Basil III Theodorokanos or Theodorocanus (, ) was the

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 ...

Catepan of Italy The Catepanate of Italy (, ''Katepaníkion Italías'') was a province ('' theme'') of the Byzantine Empire, that existed from c. 965 until 1071. It was headed by a governor (''katepano'') with both civil and military powers. At its greatest exten ...

from February to the Spring of 1043. He was a patrician and a former companion in arms of

George Maniakes George Maniakes (; ; died 1043) was a prominent general of the Byzantine Empire 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 ...

when he was appointed to go to

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

and

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

and put down the revolts of Maniakes and of Argyrus in 1042. In February 1043, he landed at

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

. Argyrus and his

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

tried to surround

Otranto Otranto (, , ; ; ; ; ) is a coastal town, port and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). ...

, but the catepan's fleet blocked them. Maniakes, however, debarked for Dyrrhachium with his army. Argyrus eventually made peace with the Greeks and Theodorokanos was replaced by

Eustathios Palatinos Eustathios Palatinos (, ) was the catepan of Italy from the autumn of 1045 to September 1046. The primary source for his term of office is the chronicle of Lupus, a fellow protospatharius. He was sent to replace Argyrus after the latter was recal ...

. Subsequently, he commanded the Byzantine fleet against the Rus' raid in July 1043.

Sources

*Gay, Jules. ''L'Italie méridionale et l'empire Byzantin: Livre II''. Burt Franklin: New York, 1904. *Chalandon, Ferdinand. ''Histoire de la domination normande en Italie et en Sicile''.

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, 1907. {{end 11th-century deaths 11th-century catepans of Italy Byzantine admirals Year of birth unknown