Nikephoros Melissenos
| Nikephoros Melissenos | |
|---|---|
| Usurper of the Byzantine Empire | |
| Reign | 1080–1081 |
| Predecessor | Nikephoros III |
| Successor | Alexios I |
| Born | ca. 1045 |
| Died | 17 November 1104 |
| Wife |
|
Nikephoros Melissenos (Greek: Νικηφόρος Μελισσηνός, ca. 1045 – 17 November 1104), Latinized as Nicephorus Melissenus, was a Byzantine general and aristocrat. Of distinguished lineage, he served as a governor and general in the Balkans and Asia Minor in the 1060s. In the turbulent period after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, when several generals tried to seize the throne for themselves, Melissenos remained loyal to Michael VII Doukas and was exiled by his successor Nikephoros III Botaneiates. In 1080–1081, with Turkish aid, he seized control of what remained of Byzantine Asia Minor and proclaimed himself emperor against Botaneiates. After the revolt of his brother-in-law Alexios I Komnenos, however, which succeeded in taking Constantinople, he submitted to him, accepting the rank of Caesar and the governance of Thessalonica. He remained loyal to Alexios thereafter, participating in most Byzantine campaigns of the period 1081–1095 in the Balkans at the emperor's side. He died on 17 November 1104.
Nikephoros Melissenos was probably born circa 1045 at Dorylaeum, where his family had extensive estates. Through both his father and his mother, he was of aristocratic descent: his father belonged to the Bourtzes line, while his mother to the illustrious Melissenos family, which dated back to the 8th century and had produced several distinguished generals. Sometime before 1067, Nikephoros married Eudokia Komnene, the second daughter of the Domestic of the Schools John Komnenos and Anna Dalassene and sister of the future Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118). They had at least one known son, who was named John Komnenos.
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