Constantine Euphorbenos Katakalon () was a

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 ...

noble and one of the most prominent generals of the reign of

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos (, – 15 August 1118), Latinization of names, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus, was Byzantine Emperor, Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. After usurper, usurping the throne, he was faced with a collapsing empire and ...

(). A descendant of the noble Katakalon and Euphorbenos families, Constantine is first mentioned in the sources when he commanded the Chomatenoi corps and the Turkish contingent of Alexios Komnenos' army in the

Battle of Kalavrye The Battle of Kalavrye (also Kalavryai or Kalavryta) was fought in 1078 between the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine imperial forces of general (and future emperor) Alexios I Komnenos, Alexios Komnenos and the rebellious governor of Durrës, Dyrrhach ...

in 1078. He appears again in the lists of the Synod of

Blachernae Blachernae () was a suburb in the northwestern section of Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire. It is the site of a water source and a number of prominent churches were built there, most notably the great Church of St. Mary of ...

in 1094, bearing the title of '' protokouropalates'', and ranking in the 20th place among those aristocrats and court officials attending. In the next year, he took part in Alexios' campaign against the

Cumans The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cumania, Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Ru ...

and the impostor pretender

Constantine Diogenes Constantine Diogenes (; died 1032) was a Byzantine general of the early 11th century, active in the Balkans. He served with distinction in the final stages of the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria under Emperor Basil II, and occupied high commands ...

. Alexios sent him to attack the Cumans while they were crossing the Zygos pass, but the latter, guided by local

Vlachs Vlach ( ), also Wallachian and many other variants, is a term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate speakers of Eastern Romance languages living in Southeast Europe—south of the Danube (the Balkan peninsula ...

, managed to cross the pass sooner and seize the town of

Goloe Cabyle or Kabile (), also known as Calybe or Kalibe (Καλύβη), is a town in the interior of ancient Thrace, west of Develtus, on the river Tonsus. The town later bore the names of Diospolis (Διὸς Πόλις), and Goloë (Γολόη). ...

. Katakalon nevertheless attacked the Cuman foraging parties and managed to capture about a hundred prisoners, for which he was promoted to ''

nobelissimos (Latin for "most noble"), in Byzantine Greek (Greek: ),. was one of the highest imperial titles in the late Roman and Byzantine empires. The feminine form of the title was . History and functions The term ''nobilissimus'' originated as an epi ...

''. He was next dispatched to assist the city of

Adrianople Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

, which was being besieged by the Cumans. He attempted to enter the city from the south, but was surprised by the Cumans on the march, and barely escaped with his life. Shortly after, he assisted Alakaseus in capturing the pretender at Poutza near Adrianople. In 1096, the emperor sent him to rescue the remnants of the

People's Crusade The People's Crusade was the beginning phase of the First Crusade whose objective was to retake the Holy Land, and Jerusalem in particular, from Islamic rule. In 1095, after the head of the Roman Catholic Church Pope Urban II started to urge faith ...

, which had been defeated and almost destroyed by the

Seljuks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian culture. The founder of th ...

at the

Battle of Civetot The Battle of Civetot was fought between the forces of the People's Crusade and of the Seljuk Turks of Anatolia on 21 October 1096. The battle brought an end to the People's Crusade; some of the survivors joined the Princes' Crusade. Backgrou ...

. The Turks withdrew before his advance, and Katakalon managed to rescue the surviving crusaders. In , he was named '' doux'' (military governor) of

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, and held that post at least until 1102/04. One of his surviving seals mentions him as both ''doux'' of Cyprus and ''kouropalates'', rather than ''nobelissimos''; this may imply that Katakalon had already served in this post before, prior to his promotion. In 1108, Katakalon was part of an embassy sent by Alexios to

Bohemond Bohemond or Bohemund, rarely Boamund, can refer to: *Bohemond I of Antioch (1058–1111) *Bohemond II of Antioch (1108–1130) *Bohemond III of Antioch (1144–1201) *Bohemond IV of Antioch & I of Tripoli (1172–1233) *Bohemond V of Antioch & II o ...

, who was

besieging A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characte ...

the imperial fortress of Dyrrhachium. The Byzantine delegation convinced the Norman prince to seek a settlement with the Empire, and accompanied him to the imperial camp at

Deabolis Devol (; ; ) also Deabolis or Diabolis, was a medieval fortress and bishopric in western Macedonia, located south of Lake Ohrid in what is today the south-eastern corner of Albania ( Devoll municipality). Its precise location is unknown today, but ...

, where the namesake treaty was signed. Katakalon was one of Alexios' most trusted and esteemed officials. In token of this, his son

Nikephoros Nikephoros (), Nikiforos or Nicephorus is a Greek male name, meaning "Bringer of Victory", which was commonly used among the Byzantine Empire's aristocracy. It may refer to: Rulers * Nikephoros I Logothetes, Byzantine emperor 802–811 * Nikeph ...

was given the hand of Maria Komnene, the emperor's second daughter, in marriage. Together they had several children.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Katakalon, Constantine Euphorbenos 12th-century deaths 11th-century Byzantine military personnel 12th-century Byzantine military personnel Byzantine governors of Cyprus Byzantine generals Generals of Alexios I Komnenos Year of birth unknown Constantine Euphorbenos Euphorbenos family