Michael Dokeianos
| Michael Doukeianos | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Μιχαήλ Δοκειανός |
| Died | 1050 Basilike Libas, near Adrianople |
| Battles/wars | Lombard-Norman revolt of 1041, Battle of Basilike Libas |
| Relations | Isaac I Komnenos, John Komnenos (brothers-in-law) |
Michael Dokeianos (Greek: Μιχαήλ Δοκειανός), erroneously called Doukeianos by some modern writers, was a Byzantine nobleman and military leader, who married into the Komnenos family. He was active in Sicily under George Maniakes before going to Southern Italy as Catepan of Italy in 1040–41. He was recalled after being twice defeated in battle during the Lombard-Norman revolt of 1041, a decisive moment in the eventual Norman conquest of southern Italy. He is next recorded in 1050, fighting against a Pecheneg raid in Thrace. He was captured during battle but managed to maim the Pecheneg leader, after which he was put to death and mutilated.
The family name of Dokeianos is considered to derive from Dok[e]ia in the Armeniac Theme. The family only came into prominence in the mid-11th century, with Michael one of the first to be mentioned. He is generally considered as the Dokeianos who married an unnamed daughter of Manuel Erotikos Komnenos and sister of the future emperor Isaac I Komnenos (reigned 1057–59), probably ca. 1030. Together, they had a son, Theodore Dokeianos. According to the near-contemporary official and historian John Skylitzes, Michael Dokeianos was a simple man and not suited for command, and according to the modern scholar Konstantinos Varzos he owed his rise to high office to his family ties with the Komnenoi. It is known that he was wealthy, and possessed estates in Paphlagonia, possibly adjacent or part of the Komnenos family estates in the same region.
Michael Dokeianos is first mentioned in 1040, as protospatharios and doux, when he was sent to southern Italy to assume command of the local Byzantine province as Catepan of Italy. Prior to that, he was apparently a member of George Maniakes' expeditionary force sent to conquer Sicily in 1038. Dokeianos arrived in the mainland in November 1040, and the situation he found was critical: his predecessor Nikephoros Dokeianos, probably a relative, had been killed in January at Ascoli in a mutiny of his troops, which was followed by a revolt in Taranto and the capture of the capital, Bari, by Argyrus, son of the Lombard leader Melus. Dokeianos hanged or blinded the ringleaders of the various revolts, but he failed to address the underlying cause, the widespread resentment at the oppressive taxation imposed by the Empire as part of the preparations for the Sicilian expedition under Maniakes. Dokeianos also offered the rule of strategic fortress of Melfi to the Milanese mercenary Arduin, with the title of topoteretes. Arduin had served under previous Byzantine commanders as part of a Norman contingent, but had been flogged in a dispute about the distribution of booty taken from the Muslims in Sicily (William of Apulia claims this was done by Dokeianos, but it is possible that it was done by one of his predecessors, perhaps George Maniakes). Arduin's grudge against the Byzantines now bore fruit. He sought the aid of the Normans who had been established at nearby Aversa since 1030, and received a contingent of 300 men, upon a promise to share his gains equally with them. Thus in March 1041 he and his men seized Melfi. The inhabitants initially opposed him, but eventually were won over by Arduin.
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