Nikephoros Katakalon

Nikephoros Euphorbenos Katakalon (Greek: Νικηφόρος Εὐφορβηνός Κατακαλών) was a Byzantine aristocrat and son-in-law of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118).

He was the son of the distinguished general Constantine Euphorbenos Katakalon, one of Alexios' most trusted officials. As a token of Alexios' appreciation for Constantine, Nikephoros was married to Maria the porphyrogenita, the emperor's second daughter, and raised to the rank of panhypersebastos.^[1][2] From the Alexiad, he is known to have participated in combat against the Cumans in 1095, alongside his father, where he distinguished himself by his bravery. It is unknown when he died, but he is recorded as being dead by 1130.^[3]

With Maria, he had numerous children, but only the names of three of his sons are known, Alexios, Andronikos (governor of Cilicia in 1162) and John.^[2][4]

References

1. Skoulatos (1980), pp. 65, 237
2. Kazhdan (1991), p. 1113
3. Skoulatos (1980), pp. 237–238
4. Cawley, Charles. "Nikephoros Euphorbenos". Medieval lands: A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families. Retrieved 2010-11-12.

Sources

• Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991), Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, New York: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6
• Skoulatos, Basile (1980), Les personnages byzantins de I'Alexiade: Analyse prosopographique et synthese (in French), Louvain: Nauwelaerts