 Nikephoros was the son of the founder of the Phokas family, a man called Phokas, a native of Cappadocia. During one of the campaigns of Emperor Basil I the Macedonian (reigned 867 – 886) sometime in the 870s (probably ca. 872), Nikephoros'father caught the emperor's attention and was raised to the rank of tourmarches. At the same time Nikephoros, still in his youth, was taken into the imperial retinue, and was soon appointed to the guard corps of the manglabitai. He possibly participated in Basil's 873 campaign against Samosata.
