George Maniakes (, transliterated as Georgios Maniaces, Maniakis, or Maniaches, , ; died 1043) was a prominent general of the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
of
Byzantine Greek
Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the Ottoman c ...
origin
during the 11th century. He was the
catepan of Italy in 1042. He is known as Gyrgir in Scandinavian sagas. He is popularly said to have been extremely tall and well built, almost a giant.
Biography
Maniakes was a
Greek general of the Byzantine Empire who first became prominent during a campaign in 1030–1031, when the Byzantine Empire was
defeated at
Aleppo
)), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black".
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but went on to capture
Edessa
Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroe ...
from the Arabs. His greatest achievement was the partial reconquest of
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
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from the
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
s beginning in 1038. Here, he was assisted by the
Varangian Guard
The Varangian Guard ( el, Τάγμα τῶν Βαράγγων, ''Tágma tōn Varángōn'') was an elite unit of the Byzantine Army from the tenth to the fourteenth century who served as personal bodyguards to the Byzantine emperors. The Varang ...
, which was at that time led by
Harald Hardrada
Harald Sigurdsson (; – 25 September 1066), also known as Harald III of Norway and given the epithet ''Hardrada'' (; modern no, Hardråde, roughly translated as "stern counsel" or "hard ruler") in the sagas, was King of Norway from 1046 t ...
, who later became
king of Norway
The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingd ...
. There were also
Norman mercenaries with him, under
William de Hauteville, who won his nickname ''Iron Arm'' by defeating the
emir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...
of
Syracuse
Syracuse may refer to:
Places Italy
* Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa''
* Province of Syracuse
United States
*Syracuse, New York
**East Syracuse, New York
** North Syracuse, New York
* Syracuse, Indiana
*Syracuse, Kansas
*Syracuse, M ...
in single combat. However, he soon ostracized his admiral, Stephen, whose wife was the sister of
John the Eunuch, the highest ranking man at court. He then publicly humiliated
Arduin
''Arduin'' is a fictional universe and fantasy role-playing system created in the mid-1970s by David A. Hargrave. It was the first published "cross-genre" fantasy RPG, with everything from interstellar wars to horror and historical drama, altho ...
, leader of the
Lombard contingent, which caused them to desert, along with the Normans and Norsemen. In response, he was recalled by the emperor
Michael IV, who was also Stephen's brother-in-law. Although the Arabs soon took the island back, Maniakes' successes there later inspired the Normans to invade Sicily themselves.
Maniakes is brought to Constantinople seated on a donkey
The accomplishments of Maniakes in Sicily were largely ignored by the Emperor, and he revolted against
Constantine IX in 1042, though he had been appointed
catepan of Italy. The individual particularly responsible for antagonizing Maniakes into revolt was one Romanus Sclerus. Sclerus, like Maniakes, was one of the immensely wealthy landowners who owned large areas of Anatolia – his estates neighboured those of Maniakes and the two were rumoured to have attacked each other during a squabble over land. Sclerus owed his influence over the emperor to his famously charming sister
Maria Skleraina, who, in most areas was a highly positive influence on Constantine. Finding himself in a position of power, Sclerus used it to poison Constantine against Maniakes – ransacking the latter's house and even seducing his wife, using the charm his family were famed for. Maniakes' response, when faced with Sclerus demanding that he hand command of the empire's forces in Apulia over to him, was to brutally torture the latter to death, after sealing his eyes, ears, nose and mouth with excrement.
[Bradbury, Jim. (2004]
''Routledge Companion to Medieval Warfare''
Routledge, p. 65 Maniakes was then proclaimed emperor by his troops (including the Varangians) and marched towards
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
. In 1043 his army clashed with troops loyal to Constantine near
Thessalonica
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
, and though initially successful, Maniakes was killed during the melee after receiving a fatal wound (according to Psellus' account). Constantine's extravagant punishment of the surviving rebels was to parade them in the Hippodrome, seated backwards on donkeys. With his death, the rebellion ceased. In Sicily, the town of
Maniace and the Syracusan fortress of
Castello Maniace are both named after him.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maniakes, George
1043 deaths
Byzantine usurpers
11th-century Byzantine people
11th-century Greek people
11th-century catepans of Italy
Byzantine rebels
Byzantines killed in battle
Byzantine people of the Arab–Byzantine wars
Byzantine Sicily
Year of birth unknown
Medieval Upper Mesopotamia
Protospatharioi