Bardas Parsakoutenos

Bardas Parsakoutenos (Greek: Βάρδας Παρσακουτηνός) was a Byzantine commander and nephew of Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas.

Life

The family's surname (erroneously spelled Παρσακουντηνός, Parsakountenos, in some manuscripts) derives from the locality of "Parsakoute" (Παρσακούτη). His father, Theodoulos Parsakoutenos, married a lady from the mighty clan of the Phokades, apparently a daughter of the general Bardas Phokas the Elder, father of the general and future emperor Nikephoros II Phokas (reigned 963–969). Bardas had two brothers, Theodore and Nikephoros. As he carried his maternal grandfather's name, he was probably the second-born of the three.

According to Arabic sources, in a battle at Hadath on 19 October 954 Theodoulos Parsakoutenos and one of his sons, either Bardas or the younger Nikephoros, were taken prisoner by the Hamdanid emir Sayf al-Dawla. The eldest brother, Theodore, tried to ransom his father and brother for Sayf al-Dawla's cousn Abu Firas, whom he captured in autumn 962, but it was not until a prisoner exchange on 23 June 966 that the Byzantine captives held by Sayf al-Dawla were released.

Bardas

Bardas (Greek: Βάρδας; died 21 April 866) was a Byzantine noble and high-ranking minister. As the brother of Empress Theodora, he rose to high office under Theophilos (r. 829–842). Although sidelined after Theophilos's death by Theodora and Theoktistos, in 855 he engineered Theoktistos's murder and became the de facto regent for his nephew, Michael III (r. 842–867). Rising to the rank of Caesar, he was the effective ruler of the Byzantine Empire for ten years, a period which saw military success, renewed diplomatic and missionary activity, and an intellectual revival that heralded the Macedonian Renaissance. He was assassinated in 866 at the instigation of Michael III's new favourite, Basil the Macedonian, who a year later would usurp the throne for himself and install his own dynasty on the Byzantine throne.

Biography

Early life

Bardas was born to the droungarios Marinos and Theoktiste, and was the elder brother of Empress Theodora, the wife of Emperor Theophilos, and of Petronas. Three other sisters, Maria, Sophia, and Irene, are recorded by Theophanes Continuatus. The family was of Armenian origin and had settled in Paphlagonia. Some modern genealogists, including Cyril Toumanoff and Nicholas Adontz, have suggested a link of Bardas' family with the Armenian noble clan of the Mamikonian. According to Nina Garsoïan in the Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, however, "[a]ttractive though it is, this thesis cannot be proven for want of sources."

Bardas (disambiguation)

Bardas or Vardas (Greek: Βάρδας) was a medieval Greek name of Armenian origin, originally alluding to Saint Vardan: