuch, generous, very clever, and capable of understanding and speaking properly", the other sources all relate stories of his greed and corruption. In this, they focus especially on the monastery at Hebdomon, which he administrated, and where he gathered his personal fortune.
Opposition coalesced around the Patriarch of Antioch
Patriarch of Antioch
Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the Bishop of Antioch. As the traditional "overseer" of the first gentile Christian community, the position has been of prime importance in the church from its earliest period...
Aemilian, an old enemy of Nikephoritzes from his time in Antioch, with support from several bishops and the capital's guilds. In addition, in the summer of 1077, Nikephoros Bryennios
Nikephoros Bryennios
Nikephoros Bryennios , Byzantine general, statesman and historian, was born at Orestias in the theme of Macedonia-Life:...
in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
and Nikephoros Botaneiates in Asia Minor rebelled against Emperor Michael VII. Bryennios marched against Constantinople, hoping it would surrender, but the pillaging of its suburbs by his troops deterred the capital's inhabitants, and he had to retreat. In turn, a group of bishops opposing Nikephoritzes gathered in Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey...
on January 7, 1078, and proclaimed Botaneiates Byzantine emperor. Nikephoritzes responded by forcibly removing them from the cathedral, for which he was excommunicated by the Patriarch of Constantinople
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....
. Alexios Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus , was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118, and although he was not the founder of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power. The title 'Nobilissimus' was given to senior army commanders,...
, who had risen to high command under Nikephoritzes, suggested the forcible suppression of the opposition, but Emperor Michael VII eventually decided to abdicate in favour of Botaneiates, on March 31, 1078.
Nikephoritzes fled the capital and sought refuge in Heraclea Pontica
Heraclea Pontica
Heraclea Pontica , an ancient city on the coast of Bithynia in Asia Minor, at the mouth of the river Lycus. It was founded by the Greek city-state of Megara c.560-558 and was named after Heracles who the Greeks believed entered the underworld at a cave on the adjoining Archerusian promontory .The...
, where Roussel de Bailleul was encamped. Roussel, however, had him arrested and delivered to the new Byzantine emperor. Nikephoritzes was then exiled to the island of Prote and then Oxeia
Sivriada
Sivriada is one of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbul.The island, which has an area of 0.05 km², is officially a neighbourhood in the Adalar district of Istanbul, Turkey....
, where he was brutally tortured by the megas hetaireiarches Romanos Straboromanos and died as a result.