John Kourkouas
Encyclopedia
John Kourkouas also transliterated as Kurkuas or Curcuas, was one of the most important generals of the Byzantine Empire
. His successes in battle against the Muslim states
in the East definitively reversed the course of the centuries-long Byzantine–Arab Wars and began Byzantium's 10th-century "Age of Conquest".
Kourkouas belonged to a family of Armenian
descent that produced several notable Byzantine generals. As commander of one of the imperial bodyguard regiments, Kourkouas was among the chief supporters of Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos (reigned 920–944) and facilitated the latter's rise to the throne. In 923, Kourkouas was appointed commander-in-chief of the Byzantine armies along the eastern frontier, facing the Abbasid Caliphate and the semi-autonomous Muslim border emirates. He kept this post for more than twenty years, overseeing decisive Byzantine military successes that altered the strategic balance in the region.
During the 9th century, Byzantium had gradually recovered its strength and internal stability while the Caliphate had become increasingly impotent and fractured. Under Kourkouas's leadership, the Byzantine armies advanced deep into Muslim territory for the first time in almost 200 years, expanding the imperial border. The emirates of Melitene and Kalikala were conquered, extending Byzantine control to the upper Euphrates
and over western Armenia
. The remaining Iberian
and Armenian princes became Byzantine vassals. Kourkouas also played a role in the defeat of a major Rus'
raid in 941 and recovered the Mandylion of Edessa
, an important and holy relic
believed to depict the face of Jesus Christ. He was dismissed in 944 as a result of the machinations of Romanos Lekapenos's sons, but restored to favour by Emperor Constantine VII
, serving as imperial ambassador in 946. His subsequent fate is unknown.
of the Armenian Kourkouas
family—a Hellenized
form of their original surname, Gurgen—which had risen to prominence in Byzantine service in the 9th century and established itself as one of the great families of the Anatolia
n land-holding military aristocracy. John's namesake grandfather had been a commander of the elite Hikanatoi
regiment (tagma
) under Emperor Basil I
(reigned 867–886); John's brother Theophilos
became a senior general, as did John's own son, Romanos, and his great-nephew, John Tzimiskes.
Little is known about John's early life. His father was a wealthy official in the imperial palace. John himself was born at Dokeia (now Tokat
), in the region of Darbidos in the Armeniac Theme
, and was educated by one of his relatives, the bishop of Gangra Christopher. At some point during Empress Zoe Karbonopsina
's regency (reigned 914–919) for her infant son Constantine VII
, he was appointed as the commander of the Vigla
palace guard regiment. From this post, Kourkouas supported his fellow Armenian, the admiral Romanos Lekapenos, and arrested several high officials who opposed him. This opened the road to Lekapenos's appointment as regent in place of the Empress Zoe in 919. Lekapenos gradually assumed more powers, until he was crowned senior emperor in December 920. As a reward for his support, in ca. 923, Romanos Lekapenos promoted Kourkouas to the post of Domestic of the Schools
, in effect commander-in-chief of all the imperial armies in Anatolia. According to the chronicle of Theophanes Continuatus
, Kourkouas held this post for an unparalleled continuous term of 22 years and seven months.
At this time, and following the disastrous Battle of Acheloos in 917, the Byzantines were mostly occupied in the Balkans against Bulgaria
. Hence, Kourkouas's first task as Domestic of the East was the suppression of the revolt of Bardas Boilas, the governor (strategos
) of Chaldia
, a strategically important area on the Empire's northeastern Anatolian frontier. This was quickly achieved and his brother, Theophilos Kourkouas, replaced Boilas as governor of Chaldia. As commander of this northernmost sector of the eastern frontier, Theophilos proved a competent soldier and gave valuable assistance to his brother's campaigns.
of the middle 7th century, the Byzantine–Arab conflict had featured constant raids and counter-raids along a relatively static border roughly defined by the line of the Taurus
and Anti-Taurus Mountains
. Until the 860s, superior Muslim armies had placed the Byzantines on the defensive. Only after 863, with the victory in the Battle of Lalakaon, did the Byzantines gradually regain some lost ground against the Muslims, launching raids into Syria
and Mesopotamia
and annexing the Paulician state around Tephrike (now Divriği
). According to historian Mark Whittow, "by 912 the Arabs had been pinned back behind the Taurus and Anti-Taurus" encouraging the Armenians to switch their allegiance from the Caliphate to the Empire, in whose service they entered in increasing numbers. The revival of Byzantine power was further facilitated by the progressive decline of the Abbasid Caliphate, particularly under Al-Muqtadir
(r. 908–932), when the central government faced several revolts. In the periphery of the Caliphate, the weakening of central control allowed the emergence of semi-autonomous local dynasties. Furthermore, after the death of the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon
in 927, a peace treaty with the Bulgarians allowed the shift of the Empire's attention and resources to the East.
By 925, Romanos Lekapenos felt himself strong enough to demand the payment of tribute from the Muslim cities on the western side of the Euphrates
. When they refused, in 926, Kourkouas led the army across the border. Aided by his brother Theophilos and an Armenian contingent under the strategos of Lykandos
, Mleh (Melias
in Greek sources), Kourkouas targeted Melitene (modern Malatya
), the center of an emirate which had long been a thorn in Byzantium's side. The Byzantine army successfully stormed the city. Although the citadel held out, Kourkouas concluded a treaty by which the emir accepted tributary status.
In 927–928, Kourkouas launched a large raid into Arab-controlled Armenia
. After taking Samosata
(modern Samsat), an important stronghold on the Euphrates, the Byzantines advanced as far as the Armenian capital of Dvin
. An Arab counter-offensive forced them out of Samosata after only a few days. Dvin was also abandoned, with heavy loss of life, according to Arab sources. At the same time, the Arabs of Tarsus
conducted successful raids into southern Anatolia. The Byzantines turned toward southern Armenia and plundered the region around Lake Van
, taking the town of Khliat
and prompting an exodus of Muslims from the region. This incursion, more than 500 kilometres (310.7 mi) from the nearest imperial territory, was a far cry from the defensive-minded strategy Byzantium had followed during the previous centuries and highlighted the new capabilities of the imperial army. Nevertheless, famine in Anatolia and the exigencies of campaigns in southern Italy weakened Kourkouas's forces. The Armenian campaign of 929 was defeated and driven back by Muflikh-as-Sadji, a relative of the emir of Azerbaijan
.
In 930, Melias's attack on Samosata was heavily defeated; among other prominent officers, one of his sons was captured and sent to Baghdad
. Later in the same year, John and his brother Theophilos besieged Theodosiopolis (modern Erzurum
), the capital of the emirate of Kalikala. The campaign was complicated by the machinations of their ostensible allies, the Iberian
rulers of Tao-Klarjeti
. Resenting the extension of direct Byzantine control adjacent to their own borders, they had already provided supplies to the besieged city. Once the city was invested, they vociferously demanded that the Byzantines hand over several captured towns, but when one of them, the fort of Mastaton, was surrendered, the Iberians promptly returned it to the Arabs. Kourkouas needed to keep the Iberians placated and was aware that his conduct was being carefully observed by the Armenian princes, he did not react to this affront. After seven months of siege, Theodosiopolis fell in spring 931. The city was transformed into a tributary vassal. According to the De Administrando Imperio
, all territory north of the river Araxes was given to the Iberian king David II
. As in Melitene, the maintenance of Byzantine control over Theodosiopolis proved difficult and the population remained restive. In 939, it revolted and drove out the Byzantines, and Theophilos Kourkouas could not subdue the city until 949. It was then fully incorporated into the Empire and its Muslim population was expelled and replaced by Greek and Armenian settlers.
The other Muslim states were not idle, however: in March, the Byzantines were hit by three successive raids in Asia Minor, organized by the Abbasid commander Mu'nis al-Khadim
, while in August, a large raid led by Suml, the emir of Tarsus, penetrated as far as Ancyra and Amorium
and returned with prisoners worth 136,000 dinar
s. During this time, the Byzantines were engaged in southern Armenia against the emir of Azerbaijan. There they scored a number of victories, taking the fortresses of Perkri and Manzikert, before marching into Mesopotamia
and capturing Samosata again. At this point, the Melitenians called upon the Hamdanid rulers of Mosul
for help. In response, the Hamdanid prince Said ibn Hamdan attacked the Byzantines and drove them back: Samosata was abandoned, and in November 931, the Byzantine garrison withdrew from Melitene as well. Said was, however, unable to remain in the area or to leave a sufficient garrison; once he left for Mosul, the Byzantines returned and resumed both the blockade of Melitene and their scorched-earth tactics.
The sources record no major Byzantine external campaigns for 932; the Empire was preoccupied with two revolts in the Opsician Theme. In 933, Kourkouas renewed the attack against Melitene. Mu'nis al-Khadim sent forces to assist the beleaguered city. In the resulting skirmishes, the Byzantines prevailed and took many prisoners and the Arab army returned home without relieving the city. In early 934, at the head of 50,000 men, Kourkouas again crossed the frontier and marched toward Melitene. The other Muslim states offered no help, preoccupied as they were with the turmoil following Caliph Al-Qahir's
deposition. Kourkouas again took Samosata and besieged Melitene. Many of the city's inhabitants had abandoned it at the news of Kourkouas's approach and hunger eventually compelled the rest to surrender on May 19, 934. Wary of the city's previous rebellions, Kourkouas only allowed those inhabitants to remain who were Christians or agreed to convert to Christianity; most did so. He ordered the remainder expelled. Melitene was fully incorporated into the empire, and most of its fertile land was transformed into an imperial estate (kouratoreia). It was an unusual move, implemented by Romanos I to prevent the powerful Anatolian landed aristocracy from taking control of the province. It also served to increase direct imperial presence and control on the crucial new borderlands.
With the decline of the Caliphate and its obvious inability to defend its border provinces, a new local dynasty, the Hamdanids, emerged as the principal antagonists of Byzantium along in northern Mesopotamia and Syria
. They were led by Hassan, called Nasir al-Dawla ("Defender of the State"), and by his younger brother Ali, best known by his epithet, Sayf al-Dawla ("Sword of the State"). In ca. 935, the Arab tribe of Banu Habib, defeated by the rising Hamdanids, defected in its entirety to the Byzantines, converted to Christianity, and placed its 12,000 horsemen at the disposal of the Empire. They were settled along the western bank of the Euphrates and assigned to guard five new themes created there: Melitene, Charpezikion, Asmosaton (Arsamosata), Derzene and Chozanon.
The first Byzantine encounter with Sayf al-Dawla took place in 936, when he tried to relieve Samosata, but a revolt at home forced him to turn back. In another invasion in 938, however, he captured the fort of Charpete and defeated Kourkouas's advance guard, seizing a great amount of booty and forcing Kourkouas to withdraw. In the same year, a peace agreement was signed between Constantinople and the Caliphate. The negotiations were facilitated by the rising power of the Hamdanids, which caused anxiety to both sides. Despite the official peace with the Caliphate, ad hoc warfare continued between the Byzantines and the local Muslim rulers, now aided by the Hamdanids. The Byzantines attempted to besiege Theodosiopolis in 939, but the siege was abandoned at the news of the approach of Sayf al-Dawla's relief army.
By that time, the Byzantines had captured Arsamosata
and additional strategically important locations in the mountains of southwest Armenia, posing a direct threat to the Muslim emirates around Lake Van. To reverse the situation, in 940 Sayf al-Dawla initiated a remarkable campaign: starting from Mayyafiriqin (Martyropolis
), he crossed the Bitlis
pass into Armenia, where he seized several fortresses and accepted the submission of the local lords, both Muslim and Christian. He ravaged the Byzantine holdings around Theodosiopolis and raided as far as Koloneia
, which he besieged until Kourkouas arrived with a relief army and forced him to withdraw. Sayf al-Dawla was not able to follow up on this effort: until 945, the Hamdanids were preoccupied with internal developments in the Caliphate and with fighting against the Buyids in Mesopotamia and the Ikhshidids in Syria.
fleet that raided the area around Constantinople itself. The Byzantine army and navy were absent from the capital and the appearance of the Rus' fleet caused panic among the populace of Constantinople. While the navy and Kourkouas's army were recalled, a hastily assembled squadron of old ships armed with Greek Fire
and placed under the protovestiarios
Theophanes
defeated the Rus' fleet on June 11, forcing it to abandon its course toward the city. The surviving Rus' landed on the shores of Bithynia
and ravaged the defenseless countryside. The patrikios Bardas Phokas
hastened to the area with whatever troops he could gather, contained the raiders, and awaited the arrival of Kourkouas's army. Finally, Kourkouas and his army appeared and fell upon the Rus', who had dispersed to plunder the countryside, killing many of them. The survivors retreated to their ships and tried to cross to Thrace
under the cover of night. During the crossing, the entire Byzantine navy
attacked and annihilated the Rus'.
, which was thoroughly plundered: at the fall of the town of Hamus, near Aleppo, even Arab sources record the capture of 10–15,000 prisoners by the Byzantines. Despite a minor counter-raid by Suml from Tarsus in the summer, in autumn Kourkouas launched another major invasion. At the head of an exceptionally large army, some 80,000 men according to Arab sources, he crossed from allied Taron
into northern Mesopotamia. Mayyafiriqin, Amida
, Nisibis
, Dara
—places where no Byzantine army had trod since the days of Heraclius
300 years earlier—were stormed and ravaged. The real aim of these campaigns, however, was Edessa
, the repository of the "Holy Mandylion". This was a cloth believed to have been used by Christ
to wipe his face, leaving an imprint of his features, and subsequently given to King Abgar V of Edessa
. To the Byzantines, especially after the end of the Iconoclasm period and the restoration of image veneration, it was a relic of profound religious significance. As a result, its capture would provide Lekapenos's regime an enormous boost in popularity and legitimacy.
Kourkouas assailed Edessa every year from 942 onward and devastated its countryside, as he had done at Melitene. Finally, its emir agreed to a peace, swearing not to raise arms against Byzantium and to hand over the Mandylion in exchange for the return of 200 prisoners. The Mandylion was conveyed to Constantinople, where it arrived on August 15, 944, on the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos
. A triumphal entry was staged for the venerated relic, which was then deposited in the Theotokos of the Pharos church, the palatine chapel of the Great Palace
. As for Kourkouas, he concluded his campaign by sacking Bithra (modern Birecik
) and Germanikeia (modern Kahramanmaraş
).
and Constantine
, were jealous of Kourkouas and had in the past tried to undermine him, albeit without success. Following Kourkouas's successes in the East, Romanos I considered marrying his trusted general into the imperial family. Kourkouas's daughter Euphrosyne was to be wedded with the emperor's grandson, the future Romanos II
, the son of his son-in-law and junior emperor Constantine VII
. Although such a union would effectively cement the loyalty of the army, it would also strengthen the position of the legitimate Macedonian line
, represented by Constantine VII, over the imperial claims of Romanos's own sons. Predictably, Stephen and Constantine opposed this decision, and prevailed upon their father, who was by this time ill and old, to dismiss Kourkouas in the autumn of 944.
Kourkouas was replaced by a certain Pantherios, who was almost immediately defeated by Sayf al-Daula in December, whilst raiding near Aleppo. On December 16, Romanos I himself was deposed by Stephen and Constantine and banished to a monastery on the island of Prote. A few weeks later, on January 26, another coup removed the two young Lekapenoi from power and restored the sole imperial authority to Constantine VII. Kourkouas himself appears to have soon returned to imperial favour: Constantine provided the money for the repair of Kourkouas's palace after it was damaged by an earthquake, and in early 946, he is recorded as having been sent with the magistros Kosmas to negotiate a prisoner exchange with the Arabs of Tarsus. Nothing further is known about him.
The fall of the Lekapenoi signaled the end of an era in terms of personalities, but Kourkouas's expansionist policy continued: he was succeeded by Bardas Phokas the Elder
, followed by Nikephoros Phokas
, and finally, by Kourkouas's own great-nephew, the Emperor John Tzimiskes (r. 969–976). All of them expanded the Byzantine frontier in the East, recovering Cilicia
and northern Syria with Antioch
, and converting the Hamdanid emirate of Aleppo into a Byzantine protectorate
by the end of the 10th century.
. In a contemporary eight-book history, written by a protospatharios
Michael and now lost save for a short summary in Theophanes Continuatus
, he is acclaimed as "a second Trajan
or Belisarius
".
The ground work for his successes had certainly been laid by others: Michael III
, who broke the power of Melitene at Lalakaon; Basil I
, who destroyed the Paulicians; Leo VI the Wise
, who founded the vital theme of Mesopotamia
; and Empress Zoe
, who extended Byzantine influence again into Armenia and founded the theme of Lykandos. It was Kourkouas and his campaigns, however, that incontrovertibly changed the balance of power in the northern Middle East
, securing the frontier provinces against Arab raids and turning Byzantium into an expansionist power. In the words of historian Steven Runciman
, "a lesser general might [...] have cleared the Empire of the Saracen
s and successfully defended its borders; but [Kourkouas] did more. He infused a new spirit into the imperial armies, and led them victoriously deep into the country of the infidels. The actual area of his conquests was not so very large; but they sufficed to reverse the age-old roles of Byzantium and the Arabs. Byzantium now was the aggressor... [John Kourkouas] was the first of a line of great conquerors and as the first is worthy of high praise."
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. His successes in battle against the Muslim states
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
in the East definitively reversed the course of the centuries-long Byzantine–Arab Wars and began Byzantium's 10th-century "Age of Conquest".
Kourkouas belonged to a family of Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
descent that produced several notable Byzantine generals. As commander of one of the imperial bodyguard regiments, Kourkouas was among the chief supporters of Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos (reigned 920–944) and facilitated the latter's rise to the throne. In 923, Kourkouas was appointed commander-in-chief of the Byzantine armies along the eastern frontier, facing the Abbasid Caliphate and the semi-autonomous Muslim border emirates. He kept this post for more than twenty years, overseeing decisive Byzantine military successes that altered the strategic balance in the region.
During the 9th century, Byzantium had gradually recovered its strength and internal stability while the Caliphate had become increasingly impotent and fractured. Under Kourkouas's leadership, the Byzantine armies advanced deep into Muslim territory for the first time in almost 200 years, expanding the imperial border. The emirates of Melitene and Kalikala were conquered, extending Byzantine control to the upper Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
and over western Armenia
Western Armenia
Western Armenia is a term, primarily used by Armenians, to refer to Armenian-inhabited areas of the Armenian Highland that were part of the Ottoman Empire and now are part of the Republic of Turkey....
. The remaining Iberian
Caucasian Iberia
Iberia , also known as Iveria , was a name given by the ancient Greeks and Romans to the ancient Georgian kingdom of Kartli , corresponding roughly to the eastern and southern parts of the present day Georgia...
and Armenian princes became Byzantine vassals. Kourkouas also played a role in the defeat of a major Rus'
Rus' (people)
The Rus' were a group of Varangians . According to the Primary Chronicle of Rus, compiled in about 1113 AD, the Rus had relocated from the Baltic region , first to Northeastern Europe, creating an early polity which finally came under the leadership of Rurik...
raid in 941 and recovered the Mandylion of Edessa
Edessa, Mesopotamia
Edessa is the Greek name of an Aramaic town in northern Mesopotamia, as refounded by Seleucus I Nicator. For the modern history of the city, see Şanlıurfa.-Names:...
, an important and holy relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
believed to depict the face of Jesus Christ. He was dismissed in 944 as a result of the machinations of Romanos Lekapenos's sons, but restored to favour by Emperor Constantine VII
Constantine VII
Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos or Porphyrogenitus, "the Purple-born" was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 913 to 959...
, serving as imperial ambassador in 946. His subsequent fate is unknown.
Early life and career
John was a scionKinship
Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....
of the Armenian Kourkouas
Kourkouas
The Kourkouas or Curcuas family was one of the many nakharar families from Armenia that migrated to the Byzantine Empire during the Islamic invasions. They rose to prominence as part of the Anatolian military aristocracy in the 10th century, providing several high-ranking generals and an emperor....
family—a Hellenized
Hellenization
Hellenization is a term used to describe the spread of ancient Greek culture, and, to a lesser extent, language. It is mainly used to describe the spread of Hellenistic civilization during the Hellenistic period following the campaigns of Alexander the Great of Macedon...
form of their original surname, Gurgen—which had risen to prominence in Byzantine service in the 9th century and established itself as one of the great families of the Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
n land-holding military aristocracy. John's namesake grandfather had been a commander of the elite Hikanatoi
Hikanatoi
The Hikanatoi , sometimes Latinized as Hicanati, were one of the Byzantine tagmata, the elite guard units based near the imperial capital of Constantinople...
regiment (tagma
Tagma (military)
The tagma is a term for a military unit of battalion or regiment size. The best-known and most technical use of the term however refers to the elite regiments formed by Byzantine emperor Constantine V and comprising the central army of the Byzantine Empire in the 8th–11th centuries.-History and...
) under Emperor Basil I
Basil I
Basil I, called the Macedonian was a Byzantine emperor of probable Armenian descent who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a simple peasant in the Byzantine theme of Macedonia, he rose in the imperial court, and usurped the imperial throne from Emperor Michael III...
(reigned 867–886); John's brother Theophilos
Theophilos Kourkouas
Theophilos Kourkouas was a distinguished Byzantine general in the 10th century. He was also the grandfather of the Byzantine emperor John I Tzimiskes ....
became a senior general, as did John's own son, Romanos, and his great-nephew, John Tzimiskes.
Little is known about John's early life. His father was a wealthy official in the imperial palace. John himself was born at Dokeia (now Tokat
Tokat
Tokat is the capital city of Tokat Province of Turkey, at the mid Black Sea region of Anatolia. According to the 2009 census, the city of Tokat has a population of 129,879.-History:Tokat was established in the Hittite era....
), in the region of Darbidos in the Armeniac Theme
Armeniac Theme
The Armeniac Theme , more properly the Theme of the Armeniacs was a Byzantine theme located in northeastern Asia Minor .-History:...
, and was educated by one of his relatives, the bishop of Gangra Christopher. At some point during Empress Zoe Karbonopsina
Zoe Karbonopsina
Zoe Karbonopsina, also Karvounopsina or Carbonopsina, i.e., "with the Coal-Black Eyes" , was fourth wife of the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise and the mother of Constantine VII....
's regency (reigned 914–919) for her infant son Constantine VII
Constantine VII
Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos or Porphyrogenitus, "the Purple-born" was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 913 to 959...
, he was appointed as the commander of the Vigla
Vigla (tagma)
The Vigla , also known as the Arithmos and in English as the Watch, was one of the elite tagmata of the Byzantine army. It was established in the latter half of the 8th century, and survived until the late 11th century...
palace guard regiment. From this post, Kourkouas supported his fellow Armenian, the admiral Romanos Lekapenos, and arrested several high officials who opposed him. This opened the road to Lekapenos's appointment as regent in place of the Empress Zoe in 919. Lekapenos gradually assumed more powers, until he was crowned senior emperor in December 920. As a reward for his support, in ca. 923, Romanos Lekapenos promoted Kourkouas to the post of Domestic of the Schools
Domestic of the Schools
The Domestic of the Schools was a senior Byzantine military office, extant from the 8th century until at least the early 14th century. Originally simply the commander of the Scholai, the senior of the elite tagmata regiments, the Domestic quickly rose in prominence: by the mid-9th century, its...
, in effect commander-in-chief of all the imperial armies in Anatolia. According to the chronicle of Theophanes Continuatus
Theophanes Continuatus
Theophanes Continuatus or Scriptores post Theophanem is the Latin name commonly applied to a collection of historical writings preserved in the 11th-century Vat. gr. 167 manuscript. Its name derives from its role as the continuation, covering the years 813–961, of the chronicle of Theophanes the...
, Kourkouas held this post for an unparalleled continuous term of 22 years and seven months.
At this time, and following the disastrous Battle of Acheloos in 917, the Byzantines were mostly occupied in the Balkans against Bulgaria
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...
. Hence, Kourkouas's first task as Domestic of the East was the suppression of the revolt of Bardas Boilas, the governor (strategos
Strategos
Strategos, plural strategoi, is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor...
) of Chaldia
Chaldia
Chaldia was a historical region located in the Black Sea coast of Asia Minor . Its name was derived from a people called the Chaldoi that inhabited the region in Antiquity. Chaldia was used throughout the Byzantine period and was established as a formal theme, known as the Theme of Chaldia , in...
, a strategically important area on the Empire's northeastern Anatolian frontier. This was quickly achieved and his brother, Theophilos Kourkouas, replaced Boilas as governor of Chaldia. As commander of this northernmost sector of the eastern frontier, Theophilos proved a competent soldier and gave valuable assistance to his brother's campaigns.
First submission of Melitene, campaigns into Armenia
Following the Muslim conquestsMuslim conquests
Muslim conquests also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests, began with the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He established a new unified polity in the Arabian Peninsula which under the subsequent Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates saw a century of rapid expansion of Muslim power.They...
of the middle 7th century, the Byzantine–Arab conflict had featured constant raids and counter-raids along a relatively static border roughly defined by the line of the Taurus
Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east...
and Anti-Taurus Mountains
Anti-Taurus Mountains
Anti-Taurus is a mountain range in southern and eastern Turkey, curving northeast from the Taurus Mountains. The tallest mountain in the range is Mount Erciyes,...
. Until the 860s, superior Muslim armies had placed the Byzantines on the defensive. Only after 863, with the victory in the Battle of Lalakaon, did the Byzantines gradually regain some lost ground against the Muslims, launching raids into Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
and annexing the Paulician state around Tephrike (now Divriği
Divrigi
Divriği is a town and a district of Sivas Province of Turkey. The town lies on gentle slope on the south bank of the Çaltısuyu river, a tributary of the Karasu river....
). According to historian Mark Whittow, "by 912 the Arabs had been pinned back behind the Taurus and Anti-Taurus" encouraging the Armenians to switch their allegiance from the Caliphate to the Empire, in whose service they entered in increasing numbers. The revival of Byzantine power was further facilitated by the progressive decline of the Abbasid Caliphate, particularly under Al-Muqtadir
Al-Muqtadir
Al-Muqtadir was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 908 AD to 932 AD .After the previous Caliph, al-Muktafi, was confined for several months to his sick-bed, intrigue was made for some time as to his successor...
(r. 908–932), when the central government faced several revolts. In the periphery of the Caliphate, the weakening of central control allowed the emergence of semi-autonomous local dynasties. Furthermore, after the death of the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon
Simeon I of Bulgaria
Simeon I the Great ruled over Bulgaria from 893 to 927, during the First Bulgarian Empire. Simeon's successful campaigns against the Byzantines, Magyars and Serbs led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion ever, making it the most powerful state in contemporary Eastern Europe...
in 927, a peace treaty with the Bulgarians allowed the shift of the Empire's attention and resources to the East.
By 925, Romanos Lekapenos felt himself strong enough to demand the payment of tribute from the Muslim cities on the western side of the Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
. When they refused, in 926, Kourkouas led the army across the border. Aided by his brother Theophilos and an Armenian contingent under the strategos of Lykandos
Lykandos
Lykandos or Lycandus was the name of a Byzantine fortress and military-civilian province , known as the Theme of Lykandos, in the 10th–11th centuries.-History:...
, Mleh (Melias
Melias (general of Lykandos)
Melias or Mleh was an Armenian prince who entered Byzantine service and became a distinguished general, founding the theme of Lykandos and participating in the campaigns of John Kourkouas against the Arabs....
in Greek sources), Kourkouas targeted Melitene (modern Malatya
Malatya
Malatya ) is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of its eponymous province.-Overview:The city site has been occupied for thousands of years. The Assyrians called the city Meliddu. Following Roman expansion into the east, the city was renamed in Latin as Melitene...
), the center of an emirate which had long been a thorn in Byzantium's side. The Byzantine army successfully stormed the city. Although the citadel held out, Kourkouas concluded a treaty by which the emir accepted tributary status.
Bagratuni Kingdom of Armenia
The medieval Kingdom of Armenia, also known as Bagratid Armenia , was an independent state established by Ashot I Bagratuni in 885 following nearly two centuries of foreign domination of Greater Armenia under Arab Umayyad and Abbasid rule...
. After taking Samosata
Samosata
Samosata was an ancient city on the right bank of the Euphrates whose ruins existed at the modern city of Samsat, Adıyaman Province, Turkey until the site was flooded by the newly-constructed Atatürk Dam....
(modern Samsat), an important stronghold on the Euphrates, the Byzantines advanced as far as the Armenian capital of Dvin
Dvin
Dvin was a large commercial city and the capital of early medieval Armenia. It was situated north of the previous ancient capital of Armenia, the city of Artaxata, along the banks of the Metsamor River, 35 km to the south of modern Yerevan...
. An Arab counter-offensive forced them out of Samosata after only a few days. Dvin was also abandoned, with heavy loss of life, according to Arab sources. At the same time, the Arabs of Tarsus
Tarsus (city)
Tarsus is a historic city in south-central Turkey, 20 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of 2.75 million...
conducted successful raids into southern Anatolia. The Byzantines turned toward southern Armenia and plundered the region around Lake Van
Lake Van
Lake Van is the largest lake in Turkey, located in the far east of the country in Van district. It is a saline and soda lake, receiving water from numerous small streams that descend from the surrounding mountains. Lake Van is one of the world's largest endorheic lakes . The original outlet from...
, taking the town of Khliat
Ahlat
Ahlat is a historic town and a district in Turkey's Bitlis Province in Eastern Anatolia Region. The center town of Ahlat is situated on the northwestern coast of the Lake Van. She was the district in Van Province between 1929-1936...
and prompting an exodus of Muslims from the region. This incursion, more than 500 kilometres (310.7 mi) from the nearest imperial territory, was a far cry from the defensive-minded strategy Byzantium had followed during the previous centuries and highlighted the new capabilities of the imperial army. Nevertheless, famine in Anatolia and the exigencies of campaigns in southern Italy weakened Kourkouas's forces. The Armenian campaign of 929 was defeated and driven back by Muflikh-as-Sadji, a relative of the emir of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
.
In 930, Melias's attack on Samosata was heavily defeated; among other prominent officers, one of his sons was captured and sent to Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. Later in the same year, John and his brother Theophilos besieged Theodosiopolis (modern Erzurum
Erzurum
Erzurum is a city in Turkey. It is the largest city, the capital of Erzurum Province. The city is situated 1757 meters above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 361,235 in the 2000 census. .Erzurum, known as "The Rock" in NATO code, served as NATO's southeastern-most air force post during the...
), the capital of the emirate of Kalikala. The campaign was complicated by the machinations of their ostensible allies, the Iberian
Caucasian Iberia
Iberia , also known as Iveria , was a name given by the ancient Greeks and Romans to the ancient Georgian kingdom of Kartli , corresponding roughly to the eastern and southern parts of the present day Georgia...
rulers of Tao-Klarjeti
Tao-Klarjeti
Tao-Klarjeti is the term conventionally used in modern history writing to describe the historic south-western Georgian principalities, now forming part of north-eastern Turkey and divided among the provinces of Erzurum, Artvin, Ardahan and Kars...
. Resenting the extension of direct Byzantine control adjacent to their own borders, they had already provided supplies to the besieged city. Once the city was invested, they vociferously demanded that the Byzantines hand over several captured towns, but when one of them, the fort of Mastaton, was surrendered, the Iberians promptly returned it to the Arabs. Kourkouas needed to keep the Iberians placated and was aware that his conduct was being carefully observed by the Armenian princes, he did not react to this affront. After seven months of siege, Theodosiopolis fell in spring 931. The city was transformed into a tributary vassal. According to the De Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio is the Latin title of a Greek work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is...
, all territory north of the river Araxes was given to the Iberian king David II
David II of Iberia
David II was a member of the Georgian Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti and titular king of Iberia/Kartli from 923 until his death.The eldest son and ultimate successor of Adarnase IV of Iberia as king of Iberia, David’s control was limited to the districts of Qveli, Javakheti, and Lower Tao as...
. As in Melitene, the maintenance of Byzantine control over Theodosiopolis proved difficult and the population remained restive. In 939, it revolted and drove out the Byzantines, and Theophilos Kourkouas could not subdue the city until 949. It was then fully incorporated into the Empire and its Muslim population was expelled and replaced by Greek and Armenian settlers.
Final capture of Melitene
Following the death of Emir Abu Hafs in 928, Melitene renounced its Byzantine allegiance. After attempts to take the city by storm or subterfuge failed, the Byzantines established a ring of fortresses on the hills around the plain of Melitene, and methodically ravaged the area. By early 931, the inhabitants of Melitene were forced to come to terms: they agreed to tributary status and even undertook to provide a military contingent to campaign alongside the Byzantines.The other Muslim states were not idle, however: in March, the Byzantines were hit by three successive raids in Asia Minor, organized by the Abbasid commander Mu'nis al-Khadim
Mu'nis al-Khadim
Mu'nis al-Khadim was the commander of the Abbasid army during the reign of al-Muqtadir. His many successes on the field helped to check the decline of the Caliphate during his lifetime...
, while in August, a large raid led by Suml, the emir of Tarsus, penetrated as far as Ancyra and Amorium
Amorium
Amorium was a city in Phrygia, Asia Minor which was founded in the Hellenistic period, flourished under the Byzantine Empire, and declined after the Arab sack of 838. Its ruins are located near the village of Hisarköy, Turkey....
and returned with prisoners worth 136,000 dinar
Dinar
The dinar is the official currency of several countries.The history of the dinar dates to the gold dinar, an early Islamic coin corresponding to the Byzantine denarius auri...
s. During this time, the Byzantines were engaged in southern Armenia against the emir of Azerbaijan. There they scored a number of victories, taking the fortresses of Perkri and Manzikert, before marching into Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
and capturing Samosata again. At this point, the Melitenians called upon the Hamdanid rulers of Mosul
Mosul
Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...
for help. In response, the Hamdanid prince Said ibn Hamdan attacked the Byzantines and drove them back: Samosata was abandoned, and in November 931, the Byzantine garrison withdrew from Melitene as well. Said was, however, unable to remain in the area or to leave a sufficient garrison; once he left for Mosul, the Byzantines returned and resumed both the blockade of Melitene and their scorched-earth tactics.
The sources record no major Byzantine external campaigns for 932; the Empire was preoccupied with two revolts in the Opsician Theme. In 933, Kourkouas renewed the attack against Melitene. Mu'nis al-Khadim sent forces to assist the beleaguered city. In the resulting skirmishes, the Byzantines prevailed and took many prisoners and the Arab army returned home without relieving the city. In early 934, at the head of 50,000 men, Kourkouas again crossed the frontier and marched toward Melitene. The other Muslim states offered no help, preoccupied as they were with the turmoil following Caliph Al-Qahir's
Al-Qahir
Al-Qahir bi'llah Abu Mansour Muhammad Al Qahir Bellah was the 19th Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 932 to 934. He was born 286 Hijri and 899 C.E...
deposition. Kourkouas again took Samosata and besieged Melitene. Many of the city's inhabitants had abandoned it at the news of Kourkouas's approach and hunger eventually compelled the rest to surrender on May 19, 934. Wary of the city's previous rebellions, Kourkouas only allowed those inhabitants to remain who were Christians or agreed to convert to Christianity; most did so. He ordered the remainder expelled. Melitene was fully incorporated into the empire, and most of its fertile land was transformed into an imperial estate (kouratoreia). It was an unusual move, implemented by Romanos I to prevent the powerful Anatolian landed aristocracy from taking control of the province. It also served to increase direct imperial presence and control on the crucial new borderlands.
Rise of the Hamdanids
The fall of Melitene profoundly shocked the Muslim world: for the first time, a major Muslim city had fallen and been incorporated into the Byzantine Empire. Kourkouas followed this success by subduing parts of the district of Samosata in 936 and razing the city itself to the ground. Until 938, the East remained relatively calm. Historians suggest that the Byzantines were likely preoccupied with the full pacification of Melitene and the Arab emirates, deprived of any potential support from the Caliphate, were reluctant to provoke them.With the decline of the Caliphate and its obvious inability to defend its border provinces, a new local dynasty, the Hamdanids, emerged as the principal antagonists of Byzantium along in northern Mesopotamia and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. They were led by Hassan, called Nasir al-Dawla ("Defender of the State"), and by his younger brother Ali, best known by his epithet, Sayf al-Dawla ("Sword of the State"). In ca. 935, the Arab tribe of Banu Habib, defeated by the rising Hamdanids, defected in its entirety to the Byzantines, converted to Christianity, and placed its 12,000 horsemen at the disposal of the Empire. They were settled along the western bank of the Euphrates and assigned to guard five new themes created there: Melitene, Charpezikion, Asmosaton (Arsamosata), Derzene and Chozanon.
The first Byzantine encounter with Sayf al-Dawla took place in 936, when he tried to relieve Samosata, but a revolt at home forced him to turn back. In another invasion in 938, however, he captured the fort of Charpete and defeated Kourkouas's advance guard, seizing a great amount of booty and forcing Kourkouas to withdraw. In the same year, a peace agreement was signed between Constantinople and the Caliphate. The negotiations were facilitated by the rising power of the Hamdanids, which caused anxiety to both sides. Despite the official peace with the Caliphate, ad hoc warfare continued between the Byzantines and the local Muslim rulers, now aided by the Hamdanids. The Byzantines attempted to besiege Theodosiopolis in 939, but the siege was abandoned at the news of the approach of Sayf al-Dawla's relief army.
By that time, the Byzantines had captured Arsamosata
Arsamosata
Arsamosata was a city in Armenian Sophene near the Euphrates. It was founded by King Arsames I of the Orontid Dynasty in 3rd century BC. It was left and destroyed in I century BC. In Middle Ages it was called Ashmushat....
and additional strategically important locations in the mountains of southwest Armenia, posing a direct threat to the Muslim emirates around Lake Van. To reverse the situation, in 940 Sayf al-Dawla initiated a remarkable campaign: starting from Mayyafiriqin (Martyropolis
Martyropolis
Martyropolis was the former name of a city in Turkey, now known in Turkish as Silvan, in Aramaic as Meiafarakin .It is a Catholic titular see....
), he crossed the Bitlis
Bitlis
Bitlis is a town in eastern Turkey and the capital of Bitlis Province. The town is located at an elevation of 1,400 metres, 15 km from Lake Van, in the steep-sided valley of the Bitlis River, a tributary of the Tigris. The local economy is mainly based on agricultural products which include...
pass into Armenia, where he seized several fortresses and accepted the submission of the local lords, both Muslim and Christian. He ravaged the Byzantine holdings around Theodosiopolis and raided as far as Koloneia
Koloneia
Koloneia |Colonia]]) can refer to:* Koloneia on the Lykos in Pontus, a Byzantine military centre and metropolitan bishopric* Koloneia , a Byzantine province centered in and named after the above...
, which he besieged until Kourkouas arrived with a relief army and forced him to withdraw. Sayf al-Dawla was not able to follow up on this effort: until 945, the Hamdanids were preoccupied with internal developments in the Caliphate and with fighting against the Buyids in Mesopotamia and the Ikhshidids in Syria.
Rus' raid of 941
The Hamdanids' distraction proved fortunate for Byzantium. In early summer 941, as Kourkouas prepared to resume campaigning in the East, his attention was diverted by an unexpected event: the appearance of a Rus'Rus' (people)
The Rus' were a group of Varangians . According to the Primary Chronicle of Rus, compiled in about 1113 AD, the Rus had relocated from the Baltic region , first to Northeastern Europe, creating an early polity which finally came under the leadership of Rurik...
fleet that raided the area around Constantinople itself. The Byzantine army and navy were absent from the capital and the appearance of the Rus' fleet caused panic among the populace of Constantinople. While the navy and Kourkouas's army were recalled, a hastily assembled squadron of old ships armed with Greek Fire
Greek fire
Greek fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines typically used it in naval battles to great effect as it could continue burning while floating on water....
and placed under the protovestiarios
Protovestiarios
Protovestiarios was a high Byzantine court position, originally reserved for eunuchs.-History and functions:The title is first attested in 412, as the comes sacrae vestis, an official in charge of the Byzantine emperor's "sacred wardrobe" , coming under the praepositus sacri cubiculi...
Theophanes
Theophanes (chamberlain)
Theophanes was a Byzantine palace official and the chief adviser of Emperor Romanos Lekapenos during most of his reign. He was also an active and able diplomat, and led the naval defense of Constantinople against the Rus' invasion of 941....
defeated the Rus' fleet on June 11, forcing it to abandon its course toward the city. The surviving Rus' landed on the shores of Bithynia
Bithynia
Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...
and ravaged the defenseless countryside. The patrikios Bardas Phokas
Bardas Phokas the Elder
Bardas Phokas was a notable Byzantine general in the first half of the 10th century, and father of Byzantine emperor Nikephoros II Phokas and the kouropalates Leo Phokas the Younger....
hastened to the area with whatever troops he could gather, contained the raiders, and awaited the arrival of Kourkouas's army. Finally, Kourkouas and his army appeared and fell upon the Rus', who had dispersed to plunder the countryside, killing many of them. The survivors retreated to their ships and tried to cross to Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
under the cover of night. During the crossing, the entire Byzantine navy
Byzantine navy
The Byzantine navy was the naval force of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Like the empire it served, it was a direct continuation from its imperial Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defense and survival of the state then its earlier iterations...
attacked and annihilated the Rus'.
Campaigns in Mesopotamia and recovery of the Mandylion
Following this distraction, in January 942 Kourkouas launched a new campaign in the East, which lasted for three years. The first assault fell on the territory of AleppoAleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
, which was thoroughly plundered: at the fall of the town of Hamus, near Aleppo, even Arab sources record the capture of 10–15,000 prisoners by the Byzantines. Despite a minor counter-raid by Suml from Tarsus in the summer, in autumn Kourkouas launched another major invasion. At the head of an exceptionally large army, some 80,000 men according to Arab sources, he crossed from allied Taron
Taron (historic Armenia)
Taron was a canton of the Turuberan province of Greater Armenia, now in the Muş Province, Turkey. It was divided into four districts: Mamikonian, Palauni, , Artokh Taron was a canton of the Turuberan province of Greater Armenia, now in the Muş Province, Turkey. It was divided into four districts:...
into northern Mesopotamia. Mayyafiriqin, Amida
Amida (Roman city)
Amida was an ancient city located where modern Diyarbakır, Turkey. The Roman writers Ammianus Marcellinus and Procopius consider it a city of Mesopotamia, but it may be more properly viewed as belonging to Armenia Major....
, Nisibis
Nisibis
Nusaybin Nisêbîn) is a city in Mardin Province, Turkey, populated mainly by Kurds. Earlier Arameans, Arabs, and Armenians lived in the city. The population of the city is 83,832 as of 2009.-Ancient Period:...
, Dara
Dara (Mesopotamia)
Dara or Daras was an important East Roman fortress city in northern Mesopotamia on the border with the Sassanid Empire. Because of its great strategic importance, it featured prominently in the Roman-Persian conflicts of the 6th century, with the famous Battle of Dara taking place before its walls...
—places where no Byzantine army had trod since the days of Heraclius
Heraclius
Heraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.He was responsible for introducing Greek as the empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.Heraclius'...
300 years earlier—were stormed and ravaged. The real aim of these campaigns, however, was Edessa
Edessa, Mesopotamia
Edessa is the Greek name of an Aramaic town in northern Mesopotamia, as refounded by Seleucus I Nicator. For the modern history of the city, see Şanlıurfa.-Names:...
, the repository of the "Holy Mandylion". This was a cloth believed to have been used by Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
to wipe his face, leaving an imprint of his features, and subsequently given to King Abgar V of Edessa
Abgar V of Edessa
Abgar V the black or Abgarus V of Edessa BC - AD 7 and AD 13 - 50) was a historical Syriac ruler of the Syriac kingdom of Osroene, holding his capital at Edessa....
. To the Byzantines, especially after the end of the Iconoclasm period and the restoration of image veneration, it was a relic of profound religious significance. As a result, its capture would provide Lekapenos's regime an enormous boost in popularity and legitimacy.
Kourkouas assailed Edessa every year from 942 onward and devastated its countryside, as he had done at Melitene. Finally, its emir agreed to a peace, swearing not to raise arms against Byzantium and to hand over the Mandylion in exchange for the return of 200 prisoners. The Mandylion was conveyed to Constantinople, where it arrived on August 15, 944, on the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos
Dormition of the Theotokos
The Dormition of the Theotokos is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches which commemorates the "falling asleep" or death of the Theotokos , and her bodily resurrection before being taken up into heaven. It is celebrated on August 15 The Dormition...
. A triumphal entry was staged for the venerated relic, which was then deposited in the Theotokos of the Pharos church, the palatine chapel of the Great Palace
Great Palace of Constantinople
The Great Palace of Constantinople — also known as the Sacred Palace — was the large Imperial Byzantine palace complex located in the south-eastern end of the peninsula now known as "Old Istanbul", modern Turkey...
. As for Kourkouas, he concluded his campaign by sacking Bithra (modern Birecik
Birecik
Birecik , also formerly known as Bir and during the Crusades as Bile, is a town and district of Şanlıurfa Province of Turkey, on the River Euphrates....
) and Germanikeia (modern Kahramanmaraş
Kahramanmaras
-Industry:Kahramanmaraş's industry is mainly based on textile and ice cream. Kahramanmaraş is one of the biggest textile industry cities of Turkey. Companies like Kipaş, İskur, Arsan and Bozkurt are one of the richest companies in the city...
).
Dismissal and restoration
Despite this triumph, Kourkouas's downfall, as well as that of his friend and protector, Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos, was imminent. Romanos I's two eldest surviving sons and co-emperors, StephenStephen Lekapenos
Stephen Lekapenos was the second son of the Byzantine emperor Romanos I Lekapenos , and co-emperor from 924 to 945. Along with his younger brother Constantine he deposed Romanos I in December 944, only to be themselves overthrown and exiled by the legitimate emperor Constantine VII a few weeks...
and Constantine
Constantine Lekapenos
Constantine Lekapenos or Lecapenus was the third son of the Byzantine emperor Romanos I Lekapenos , and co-emperor from 924 to 945. Along with his elder brother Stephen he deposed Romanos I in December 944, only to be themselves overthrown and exiled by the legitimate emperor Constantine VII a...
, were jealous of Kourkouas and had in the past tried to undermine him, albeit without success. Following Kourkouas's successes in the East, Romanos I considered marrying his trusted general into the imperial family. Kourkouas's daughter Euphrosyne was to be wedded with the emperor's grandson, the future Romanos II
Romanos II
Romanos II was a Byzantine emperor. He succeeded his father Constantine VII in 959 at the age of twenty-one, and died suddenly in 963.-Life:...
, the son of his son-in-law and junior emperor Constantine VII
Constantine VII
Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos or Porphyrogenitus, "the Purple-born" was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 913 to 959...
. Although such a union would effectively cement the loyalty of the army, it would also strengthen the position of the legitimate Macedonian line
Macedonian dynasty
The Macedonian dynasty ruled the Byzantine Empire from 867 to 1056, following the Amorian dynasty. During this period, the Byzantine state reached its greatest expanse since the Muslim conquests, and the Macedonian Renaissance in letters and arts began. The dynasty was named after its founder,...
, represented by Constantine VII, over the imperial claims of Romanos's own sons. Predictably, Stephen and Constantine opposed this decision, and prevailed upon their father, who was by this time ill and old, to dismiss Kourkouas in the autumn of 944.
Kourkouas was replaced by a certain Pantherios, who was almost immediately defeated by Sayf al-Daula in December, whilst raiding near Aleppo. On December 16, Romanos I himself was deposed by Stephen and Constantine and banished to a monastery on the island of Prote. A few weeks later, on January 26, another coup removed the two young Lekapenoi from power and restored the sole imperial authority to Constantine VII. Kourkouas himself appears to have soon returned to imperial favour: Constantine provided the money for the repair of Kourkouas's palace after it was damaged by an earthquake, and in early 946, he is recorded as having been sent with the magistros Kosmas to negotiate a prisoner exchange with the Arabs of Tarsus. Nothing further is known about him.
The fall of the Lekapenoi signaled the end of an era in terms of personalities, but Kourkouas's expansionist policy continued: he was succeeded by Bardas Phokas the Elder
Bardas Phokas the Elder
Bardas Phokas was a notable Byzantine general in the first half of the 10th century, and father of Byzantine emperor Nikephoros II Phokas and the kouropalates Leo Phokas the Younger....
, followed by Nikephoros Phokas
Nikephoros II
Nikephoros II Phokas was a Byzantine Emperor whose brilliant military exploits contributed to the resurgence of Byzantine Empire in the tenth century.-Early exploits:...
, and finally, by Kourkouas's own great-nephew, the Emperor John Tzimiskes (r. 969–976). All of them expanded the Byzantine frontier in the East, recovering Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
and northern Syria with Antioch
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
, and converting the Hamdanid emirate of Aleppo into a Byzantine protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
by the end of the 10th century.
Assessment
Kourkouas ranks among the greatest military leaders Byzantium produced. Byzantine chroniclers hailed him as the general who restored the imperial frontier to the EuphratesEuphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
. In a contemporary eight-book history, written by a protospatharios
Protospatharios
Prōtospatharios was one of the highest court dignities of the middle Byzantine period , awarded to senior generals and provincial governors, as well as to foreign princes.-History:...
Michael and now lost save for a short summary in Theophanes Continuatus
Theophanes Continuatus
Theophanes Continuatus or Scriptores post Theophanem is the Latin name commonly applied to a collection of historical writings preserved in the 11th-century Vat. gr. 167 manuscript. Its name derives from its role as the continuation, covering the years 813–961, of the chronicle of Theophanes the...
, he is acclaimed as "a second Trajan
Trajan
Trajan , was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, in Spain Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in Spain, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against...
or Belisarius
Belisarius
Flavius Belisarius was a general of the Byzantine Empire. He was instrumental to Emperor Justinian's ambitious project of reconquering much of the Mediterranean territory of the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century previously....
".
The ground work for his successes had certainly been laid by others: Michael III
Michael III
Michael III , , Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian-Phrygian Dynasty...
, who broke the power of Melitene at Lalakaon; Basil I
Basil I
Basil I, called the Macedonian was a Byzantine emperor of probable Armenian descent who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a simple peasant in the Byzantine theme of Macedonia, he rose in the imperial court, and usurped the imperial throne from Emperor Michael III...
, who destroyed the Paulicians; Leo VI the Wise
Leo VI the Wise
Leo VI, surnamed the Wise or the Philosopher , was Byzantine emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty , he was very well-read, leading to his surname...
, who founded the vital theme of Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia (theme)
Mesopotamia was the name of a Byzantine theme located in what is today eastern Turkey. It should not be confused with the region of Mesopotamia or with the older Roman and early Byzantine province of Mesopotamia...
; and Empress Zoe
Zoe Karbonopsina
Zoe Karbonopsina, also Karvounopsina or Carbonopsina, i.e., "with the Coal-Black Eyes" , was fourth wife of the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise and the mother of Constantine VII....
, who extended Byzantine influence again into Armenia and founded the theme of Lykandos. It was Kourkouas and his campaigns, however, that incontrovertibly changed the balance of power in the northern Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, securing the frontier provinces against Arab raids and turning Byzantium into an expansionist power. In the words of historian Steven Runciman
Steven Runciman
The Hon. Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman CH — known as Steven Runciman — was a British historian known for his work on the Middle Ages...
, "a lesser general might [...] have cleared the Empire of the Saracen
Saracen
Saracen was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam...
s and successfully defended its borders; but [Kourkouas] did more. He infused a new spirit into the imperial armies, and led them victoriously deep into the country of the infidels. The actual area of his conquests was not so very large; but they sufficed to reverse the age-old roles of Byzantium and the Arabs. Byzantium now was the aggressor... [John Kourkouas] was the first of a line of great conquerors and as the first is worthy of high praise."