Nikephoros Parsakoutenos () 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 ...

nobleman and nephew of Emperor

Nikephoros II Phokas Nikephoros II Phokas (; – 11 December 969), Latinized Nicephorus II Phocas, was Byzantine emperor from 963 to 969. His career, not uniformly successful in matters of statecraft or of war, nonetheless greatly contributed to the resurgence of t ...

(r. 963–969).

Life

The family's surname (erroneously spelled Παρσακουντηνός, Parsakountenos, in some manuscripts) derives from the locality of "Parsakoute" (Παρσακούτη). His father, Theodoulos Parsakoutenos, married a lady from the mighty clan of the

Phokades Phokas () or Phocas ( Latinized), feminine form Phokaina or Phocaena (, ), was the name of a Byzantine aristocratic clan from Cappadocia, which in the 9th and 10th centuries provided a series of high-ranking generals and an emperor, Nikephoros II P ...

, apparently a daughter of the general

Bardas Phokas the Elder Bardas Phokas (; ) was a notable Byzantine general in the first half of the 10th century. He was the father of emperor Nikephoros II Phokas and the '' kouropalates'' Leo Phokas the Younger, and was also the maternal grandfather of the emperor John ...

, father of the general and future emperor

(reigned 963–969). Nikephoros had two brothers,

Theodore Theodore may refer to: Places * Theodore, Australian Capital Territory, Australia * Theodore, Queensland, Australia * Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada * Theodore, Alabama, United States * Theodore Reservoir, in Saskatchewan People * Theodore (gi ...

and

Bardas Bardas (; died 21 April 866) was a Byzantine noble and high-ranking minister. As the brother of Empress Theodora, he rose to high office under Theophilos (. Although sidelined after Theophilos's death by Theodora and Theoktistos, in 855 he en ...

, and was apparently the youngest of Theodoulos' sons. According to Arabic sources, in a battle at

Hadath Al-Ḥadath al-Ḥamrā' (Arabic for "Hadath the Red") or Adata () was a town and fortress near the Taurus Mountains (modern southeastern Turkey), which played an important role in the Byzantine–Arab Wars. Location The town was located at c ...

on 19 October 954 Theodoulos Parsakoutenos and one of his sons, either Bardas or the younger Nikephoros, were taken prisoner by the

Hamdanid The Hamdanid dynasty () was a Shia Muslim Arab dynasty that ruled modern day Northern Mesopotamia and Syria (890–1004). They descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib tribe of Mesopotamia and Arabia. History Origin The Hamdanids hailed ...

emir

Sayf al-Dawla ʿAlī ibn ʾAbū'l-Hayjāʾ ʿAbdallāh ibn Ḥamdān ibn Ḥamdūn ibn al-Ḥārith al-Taghlibī (, 22 June 916 – 8 February 967), more commonly known simply by his honorific of Sayf al-Dawla (, ), was the founder of the Emirate of Aleppo, ...

. The eldest brother, Theodore, tried to ransom his father and brother for Sayf al-Dawla's cousin Abu Firas, whom he captured in autumn 962, but it was not until a

prisoner exchange A prisoner exchange or prisoner swap is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release prisoners: prisoner of war, prisoners of war, spy, spies, hostages, etc. Sometimes, cadaver, dead bodies are involved in an exchange. Geneva Conven ...

on 23 June 966 that the Byzantine captives held by Sayf al-Dawla were released. The Parsakoutenoi supported the rebellion by his cousin

Bardas Phokas the Younger Bardas Phokas (or Phocas) () (–13 April 989) was a Byzantine general who took a conspicuous part in three revolts for and against the ruling Macedonian dynasty. First rebellion Bardas was a scion of the Phokas family, the most prominent By ...

against

John I Tzimiskes John I Tzimiskes (; 925 – 10 January 976) was the senior Byzantine emperor from 969 to 976. An intuitive and successful general who married into the influential Skleros family, he strengthened and expanded the Byzantine Empire to inclu ...

(r. 969–976) in 970, based in

Caesarea in Cappadocia Kayseri () is a large city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri province. Historically known as Caesarea, it has been the historical capital of Cappadocia since ancient times. The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality area is co ...

. As soon as the loyalist army under

Bardas Skleros Bardas Skleros (Greek: Βάρδας Σκληρός) or Sclerus was a Byzantine general who led a wide-scale Asian rebellion against Emperor Basil II during the years 976 to 979. Background Bardas' father Niketas Skleros belonged to the great f ...

approached them, however, they defected to the emperor. It is likely that the family was exiled thereafter, and only rehabilitated in 978, when Bardas Phokas himself was recalled to active service by 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 ...

(r. 976–1025) to confront the rebellion of Bardas Skleros. In the summer or autumn of 979, after Skleros had been defeated, several of his supporters remained defiant in the forts they controlled, from which they led raids. Nikephoros was sent to the

Thracesian Theme The Thracesian Theme (, ''Thrakēsion thema''), more properly known as the Theme of the Thracesians (, ''thema Thrakēsiōn'', often simply , ''Thrakēsioi''), was a Byzantine theme (a military-civilian province) in western Asia Minor (modern Tu ...

, where he persuaded Skleros' partisans to surrender on the promise of an amnesty from the emperor.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parsakoutenos, Nikephoros 10th-century Byzantine military personnel Byzantine people of the Arab–Byzantine wars Byzantine prisoners and detainees Byzantine prisoners of war Byzantine rebels Basil II

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 ...