Nikephoros II
Encyclopedia
Nikephoros II Phokas (Latinized: Nicephorus II Phocas) (c. 912 – 10 December 969) was a Byzantine Emperor (963–969) whose brilliant military exploits contributed to the resurgence of Byzantine Empire in the tenth century.
n family
which had produced several distinguished generals, including Nikephoros' father (Bardas Phokas
), brother (Leo Phokas
), and grandfather (Nikephoros Phokas the Elder
), who had all served as commanders of the field army (domestikos tōn scholōn). His mother, whose name is unknown, was a member of another powerful Anatolian clan, the Maleinoi
.
Nikephoros joined the army at an early age. He was appointed the military governor of the Anatolikon Theme in 945 under Emperor Constantine VII. When his father, Bardas was wounded in battle in 953, Nikephoros was promoted to supreme commander on the eastern frontier. In the war with the Abbasid Caliphate under Al-Muti
, Nikephoros began with a severe defeat in 954, from which he recovered in the following years by victories in Syria
, starting in 957.
From the accession of Emperor Romanos II in 959, Nikephoros and his younger brother Leo were placed in charge of the eastern and western field armies, respectively. In 960, 27,000 oarsmen
and marines were assembled to man a fleet of 308 ships carrying 50,000 troops. At the recommendation of the influential minister Joseph Bringas
, Nikephoros was entrusted in leading this expedition against the Saracen Emirate of Crete
, and, storming Chandax after a 9-month siege, he wrested the whole island from the Muslims in 961. He was denied the usual honor of a triumph
, only permitted a mere ovation in the Hippodrome
. (Norwich, p. 961) he returned to the east with a large and well-equipped army. In the campaigns of 962–963 by brilliant strategy he conquered the cities of Cilicia
and advanced into Syria
where he captured Aleppo
in collusion with his nephew John Tzimiskes
, but made no permanent conquests. It was on these campaigns he earned the sobriquet "The Pale Death of the Saracens". During the capture of Aleppo, the Byzantine army took possession of 390,000 silver
dinars, 2,000 camels, and 1,400 mule
s.
Early in his life Nikephoros had married Stephano. She had died before he rose to fame, and after her death he took an oath of chastity. This would create problems later on.
But Theophano was not allowed to rule alone. Joseph Bringas, the eunuch
palace official who had become Romanos' chief councilor, maintained his position. According to contemporary sources he intended to keep authority in his own hands, rather than those of the young Empress. He also tried to reduce the power of Nikephoros Phokas. The victorious general had been accepted as the actual commander of the army and maintained his strong connections to the aristocracy. Joseph was afraid that Nikephoros could claim the throne with the support of both the army and the aristocracy. Joseph's intrigues during the following months turned both Theophano and Nikephoros against him. Unknown to Joseph, Nikephoros was urged to seize the throne by his nephew John Tzimiskes
and entered into negotiations with Theophano.
With the help of Theophano and the patriarch, Nikephoros Phokas received supreme command of the eastern forces and, after being proclaimed emperor by them on July 2, 963
, he marched upon the capital, where meanwhile his partisans had overthrown his enemy Bringas. Thanks to his popularity with the army, Nikephoros II Phokas was crowned emperor by the side of Romanus's young sons on August 16, 963, and in spite of the patriarch's opposition married their mother, the regent Theophano.
and Syria, while the patrician Niketas recovered Cyprus
. In 968 he reduced most of the fortresses in Syria, and after the fall of Antioch and Aleppo in 969, which were recaptured by his lieutenants, he secured his conquests by a peace treaty. On his northern frontier he began a war against Bulgaria
in 967, to which the Byzantines had been paying tribute. Nikephoros revoked the tribute and instigated (with 15,000 pounds of gold) King Sviatoslav I of Kiev to attack Bulgaria, which he did so effectively
, that Nikephoros ended up renewing the alliance with Bulgaria and turning against his own Kievan
ally.
Nikephoros II was less successful in his western wars. After renouncing his payments of tribute to the Fatimid
caliph
s, he sent an expedition to Sicily
under Niketas (964–965), but was forced by defeats on land and sea to evacuate that island completely. In 967 he made peace with the Fatimids of Kairawan and turned to defend himself against their common enemy, Otto I, who had proclaimed himself Western emperor and attacked the Byzantine possessions in Italy
; but after some initial successes his generals were defeated and driven back to the southern coast. The tension between East and West that resulted from Nikephoros' policies can be glimpsed from Bishop Liutprand of Cremona
's very unflattering description of him and his court in his Relatio de legatione Constantinopolitana.
. By his heavy imposts and the debasement of the coinage he forfeited his popularity with the people and gave rise to riots. Last of all, he was forsaken by his wife, and, in consequence of a conspiracy which she headed with his nephew and her lover John Tzimiskes
, was assassinated
in his sleeping apartment. Following his death, the Phokades family broke into insurrection under Nikephoros' nephew Bardas Phokas
, but their revolt was promptly subdued. Nikephoros was the author of an extant treatise on military tactics, most famously the Praecepta Militaria
which contains valuable information concerning the art of war in his time, and the less-known On Skirmishing (Περί Παραδρομής in the original Greek), which concerned guerilla-like tactics for defence against a superior enemy invasion force—though it is likely that this latter work, at least, was not composed by the Emperor but rather for him: translator and editor George T. Denis suggests that it was perhaps written by his brother Leo Phocas, then Domestic of the West. Nikephoros was also a very devout man, and helped his friend, the monk Athanasios
, found the monastery of Great Lavra on Mount Athos
.
description of Nikephoros, a clearly biased source, he is described as:
Whereas Bishop Liutprand describes the emperor's hair as being bristly, Leo The Deacon
says it was black with "tight curls" and "unusually long".
By his second marriage to Empress Theophano, Nikephoros II had no children.
"Tell me, most senseless and malicious tyrant, was it not through my actions that you attained the heights of Roman power? How therefore did you pay no regard to such a good service? How, blinded by malice and madness, did you thus not hesitate to remove me, your helper, from command of the army?...."
His head was cut off and paraded on a spike, while his body was thrown out the window. He was buried at the Church of the Holy Apostles
, while John Tzimiskes became Emperor John I. An inscription carved on the side of his tomb reads: "You conquered all but a woman".
John Julius Norwich says "It was a honourable place; but Nikephoros Phocas, the White Death of the Saracens, hero of Syria and Crete, saintly and hideous, magnificent and insufferable, had deserved a better end" (Byzantium, The Apogee, page 210).
), the Phokas
family moved to the island of Paxi
. Today the name is quite common on the island, yet no one has any dynastic claims.
Furthermore, some historians claim that a family's branch moved to the area of Mani
, building castles and organizing the community. Today the Kallergis, Kavalierakis,Kontzalis, Bakogiannis and Bounakos families are considered to be the descendants of this historic family. In Lebanon, the family of Phocas became Nakfour. The Nakfour family originally settled in Hasbaya, a town in south Lebanon, and later on in Deirmimas, also a town in south Lebanon. There have been also recordings of a Callergis family in Venice, a branch of the Cretan Kallergi family.
named its tenth Kortenaer class frigate
in his honour as Nikiforos Fokas F-466 (formerly HNLMS Bloys Van Treslong F-824). Also, in the Rethymno Prefecture
in Crete
, a municipality (Nikiforos Fokas
) is named after him, as are many streets throughout Greece.
Early exploits
Nikephoros Phokas was born in about 912 and belonged to a CappadociaCappadocia
Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine...
n family
Phokas (Byzantine family)
Phokas or Phocas , feminine form Phokaina , was the name of a Byzantine aristocratic clan from Cappadocia, which in the 9th and 10th centuries provided a series of high-ranking generals and an emperor, Nikephoros II Phokas...
which had produced several distinguished generals, including Nikephoros' father (Bardas Phokas
Bardas Phokas the Elder
Bardas Phokas was a notable Byzantine general in the first half of the 10th century, and father of Byzantine emperor Nikephoros II Phokas and the kouropalates Leo Phokas the Younger....
), brother (Leo Phokas
Leo Phokas the Younger
Leo Phokas or Phocas was a prominent Byzantine general who scored a number of successes in the eastern frontier in the mid-10th century alongside his older brother, the Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas...
), and grandfather (Nikephoros Phokas the Elder
Nikephoros Phokas the Elder
Nikephoros Phokas the Elder was one of the great generals in the service of the Eastern Roman Emperor Basil I.Descended from the Phokas family, one of the large land-holding families of Anatolia, Nikephoros Phokas rose to the positions of patrikios and domestikos ton scholon. He succeeded in...
), who had all served as commanders of the field army (domestikos tōn scholōn). His mother, whose name is unknown, was a member of another powerful Anatolian clan, the Maleinoi
Maleinos
Maleinos was the surname of a Byzantine Greek family, first attested in the 9th century, which rose to be amongst the most important and powerful members of the Anatolian aristocracy in the 10th century, providing many senior generals to the Byzantine army. After its wealth and power became the...
.
Nikephoros joined the army at an early age. He was appointed the military governor of the Anatolikon Theme in 945 under Emperor Constantine VII. When his father, Bardas was wounded in battle in 953, Nikephoros was promoted to supreme commander on the eastern frontier. In the war with the Abbasid Caliphate under Al-Muti
Al-Muti
Al-Muti was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 946 to 974. He had long aspired to the office. Between him and the previous Caliph, al-Mustakfi, bitter enmity existed, which led him to retire into hiding....
, Nikephoros began with a severe defeat in 954, from which he recovered in the following years by victories in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, starting in 957.
From the accession of Emperor Romanos II in 959, Nikephoros and his younger brother Leo were placed in charge of the eastern and western field armies, respectively. In 960, 27,000 oarsmen
Watercraft rowing
Watercraft rowing is the act of propelling a boat using the motion of oars in the water. The difference between paddling and rowing is that with rowing the oars have a mechanical connection with the boat whereas with paddling the paddles are hand-held with no mechanical connection.This article...
and marines were assembled to man a fleet of 308 ships carrying 50,000 troops. At the recommendation of the influential minister Joseph Bringas
Joseph Bringas
Joseph Bringas was an important Byzantine eunuch official in the reigns of Emperor Constantine VII and Emperor Romanos II , serving as chief minister and effective regent during the latter...
, Nikephoros was entrusted in leading this expedition against the Saracen Emirate of Crete
Emirate of Crete
The Emirate of Crete was a Muslim state that existed on the Mediterranean island of Crete from the late 820s to the Byzantine reconquest of the island in 961....
, and, storming Chandax after a 9-month siege, he wrested the whole island from the Muslims in 961. He was denied the usual honor of a triumph
Roman triumph
The Roman triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the military achievement of an army commander who had won great military successes, or originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war. In Republican...
, only permitted a mere ovation in the Hippodrome
Hippodrome of Constantinople
The Hippodrome of Constantinople was a circus that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today it is a square named Sultanahmet Meydanı in the Turkish city of Istanbul, with only a few fragments of the original structure surviving...
. (Norwich, p. 961) he returned to the east with a large and well-equipped army. In the campaigns of 962–963 by brilliant strategy he conquered the cities of Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
and advanced into Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
where he captured Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
in collusion with his nephew John Tzimiskes
John I Tzimiskes
John I Tzimiskes or Tzimisces, was Byzantine Emperor from December 11, 969 to January 10, 976. A brilliant and intuitive general, John's short reign saw the expansion of the empire's borders and the strengthening of Byzantium itself.- Background :...
, but made no permanent conquests. It was on these campaigns he earned the sobriquet "The Pale Death of the Saracens". During the capture of Aleppo, the Byzantine army took possession of 390,000 silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
dinars, 2,000 camels, and 1,400 mule
Mule
A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny...
s.
Early in his life Nikephoros had married Stephano. She had died before he rose to fame, and after her death he took an oath of chastity. This would create problems later on.
Accession to the throne
On March 15, 963, Emperor Romanos II unexpectedly died at the age of twenty-six. The cause of his death is uncertain. Both contemporary sources and later historians seem to either believe that the young Emperor had exhausted his health with the excesses of his sexual life and his heavy drinking, or suspect Empress Theophano (c. 941–after 976), his wife, of poisoning him. Theophano had already at the time gained a reputation as an intelligent and ambitious woman. She would later gain a reputation for ruthlessness in achieving her goals. Romanos had, before his death, already crowned as co-emperors his two sons Basil II and Constantine VIII. At the time, however, Basil was five years old and Constantine only three years old, and they were not able to assume the duties that came with their title. Theophano was named regent.But Theophano was not allowed to rule alone. Joseph Bringas, the 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...
palace official who had become Romanos' chief councilor, maintained his position. According to contemporary sources he intended to keep authority in his own hands, rather than those of the young Empress. He also tried to reduce the power of Nikephoros Phokas. The victorious general had been accepted as the actual commander of the army and maintained his strong connections to the aristocracy. Joseph was afraid that Nikephoros could claim the throne with the support of both the army and the aristocracy. Joseph's intrigues during the following months turned both Theophano and Nikephoros against him. Unknown to Joseph, Nikephoros was urged to seize the throne by his nephew John Tzimiskes
John I Tzimiskes
John I Tzimiskes or Tzimisces, was Byzantine Emperor from December 11, 969 to January 10, 976. A brilliant and intuitive general, John's short reign saw the expansion of the empire's borders and the strengthening of Byzantium itself.- Background :...
and entered into negotiations with Theophano.
With the help of Theophano and the patriarch, Nikephoros Phokas received supreme command of the eastern forces and, after being proclaimed emperor by them on July 2, 963
963
Year 963 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* Turkish Khan Sebük Tigin establishes his empire in modern day Afghanistan....
, he marched upon the capital, where meanwhile his partisans had overthrown his enemy Bringas. Thanks to his popularity with the army, Nikephoros II Phokas was crowned emperor by the side of Romanus's young sons on August 16, 963, and in spite of the patriarch's opposition married their mother, the regent Theophano.
Later campaigns
During his reign Nikephoros II Phokas continued to wage numerous wars. From 964–966 he led an army of 40,000 men which conquered Cilicia and again overran MesopotamiaMesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
and Syria, while the patrician Niketas recovered Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. In 968 he reduced most of the fortresses in Syria, and after the fall of Antioch and Aleppo in 969, which were recaptured by his lieutenants, he secured his conquests by a peace treaty. On his northern frontier he began a war against Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
in 967, to which the Byzantines had been paying tribute. Nikephoros revoked the tribute and instigated (with 15,000 pounds of gold) King Sviatoslav I of Kiev to attack Bulgaria, which he did so effectively
Sviatoslav's invasion of Bulgaria
Sviatoslav's invasion of Bulgaria refers to a conflict beginning in 967/968 and ending in 971, carried out in the eastern Balkans and involving the Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, and the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines instigated the Rus' ruler Sviatoslav to attack Bulgaria, leading to the collapse of the...
, that Nikephoros ended up renewing the alliance with Bulgaria and turning against his own Kievan
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus was a medieval polity in Eastern Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240....
ally.
Fatimid
The Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
s, he sent an expedition to Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
under Niketas (964–965), but was forced by defeats on land and sea to evacuate that island completely. In 967 he made peace with the Fatimids of Kairawan and turned to defend himself against their common enemy, Otto I, who had proclaimed himself Western emperor and attacked the Byzantine possessions in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
; but after some initial successes his generals were defeated and driven back to the southern coast. The tension between East and West that resulted from Nikephoros' policies can be glimpsed from Bishop Liutprand of Cremona
Liutprand of Cremona
Liutprand, also Liudprand, Liuprand, Lioutio, Liucius, Liuzo, and Lioutsios was a Lombard historian and author, and Bishop of Cremona....
's very unflattering description of him and his court in his Relatio de legatione Constantinopolitana.
Diplomacy
Liutprand's description of Nikephoros was clouded by the fact that he was ill-treated while on a diplomatic mission to Constantinople. Nikephoros, a man of war, was not good at diplomacy. To add insult to injury Pope John XIII sent a letter to Nikephoros while Liutprand was in Constantinople calling Otto I emperor of Rome and even more insultingly referring to Nikephoros merely as emperor of the Greeks. Liutprand failed in his goal of getting an imperial princess for the wife of Otto's young son, the future emperor Otto II.Civil administration
Owing to the care which he lavished upon the proper maintenance of the army, Nikephoros II was compelled to exercise rigid economy in other departments. He retrenched the court largesses and curtailed the immunities of the clergy, and although himself of an ascetic disposition forbade the foundation of new monasteriesMonastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
. By his heavy imposts and the debasement of the coinage he forfeited his popularity with the people and gave rise to riots. Last of all, he was forsaken by his wife, and, in consequence of a conspiracy which she headed with his nephew and her lover John Tzimiskes
John I Tzimiskes
John I Tzimiskes or Tzimisces, was Byzantine Emperor from December 11, 969 to January 10, 976. A brilliant and intuitive general, John's short reign saw the expansion of the empire's borders and the strengthening of Byzantium itself.- Background :...
, was assassinated
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
in his sleeping apartment. Following his death, the Phokades family broke into insurrection under Nikephoros' nephew Bardas Phokas
Bardas Phocas
Bardas Phokas was an eminent Byzantine general who took a conspicuous part in three revolts for and against the ruling Macedonian dynasty.- First rebellion :...
, but their revolt was promptly subdued. Nikephoros was the author of an extant treatise on military tactics, most famously the Praecepta Militaria
Praecepta Militaria
The Praecepta Militaria is the Latin conventional title given to a Byzantine military treatise, written in ca. 965 by or on behalf of Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros Phokas...
which contains valuable information concerning the art of war in his time, and the less-known On Skirmishing (Περί Παραδρομής in the original Greek), which concerned guerilla-like tactics for defence against a superior enemy invasion force—though it is likely that this latter work, at least, was not composed by the Emperor but rather for him: translator and editor George T. Denis suggests that it was perhaps written by his brother Leo Phocas, then Domestic of the West. Nikephoros was also a very devout man, and helped his friend, the monk Athanasios
Athanasius the Athonite
Athanasius the Athonite , also called Athanasios of Trebizond , was a Byzantine monk who founded the monastic community on Mount Athos, which has since evolved into the greatest centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism....
, found the monastery of Great Lavra on Mount Athos
Mount Athos
Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. A World Heritage Site, it is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the...
.
Contemporary Descriptions
In Bishop Liutprand'sLiutprand of Cremona
Liutprand, also Liudprand, Liuprand, Lioutio, Liucius, Liuzo, and Lioutsios was a Lombard historian and author, and Bishop of Cremona....
description of Nikephoros, a clearly biased source, he is described as:
- ...a monstrosity of a man, a pygmy, fat-headed and like a mole as to the smallness of his eyes; disgusting with his short, broad, thick, and half hoary beard; disgraced by a neck an inch long; very bristly through the length and thickness of his hair; in color an Ethiopian; one whom it would not be pleasant to meet in the middle of the night; with extensive belly, lean of loin, very long of hip considering his short stature, small of shank, proportionate as to his heels and feet; clad in a garment costly but too old, and foul-smelling and faded through age; shod with Sicyonian shoes; bold of tongue, a fox by nature, in perjury, and lying a Ulysses.
Whereas Bishop Liutprand describes the emperor's hair as being bristly, Leo The Deacon
Leo the Deacon
Leo the Deacon was a Byzantine Roman historian and chronicler.He was born around 950 at Kaloe in Asia Minor, and was educated in Constantinople, where he became a deacon in the imperial palace. While in Constantinople he wrote a history covering the reigns of Romanus II, Nicepheros II, John...
says it was black with "tight curls" and "unusually long".
Family
By his first marriage to an unnamed Maleina, Nikephoros II Phokas had a son:- Bardas Phokas, who died before 969.
By his second marriage to Empress Theophano, Nikephoros II had no children.
Assassination
With unrest mounting around him, his second wife Theophano took as her lover Nikephoros II's nephew and general John Tzimiskes. Theophano and Tzimiskes would meet in secret and plot Nikephoros' death, with the plot eventually growing to include others. On a blustery night, the conspirators went into the palace dressed as women. Nikephoros was warned that assassins were in the palace, and demanded the palace be searched. The guards however left the empresses' room unsearched, and the assassins avoided capture. Later, when Nikephorus was asleep on the floor before the holy icons, Tzimiskes and the others sneaked into his bed chamber, alarmed at first to find the bed empty (Nikephoros frequently slept on the floor). Aroused by the noise, Nikephoros rose just as one of the assassins swung his sword in an attempt to decapitate him. It struck him in the face, and he was then dragged to the foot of the bed, where Tzimiskes sat. Tzimiskes then shouted:"Tell me, most senseless and malicious tyrant, was it not through my actions that you attained the heights of Roman power? How therefore did you pay no regard to such a good service? How, blinded by malice and madness, did you thus not hesitate to remove me, your helper, from command of the army?...."
His head was cut off and paraded on a spike, while his body was thrown out the window. He was buried at the Church of the Holy Apostles
Church of the Holy Apostles
The Church of the Holy Apostles , also known as the Imperial Polyandreion, was a Christian church built in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, in 550. It was second only to the Church of the Holy Wisdom among the great churches of the capital...
, while John Tzimiskes became Emperor John I. An inscription carved on the side of his tomb reads: "You conquered all but a woman".
John Julius Norwich says "It was a honourable place; but Nikephoros Phocas, the White Death of the Saracens, hero of Syria and Crete, saintly and hideous, magnificent and insufferable, had deserved a better end" (Byzantium, The Apogee, page 210).
Descendants
It is claimed that at some period (perhaps after the assassination of Nikephoros II, or with the Latin invasion of ConstantinopleFourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire...
), the Phokas
Phokas (Byzantine family)
Phokas or Phocas , feminine form Phokaina , was the name of a Byzantine aristocratic clan from Cappadocia, which in the 9th and 10th centuries provided a series of high-ranking generals and an emperor, Nikephoros II Phokas...
family moved to the island of Paxi
Paxi
Paxi or Paxoi is the name given to the smallest group of the Ionian Islands . In Greek it is a plural form and it refers to a complex of islands, the largest of which are Paxos and Antipaxos...
. Today the name is quite common on the island, yet no one has any dynastic claims.
Furthermore, some historians claim that a family's branch moved to the area of Mani
Mani Peninsula
The Mani Peninsula , also long known as Maina or Maïna, is a geographical and cultural region in Greece. Mani is the central peninsula of the three which extend southwards from the Peloponnese in southern Greece. To the east is the Laconian Gulf, to the west the Messenian Gulf...
, building castles and organizing the community. Today the Kallergis, Kavalierakis,Kontzalis, Bakogiannis and Bounakos families are considered to be the descendants of this historic family. In Lebanon, the family of Phocas became Nakfour. The Nakfour family originally settled in Hasbaya, a town in south Lebanon, and later on in Deirmimas, also a town in south Lebanon. There have been also recordings of a Callergis family in Venice, a branch of the Cretan Kallergi family.
Modern honours
On November 19, 2004, the Hellenic NavyHellenic Navy
The Hellenic Navy is the naval force of Greece, part of the Greek Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy has its roots in the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independence...
named its tenth Kortenaer class frigate
Kortenaer class frigate
The Kortenaer class was a class of frigates of the Royal Netherlands Navy. They were built to be a general purpose frigate; able to combat all surface, submarine and aircraft targets. Like some of the other frigates of the 1970s and 1980s, they featured a COGOG propulsion system...
in his honour as Nikiforos Fokas F-466 (formerly HNLMS Bloys Van Treslong F-824). Also, in the Rethymno Prefecture
Rethymno Prefecture
Rethymno is one of the four regional units of Crete, Greece. Its capital is the city of Rethymno. Today its main income is tourism. The countryside is also based economically on agriculture and herding.-Administration:...
in Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
, a municipality (Nikiforos Fokas
Nikiforos Fokas
Nikiforos Fokas is a former municipality in the Rethymno peripheral unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rethymno, of which it is a municipal unit. It was named after the 10th century Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas, who retook the...
) is named after him, as are many streets throughout Greece.