Nikephoros Proteuon ( gr, Νικηφόρος ὁ Πρωτεύων; ) was a

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 ...

governor and was briefly the candidate of a court faction to succeed Emperor

Constantine IX Monomachos Constantine IX Monomachos ( grc-x-medieval, Κωνσταντῖνος Μονομάχος, translit=Kōnstantinos IX Monomachos; 1004 – 11 January 1055), reigned as Byzantine emperor from June 1042 to January 1055. Empress Zoë Porphyrogenita ...

Biography

Nikephoros was the scion of a family attested already in the 10th century. Nikephoros Proteuon served as governor of the

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

during the final years of the reign of

(). The exact title of his office is unknown, as the sources label him simply as "the one holding the rule of Bulgaria" (). Ordinarily this would mean a military governor with the rank of either '' doux'' or ''

katepano The ''katepánō'' ( el, κατεπάνω, lit. " he oneplaced at the top", or " the topmost") was a senior Byzantine military rank and office. The word was Latinized as ''capetanus/catepan'', and its meaning seems to have merged with that of th ...

'', but if his identification in the hagiography of Saint

Lazaros of Mount Galesios Saint Lazaros of Mount Galesios (, ''Lazaros ho Galēsiōtēs''; – 7 November 1053) was an 11th-century Byzantine monk and stylite, who founded a monastic community at Mount Galesios near Ephesus. Life Lazaros was born near Magnesia to a pe ...

(see below) is correct, he may have been a civil official. This also appears to accord with the fact that he was supported as a candidate for the throne by the civilian faction at court. Most of the previous members of the Proteuon family were military men, however. As Constantine IX was dying in January 1055, his eunuch courtiers—

John Skylitzes John Skylitzes, commonly Latinized as Ioannes, la, Johannes, label=none, la, Iōannēs, label=none Scylitzes ( el, Ἰωάννης Σκυλίτζης, ''Iōánnēs Skylítzēs'', or el, Σκυλίτση, ''Skylítsē'', label=none ; la, ...

names John the ''

logothetes Logothete ( el, λογοθέτης, ''logothétēs'', pl. λογοθέται, ''logothétai''; Med. la, logotheta, pl. ''logothetae''; bg, логотет; it, logoteta; ro, logofăt; sr, логотет, ''logotet'') was an administrative title ...

'', Constantine the ''

protonotarios The word prothonotary is recorded in English since 1447, as "principal clerk of a court," from L.L. ''prothonotarius'' ( c. 400), from Greek ''protonotarios'' "first scribe," originally the chief of the college of recorders of the court of the B ...

'' of the '' dromos'', and Basil the '' epi tou kanikleiou'' as the chief among them—convinced him to choose Nikephoros as his successor to bypass the rights of the empress

Theodora Theodora is a given name of Greek origin, meaning "God's gift". Theodora may also refer to: Historical figures known as Theodora Byzantine empresses * Theodora (wife of Justinian I) ( 500 – 548), saint by the Orthodox Church * Theodora o ...

, Constantine's former sister-in-law and last living member of the

Macedonian dynasty The Macedonian dynasty (Greek: Μακεδονική Δυναστεία) ruled the Byzantine Empire from 867 to 1056, following the Amorian dynasty. During this period, the Byzantine state reached its greatest extent since the Muslim conquests, a ...

. They sent an urgent summons for Nikephoros to come 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 ( ...

, but their designs quickly became known to Theodora's supporters. They took the elderly empress from retirement in a monastery, brought her by warship to the Great Palace, and crowned her emperor a few hours before Constantine died "cursing his fate" on January 11. Nikephoros was arrested in

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 exiled to the Thracesian Theme, where he was tonsured and banished to the monastery of Kouzenas in Magnesia. Nikephoros Proteuon is commonly identified by modern scholars such as Jean-Claude Cheynet with the "Nikephoros, the son of Proteuon", who appears in chapter 119 of the hagiography of Saint Lazaros of Mount Galesios. According to the hagiography, he was serving as judge ('' krites'') of the Thracesian Theme when he encountered the saint. As used in the hagiography, however, the term "Proteuon" may not refer to a family surname, but to the position of ''proteuon'', or local headsman. He may also be the Nikephoros, son of Euthymios, mentioned in chapters 105 and 106 of the same work, who had been banished by Emperor Constantine IX, but whose recall to imperial service was predicted by the saint.

References

Sources

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External links

Nikephoros Proteuon
in th
Prosopography of the Byzantine World
database {{DEFAULTSORT:Proteuon, Nikephoros 11th-century Byzantine people Byzantine governors Byzantine prisoners and detainees Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 11th century in Bulgaria