Constantine Dalassenos (thalassokrator)

Constantine Dalassenos
Allegiance	Byzantine Empire
Rank	doux of the fleet, thalassokrator
Battles/wars	Byzantine–Seljuk Wars, Battle of Levounion

Constantine Dalassenos (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Δαλασσηνός, fl. ca. 1086–1093) was a prominent Byzantine military leader on land and sea during the early reign of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118), especially in the campaigns against Tzachas of Smyrna. His life is only known from the Alexiad of Anna Komnene.

According to the Alexiad, Constantine Dalassenos was related to Alexios I through his mother, Anna Dalassene, although the exact connection is unknown. He first appears in 1086/7, when he was sent as an envoy to receive Sinope and the surrounding towns from a Turkish chiaus who had turned renegade, had become baptized and collaborated with the Byzantines. Dalassenos became Sinope's governor, while the chiaus was made doux of Anchialus.

In spring 1090, Dalassenos was raised to the post of "doux of the fleet" and given command of the Byzantine naval forces against the emir Tzachas of Smyrna. Tzachas, formerly a Byzantine vassal, had built a fleet of his own, had seized several Aegean islands, and raided others. After taking Lesbos (except for the fortress of Methymna) and Chios, he defeated a Byzantine fleet under Niketas Kastamonites. Taking advantage of Tzachas's absence in Smyrna, Dalassenos disembarked his troops on Chios and immediately assailed the island's fortified capital. Although the Byzantines seized the town's harbour, they failed to break through into the city itself. Meanwhile, Tzachas had gathered 8,000 men, according to the Alexiad, and set off to the island's relief. His army marched on land up to the shore opposite the island, while his fleet followed, sailing along the shore. Dalassenos had charged Constantine Opos with hindering the Turks from crossing over, but when the Turks did so under the cover of night, the latter refused to engage them when he saw that Tzachas had had his ships chained together. The two armies engaged in skirmishes, but soon negotiations began. Dalassenos deferred any decision; and when Tzachas returned to Smyrna, perhaps to gather more forces, he gathered his men, prepared more siege engines and took the citadel of Chios in a surprise attack.

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