page_title: Nikephoros Phokas Barytrachelos
section_title: Rebellion with Nikephoros Xiphias and death
hierarchical_section_title: Nikephoros Phokas Barytrachelos / Life / Rebellion with Nikephoros Xiphias and death
caption_attribution_description: English: A miniature depicting the defeat of the Georgian king George I ("Georgios of Abasgia") by the Byzantine emperor Basil. Skylitzes Matritensis, fol. 195v. George is shown as fleeing on horseback on the right and Basil holding a shield and lance on the left.
context_page_description: Nikephoros Phokas, surnamed Barytrachelos, was a Byzantine aristocrat and magnate, the last major member of the Phokas family to try to claim the imperial throne. He was a son of the general Bardas Phokas the Younger and great-nephew of Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas, and played an active role in his father's failed rebellion against Basil II in 987–989. After the death of his father, he sought and received Basil's pardon. Nothing further is known of him until 1022 when, along with the general Nikephoros Xiphias, he launched another rebellion. The revolt gathered widespread support, but mistrust between the two leaders led to Phokas' assassination by Xiphias on 15 August 1022. The rebellion collapsed quickly after that.
context_section_description: Nothing is heard of Nikephoros Phokas Barytrachelos until the summer of 1022, when he conspired with the general Nikephoros Xiphias against Basil II, who since spring had been engaged in a campaign against the Georgian king George I. The two conspirators aimed to overthrow Basil and have one of them replace him, but the issue of who would have precedence was unresolved, and would lead to the rebellion's quick downfall. Although Xiphias held the prestigious post of strategos of the Anatolic Theme and Phokas held no office but the title of patrikios, according to the report of the contemporary Christian Arab historian Yahya of Antioch, great numbers of aristocrats flocked to him due to his family's influence, provoking Xiphias' envy.
  The rebellion of the two men was particularly threatening to the emperor, as it took control over Cappadocia and threatened to cut off his rear and leave him stranded between two enemies. Indeed, the conspirators are said to have been in contact with George I for that purpose. Basil first withdrew to the safety of the fortress of Mazdat, and according to John Skylitzes sent an envoy to the rebel leaders aiming to sow distrust between them, while according to Yahya the emperor appointed as the new governor of the Anatolic Theme Theophylact Dalassenos and sent him to suppress the revolt. Whether the envoy accomplished his task is unknown, but on 15 August 1022, Xiphias arranged a meeting with Phokas, where the latter was murdered by one of Xiphias' servants. Armenian sources however report, rather dubiously, that Phokas was killed by the former king of Vaspurakan, Senekerim-Hovhannes, or his son David, or one of their followers. The severed head was sent to Basil, who mounted it on a stake and put it on public display at Mazdat.
  Following the death of Phokas, the rebellion collapsed, and Xiphias was arrested and forced to become a monk. Released from the threat to his rear, Basil II swiftly and decisively defeated George I, and imposed his terms on him. The other supporters of the uprising were imprisoned and released in 1025, after the death of Basil II and the succession of his younger brother, Constantine VIII. In 1026, however, Constantine VIII accused the last surviving member of the once great family, Bardas Phokas (possibly a son or nephew of Nikephoros Barytrachelos), of plotting against the throne, and had him blinded.
caption: Basil II defeats the Georgians, miniature from the Madrid Skylitzes
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