Nikephoros Xiphias

Nikephoros Xiphias
Born	before ca. 980
Died	after 1028
Allegiance	Byzantine Empire
Years of service	ca. 1000–1022
Rank	strategos
Wars	Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria
Relations	Alexios Xiphias (father)

Nikephoros Xiphias (Greek: Νικηφόρος Ξιφίας, fl. ca. 1000–1028) was a Byzantine military commander during the reign of Emperor Basil II. He played a distinguished role in the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria, and was instrumental in the decisive Byzantine victory at the Battle of Kleidion in 1014. In 1022 he led an unsuccessful rebellion against Basil II, and was disgraced, tonsured and exiled. He is last mentioned in 1028, when he was recalled from exile and retired to a monastery.

Nikephoros Xiphias was born probably some time around or before 980, and was most likely the son of Alexios Xiphias, who served as the Catepan of Italy in 1006–08. Few members of the Xiphiai are otherwise known and the family's origin is unclear, but they most likely hailed from Asia Minor, like many other prestigious families of the military aristocracy of the period.

Nikephoros appears for the first time in Emperor Basil II's Bulgarian wars, in 999/1000, 1000/1 or 1002, depending on the source. At the time he was a protospatharios, and along with the patrikios Theodorokanos, he commanded a campaign deep into Bulgarian lands. Setting out from Mosynopolis, the two generals crossed the Balkan Mountains and captured the old Bulgarian capitals of Pliska and Great Preslav, along with Little Preslav. They then plundered the Dobruja, left behind garrisons and returned to their base. It is unclear whether he was already the military governor (strategos) of Philippopolis at the time, or was appointed to it after the successful conclusion of the campaign, as John Skylitzes reports, when Theodorokanos, who is known to have previously held the post, retired due to his advanced age.

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