Nikephoros Palaiologos

Nikephoros Palaiologos (Greek: Νικηφόρος Παλαιολόγος; died 18 October 1081) was a Byzantine general of the 11th century.

Nikephoros is the first known member of the Palaiologos family, which would eventually rise to become the last ruling dynasty of the Byzantine Empire from 1259 to 1453. He had two sons, George and Nicholas. George Palaiologos also became a general and was one of the chief supporters of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118). Through George and his great-great-grandson Andronikos Palaiologos, the later Palaiologan dynasty draws its descent.

Nikephoros is first attested during the short reign of Romanos IV Diogenes (r. 1068–1071). A Doukas partisan, he was hostile to Romanos and a member of the opposition around the Caesar John Doukas and Michael Psellos. After the fall of Romanos following the disastrous Battle of Manzikert (1071), Nikephoros was dispatched east against the Norman mercenary Roussel de Bailleul, who had rebelled against imperial rule. After gathering some 6,000 mercenaries in Georgia, he confronted Roussel, but his Georgian troops defected and he was defeated. In 1077, he is recorded as doux of Mesopotamia. Although loyal to the Doukas dynasty and Emperor Michael VII Doukas (r. 1071–1078), he did permit his son George to join the rebellion of Nikephoros Botaneiates, who became emperor as Nikephoros III (r. 1078–1081).

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