Nikephoros Melissenus

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Nikephoros Melissenos ( medium Greek Νικηφόρος Μελισσηνός , * 1045, † 17th November 1104 ) was a Byzantine general who Gegenkaiser and Kaisar under I. Alexios Komnenos .

Life

Nikephoros Melissenus was probably born in Dorylaion , where his family owned extensive estates. Before 1067 he married Eudokia Komnena , the second daughter of the Domestikos of the Scholai Johannes Komnenos and Anna Dalassene , whereby he became brother-in-law of the future emperor Alexios Komnenos. They had at least one son named Johannes Komnenos .

In 1070 Melissenus took part in a campaign against the Seljuks under the command of his eldest brother-in-law, the protostrator Manuel Komnenus , which ended in a defeat for the Byzantines at Sebasteia . Just like Manuel Komnenos, Melissenus was captured by the Turkish leader Chrysosculos , but Manuel was able to persuade him to enter into Byzantine services. Under Emperor Michael VII, Melissenus held the dignity of Magistros and officiated as Dux von Triaditza (today Sofia ).

When the strategos of Anatolikon , Nikephoros Botaneiates , rebelled against Michael VII in October 1077 , Melissenus remained loyal to the emperor. Botaneiates ultimately got the upper hand in the turmoil and ascended in April 1078 as Nikephorus III. the throne in Constantinople . Melissenus was banished to the island of Kos as part of the deposed emperor . In the autumn of 1080 he returned to Asia Minor , where he was able to secure the support of the local population and to recruit numerous Turkish tribal warriors as mercenaries for his army. More and more cities in western and central Asia Minor opened their gates to him and allowed Turkish garrisons to be stationed within their walls. In vain tried Nikephorus III. the general Alexios Komnenos, who had only shortly before defeated the usurpers Nikephoros Bryennios and Nikephoros Basilakes , to move to a campaign against his brother-in-law. In February 1081 Melissenus' troops took Nikaia , where Nikaia was recognized as a basileus , and defeated a loyal army under the eunuch John .

In March 1081 Melissenus camped with his army in Damalis on the Asian side of the Bosporus when he heard the news of the revolt of the Comnenes against Nikephorus III. and received from Alexios' elevation to emperor. Thereupon he proposed to his brother-in-law a division of rule, with the Balkans remaining under the control of the Comnenes and he himself should keep Asia Minor. In return, Alexios offered to recognize Melissenus as emperor and to give him Thessalonike as his domain, provided that he submitted. After initial hesitation, Melissenos accepted this offer, as it became clear that Constantinople would fall to the Comnenes and he could no longer expect similarly generous accommodation in the future. After Alexios was crowned emperor on April 4, 1081, he kept the promises made to his brother-in-law. At the same time, however, he gave his older brother Isaak the newly created dignity of sebastokrator (vice emperor), whereby Melissenus fell back to the third position in the court hierarchy.

Nevertheless, Melissenus proved to be a loyal supporter of the new emperor in the period that followed. In autumn 1081 he took part in the campaign against the Normans , who had invaded the subject of Dyrrhachion under Robert Guiskard . In the decisive battle, which ended in a heavy defeat for Byzantium, Melissenus commanded the right wing of the army. Two years later, Alexios I and Melissenus jointly expelled the Normans, led by Guiskard's son Bohemond , from Thessaly . In 1086 Melissenus got captured after the defeat against the Petschenegen near Dristra and had to be ransomed by the emperor. In the spring of 1091 he was sent to Ainos to recruit Bulgarians and Wlachen for another campaign against the Pechenegs. Later that year he was involved in the Philippople family court investigating the accusation of planned usurpation made by Theophylact of Ohrid against the Dux of Dyrrhachion, Johannes Komnenus .

The last time Nikephoros Melissenos was mentioned in the Alexiad was when he was tasked with defending the region around Beroia against the Cumans under the pretender Pseudo-Diogenes in 1095 . He died on November 17, 1104; the circumstances of his death are unknown.

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literature

  • Michael Angold: The Byzantine Empire, 1025-1204: A Political History. 2nd edition. Longman, London et al. 1997, ISBN 0-582-29468-1 , pp. 119-120.
  • Κωνσταντίνος Βαρζός: Η Γενεαλογία των Κομνηνών (= Βυζαντινά Κείμενα και Μελέται. Τ. 20α , ISSN  1106-6180 ). Τόμος Α '. Κέντρο Βυζαντινών Ερευνών - ΑΠΘ, Θεσσαλονίκη 1984, pp. 80–84, digitized version (PDF; 264 MB) .
  • Jean-Claude Cheynet: Pouvoir et Contestations à Byzance. (963-1210) (= Publications de la Sorbonne. Série Byzantina Sorbonensia. Vol. 9). Réimpression. Publications de la Sorbonne, Paris 1996, ISBN 2-85944-168-5 , pp. 88-89 No. 111.
  • Alexander P. Kazhdan (Ed.): The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium . Volume 2. Oxford University Press, New York NY et al. 1991, ISBN 0-19-504652-8 , p. 1335.
  • Stoyan Maslev: Les Lettres de Théophylacte de Bulgarie à Nicéphore Mélissènos. In: Revue des études byzantines 30, 1972, ISSN  0766-5598 , pp. 179-186, digitized .
  • Denise U. Papachryssanthou: La date de la mort du sébastocrator Isaac Comnène et de quelques événements contemporains. In: Revue des études byzantines 21, 1963, ISSN  0766-5598 , pp. 250–255, here p. 251.
  • Basile Skoulatos: Les Personnages Byzantins de l'Alexiade. Analysis Prosopographique et Synthesis (= Recueil de Travaux d'Histoire et de Philologie. Sér. 6, Vol. 20, ZDB -ID 437846-5 ). Nauwelaerts, Louvain-la-Neuve 1980, pp. 240-244, no. 150 (also: Louvain, Universität, Dissertation, 1978).
  • Lucien Stiernon: Notes de titulature et de prosopographie byzantines. A propos de trois membres de la famille Rogerios (XIIe siècle). In: Revue des études byzantines 22, 1964, ISSN  0766-5598 , pp. 184-198, here p. 188, digitized .
  • Warren Treadgold : A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press, Stanford CA 1997, ISBN 0-8047-2630-2 , pp. 610-614.

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personal data
SURNAME Nikephoros Melissenus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Νικηφόρος Μελισσηνός (Middle Greek)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Byzantine general, counter-emperor and emperor under Alexios I.
DATE OF BIRTH around 1045
PLACE OF BIRTH unsure: Dorylaion
DATE OF DEATH November 17, 1104