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Nikephoritzes
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Nikephoritzes

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Nikephoritzes () was an influential Byzantine eunuch official, who served as chief minister and virtual ruler of the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Emperor Michael VII Doukas (r. 1071–1078). His actual name was Nikephoros; he received the nickname "Nikephoritzes" ("little Nikephoros") as a result of his relative youth when he first entered service in the court. He became widely unpopular due to his harsh taxation and meddling with Constantinople's grain supply, as well as for his neglect of Asia Minor in the face of Turkish encroachment. This resentment led to the outbreak of two major r

Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Gender
male
Citizenship
Byzantine Empire
Place of birth
Bucellarian Theme
Place of death
Sivriada
Occupation
official
Position held
finance minister
Show 3 more facts
date of birth
1100-01-01
date of death
1078-01-01
subject has role
eunuch
Sources (1)

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Nikephoritzes () was an influential Byzantine eunuch official, who served as chief minister and virtual ruler of the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Emperor Michael VII Doukas (r. 1071–1078). His actual name was Nikephoros; he received the nickname "Nikephoritzes" ("little Nikephoros") as a result of his relative youth when he first entered service in the court. He became widely unpopular due to his harsh taxation and meddling with Constantinople's grain supply, as well as for his neglect of Asia Minor in the face of Turkish encroachment. This resentment led to the outbreak of two major rebellions in 1077, and the eventual abdication of Michael VII. Nikephoritzes himself was captured and tortured to death.

==Biography== thumb|right|200px|Gold histamenon of Emperor Michael VII Doukas (r. 1071–1078).

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Nikephoritzes” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.