Raiktor or Raictor was an

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

monk who assumed the identity of

Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...

Michael VII. He participated in the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

campaigns of Robert Guiscard to overthrow 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 ...

Background

By 1081, the Byzantine Empire was in a state of chaos.

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...

had just overthrown

Nikephoros III Botaneiates Nikephoros III Botaneiates, Latinized as Nicephorus III Botaniates ( el, Νικηφόρος Βοτανειάτης, 1002–1081), was Byzantine emperor from 7 January 1078 to 1 April 1081. He was born in 1002, and became a general du ...

, and was confronted with the challenge of dealing with the imminent invasion of the Balkans by Robert Guiscard, the Norman

Duke of Apulia The County of Apulia and Calabria (), later the Duchy of Apulia and Calabria (), was a Norman state founded by William of Hauteville in 1042 in the territories of Gargano, Capitanata, Apulia, Vulture, and most of Campania. It became a duchy whe ...

. Guiscard had used the overthrow of Emperor Michael VII by Nikephoros III in 1078 as a pretext for launching a full-scale assault against the empire. By 1081, either by a stroke of good fortune or by some creative manipulation there was waiting for him at Salerno a man who claimed to be Robert's

son-in-law Son-in-Law (22 April 1911 – 15 May 1941) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and an influential sire, especially for sport horses. The National Horseracing Museum says Son-in-Law is "probably the best and most distinguished stayer this co ...

, the deposed emperor Michael VII. It was soon clear that this monk, Raiktor, was not in fact the deposed emperor. Though Michael had indeed become a monk after he was deprived of his throne, by 1081 he had been elevated in the church hierarchy by becoming first a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

and then an archbishop, and was currently residing at

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 ( ...

. Nevertheless, it was too good an opportunity for Guiscard to resist. Needing a good pretext to launch a war that many of his nobles were unsure about, he accepted Raiktor's claims to be his imperial relative by marriage. Receiving a letter from Raiktor which stated, "Your son-in-law Michael, who has been expelled from his kingdom has arrived here to solicit your assistance", he read it privately to his wife, and then in an assembly of all the Counts he showed it to them. In it, he recounted Raiktor's tale about how he'd been robbed of his wife and son and all his possessions by the usurper Botaneiates, and that against his will he had been clothed in a monk's garb instead of wearing a crown, and that he had now appeared as a suppliant. Swearing that he would no longer be held back, his nobles all agreed to launch a war against the Eastern Roman Empire. Declaring that because of their relationship he must restore the empire to Raiktor, daily he showed honor to the monk, continuing the charade that he was the Emperor Michael, giving him the best place at table, a higher seat, and excessive respect. Inevitably, he would commiserate himself on the sad fate of his daughter, and that because of consideration for his son-in-law, he didn't like to speak about Michael's misfortune. Not everyone was taken in by the deception. Guiscard's ambassador to Constantinople, Raoul, had just returned with news of the overthrow of Botaneiates. Laying eyes on Raiktor, he declared that the monk was an imposter, and that his story was a complete fabrication. He told Guiscard that he had seen the ex-emperor with his own eyes in Constantinople, apparently living in a monastery. At these words, the pseudo-emperor Michael became furious and began berating the Norman nobleman, unhappy that his deception had been uncovered. Guiscard, nevertheless, continued with his plans to replace Alexios with Raiktor.

Campaigning with the Normans

Passing over into the Balkans, he accompanied Guiscard in the Norman's attempt to take the important city of Dyrrachium. Robert approached the city and declared he was there to restore his son-in-law Michael to the throne of Byzantium. The city governor declared that if they were to see Michael and recognize him, they would immediately open the gates and hand the city over to him. Raiktor was paraded before the city walls in a magnificent procession, escorted by soldiers and nobles, with a band playing music to accompany him. But when the city defenders saw him, they shouted insults at Raiktor, swearing that they did not recognize him. Seeing that his ruse was not working, Guiscard settled down for a lengthy

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

. Nevertheless, word soon reached Alexios that Raiktor was deceiving a good many people, and increasing the numbers of Guiscard's troops. He sought the aid of the Venetians, who approached Dyrrachium with all speed. When Guiscard became aware of their arrival, he sent his son Bohemund to greet them in the name of the emperor Michael and of Robert. Soon after this, Guiscard drops all mention of his son-in-law, as events in Italy soon saw him return there and Bohemund continued the campaign that Alexios eventually overcame. It is suspected that once his usefulness had passed, Raiktor was disposed of quickly and quietly.

Identity

At the time, there was much discussion as to the identity of the monk. It is certain that he was a monk at the time he approached Guiscard, but prior to his taking monastic vows, it was widely believed that Raiktor was probably the cupbearer of the Emperor Michael Ducas. It is certain that he was not the ex-emperor himself.

References

{{Reflist * Anna Comnena,'' The Alexiad'', translated by E.R.A. Sewter, Penguin Classics, 1969 * George Finlay, ''History of the Byzantine and Greek Empires from 1057 - 1453'', Volume 2, William Blackwood & Sons, 1854 11th-century Byzantine people Impostor pretenders Byzantine pretenders

Background

Campaigning with the Normans

Identity

See also

References