310:, and having no military experience, showed courage and energy in defence of the city. On one occasion an arrow struck and killed a lieutenant standing by his side and his attendants pulled him away. Following the failure of their assaults Tornikios' men were disillusioned, having expected an easy victory. Constantine sent agents to their camps to bribe them to desert, and they met with some success. In desperation Tornikios approached the walls himself to appeal directly to the defenders. He was met by a hail of missiles. Thwarted, he withdrew his army westwards in early October.
137:
270:). Emperor Constantine belonged to this bureaucratic faction, and had been actively reducing the size of the army during the five years since he had come to the throne. This was a major cause of the unrest in Thrace and of Tornikios' own dissatisfaction. More importantly, this infighting had devastated the army's effectiveness. The nearest useful, loyal military force was the army of Anatolia, posted to Iberia to guard the frontier. Constantine was therefore forced to rely on
278:
245:
233:. In Adrianople he gathered supporters, including a number of disgruntled generals. He claimed that Constantine was dead and offered to lead them. The army proclaimed him emperor, its commanders raising him on a shield in the traditional manner. They then marched against the capital and set up camp opposite the
294:
speculates: "Perhaps he wanted to spare a city he believed soon to be his from pillage". Whatever his reasons, he lost his opportunity to take the city, for that night, Emperor
Constantine managed to restore order and re-occupy the walls, to await the arrival of the Anatolian army. The next morning,
289:
A force of armed citizens sallied out to meet
Tornikios but was easily defeated. This spread panic among the capital's defenders, who abandoned their posts on the walls and their gates. Tornikios, however, instead of storming the unmanned walls, hesitated. Contemporary historian, Psellus, wrote: "He
354:, "a city of 800 churches and immense wealth". Its sack is evidenced by contemporary reports of 150,000 dead. This was the first major, successful Turkish raid into eastern Byzantine territory. They subsequently became nearly annual events, culminating 24 years later in the
322:
but was again repulsed. At this point many of his remaining followers deserted. The army of
Anatolia arrived at Constantinople and set out in pursuit, causing his few remaining supporters to abandon him. By the time he was run to ground at a church in
257:
The
Byzantine bureaucracy distrusted the military aristocracy and had been systematically undermining it, for example removing the day-to-day running of the military forces of each province from the traditionally aristocratic
290:
was confidently awaiting our invitation to assume the throne: he assumed that he would be led to the palace by flaming torches, in a procession worthy of a sovereign." Modern historian
295:
Constantine, dressed in full imperial regalia, installed himself in a position where all of the besieging army could see him, giving the lie to
Tornikios' claim that he was dead.
140:
Map of the
Byzantine Empire 22 years prior to Tornikios' revolt. Boundaries were largely unchanged except for the area around Ani, in the north east, having been formally annexed.
302:
25 to 28. Two assaults by
Tornikios' men were turned back by the defenders on the walls under the personal leadership of Emperor Constantine, who, despite suffering from severe
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At
Christmas 1047, in Constantinople, he suffered the traditional fate of Byzantine rebels and was publicly blinded, along with Vatatzes. Nothing further is known about him.
175:, Tornikios soon came to support the Emperor's sister, Euprepia, who opposed the Emperor's policies and frequently compared him favourably with the Emperor. He was named
812:
327:, he had a single adherent, a minor noble named John Vatatzes. Tornikios attempted to claim sanctuary, but was lured out of the church and captured.
125:
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211:. Fearful of Tornikios' popularity among the military aristocracy, Constantine swiftly recalled him to Constantinople, where he was
124:, which he besieged. After two failed assaults he withdrew, his army deserted him and he was captured. At Christmas 1047, he was
203:
according to
Psellos. During Leo's tenure in the east, a revolt broke out in the army in Thrace, which had its headquarters at
773:
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for the next five years. While the
Anatolian army was away from the eastern frontier, the neighbouring
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The revolt weakened Byzantine defences in the Balkans and, in 1048, the area was raided by the
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took advantage to launch a large scale raid into Byzantine Armenia. Unopposed, they captured
164:, describes him as "short, crafty, proud and ambitious". According to Psellos, "he reeked of
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Taking advantage of this freedom, he fled the capital to Adrianople on September
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mercenaries, civilians and paroled convicts to defend the city.
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on the eastern frontier of Byzantine territory. This was either
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general and noble. In 1047, he rebelled against his cousin, the
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39:
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The Byzantine Wars: Battles and Campaigns of the Byzantine Era
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14, 1047, delaying pursuit by slaughtering the horses at each
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751:. New York: Armenian General Benevolent Union of America.
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Hoping to retrieve the situation, he attacked the town of
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207:, 240 kilometres (150 mi) west of the capital,
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653:(in French). Paris, France: Éditions Albin Michel.
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248:Tornikios' attack against Constantinople, from the
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732:. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.
409:, "Tornikios, Leo" (C. M. Brand), pp. 2097–2098.
686:History of the Byzantine Empire from 716–1057
671:. Vol. 6. London: William Benton. 1964.
790:. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.
782:
516:
477:
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388:, "Tornikios" (A. Kazhdan), pp. 2096–2097.
285:mosaic of Constantine IX, Tornikios' uncle
813:11th-century Byzantine military personnel
647:Le monde byzantin: Vie et mort de Byzance
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688:. London: William Blackwood & Sons.
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221:Rebellion and siege of Constantinople
171:Although favoured by his relative,
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729:The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium
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298:The siege lasted from September
148:, the scion of the noted noble
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788:History of The Byzantine State
1:
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128:and no more is known of him.
747:Kurkjian, Vahan M. (1964) .
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120:and marched on the capital,
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16:Byzantine general and noble
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144:Leo Tornikios was born in
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215:but otherwise left free.
107:Constantine IX Monomachos
97:) was a mid-11th century
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46:
30:
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684:Finlay, George (1906) .
181:and military commander (
116:). He raised an army in
76:Siege of Constantinople,
668:Encyclopædia Britannica
505:Encyclopædia Britannica
344:continued to plunder it
235:walls of Constantinople
764:Norwich, John (1991).
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766:Byzantium: the Apogee
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247:
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749:A History of Armenia
468:, pp. 284, 293.
160:. His contemporary,
828:Byzantine governors
818:11th-century rebels
784:Ostrogorsky, George
768:. London: Penguin.
628:, pp. 338–358.
616:, pp. 46, 180.
550:, pp. 313–314.
495:, pp. 312–313.
356:Battle of Manzikert
197:Michael Attaleiates
833:Byzantine usurpers
823:Byzantine generals
724:Kazhdan, Alexander
708:. Stroud: Tempus.
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237:on September
231:post station
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168:arrogance".
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73:Battles/wars
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38:(modern-day
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575:Finlay 1906
807:Categories
362:References
320:Rhaidestos
241:25, 1047.
205:Adrianople
166:Macedonian
156:family of
146:Adrianople
35:Adrianople
796:422217218
757:889896040
694:459585297
659:490176081
340:Pechenegs
308:arthritis
261:strategoi
178:patrikios
158:Tornikios
132:Biography
99:Byzantine
60:Patrikios
42:, Turkey)
843:Patricii
786:(1957).
704:(2001).
677:14609512
644:(1946).
267:praetors
213:tonsured
193:Melitene
189:province
154:Georgian
150:Armenian
635:Sources
292:Norwich
272:Saracen
187:) of a
126:blinded
50:Unknown
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342:, who
314:Defeat
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201:Iberia
118:Thrace
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55:Titles
40:Edirne
651:(PDF)
352:Artze
199:, or
91:Greek
792:OCLC
770:ISBN
753:OCLC
734:ISBN
710:ISBN
690:OCLC
673:OCLC
655:OCLC
306:and
304:gout
184:doux
80:1047
66:doux
47:Died
31:Born
407:ODB
386:ODB
152:or
809::
582:^
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281:A
112:r.
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109:(
89:(
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