Damian Dalassenos (; ca. 940 – 19 July 998) 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 ...

aristocrat and the first known member of the Dalassenos noble family. He is known for his service as the military governor ('' doux'') of

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

in 996–998. He fought the

Fatimids The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimid dynasty, Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa ...

with some success, until he was killed at the Battle of Apamea on 19 July 998.

Biography

Damian is the first attested member of the distinguished Dalassenos clan. His early life is unknown, but for genealogical reasons he is estimated to have been born in ca. 940. Nothing is known of him before 995/6, when Emperor

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus (; 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer (, ), was the senior Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025. He and his brother Constantine VIII were crowned before their father Romanos II died in 963, but t ...

appointed him governor of Antioch in succession to Michael Bourtzes following the latter's defeat in the Battle of the Orontes in September 994. This post was one of the most important military positions in the Byzantine Empire, as its holder commanded the forces arrayed against the

Fatimid Caliphate The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa and West Asia, i ...

and the semi-autonomous

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

rulers of

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. In this capacity, he held the high title of either ''

patrikios The patricians (from ) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 B ...

'' (according to

John Skylitzes John Skylitzes, commonly Latinized as Ioannes Scylitzes (, ; , ; early 1040s – after 1101), was a Byzantine historian of the late 11th century. Life Very little is known about his life. The title of his work records him as a '' kouropalat ...

) or ''

magistros The (Latin; ; ) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire. In Byzantium, the office was eventually transformed into a senior honorary rank, simply called ''magist ...

'' (according to

Stephen of Taron Stephen or Steven is an English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is widely regarded as the fir ...

). Dalassenos maintained an aggressive stance. In 996 his forces raided the environs of Tripoli and

Arqa Arqa (; ) is a Lebanese village near Miniara in Akkar Governorate, Lebanon, 22 km northeast of Tripoli, near the coast. The town was a notable city-state during the Iron Age. The city of ''Irqata'' sent 10,000 soldiers to the coalition a ...

, while Manjutakin, again without success, laid siege to Aleppo and

Antartus Tartus ( / ALA-LC: ''Ṭarṭūs''; known in the County of Tripoli as Tortosa and also transliterated from French Tartous) is a major port city on the Mediterranean coast of Syria. It is the second largest port city in Syria (after Latakia), an ...

, which the Byzantines had occupied and refortified the previous year, but was forced to withdraw when Dalassenos with his army came to relieve the fortress. The Fatimid defeat was compounded by the sinking of a Fatimid fleet, that was intended to support Manjutakin's operations, before Antartus. Dalassenos repeated his raids against Tripoli in 997, taking many captives. He also attacked the towns of

Rafaniya Raphanea or Raphaneae (; ; colloquial: ''Rafniye'') was a city of the late Roman province of Syria Secunda. Its bishopric was a suffragan of Apamea. History Josephus mentions Raphanea in connection with a river Σαββατικον, referr ...

, Awj, and Al-Laqbah, capturing the latter and carrying off its inhabitants into captivity. In June/July 998, he marched his troops to Apamea to seize the city after a catastrophic fire had burned down its provisions. The Aleppines tried to seize the city first, but withdrew at the approach of Dalassenos, who could not permit a vassal to grow too strong. The local Fatimid governor, al-Mala'iti, called for aid, but the relief army under Jaysh ibn Samsama was delayed by having to deal first with suppressing the Byzantine-sponsored

rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

of Tyre. After Tyre had been subdued, Jaysh moved his army to

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, whence he proceeded to confront Dalassenos.

Ibn al-Qalanisi Abū Yaʿlā Ḥamzah ibn al-Asad ibn al-Qalānisī (; c. 1071 – 18 March 1160) was an Arab politician and chronicler in 12th-century Damascus. Biography Abu Ya'la ('father of Ya'la'), whose surname was al-Qalanisi ('the Hatter'), descended fro ...

reports that by this time, Apamea was near surrender due to famine. In the resulting

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

, fought on 19 July 998, the Byzantines were initially victorious, but a Kurdish officer managed to kill Dalassenos, whereupon the Byzantine army collapsed and fled. Two of his sons, who accompanied Dalassenos, were taken captive to

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, where they remained for ten years, while Stephen of Taron somewhat dubiously reports that one of his sons was killed. Damian Dalassenos was succeeded as ''doux'' of Antioch by Nikephoros Ouranos.

Family

Damian Dalassenos had at least three sons: * Constantine Dalassenos, ''doux'' of Antioch in 1025 and a favourite of Emperor

Constantine VIII Constantine VIII (;Also called Porphyrogenitus (), although the epithet is almost exclusively used for Constantine VII. 960 – 11/12 November 1028) was ''de jure'' Byzantine emperor from 962 until his death. He was the younger son of Empe ...

(r. 1025–1028). * Theophylact Dalassenos, also a ''doux'' of Antioch. * Romanos Dalassenos, ''

katepano The ''katepánō'' (, ) 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 the Italian "capitaneus" (which derives from the Latin word "caput", mean ...

'' of

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

. Theophylact was most likely the father of Adrianos, the maternal grandfather of

Anna Dalassene Anna Dalassene (; ca. 1025/30 – 1 November 1100/02) was an important Byzantine noblewoman who played a significant role in the rise to power of the Komnenoi in the eleventh century. She exercised great influence over her son, the Emperor Alexi ...

, the mother of Emperor

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 ...

, founder of the Komnenian dynasty.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalassenos, Damian 10th-century births 998 deaths 10th-century Byzantine people Byzantine governors of Antioch Byzantine people of the Arab–Byzantine wars Byzantines killed in battle Damian Generals of Basil II Magistroi Patricii Year of birth unknown