Nikifor Komnin ( Greek Νικηφόρος Κομνηνός , - ) - the Byzantine commander of the time of the emperors Vasily II the Bulgarian Slayer (reigned in 976-1025) and Constantine VIII (reigned in 1025-1028). He was the governor of the Armenian region of Vaspurakan and is one of the first known members of the Komnins dynasty, who ruled in the Byzantine Empire in 1081-1185.
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 Emperor Constantine VIII (left) orders to blind Nicephorus Comnenus (right). Madrid Skilica . | |
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Biography
Nikifor Komnin is one of the first known members of the Komnins family [1] , but nothing is known about his early life or his connections with the main branch of the dynasty, which eventually became imperial. The Greek scholar Konstantin Varzos suggested that he was born around 970, and that he was the younger brother of the Patriarch of the Komnins dynasty, Manuel Erotik Komnin , but none of these allegations can be documented [2] [3] .
Nicephorus was first mentioned in a historical record around 1022, shortly after the king of Vaspurakan, Senekerim Artsruni (reigned c. 1003-1021), unable to resist the pressure of his Muslim neighbors, transferred his kingdom to the Byzantine emperor Vasily II in exchange for large estates and management of the theme of Sebastia [2] [3] . Basil II initially transferred the new province to Vasily Argiros, but was soon forced to look for a replacement, since he turned out to be an inept ruler. Protospafarius Nikifor Komnin replaced Vasily Argiros as governor ( strategist or katepan ); he quickly managed to establish Byzantine rule over the country [3] . His contemporary, the Armenian historian Aristakes Lastivertsi, wrote that Nicephorus captured the Principality of Akants on the northern shore of Lake Van and annexed it to his province, although according to the narration of the Arabic-speaking Christian historian Yahya of Antioch , the feat was accomplished by the emperor Vasily himself [3] .
Nicephorus Comnenus continued to serve as a stratigue of Vaspurakan under the brother and successor of Vasily II the Bulgarian Slayer Constantine VIII, but in 1026 he was dismissed on suspicion of disloyalty and recalled to Constantinople . Here he was blinded [3] [4] . There are two versions of the reasons for his recall and subsequent events: the Byzantine chronicler John Skilitsa reported that Nicephorus insisted on a written promise of support from his troops, which should have been directed against the Turkish rulers, which was interpreted by Konstantin as an attempt to create a military force loyal to him personally [ 3] [4] [5] . While Skilitsa considers the accusation unfounded and blames the excessively suspicious Konstantin [3] [4] [5] , Aristakes claimed that Nikifor did participate in treacherous negotiations with the king of Georgia George I (ruled c. 1014-1027) and wished to either declare Emperor himself, or make Vaspurakan an independent kingdom. When the troops of Cappadocia found out about this, they captured Nicephorus and sent him to Constantinople, where Constantine VIII, after a careful study of the case, blinded him and eight of his associates [3] [4] .
The further fate and date of death of Nicephorus Komninus is unknown [4] .
Notes
- ↑ ODB , "Komnenos" (A. Kazhdan), pp. 1143–1144.
- ↑ 1 2 Varzos, 1984 , p. 39.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 PmbZ , Nikephoros Komnenos (# 25676).
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Varzos, 1984 , p. 40.
- ↑ 1 2 Wortley, 2010 , pp. 350–351.
Literature
- John Skylitzes: A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811-1057 . - Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010 .-- ISBN 978-0-521-76705-7 .