Bardas Phokas the Younger Bardas Phokas ( or Phocas ) ( ) ( died 13 April 989 ) was an eminent Byzantine general who took a conspicuous part in three revolts for and against the ruling Macedonian dynasty . First rebellion . Bardas was a scion of the Phokas family , the most prominent Byzantine aristocratic clan in the 10th century . His father Leo Phokas the Younger was a curopalates and brother to the Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas . Even as a young man , Bardas gained a reputation for his great expertise in the science of war : If his military career was quick to peak , it was even quicker to collapse . Upon his uncle ' s death in 970 , Phokas and his family rebelled against the new emperor and their own cousin , John I Tzimiskes . Bardas was proclaimed emperor by troops stationed at Caesarea , but their rebellion was extinguished by another skilled commander , Bardas Skleros . Phokas and his relatives were captured and exiled to the island of Chios , where he would spend the following seven years . Phokas versus Skleros . In 978 Bardas was delivered from his prison cell by the eunuch Basil Lekapenos , Basil II ' s uncle and de facto regent . He was dispatched in disguise to his native Cappadocia to stir up local aristocracy against Skleros , who had revolted against imperial authorities and advanced to the Hellespont . Aided by the Georgian army led by Tornikios , Phokas eventually suppressed the revolt , gaining victory in a single combat against Skleros at the Battle of Pankalia , despite several previous setbacks . For his vital services to the crown , he was rewarded with a coveted office of Domestic of the Scholae and at once led the Byzantine armies to reconquer Aleppo from the Saracens . Later , to quote Psellos , " he was given the privilege of a triumph and took his place among the personal friends of his sovereign . " Second rebellion . While Constantine VIII was easily swayed by his advisers , his brother Basil II was apparently irked by their supremacy . Basil ' s energy showed that he was determined to take the administration into his own hands and personally control the army . His growing independence alarmed both Basil and Phokas . In 987 they entered into secret negotiations with their former enemy , Skleros , on understanding that the empire would be partitioned if they succeeded in their revolt against the emperors . In a campaign that curiously mimicked Skleros ' revolt a decade earlier , Phokas proclaimed himself emperor and overran most of Asia Minor . " It was no longer in imagination , but in very truth , that he put on the imperial robes , with the emperor ' s crown and the royal insignia of purple " , says Psellos . After relegating his colleague Skleros to a prison , he proceeded to lay siege to Abydos , thus threatening to blockade the Dardanelles . At this point Basil II obtained timely aid , in the form of Varangian mercenaries , from his brother - in - law Vladimir , the Russian prince of Kiev , and marched to Abydos . The two armies were facing each other , when Phokas galloped forward , seeking personal combat with the Emperor who was riding in front of the lines . Just as he prepared to face the Basil , however , Phokas suffered a seizure , fell from his horse , and was found to be dead ( April 13 , 989 ) . His head was cut off and brought to Basil . This ended the rebellion . Progeny . By his marriage to a cousin , one Adralestina , Bardas left two sons , Leo and Nicholas ( + 1012 ) . His grandson and namesake , Bardas Phokas , was blinded by imperial authorities in 1025 . It is believed that the Cretan family of the Phokades descends from him .