Byzantine general, statesman and historian (1062/82–1137)
Nikephoros Bryennios (or Nicephorus Bryennius; Greek: Νικηφόρος Βρυέννιος, Nikēphoros Bryennios; 1062/82–1137) was a Byzantine general, statesman and historian. He was born at Orestias (Adrianople) in the theme of Macedonia.[1]
Life
The Bryennios family were prominent in the city of Adrianople where they were locally powerful. His father (or possibly grandfather), of the same name, the governor of the theme of Dyrrhachium, had revolted against the feeble Michael VII, but had been defeated by the future Emperor Alexios I Komnenos.[2] The son, who was distinguished for his learning, personal beauty, and engaging qualities, gained the favour of Alexios I and the hand of his daughter Anna Komnene, receiving the titles of Caesar and panhypersebastos (one of the new dignities introduced by Alexios). The marriage of Nikephoros the Younger was probably arranged during the Cuman War of 1094, when Alexios needed the support of the Bryennios family and their abilities to mobilise the military potential of Thrace. The marriage took place two years later.[3]
Bryennios successfully defended the walls of Constantinople against the attacks of Godfrey of Bouillon during the First Crusade (1097). This was more of a demonstration than a serious conflict, as the Byzantine defenders were ordered to shoot the Crusaders' horses, to avoid killing Christians on a holy day.[4] He conducted the peace negotiations between Alexios and Prince Bohemond I of Antioch resulting in the Treaty of Devol of 1108.[5] Byennios played an important part in the defeat of Melikshah, the Seljuq Sultan of Rûm, at the Battle of Philomelion (1117), where he led a charge which almost captured the Sultan.[6]
After the death of Alexios, he refused to enter into the conspiracy set afoot by his mother-in-law Irene Doukaina and his wife Anna to depose John II Komnenos, the son of Alexios, and raise him to the throne.[7] His wife attributed his refusal to cowardice, but it seems from certain passages in his own work that he really regarded it as a crime to revolt against the rightful heir; the only reproach that can be brought against him is that he did not nip the conspiracy in the bud. He was on very friendly terms with the new emperor, John II, whom he accompanied, as a senior commander, on his repeated Anatolian campaigns. During the Syrian campaign (1137), he became ill and was forced to return to Constantinople, where he died in the same year.[8]
Family
By his wife Anna Komnene, the kaisar Nikephoros Bryennios had several children, including:
- Alexios Bryennios Komnenos, megas doux, c. 1102–c. 1161/1167
- John Doukas, c. 1103–after 1173
- Eirene Doukaina, c. 1105–?
- Maria Bryennaina Komnene, c. 1107–?
Writings
At the suggestion of his mother-in-law, he wrote a history ("Material for a History", Greek: Ὕλη Ἱστορίας or Ὕλη Ἱστοριῶν) of the period from 1057 to 1081, from the victory of Isaac I Komnenos over Michael VI to the dethronement of Nikephoros III Botaneiates by Alexios I.[9] The work has been described as a family chronicle rather than a history, the object of which was the glorification of the house of Komnenos. Part of the introduction is probably a later addition.
In addition to information derived from older contemporaries (such as his father and father-in-law), Bryennios made use of the works of Michael Psellos, John Skylitzes and Michael Attaleiates. As might be expected, his views are biased by personal considerations and his intimacy with the royal family, which at the same time, however, afforded him unusual facilities for obtaining material. His model was Xenophon, whom he has imitated with a tolerable measure of success; he abstained from an excessive use of simile and metaphor, and his style is concise and simple. He has also been credited with drawing inspiration from the Greek historians of Republican Rome. He died in 1137 before finishing the work. The extent to which his wife's history, The Alexiad, draws on the second volume of Bryennios' work, is moot.[10]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bryennius, Nicephorus". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.