Nikoulitzas Delphinas ( el, Νικουλιτζάς Δελφινάς) was an 11th-century

Byzantine 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 ...

magnate and local lord of

Larissa Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...

, in

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...

. He took part in a revolt initiated by the

Vlachs "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easte ...

of Thessaly in 1066.

Biography

It is uncertain whether Nikoulitzas may have been an ethnic

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

or an ethnic Vlach, as Vlachs could have been considered by Byzantine chroniclers at the time as Greeks. He was the grandson of

Nikulitsa Nikulitsa ( bg, Никулица) was a Bulgarian noble from Larissa and governor of Servia during the reign of Samuil (r. 997–1014).. Biography Nikulitsa received his name ("little Nicholas") because of his short height. In 1001, the Byzan ...

, the governor of Servia and ''

archon ''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...

'' of the Vlachs of Hellas.. The younger Nikoulitzas bore the rank of ''

protospatharios ''Prōtospatharios'' ( el, πρωτοσπαθάριος) was one of the highest court dignities of the middle Byzantine period (8th to 12th centuries), awarded to senior generals and provincial governors, as well as to foreign princes. History Th ...

'', but is not known to have had any official position. Nikoulitzas had his own fortress with a garrison of men, and was one of the most powerful lords of Thessaly.. The ''Vlachs'' and Slavs of the region started planning a revolt in 1065, prompted by the taxation increases and corruption in the same area. When Nikoulitzas heard this from his spies he went to

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 (" ...

to warn the Emperor

Constantine X Doukas Constantine X Doukas or Ducas ( el, Κωνσταντῖνος Δούκας, ''Kōnstantinos X Doukas'', 1006 – 23 May 1067), was Byzantine emperor from 1059 to 1067. He was the founder and first ruling member of the Doukid dynasty. Dur ...

, but the Emperor dismissed him and no measures were taken. Upon returning to Larissa, Nikoulitzas saw the growing movement and tried to talk the rebels out of it. They insisted on Nikoulitzas becoming their leader, as he had a fort and a private army. Nikoulitzas declined, as his two sons were in Constantinople, fearing they would come in harm's way. The rebels, however, forced Nikoulitzas to take a leadership position and the revolt began. The revolt ended by negotiation, but the Emperor captured Nikoulitzas and imprisoned him in Amaseia, on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

coast of

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. His son-in-law was the writer

Kekaumenos Kekaumenos ( el, Κεκαυμένος) is the family name of the otherwise unidentified Byzantine author of the '' Strategikon'', a manual on military and household affairs composed c. 1078. He was apparently of Georgian-Armenian origin and the gra ...

, whose '' Strategikon'' is the only source on him and the revolt..

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Delphinas, Nikoulitzas Byzantine prisoners and detainees 11th-century Byzantine people People from Larissa Byzantine rebels Medieval Thessaly Protospatharioi Greek people of Aromanian descent