#nikephoros ii phokas

[wonder-worker]

Theophano?

Hi! I'm not sure what you mean to ask, so I'm just going take it as an opportunity to talk about Theophano and her life.

Theophano was a Byzantine empress in the second half of the 10th century. She was the daughter-in-law of Constantine VII; wife of Romanos II and Nikephoros II Phokas; lover of John I Tzimiskes; and mother of Basil II and Constantine VIII.

She was famed for her extraordinary beauty, with chronicles hailing her as a "miracle of nature" who surpassed all other women of her age.

She was born to a family of reportedly low birth, with Skylitzes and Leo the Deacon both emphasizing her obscure origins. The former also claimed that Theophano's father was an innkeeper, and while we don't know if this is true or exaggerated, given the background of some former empresses (eg: Theodora), it's certainly plausible. We know next to nothing about her childhood, although she was probably close to her mother, who she may have brought to the palace and who was later exiled along with, although separately from, her daughter.

Theophano met Romanos, the heir of Emperor Constantine VII, as a teenager. The young prince seems to have become infatuated by her and decided to marry her in around 956, accordingly forcing a fait accompli on his family. It's possible that the imperial dynasty may have attempted to invent a noble lineage for Theophano to circumvent the controversy.

Theophano adopted her name after her marriage, having previously been known as Anastaso. She was trained in her duties as a member of the royal family, serving her apprenticeship as junior Augusta under the tutelage of her experienced mother-in-law Helena Lekapena. Both empresses were prominent in imperial ceremonies during Constantine’s reign, particularly during the reception of Olga of Kiev.

Romanos II came to the throne on November 959. At least one chronicle accused him and Theophano of conspiring together to poison her father-in-law Constantine and hasten their own ascent to power, although no evidence suggests that the former emperor died of poison or any kind of foul play.

During Romanos's very brief reign, he seems to have played little role in governance but instead entrusted administration to the eunuch Joseph Bringas. Most historians believe that Theophano was very influential during that time, with Romanos relying on her for advice and support. She certainly participated in political intrigue, supplanting the much more established and well-connected dowager empress, and successfully convinced Romanos to forcibly exile all his sisters to convents. This may suggest that she had less-then-cordial relations with her in-laws. More strikingly, it demonstrates that despite her youth and origins, Theophano succeeded in removing any other candidate of potential influence around Romanos, establishing herself as the dominant force at court. It's tempting to speculate what further role she might have played had her husband lived longer, but I suppose we’ll never know.

During their marriage, she and Romanos had four known children together: Helena, Basil, Constantine and Anna.

Romanos died prematurely in 963, after a short reign of less than three-and-a-half years. Theophano was once again rumored to have poisoned him, although this is extremely unlikely: as a favored and influential young empress, she had nothing to gain everything to lose from such an action. Moreover, she had given birth to her youngest child just a few days prior and was still in confinement, making it logistically improbable for her to have orchestrated such a conspiracy, with all the variables it entailed.

During her sons’ minority, Theophano was appointed as regent to the throne on the authority of the senate and patriarch. During that time, Skylitzes claimed that she was responsible for poisoning Stephen, son of Romanos Lekapenos, a possible contender for the throne who had been in exile and died suddenly on Easter Sunday. If this is true, it would have been a political act to secure her sons’ positions against possible threats, although the veracity of the accusation is unknown.

Unfortunately, Theophano’s regency was destined to be a short one. While one source asserted that she was capable of handling political affairs herself, and that she may not have wished to remarry, circumstances seemed to have forced/enabled her to choose otherwise.

At the time of Romanos's death, there was bad blood between Bringas, who remained administer of the empire, and Nikephoros Phokas, a renowned general of the army. The latter decided to seize the throne, probably due to the persuasion of his supporters rather than his own inclination. He was proclaimed Emperor by the army and was bound by an oath not to conspire against the rule of the young emperors. However, Bringas relentlessly plotted against him, attempting to deprive him of the position and offering the crown to someone else of his choosing.

During this factional struggle, Theophano decided to back Nikephoros, probably recognizing that the local and military support he possessed would be beneficial for her sons. She provided him with required legitimacy and was instrumental in his ascension to power: according to Zonaras, it was on her orders that he came to Constantipole to celebrate his triumph in April 963. Skylitzes even reports that they were lovers, and that Nikephoros desired the throne due to his infatuation with the beautiful young empress. Although it’s plausible the pair were in close communication with each other and may have decided to marry, an extra-marital actual affair is out of question given what we know of Nikephoros’s reticent and ascetical character. This was probably yet another way for chronicles to try and malign Theophano.

The situation was complicated by the fact that Nikephoros was godfather to one or both of Theophano’s sons, which would technically make the marriage uncanonical. In particular, the patriarch Polyeuktos was apparently very opposed to it. However, Nikephoros refused to be separated from Theophano, and the situation was resolved with the (probably invented) explanation that it was actually Nikephoros’s father, Bardas Phokas, who had been the young emperors’ godfather.

Theophano was a very influential empress during Nikephoros’s reign, with Leo the Deacon noting with disapproval that he “habitually granted Theophano more favours than were proper”. She was given profitable estates, was an active intercessor, and witnessed her two sons living in splendor and comfort in the palace. Considering what we know about her later life, she seems to have cultivated excellent relations with them.

However, relations between the imperial couple may have deteriorated, primarily from Theophano’s perspective, though chronicles aren’t unanimous on the details. Zonaros claimed that Nikephoros kept away from her due to his disinterest in sexual relations (though he appears to have still been devoted to her and honored her as an empress), while Skylitzes records that Theophano was the distancing partner. Some sources believed that Theophano may have grown concerned for the future and safety of her children, either at Nikephoros or his brother Leo’s hands.

All sources agree that Theophano and John Tzimiskes, the handsome and charismatic nephew of Nikephoros, became lovers in the late 1960s. Together, they conspired together to depose Nikephoros and place John on the throne, almost definitely with Theophano as empress. This was planned clandestinely in John’s home, and according to Leo the Deacon, Theophano received several warriors who she kept in a secret room near her quarters to enact the plan.

The Emperor’s assassination was eventually enacted on 10th December 969. Reportedly, Theophano pretended that she was heading out to instruct the Bulgarian princesses who had recently arrived as brides for her sons, and told Nikephoros to leave the bedchamber door open for her as she would close it when she returned. He did as she asked, making his customary devotions and falling asleep, which allowed the attackers to strike him unaware. John played a crucial role in the actual murder, striking Nikephoros on the head with his sword, though the coup de grace was delivered by one of the other conspirators, Leo Abalantes. While Theophano certainly played a vital role in the conspiracy, her direct participation in the murder itself is unknown. Later sources would dramatize her involvement: for example, Matthew of Edessa claimed that Theophano was the one who actually handed John the sword in order to carry out the murder.

Whatever her exact motivations, it’s clear that Theophano intended to orchestrate/support a new transfer of power just as she had with Nikephoros, becoming Empress for a third time. This was unprecedented across Byzantine history till that point, making her a singular figure.

However, things didn’t go as planned. John does seem to have intended to marry Theophano, and, after promising to ensure the safety and status of Romanos’ young sons as co-emperors, gained local support. However, when he went to St Sophia to be crowned, the patriarch refused him entry and presented him with three conditions: Theophano had to be banished from the palace and Constantinople, the murderer of Nikephoros had to be dealt with, and the measures taken against the church by Nikephoros had to be revoked. John, who keen to establish his own position and absolve himself from any blame, agreed or was forced to agree to these demands.

Theophano was thus sentenced to exile to the island of Prote or Prokonnesos. She didn’t accept her fate quietly: according to Skylitzes, she actually managed to escape from Prokonnesos and reappeared in the capital Constantipole, seeking refuge in the Hagia Sophia. However, she was forcibly removed by Basil the Nothos, who sent her to a newly created monastery of Damideia in distant Armenia. Before this, she was granted the request of an audience with the Emperor and her former lover John, which was not peaceful. Theophano reportedly “insulted first the emperor and then Basil [her son], calling him a Scythian and barbarian and hitting him on the jaw with her fists”. Her activities during her years-long exile are otherwise unknown.

After John’s death in January 1976, Theophano’s sons recalled their mother to the palace. She resumed her rightful position as empress, and since her elder son Basil never married, she would have remained the senior Augusta and most important imperial woman throughout her life.

Georgian sources indicate that Theophano also resumed her role as a prominent political figure, directing negotiations to broker an alliance with the Georgian overlord David of Taiq to counter a revolt by the general Bardas Skleros against her sons. She was also a generous patron and seems to have been partially responsible for supporting the foundation of the ‘Iviron’ monastery on Mt Athos reserved for monks of Georgian nationality.

However, Theophano vanishes from historical records after 978. It’s unknown if she died, retired, or if evidence for her activities has simply been lost across time.

All in all, Theophano seems to have been a fascinating woman who lived a full and sensational life. In many ways, she still remains a question mark, as very few primary sources survive to document the reigns of Romanos, Nikephoros, or the early years of her sons in detail. The majority of her daily activities, motivations, and even her ultimate fate, all remain unknown. But while this could have enhanced the effect of intrigue that already surrounds her, it seems to have had the opposite effect. Despite her controversial career, colourful romantic life, recorded influence over the court and affairs of state, and undeniable impact on the trajectory of the Byzantine Empire, Theophano remains a frustratingly unknown and often forgotten figure in most general histories of the dynasty.

She is also one of the most viciously maligned women in Byzantine history, vilified and scapegoated by contemporaries and historians as a wicked seductress, decadent intriguer, and violent murderess. Ultimately, we'll never know if Theophano was motivated by survival, desire, ambition, a combination of the above, or something else altogether. What we do know, however, is that she seems to have been a particularly strong-willed individual capable of navigating manifold realms of power despite not being born into it, and surviving the turbulent reigns of no less than six emperors. We can also appreciate how, in many ways, it was Theophano who seems to have gotten the last laugh: she outlived all her opponents and played a vital role in safeguarding the rights of her eldest son Basil II, who would go on to become the longest-ruling Roman Emperor.

In conclusion - she was fantastic and I love her.

References:

Lynda Garland, Byzantine Empresses: Women and Power in Byzantium, AD: 527-1204

Anthony Kaldellis, Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood: The Rise and Fall of Byzantium, 955 A.D. to the First Crusade

John Ash, A Byzantine Journey

[caesarsaladinn]

according to one chronicle, Nikephoros II Phokas, the warrior monk emperor of the tenth century, once asked the patriarch to recognize every dead Byzantine soldier as a Christian martyr. presumably this was because (in addition to his sincere overall faith) over his decades fighting Muslim armies, he realized how useful the concept of jihad was for boosting recruitment and morale, and wanted his own troops to have the same kind of inspiration.

the patriarch's answer was a firm "read the commandments and go fuck yourself," but Phokas wasn't wrong--holy war is a great social technology, including for Christians. he was just 150 years too early to see how powerful the idea really was.

[whencyclopedia]

John I Tzimiskes

John I Tzimiskes was Byzantine emperor from 969 to 976 CE. Although he took the throne by murdering his predecessor Nikephoros II Phokas, John was a popular emperor. A skilled general and a competent politician, he is known for expanding Byzantium's borders to the Danube River in the west and further into Syria in the east.

Rise to Power

John was related to the landed military elite families of Byzantine Anatolia, including the powerful Phokas and Kourkouas families. He was married to a woman from the Skleros family, who died sometime before 969 CE. After John's uncle, Nikephoros Phokas, took command of the Byzantine armies in 955 CE, he gave a forward command appointment to John. John was described as a short but handsome general. He led multiple armies against the forces of Sayf al-Dawla (r. 945-967 CE), the powerful Emir of Aleppo, under Nikephoros' overall command. He was known for an aggressive style of command and, like Nikephoros himself, he was a highly successful general.

John was among the troops that proclaimed Nikephoros II Phokas (r. 963-969 CE) emperor in 963 CE. Nikephoros appointed John domestikos, or commander, of the East. John was one of the main commanders under Nikephoros in Cilicia and Syria, but after 965 CE Nikephoros distrusted him, stripped him of his titles, and placed him under house arrest.

On the night of December 10-11, 969 CE, John broke into the imperial palace with inside help and murdered Nikephoros with his co-conspirators. John immediately summoned Basil Lekapenos, the parakoimomenos, or director of the palace, to help secure John as the new emperor. By the morning, John had been crowned co-emperor with the young princes of the Macedonian Dynasty, the future Basil II (r. 976-1025 CE) and Constantine VIII (r. 1025-1028 CE). John prevented any looting from taking place following the coup, and other members of the Phokas family were placed under arrest and exiled. The fact that Nikephoros was already dead and that he was so unpopular allowed John to be accepted as emperor without any public outcry.

The Patriarch of Constantinople, Polyeuktos, agreed to crown John emperor in exchange for him canceling Nikephoros' decrees about the Church and blaming Empress Theophano, the mother of Basil and Constantine and widow of Romanos II (r. 959-963 CE) and Nikephoros, for instigating the murder of Nikephoros. It was even alleged that Theophano had had an affair with John before Nikephoros' murder. Theophano was then exiled by Basil the parakoimomenos. After being crowned, John married one of Romanos II's (r. 959-963 CE) sisters, Theodora, connecting him to the reigning Macedonian Dynasty.

Continue reading...

[ladyniniane]

Empress Irene is a perfect example of double standards regarding historical women. I recently saw a video ranking her among the top 5 worst Byzantine/Eastern roman emperors. And while she certainly wasn't among the best, she wasn't bad either. She was average.

It's also worth noting that the system she was operating in was biased against her because she was a woman. She couldn't for instance lead the army and that didn't help with gaining their support. The fact that she managed to rule in her own name is an accomplishment in itself.

And yet, people only focus on the fact that she blinded her son and not on the global picture. Yes, that was certainly cruel and no one is going to question that. But male emperors who pulled much worse are still praised and admired. I'm thinking of Basil II who reportedly blinded 1500 prisoners (though the story may be exaggerated). Or Nikephoros Phokas, who still gets YouTube videos and TikToks praising him. And while he was successful military leader, there's no denying that, he was also a complete failure of a politician and statesman.

In the end, women must be either perfect or completely bad. They just can't be human.

(And I'm thinking about trolling and naming the founding empress of my fictional, Byzantine-inspired country, Irene.)

[gemsofgreece]

Which Byzantine figures do you consider underrated? As someone who has slowly started to learn more about Byzantium, names like Constantine the Great, Justinian the Great, Theodora, Irene of Athens, Anne Komnene, Nikephoros Phokas, Constantine Palaiologos, Tsimiski, Basil, Zoe and Theodora Porprhyrogennita and Theophano are familiar, but do you have any other recommendations (sorry if I misspelled some)?

Below are a few Byzantine historical figures I find very interesting currently:

Flavius Belisarius (c.500 - 565)

While Justinian the Great is one of the most significant emperors in history, his accomplishments would simply not be the same, if he did not have Belisarius as his military commander. He was of uncertain descent (possibly Thracian, Illyrian or less so Greek) but his mother tongue was certainly Latin. Belisarius reconquered Rome and Italy while severely outnumbered during the Gothic War, defeated the Sassanids in the Iberian War, conquered the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa, successfully repulsed the Huns and defended the empire from the Persians and the Arabs. The Byzantine Empire reached its largest surface mostly thanks to Belisarius. A more controversial point in his life was when he was commanded to suppress the notorious Nika riots against Justinian, which ended in a massacre of dozens of thousands civillians. Belisarius was above all a strategist; he didn't mind fleeing the battle or using trickery in order to win a war. Despite his analytical mind in battle, he resolutely wasn't one in the affairs of the palace. Belisarius was married and quite smitten with Antonina, who had the favour of Empress Theodora, and thus felt safe to be totally unhinged. Schemes happening in the palace would sometimes find a scapegoat in Belisarius, who was likely the most genuinely devoted person to the emperor. As a result, Belisarius was often not treated well by the emperor and the secretaries and he was cheated on by his wife. He was even led to trial for betrayal, although Justinian eventually pardoned him. According to legend, Justinian first blinded him and then pardoned him, although lately the historicity of this is questioned. What's certain is that Belisarius didn't receive the respect he deserved in his personal life but he earned the respect of the historians, who consider him one of the best military leaders in history.

Ioannis II Komnenos (1087 - 1143)

Known as Kaloioannis (John the Good / Beautiful), Ioannis is considered the best emperor from the Greek dynasty of the Komneni. Ioannis was not beautiful, he must have been rather unattractive actually, but he earned the title because of his noble character. He was the brother of Anna Komnene, he was the one she tried to poison so that she would ascend to the throne instead. Ioannis forgave her. Ioannis was very just, modest and pious and would only use his imperial luxuries during diplomat visits. He was married to Irene of Hungary. Whether it was because of his piety, his natural predesposition or a different orientation, Ioannis was not very interested in the joys of marriage. However, he remained devoted and faithful to her. It is notable that during his long reign, not a single person was sentenced to death or mutilation, at a time that this would have been the norm for criminals and traitors. Despite all that, Ioannis was actually a great military leader once need arose. His biggest goal as an emperor was to undo the damage from the Battle of Manzikert 50 years prior. Indeed he forced Seljuk Turks to assume a defensive stance and did expand the empire's power to the east again. The Byzantine population increased during his reign. It is certain that Ioannis left the empire significantly better than how he received it. Some sources suggest that Ioannis' noble character was an inspiration to the people of his empire.

Michael Psellos (1017 - 1078)

Psellos was a Greek man of great knowledge and intellect and a questionable character. He did it all; he was a monk, a writer, a philosopher, a judge, a music theorist, an imperial advisor and courtier and a historian. His skill in literally everything led him quickly to the position of the leading professor in the University of Constantinople and that of secretary in the imperial court. His political influence was immense and he saw many emperors succeed each other while he maintained his position as political advisor. Because a big part of his work is autobiographical, it is unclear whether some of his claims are entirely reliable; Psellos was prone to vanity and sarcasm against those who did not favour him. Psellos studied Plato thoroughly, so much so that at times his faith in Christian Orthodoxy was questioned. *Fun fact: Psellos was apparently good at everything except Latin. His Latin was so rusty he confused Cicero with Caesar!

He looks like a Greek Rasputin in his painting above lol Anyway, he was manipulative but he wasn't nowhere near as controversial as Rasputin, let me be clear.

Georgios Gemistos Plethon (c. 1355 - 1452/1454)

Gemistos Plethon was a scholar and philosopher of the late Byzantine era. He was the pioneer of the revival of Greek scholarship in Western Europe. He was secretly not Christian, he believed in the Ancient Greek gods. Plethon admired Platon too. (It's Platon in Greek.) So much so that he added "Plethon" next to his surname Gemistos, which means pretty much the same thing (full) except more archaic and more similar to Plato(n)'s name! He was imperial advisor to the Palaeologi dynasty who at the time were reigning from Mystras, as the empire was dissolving. Everyone suspected his pagan beliefs but he was so influential and important that nobody dared confront him about it. He taught philosophy, astronomy, history, geography and classical literature. He was invited to Florence, Italy to teach Plato and Aristotle and help Florentines understand the differences between the two philosophies. Plethon died in Mystras shortly before or after the Fall of Constantinople. We don't know if he lived enough to see the empire fall. Around 10 years later, some of his Italian followers stole his remains from Mystras and interred him in Rimini, Northern Italy, so that he could "rest amongst free men". Plethon's vision was the revival of the Byzantine Empire, founded on a utopian Hellenic (and not universal) system of government. In one of his speeches, he said "We are Hellenes by race and culture". He is at the forefront of historical studies exploring the connections between Byzantine and Modern Greek identity.

Laonikos Chalkokondyles (c. 1430 - 1470)

Chalkokondyles was an Athenian native, from a prominent old family of the city. He was a historian who witnessed the last years of the Byzantine and the early years of the Ottoman Empire. He was sometimes employed by the Byzantine emperors as a messenger to the Sultan Mehmed II, not without drama. Chalkokondyles wrote in detail about 150 years prior to his lifetime. He described the fall of the Byzantine Empire, he offered a profile of the Ottoman Turks, and he wrote about their conquest of the Venetians and Matthias the King of Hungary. He also explored the civilisations of England, France and Germany. I didn't know about him until I read a great Romanian biography of Vlad Tepes the Impaler (you know, the inspiration of Count Dracula). Chalkokondyles's input is extensive and invaluable for this book; he wrote about Vlad's ancestors and the fights of the Wallachian princes with the Ottomans. His style of writing was mostly clear and simple, styled after Thucydides. He called the Byzantines “Hellenes” and did not use the term "Rhomaioi" (Romans in Greek) for them.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 7.2

437 – Emperor Valentinian III begins his reign over the Western Roman Empire. His mother Galla Placidia ends her regency, but continues to exercise political influence at the court in Rome. 626 – Li Shimin, the future Emperor Taizong of Tang, ambushes and kills his rival brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng in the Xuanwu Gate Incident. 706 – In China, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang inters the bodies of relatives in the Qianling Mausoleum, located on Mount Liang outside Chang'an. 866 – Battle of Brissarthe: The Franks led by Robert the Strong are defeated by a joint Breton-Viking army. 936 – King Henry the Fowler dies in his royal palace in Memleben. He is succeeded by his son Otto I, who becomes the ruler of East Francia. 963 – The Byzantine army proclaims Nikephoros II Phokas Emperor of the Romans on the plains outside Cappadocian Caesarea. 1298 – The Battle of Göllheim is fought between Albert I of Habsburg and Adolf of Nassau-Weilburg. 1494 – The Treaty of Tordesillas is ratified by Spain. 1504 – Bogdan III the One-Eyed becomes Voivode of Moldavia. 1555 – Ottoman Admiral Turgut Reis sacks the Italian city of Paola. 1561 – Menas, emperor of Ethiopia, defeats a revolt in Emfraz. 1582 – Battle of Yamazaki: Toyotomi Hideyoshi defeats Akechi Mitsuhide. 1613 – The first English expedition (from Virginia) against Acadia led by Samuel Argall takes place. 1644 – English Civil War: Battle of Marston Moor. 1645 – Battle of Alford: Wars of the Three Kingdoms. 1698 – Thomas Savery patents the first steam engine. 1723 – Bach's Magnificat is first performed. 1776 – American Revolution: The Continental Congress adopts a resolution severing ties with the Kingdom of Great Britain although the wording of the formal Declaration of Independence is not adopted until July 4. 1816 – The French frigate Méduse strikes the Bank of Arguin and 151 people on board have to be evacuated on an improvised raft, a case immortalised by Géricault's painting The Raft of the Medusa. 1822 – Thirty-five slaves, including Denmark Vesey, are hanged in South Carolina after being accused of organizing a slave rebellion. 1823 – Bahia Independence Day: The end of Portuguese rule in Brazil, with the final defeat of the Portuguese crown loyalists in the province of Bahia. 1839 – Twenty miles off the coast of Cuba, 53 kidnapped Africans led by Joseph Cinqué mutiny and take over the slave ship Amistad. 1840 – A Ms  7.4 earthquake strikes present-day Turkey and Armenia; combined with the effects of an eruption on Mount Ararat, kills 10,000 people. 1853 – The Russian Army crosses the Prut river into the Danubian Principalities (Moldavia and Wallachia), providing the spark that will set off the Crimean War. 1864 – Dimitri Atanasescu founds the first Romanian school in the Balkans for the Aromanians in Trnovo, in the Ottoman Empire (now in North Macedonia). 1871 – Victor Emmanuel II of Italy enters Rome after having conquered it from the Papal States. 1881 – Charles J. Guiteau shoots and fatally wounds U.S. President James A. Garfield (who will die of complications from his wounds on September 19). 1890 – The U.S. Congress passes the Sherman Antitrust Act. 1897 – British-Italian engineer Guglielmo Marconi obtains a patent for radio in London. 1900 – An airship designed and constructed by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin of Germany made its first flight on Lake Constance near Friedrichshafen. 1900 – Jean Sibelius' Finlandia receives its première performance in Helsinki with the Helsinki Philharmonic Society conducted by Robert Kajanus. 1921 – World War I: U.S. President Warren G. Harding signs the Knox–Porter Resolution formally ending the war between the United States and Germany. 1934 – The Night of the Long Knives ends with the death of Ernst Röhm. 1937 – Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first equatorial round-the-world flight. 1940 – Indian independence leader Subhas Chandra Bose is arrested and detained in Calcutta. 1940 – The SS Arandora Star is sunk by U-47 in the North Atlantic with the loss of over 800 lives, mostly civilians. 1962 – The first Walmart store, then known as Wal-Mart, opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas. 1964 – Civil rights movement: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 meant to prohibit segregation in public places. 1966 – France conducts its first nuclear weapon test in the Pacific, on Moruroa Atoll. 1976 – End of South Vietnam; Communist North Vietnam annexes the former South Vietnam to form the unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 1986 – Rodrigo Rojas and Carmen Gloria Quintana are burnt alive during a street demonstration against the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet in Chile. 1986 – Aeroflot Flight 2306 crashes while attempting an emergency landing at Syktyvkar Airport in Syktyvkar, in present-day Komi Republic, Russia, killing 54 people. 1988 – Marcel Lefebvre and the four bishops he consecrated were excommunicated by the Holy See. 1990 – In the 1990 Mecca tunnel tragedy, 1,400 Muslim pilgrims are suffocated to death and trampled upon in a pedestrian tunnel leading to the holy city of Mecca. 1994 – USAir Flight 1016 crashes near Charlotte Douglas International Airport, killing 37 of the 57 people on board. 1997 – The Bank of Thailand floats the baht, triggering the Asian financial crisis. 2000 – Vicente Fox Quesada is elected the first President of México from an opposition party, the Partido Acción Nacional, after more than 70 years of continuous rule by the Partido Revolucionario Institucional. 2001 – The AbioCor self-contained artificial heart is first implanted. 2002 – Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a balloon. 2005 – The Live 8 benefit concerts takes place in the G8 states and in South Africa. More than 1,000 musicians perform and are broadcast on 182 television networks and 2,000 radio networks. 2008 – Colombian conflict: Íngrid Betancourt, a member of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia, is released from captivity after being held for six and a half years by FARC. 2010 – The South Kivu tank truck explosion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo kills at least 230 people. 2013 – The International Astronomical Union names Pluto's fourth and fifth moons, Kerberos and Styx. 2013 – A magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes Aceh, Indonesia, killing at least 42 people and injuring 420 others.

[avo-kat]

Victor

Roman name meaning "victor, conqueror" in Latin.

Nikifor

Russian, Bulgarian and Macedonian form of Nikephoros.

Nikephoros

Means "carrying victory" from Greek νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and φέρω (phero) meaning "to carry, to bear". This name was borne by several Byzantine emperors, including the 10th-century Nikephoros II Phokas. Besides being a masculine personal name, it was also a title borne by the goddess Athena.

bestie is literally called winner carrying victory omg

[aegor-bamfsteel]

Leo V, murdered on December 25, 820–first account is told by John Skylitzes in his Synopsis of Histories

Nikephoros II Phokas, murdered on December 11, 969–story told in Leo’s the History of Leo the Deacon

Romanos III Argyros, murdered on April 11, 1034– story told by Michael Psellus in his Chronographia

[grayjoy15]

Big paranoid Macbeth vibes from this man

[ancientcitylullaby]

This post but it’s the Macedonian Dynasty

Basil I: tag what you’re majoring in/intend on majoring in

Constantine VII: Respecting Women

Nikephoros Phokas: bat man

John Tzimiskes: minecraft

Romanos Lekapenos: youtube

Basil II: in the tags guys

Zoe Porphyrogenita: fuckin weed

Michael IV: W

Leo VI: Criminal justice and psychology

Romanos III: i’m terrified that i’ll lock myself into an interest that i’ll no longer be passionate about in a few years like all the other areas of study i’ve pursued over my life!

Constantine VIII: Minecraft

Constantine IX: minecraft as well

[gouachevalier]

Saint Nikephoros Phokas, Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans

Nikephoros II Phokas (c. 912 – 11 December 969) reigned as Emperor from 963 to 969. His brilliant military exploits contributed to the resurgence of the Eastern Roman Empire during the 10th century. He completed the reconquest of Cilicia and even retook the island of Cyprus, thus opening the path for subsequent Roman incursions reaching as far as the Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia) and the Levant.

The Emperor also played a significant role for the Church. He helped St. Athanasios the Athonite build his first monastery on Mount Athos, the Great Lavra, granting to him the land on which it was built. It was said that underneath his imperial garb he wore a cassock, secretly wishing to abandon his throne and become a monk.Throughout his reign he maintained an ascetic disposition. He also made an attempt to canonize all the fallen soldiers under him as martyrs against unbelievers, though this effort was thwarted by the Patriarch of Constantinople.

His administrative policy was less successful, as in order to finance his numerous campaigns he increased taxes both on the people and on the Church, while maintaining unpopular theological positions and alienating many of his most powerful allies.These included both his wife and his nephew John Tzimiskes, who together conspired to assassinate the Emperor. They had thought to find him in his bed, but according to Leo the Deacon was found asleep on the floor beside his holy icons. His head was cut off and paraded on a pike, while his body was thrown out a window. He was eventually buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles, and John Tzimiskes took the throne as Emperor John I.

[the-roman-way]

The Paramerion Problem

One of the more iconic cultural traits of the Romans and eventually the Byzantines (despite them being directly Roman, I’ll refer to them as Byzantines to avoid confusion) was the distinct ability to adopt the practices and tactics of those that they came across. Some of these are clearly apparent such as the adoption of pants in the form of braccae and others are less apparent. This brings me to point by which I’ve spent numerous hours digging into which is the appearance of the Paramerion in the Byzantine military. 

The paramerion, as the weapon seen above, is simply a single-edged slightly curved sword, very reminiscent of later sabres that pop into existence in Europe. The design originates with the Eurasian steppe tribes in the form of a pallasch-like weapon (a straight-ish single-edged sword designed for cavalry use) and spreads to Byzantium by the Avars and to the Islamic Kingdoms through the Khazars.

The Byzantines unabashedly admit that the Avars are a significant influence on their military in 7th-century treatises, namely Maurice’s “Strategikon”. Furthermore, Hungarian graves dated between the 7th and 8th centuries have yielded blades that were characterised by “narrow, shallow-curved blades” (as sourced by Piotr Grotowski in the novel “Arms and Armour of the Warrior Saints” page 358). The problem, however, is the fact that the name “paramerion” does not actually enter Byzantine literature or artistic depiction until the 10th century, leaving us with a gray area of upwards of 300 years. Even worse is the fact that only one, to my knowledge, extant example (of specifically a curved Byzantine sword) has been found and it lies within a private auction, raising numerous red flags for me (sword seen below).

We know for a fact that in the 9th century, this shallow, curved blade spreads up to the Slavic territories north of Byzantium. This can be solely attested to the invading Magyars from beyond the Ural Mountains who relied almost exclusively on observably curved bladed weapons. However, the extent to which the paramerion, without the actual name, was used before the 10th century by the Byzantines is unknown. There seem to be some occurrences of the blades appearing in the Madrid Skylitzes manuscript which depicts 811 CE to 1057 CE.

Unfortunately, more problems arise. Firstly, the manuscript was produced in the early 12th century and secondly, we have no explicit verification of the swords being in use until written manuals in the early 10th century. We know that the curve should only be a slight terminal curve, but very few swords in the manuscript look remotely like that and every observable scabbard is straight.

Things only get easier for the paramerion in the 10th century onward when, as mentioned, multiple treatises mention the usage. Firstly is the Taktica of Nikephoros Ouranos, the second being the Praecepta Militaria by Nikephoros II Phokas, and the third being the anonymous Sylloge Tacticorum. This is also eventually when depictions of curved swords spring majorly into frescoes as seen below.

It seems, for now, as though the mystery behind that 300 year gap will remain unknown until more physical evidence is found. Work continues to solidify a typology classification for many of these underlooked weapons as well.

[caesarsaladinn]

I think there are some descendants of the Phokas family still living in Greece, you'd just have to claim that everyone after Nikephoros II was illegitimate I guess

trying to figure out the funniest crackpot stance on who is the current Roman emperor, and accepting suggestions (tenuous historical justification required)

[corinthbayrpg]

NAME. Gabriel Nikephoros AGE & BIRTH DATE. 1,070 & July 19th, 950 GENDER & PRONOUNS. Male & He/him SPECIES. Incubus OCCUPATION. Librarian FACE CLAIM. Richard Madden

BIOGRAPHY

(tw: murder, death) A bastard is always a bastard, no matter the blood. Gabriel should’ve been the son of a nobody – of a simple farmer who had wanted a family, or even a noble who wanted to ensure that his son would carry on the family legacy. But no; instead, Gabriel was born to a young woman who had nothing. Maleina was the daughter of simple farmers who had moved out of Greece and into Constantinople, following the migration of those who wanted to expand westward into their empire. Maleina had met a young man who had simply called himself “Phokas”, and after a single night of what she thought was the beginning of a brighter future, she woke up to find the man gone. Turns out, he was the general and commander of the Byzantine Army – and he was planning on ruling the empire. He couldn’t have someone like her in his conquest, and he discarded her immediately. The only thing he left her with was a child, one that Maleina was never going to admit to Nikephoros. In 950 AD, Gabriel was born – a bastard with nothing left to his name. In hindsight, his mother did everything she could to make sure Gabriel had a normal life. She’d named him after an archangel, relying on her faith and her new role in the church where some nuns had adopted her into their family and life despite her idolatry and faith in the old gods of the Greek world.

Gabriel was raised among the Orthodox church and the monastery that his mother had devoted her life to. And in the end, when his mother’s health was failing her, she gave him the answers he’d always wanted – Gabriel Nikephoros was the bastard of the emperor. She also gave him the single thing she’d ever held dear – her necklace with Nike's, the Greek winged goddess of justice, emblem. During the year 963 when Nikephoros II Phokas rose to power and ousted the monarchy with the army behind him, Maleina died with only the nuns and Gabriel to comfort her. As a thirteen year old boy, there was nothing in his life that he could offer anyone. The monastery that had been his home for all his life suddenly had no room for him, and he was pushed to the streets with the rest of the orphans that littered the slums of Constantinople. Gabriel learned a single thing during his time on the streets, and that was how to plan revenge. In his mind, his father was the only one to blame. Had the man simply not broken his vow of chastity, or if the man had married his mother or bothered to check on the woman he’d seduced, Gabriel’s life could’ve been entirely different. And perhaps his only friend in the world, his mother, would still be alive to comfort him.

Instead, Gabriel joined the army when he turned fifteen. Lying about his age was relatively simple, and no one questioned it when he joined the ranks of thousands of other men who were ready to fight for the Byzantine Empire. Gabriel’s intentions, however, were far more personal than he’d ever admitted to anyone. He trained to be as deadly with a sword as he was with his lies; everything would play out for him in the end, he simply had to bide his time.

When the year 969 rolled around, the sixth year of Nikephoros II’s reign, Gabriel called upon a man he had met on the streets – an assassin who was willing to murder the most important man in the empire at the time. With a prayer to Nike as the only thing he had, Gabriel simply waited – and he felt that simple sting of victory when the cry was raised in the streets of Constantinople;  the emperor was dead. Gabriel had gotten his revenge, and the empire was left reeling to find someone to fill the throne. Looking back, Gabriel saw nothing that didn’t go the way he had orchestrated it to. It wasn’t until a few years later, however, that he realized something was completely wrong. By his twenty-fifth year, life was no longer easy for the retired soldier. The moment he was free of the battlefield, the real war begun. Nike had never been pleased that her name was taken in the form of revenge, and since Gabriel’s mother had outfitted him with the name Nikephoros, the goddess wanted what she felt she was owed. Her form of justice, however, was not what Gabriel was prepared for. He had taken a life indirectly, and in return, she demanded his own. His years of freedom between the assassination of his father and Nike’s retribution had been to simply lull him into a false sense of security. Nike was able to judge exactly the man he was going to become, and what his endless reparation would be to the goddess herself.

The stain of wrath was imposed upon Gabriel’s soul, and what Nike twisted him to be was a creature that belonged nowhere but the Underworld. An incubus. With Hades waiting for him on the other side of life, Gabriel felt lost. His punishment was fitting for the murderer he’d become, and with Nike’s orders, Gabriel fled Constantinople and back into his homeland of Greece. The never ending hunger nearly drove Gabriel insane. He had no extra abilities, only his charm that was amplified by his immortal status. Staying in Athens introduced him to a new world of immortality – vampires, witchcraft, humans who took on animal forms – every creature that he had thought of as myth was reality, and he didn’t learn the true nature of his own species until he met another of his kind. The woman had been blessed by Ares; she’d pleaded for her entire family to be destroyed – and Ares had accepted her conditions. Her anger was nearly palpable wherever they went, but she took Gabriel with her, showing him the world through her eyes, and convincing him that this was the right side of history. Her thirst for violence and haughtiness followed Gabriel around like another mark on his soul; she manipulated him into doing her will, and with nothing left to gain, Gabriel found himself ensnared in her trap.

It wasn’t until the height of the Ottoman Empire when Gabriel managed to pull himself out of his false reverie. For centuries he’d been following Andromache around; her bidding was his sole purpose, and when the year 1519 came around, he broke free and cut ties with her. His change of heart had come only after she’d taken joy in murdering another family that had resembled her own – children and all. Gabriel could recognize the voice of Nike in his own head, her mocking words from the night she’d claimed his soul as her own echoing in his head. Perhaps justice had been carried out in its own way, and Gabriel was on his way to finally being free of anyone’s grasp – anyone but Nike’s, that is.

Free to cause his own idea of chaos, Gabriel remained hidden in Italy before he eventually returned to Greece. He moved to Athens in 1805, and when the earthquake struck the country in 1858, Gabriel knew that there was somewhere else he needed to be. Moving to Corinth Bay, Gabriel took up shop in a few different places. He volunteered at the hospital, conning his way in as a nurse, then eventually moved to the library. Every few decades he would leave, then return when all those who would even slightly recognize him would finally die, and that’s where he remained. His sarcastic and volatile nature has ebbed during the years in Corinth Bay, the slow pace of the town becoming a new normal for him. Instead, he tries to fill his days with his own amusement, blissfully unaware that the war between the gods behind the scenes opened a tear in the supernatural veil. And perhaps he’d prefer it that way.

PERSONALITY

+ quick witted, adaptable, charming – selfish, aggressive, spiteful

PLAYED BY LAUREN. PST. She/Her.

[gabrielxnikephoros]

Spill!!!

When I made Gabriel, I was like “He’s gonna be from the boring ass Middle Ages! Maybe someone will make a character older than him!” Then I proceeded to think that he’d be like maybe 600-700 years old, very reasonable. Instead, he’s like over one thousand years old and I wrapped him into a historical murder plot instead. Keeping a good mix of religion and mythology led me to the name Gabriel Nikephoros. Now the emperor that was murdered was Nikephoros II Phokas, who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 963 to 969, and he was considered a brilliant military officer. Since the Byzantine Emperor’s like to adopt very “Greek” names because they thought it was cool, I linked him to Gabriel’s back story to make way for a curse.

I was super excited about cubi because of how old they could be and how people could have fun with a god or goddess that literally cursed their character and moved on. I originally had Nemesis as the goddess that cursed him, but Nike fit better since his last name literally has the goddess’ name in it. 

Also, the Middle Ages was not my favorite period of history just because it was like...meh. But Imperialism is WORSE so I can deal with the Middle Ages. Technically the Aztec empire was in the Middle Ages so most of my focus was on Mesoamerican cultures, and Polynesian cultures. I did a bunch of different research for the Byzantine Empire though, so having Gabriel be a former soldier/bastard of the emperor who committed patricide is a literal dream. 

[gemsofgreece]

For the longest part of its existence, the Byzantine Empire had no clear law about the inheritance of the imperial throne. This means that the empire was weirdly “democratic” in the sense that anyone could become a king regardless of background, education, status and even gender. The only thing the aspiring ruler needed was the guts and the competence to question the emperor’s power or the right of their descendant to the title and somehow survive right through it, preferably by winning the support of the public and the army. This is why some of the usurpers proved to be some of the most competent Byzantine Emperors like Basil I the Macedonian, John I Tzimiskes or Nikephoros II Phokas. And this is why of all 107 emperors that reigned in Byzantium, only 34 died peacefully in their bed, only 8 died in war or by accident and the rest were killed violently, often poisoned, strangled or mutilated.

To give you an idea, Tzimiskes was Phokas’ nephew. He ascended to the throne after he conspired with Phokas’ wife Theofano and had him killed in his sleep. This is why Phokas’ tombstone read: “He defeated everyone but a woman”.

As for Basil I, he was a random peasant from Thrace (which makes his eponym inaccurate) and he was of outstanding beauty. He had been gaining the favour of rich ladies and members of the court alike (no historian ever says what kind of favour that was) until he met Emperor Michael III and, you guessed it, Basil gained his favour when the emperor watched him wrestle with another man. He rapidly became the emperor’s confidant, companion and bodyguard. Michael had Basil to break up with his wife in order to marry the emperor’s consort who was pregnant with his child because Michael didn’t want to embarrass the Empress Eudokia who was unable to conceive. Thus, he named Basil co-emperor planning to make Basil’s child (actually HIS child) the successor of the throne. If that’s not weird enough, Basil also adopted Michael, despite being much younger than him. Soon, Michael grew fond of another courtier. Basil confronted Michael about it, who threatened to make the new courtier his new co-emperor (apparently Michael was making co-emperors left and right). After that, a night when Michael and the new courtier were drunk, Basil and his loyal men crept in and killed them, and he also cut the emperor’s hands with the sword. Basil became the Emperor and despite being just a random peasant who rose to power with questionable practices, he later proved to be one of the greatest rulers of the Byzantine Empire. He was the founder of the powerful Macedonian Dynasty.