Nikephoros Melissenos Nikephoros Melissenos ( , ca . 1045 – 17 November 1104 ) , Latinized as Nicephorus Melissenus , was a Byzantine general and aristocrat . Of distinguished lineage , he served as a governor and general in the Balkans and Asia Minor in the 1060s . In the turbulent period after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 , when several generals tried to seize the throne for themselves , Melissenos remained loyal to Michael VII Doukas and was exiled by his successor Nikephoros III Botaneiates . In 1080 – 1081 , with Turkish aid , he seized control of what remained of Byzantine Asia Minor and proclaimed himself emperor against Botaneiates . After the revolt of his brother - in - law Alexios I Komnenos , however , which succeeded in taking Constantinople , he submitted to him , accepting the rank of " Caesar " and the governance of Thessalonica . He remained loyal to Alexios thereafter , participating in most Byzantine campaigns of the period 1081 – 1095 in the Balkans at the emperor ' s side . He died on 17 November 1104 . Biography . Origins and early career . Nikephoros Melissenos was probably born circa 1045 at Dorylaeum , where his family had extensive estates . Through both his father and his mother , he was of aristocratic descent : his father belonged to the Bourtzes line , while his mother to the illustrious Melissenos family , which dated back to the 8th century and had produced several distinguished generals . Sometime before 1067 , Nikephoros married Eudokia Komnene , the second daughter of the Domestic of the Schools John Komnenos and Anna Dalassene and sister of the future Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos ( r . 1081 – 1118 ) . They had at least one known son , who was named John Komnenos . Melissenos held the rank of " magistros " and the post of governor ( " doux " ) of Triaditza ( modern Sofia ) for some time during the 1060s . In 1070 , he joined the field army commanded by his eldest brother - in - law , the " protostrator " Manuel Komnenos , in a campaign against the Seljuk Turks . The campaign ended in defeat near Sebasteia ( modern Sivas ) , and Melissenos along with Manuel Komnenos were captured by a Turkish chieftain whom the Byzantines called Chrysoskoulos . Manuel , however , quickly persuaded the Turk to enter into Byzantine service , and their captivity ended . Melissenos remained loyal to Michael VII Doukas ( r . 1071 – 1078 ) during the rebellion of the " strategos " of the Anatolic Theme , Nikephoros Botaneiates ( Nikephoros III ) , which began in October 1077 . Michael VII rewarded him by appointing him to Botaneiates ' s post , but after Botaneiates ' s victory and entry into Constantinople in April 1078 , Melissenos was exiled to the island of Kos . Rebellion . In autumn 1080 , Melissenos left Kos and returned to Asia Minor . There , he succeeded in gaining the support of the local population , and in recruiting many Turkish tribesmen as mercenaries to his army . One by one , the cities of western and central Asia Minor opened up their gates to him , and Turkish garrisons were installed in them . Botaneiates tried to send Alexios Komnenos , who had recently suppressed the revolts of Nikephoros Bryennios and Nikephoros Basilakes , against him , but he refused . In February 1081 , Melissenos ' s troops took Nicaea , where he was acclaimed as emperor , and defeated a loyalist army under the eunuch John . In March 1081 , Melissenos was encamped with his army at Damalis , on the Asian shore across the Bosporus from Constantinople . There , he received news of the revolt of the Komnenoi against Botaneiates and the proclamation of Alexios Komnenos as emperor . He sent letters to the Komnenoi , suggesting a division of authority over the imperial territory , with the Balkans remaining under Komnenian control and himself keeping Asia Minor , although he also emphasized that the Byzantine Empire should remain united . In reply , the Komnenoi offered to recognize him as " Caesar " – the second highest dignity after the imperial title itself – and to give him the governance of Thessalonica – the Empire ' s second - most important city – if he would submit to them . Melissenos initially refused to accept this offer , but as the Komnenoi were on the verge of taking Constantinople and might refuse to make similar concessions later , he eventually agreed . At the same time , the emperor Nikephoros Botaneiates tried to forestall the capital ' s fall to the Komnenoi by sending for Melissenos and asking him to enter the city and assume imperial authority . His envoys , however , were obstructed by George Palaiologos and never reached Melissenos . Constantinople fell to the Komnenian forces , and on 8 April 1081 , Melissenos too entered the imperial capital . True to his word , Alexios I raised him to " Caesar " and gave him authority over Thessalonica , as well as allotting the city ' s revenues to his income . At the same time , however , Alexios raised his brother Isaac Komnenos to the newly created dignity of " sebastokrator " , which he placed above that of " Caesar " , bypassing Melissenos . This act of submission , unique among the various rebels of the time , may throw some light on Melissenos ' s motivation for his uprising , according to the historian Jean - Claude Cheynet . Cheynet believes that Melissenos was probably more concerned with safeguarding his Asian estates from the depredations of the Turks , and when Alexios granted him Thessalonica and equivalent estates around it – some of which Melissenos later distributed to his clients , like the Bourtzes family – he readily gave up the contest for the Byzantine throne . Despite the end of Melissenos ' s revolt , it left a profound legacy : although Melissenos himself submitted to Alexios Komnenos , the towns he had occupied and garrisoned with Turkish soldiers in Ionia , Phrygia , Galatia , and Bithynia remained in their hands . Thus , by becoming involved in the Byzantine civil wars as mercenaries and allies – especially through their use by Botaneiates and Melissenos during their respective revolts to hold down various cities for them – the Turks completed their relatively peaceful take - over of central and western Asia Minor . Service under Alexios Komnenos . Melissenos continued to serve Alexios I faithfully throughout the rest of his life . In autumn 1081 , he marched alongside Alexios in his campaign against the Normans of Robert Guiscard . In the Battle of Dyrrhachium , which ended in a crushing Byzantine defeat , he commanded the Byzantine army ' s right wing . In the 1083 campaign in Thessaly against the Normans , who , under Guiscard ' s son Bohemond were besieging Larissa , Melissenos was used by Alexios as the centerpiece to a ruse . The emperor gave him the imperial insignia and a detachment of the army , which Bohemond proceeded to attack in the belief that this was the main Byzantine force , since the emperor was present with it . While the Normans pursued Melissenos ' s men , Alexios with the main army took and looted the Norman camp , forcing Bohemond to lift the siege and withdraw . Melissenos fought alongside Alexios in the Battle of Dristra ( late August 1087 ) against the Pechenegs , commanding the Byzantine left wing . The battle ended in a heavy Byzantine defeat , and Melissenos was taken captive along with many other Byzantines , to be ransomed by the emperor after some time . In spring 1091 , Melissenos was sent to Ainos to recruit soldiers from among the Bulgarians and Vlachs . Occupied with this task , he did not join the imperial army in time for the crushing Byzantine victory over the Pechenegs at the Battle of Levounion on 29 April , arriving the next day . Later in the same year , he participated in the family council of Philippopolis which examined the accusations of conspiracy raised against John Komnenos , the " doux " of Dyrrhachium by the Archbishop of Ochrid Theophylact . The council degenerated into a heated family quarrel , where John ' s father , the " sebastokrator " Isaac , accused Melissenos and Adrian Komnenos of slandering his son , but in the end Alexios dismissed the charges . In the 1095 campaign against the Cumans , Melissenos , along with George Palaiologos and John Taronites were left in charge of defending the region of Berrhoe ( modern Stara Zagora ) against Cuman attacks . This is the last mention of Melissenos in Anna Komnene ' s " Alexiad " . He died on 17 November 1104 .