Georgios Maniakes

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Conquests of Georgios Maniakes in southern Italy (red)

Georgios Maniakes ( Middle Greek Γεώργιος Μανιάκης ; † 1043 near Thessaloniki ) was a Byzantine general and counter-emperor.

Life

Maniakes was first mentioned in 1031 during a Byzantine campaign : Although the Byzantine army had suffered a heavy defeat during the advance on Aleppo , Maniakes continued the company to wrest Edessa from the Arabs . His greatest success was the partial reconquest of Sicily from the Arabs from 1037. On this expedition he was supported by the Varangian Guard , which was led by the later Norwegian King Harald Hardrada , but also by Norman mercenaries , including Hervé Phrangopoulos and Wilhelm Eisenarm . Although the island was soon lost to the Arabs again, Maniake's successes later inspired other Normans to invade the island of their own.

Despite his military achievements in Sicily, Maniakes was in 1043 by Emperor Constantine IX. relieved of his command. He then rose against Constantine and let his troops proclaim himself emperor. During the advance on the capital Constantinople there was a confrontation with Constantine's troops, which were commanded by the eunuch Stephanos Pergamenos , near Thessaloniki . Close to victory, Maniakes was badly wounded and died on the battlefield.

In Sicily the place Maniace and the Castello Maniace in Syracuse were named after him.

literature

  • Jean-Claude Cheynet: Pouvoir et contestations à Byzance (963-1210) (= Publications de la Sorbonne. Series Byzantina Sorbonensia. Vol. 9). Reimpression. Publications de la Sorbonne Center de Recherches d'Histoire et de Civilization Byzantines, Paris 1996, ISBN 2-85944-168-5 , pp. 48-49 No. 44, pp. 57-58 No. 61.
  • André Jacob: Le topotérète de la flotte Constantin et la révolte de Georges Maniakès en 1042 dans une inscription inédite de Terre d'Otrante. In: Νέα Ῥώμη. Vol. 4, 2007, ZDB -ID 2208498-8 , pp. 163-176.
  • Francesca Luzzati Laganà: Maniakes, Georgios . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA). Volume 6, Artemis & Winkler, Munich / Zurich 1993, ISBN 3-7608-8906-9 , Sp. 194.
  • Francesca Luzzati Laganà:  Maniace (Maniakes), Giorgio. In: Mario Caravale (ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 69:  Mangiabotti – Marconi. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 2007, pp. 28-30.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Georgios Maniakes
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Georg Maniakes; Γεώργιος Μανιάκης (Middle Greek)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Byzantine general and counter-emperor
DATE OF BIRTH 10th century or 11th century
DATE OF DEATH 1043
Place of death at Thessaloniki