Eustathios Kymineianos (; ) was a senior

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...

official and admiral under Emperor

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos (, – 15 August 1118), Latinization of names, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus, was Byzantine Emperor, Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. After usurper, usurping the throne, he was faced with a collapsing empire and ...

(r. 1081–1118).

Biography

Eustathios' life is known only through the ''

Alexiad The ''Alexiad'' () is a medieval historical and biographical text written around the year 1148, by the Byzantine princess Anna Komnene, daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. It was written in a form of artificial Attic Greek. Anna described th ...

'' of Alexios I's daughter,

Anna Komnene Anna Komnene (; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine Greek historian. She is the author of the '' Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Her work constit ...

.Skoulatos (1980), p. 85 He first appeared in 1087, when Alexios was hosting the

Seljuq Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...

emir of

Nicaea Nicaea (also spelled Nicæa or Nicea, ; ), also known as Nikaia (, Attic: , Koine: ), was an ancient Greek city in the north-western Anatolian region of Bithynia. It was the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and seve ...

, Abu'l-Qasim in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. Despite the peace treaty between the two, Alexios decided to use the emir's absence to erect a new fortress to counter the Turks' recent conquest of

Nicomedia Nicomedia (; , ''Nikomedeia''; modern İzmit) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek city located in what is now Turkey. In 286, Nicomedia became the eastern and most senior capital city of the Roman Empire (chosen by the emperor Diocletian who rul ...

. Eustathios was sent with a small fleet laden with materials and builders to construct it. To prevent the Turks from reacting, he treated them with every courtesy and claimed that Abu'l-Qasim himself was allowing this work to proceed, all the while impeding any ships to sail from the coasts of

Bithynia Bithynia (; ) was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Paphlagonia to the northeast a ...

and notify the emir. Through this ruse, Eustathios was successful in his task.Skoulatos (1980), p. 86 He next appeared in 1095 at Tzouroulos, when he took custody of the captured rebel who claimed to be a son of

Romanos IV Diogenes Romanos IV Diogenes (; – ) was Byzantine emperor from 1068 to 1071. Determined to halt the decline of the Byzantine military and to stop Turkish incursions into the empire, he is nevertheless best known for his defeat and capture in 1071 at ...

(r. 1068–71), and had invaded Byzantium with the aid of the

Cumans The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cumania, Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Ru ...

. Before leading him on to Constantinople, Eustathios had him blinded. A few years later, in 1101/2, during Alexios' war with

Bohemond I of Antioch Bohemond I of Antioch ( 1054 – 5 or 7 March 1111), also known as Bohemond of Taranto or Bohemond of Hauteville, was the prince of Taranto from 1089 to 1111 and the prince of Antioch from 1098 to 1111. He was a leader of the First Crusade, leadi ...

and his nephew Tancred, while Tancred was besieging Laodicea, Eustathios was sent with a fleet to seize and refortify the island of

Korykos Corycus (; also transliterated Corycos or Korykos; ; , Literal translation, lit. "maiden castle") was an ancient city in Cilicia Trachaea, Anatolia, located at the mouth of the valley called Şeytan deresi; the site is now occupied by the town ...

and the port of

Seleucia Seleucia (; ), also known as or or Seleucia ad Tigrim, was a major Mesopotamian city, located on the west bank of the Tigris River within the present-day Baghdad Governorate in Iraq. It was founded around 305 BC by Seleucus I Nicator as th ...

on his rear. It is probably at this time, that he was raised from the post of '' kanikleios'' (keeper of the imperial inkpot, usually a confidante of the emperor) to that of admiral ('' megas droungarios tou ploïmou''). Eustathios accomplished his task swiftly, and after leaving strong garrisons on both places, returned to Constantinople.Skoulatos (1980), pp. 86–87 He appeared for the last time in 1107, when Alexios named him, along with Nikephoros Dekanos, governor of Constantinople while the emperor was on a campaign against Bohemond in the western

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kymineianos, Eustathios 11th-century births 12th-century deaths 11th-century Byzantine people 12th-century Byzantine people Byzantine admirals Byzantine eunuchs Generals of Alexios I Komnenos Byzantine people of the Byzantine–Seljuk wars Byzantine people of the Crusades Byzantine people of the Byzantine–Norman wars