Theodoulos Parsakoutenos ( el, Θεόδουλος Παρσακουτηνός) was a

Byzantine 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 Constantin ...

general who married into the Phokas clan. He was taken prisoner by the

Hamdanid The Hamdanid dynasty ( ar, الحمدانيون, al-Ḥamdāniyyūn) was a Twelver Shia Arab dynasty of Northern Mesopotamia and Syria (890–1004). They descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib Christian tribe of Mesopotamia and Eastern ...

emir

Sayf al-Dawla ʿAlī ibn ʾAbū l-Hayjāʾ ʿAbdallāh ibn Ḥamdān ibn al-Ḥārith al-Taghlibī ( ar, علي بن أبو الهيجاء عبد الله بن حمدان بن الحارث التغلبي, 22 June 916 – 9 February 967), more commonly known ...

in 954 and remained in captivity until 966.

Life

The family's surname (erroneously spelled Παρσακουντηνός, Parsakountenos, in some manuscripts) derives from the locality of "Parsakoute" (Παρσακούτη). Theodoulos is the first known member of the family, and married a lady from the mighty clan of the

Phokades Phokas ( grc-gre, Φωκᾶς, ''Phōkâs'') or Phocas (from Latin), feminine form Phokaina or Phocaina (, ''Phṓkaina''), was the name of a Byzantine aristocratic clan from Cappadocia, which in the 9th and 10th centuries provided a series of high- ...

, apparently a daughter of the general

Bardas Phokas the Elder Bardas Phokas ( el, ) (c. 878 – c. 968) was a notable Byzantine general in the first half of the 10th century, and father of Byzantine emperor Nikephoros II Phokas and the ''kouropalates'' Leo Phokas the Younger. Bardas was the scion of the Ph ...

, father of the general and future 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 included brilliant military exploits whi ...

(reigned 963–969). Theodoulos and his unnamed wife had three sons,

Theodore Theodore may refer to: Places * Theodore, Alabama, United States * Theodore, Australian Capital Territory * Theodore, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Banana, Australia * Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada * Theodore Reservoir, a lake in Saskatche ...

Bardas Bardas ( el, Βάρδας; 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 Theoktis ...

, and

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

. His career is little known, except for some references in Arabic sources, which call him "the One-Eyed" (''al-A‘war'') and record that he was a ''

patrikios The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) 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 ...

'' and commander (''

strategos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek to mean military general. In the Hellenisti ...

'') of the themes of

Tzamandos Melikgazi, in Byzantine times known as Tzamandos, is a metropolitan district of Kayseri in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. History In 1065, the town was given among other lands in the region to the Armenian king Gagik II as exchange ...

and

Lykandos Lykandos or Lycandus ( el, Λυκανδός), known as Djahan in Armenian, was the name of a Byzantine fortress and military-civilian province (or " theme"), known as the Theme of Lykandos (θέμα Λυκανδοῦ), in the 10th–11th centuries. ...

in 954, when he was captured along with one of his sons (either Bardas or Nikephoros) at

Hadath Al-Ḥadath al-Ḥamrā' (Arabic for "Hadath the Red") or Adata ( el, ) 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 ...

by the

emir of Aleppo,

. In autumn 962, Theodoulos' son Theodore captured Sayf al-Dawla's cousin,

Abu Firas al-Hamdani Al-Harith ibn Abi’l-ʿAlaʾ Saʿid ibn Hamdan al-Taghlibi (932–968), better known by his pen name Abu Firas al-Hamdani ( ar, أبو فارس الحمداني), was an Arab prince and poet. He was a cousin of Sayf al-Dawla and a member of the ...

, in a raid, and tried to have his prisoner exchanged for his father and one of his brothers. This was without immediate success, as Abu Firas remained a captive until the

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

of 966, when Theodoulos and any other high-ranking Byzantine captives were probably also exchanged.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parsakoutenos, Theodoulos 10th-century deaths 10th-century Byzantine military personnel Byzantine generals Byzantine governors Byzantine people of the Arab–Byzantine wars Byzantine prisoners of war Patricii Theodoulos