Mabrica
Encyclopedia
Maurex or Maurikas was a Byzantine
naval commander active in the latter half of the 11th century, chiefly in the Byzantine–Norman Wars. His identity is not certain, as several different people are habitually identified as the same person: a "Maurex" who was a wealthy sailor and magnate from Heraclea Pontica
, an admiral called in Latin
sources Mambrita or Mambrica who was active against the Normans
in the 1060s and 1080s, and Michael Maurex, a general and governor known through his seals.
According to Nikephoros Bryennios
, Maurex was of humble origin, a native of Heraclea Pontica
, and extremely experienced in naval matters. This made him, in Bryennios's words, "indispensable" to the Byzantine Empire
, and he was given many gifts by the emperors, amassing a huge fortune. The general Michael Maurex is first attested in circa 1050 as carrying the lowly dignity of ostiarios
, and a number of seals trace his gradual advancement, to hypatos and patrikios, vestes and strategos
of Chios
, vestarches
and katepano
of Dyrrhachium
, magistros, proedros
and doux
of the Bucellarian Theme
, to kouropalates and doux of Antioch
.
In the Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium
, Alexander Kazhdan
accepts the identity of the magnate Maurex and the admiral, but considers the equation with Michael Maurex doubtful as the former is not recorded as bearing any of the latter's titles. Similarly, Michael Hendy doubts the identification of the magnate Maurex, "a private person", with any of the military commanders identified as him, but considers the general Michael Maurex and the naval commander as the same person.
In 1066, according to the Breve chronicon Northmannicum
, Maurex (Mambrica/Mambrita) commanded a fleet that stopped an attempted invasion of the Balkans
by Count Geoffrey of Taranto
, and in the next year, at the head of a Byzantine army he landed in Apulia
and took Bari
, Taranto
and Castellaneta
from the Normans
. He could not prevent the Normans from besieging Bari again in 1068, however, and in 1070, he is recorded as fighting against Geoffrey and Robert Guiscard
.
Around 1076, according to Bryennios, Maurex hosted the future emperor Alexios I Komnenos
at his estate in Heraclea. Alexios was then still a general campaigning against the Seljuk Turks, and Maurex provided him with many troops drawn from his large personal armed retinue and his servants.
Maurex is next recorded by Anna Komnene
, without further comment, as leading a joint Byzantine-Venetian
fleet to victory over the Normans
in spring 1082. He appears for the last time in 1084, when he is briefly mentioned (dux Mabrica) by William of Apulia
as commander of the Byzantine fleet stationed at Corfu
.
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
naval commander active in the latter half of the 11th century, chiefly in the Byzantine–Norman Wars. His identity is not certain, as several different people are habitually identified as the same person: a "Maurex" who was a wealthy sailor and magnate from Heraclea Pontica
Heraclea Pontica
Heraclea Pontica , an ancient city on the coast of Bithynia in Asia Minor, at the mouth of the river Lycus. It was founded by the Greek city-state of Megara c.560-558 and was named after Heracles who the Greeks believed entered the underworld at a cave on the adjoining Archerusian promontory .The...
, an admiral called in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
sources Mambrita or Mambrica who was active against the Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
in the 1060s and 1080s, and Michael Maurex, a general and governor known through his seals.
According to Nikephoros Bryennios
Nikephoros Bryennios
Nikephoros Bryennios , Byzantine general, statesman and historian, was born at Orestias in the theme of Macedonia-Life:...
, Maurex was of humble origin, a native of Heraclea Pontica
Heraclea Pontica
Heraclea Pontica , an ancient city on the coast of Bithynia in Asia Minor, at the mouth of the river Lycus. It was founded by the Greek city-state of Megara c.560-558 and was named after Heracles who the Greeks believed entered the underworld at a cave on the adjoining Archerusian promontory .The...
, and extremely experienced in naval matters. This made him, in Bryennios's words, "indispensable" to the Byzantine Empire
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...
, and he was given many gifts by the emperors, amassing a huge fortune. The general Michael Maurex is first attested in circa 1050 as carrying the lowly dignity of ostiarios
Ostiarios
Ostiarios was a Byzantine court dignity reserved for eunuch palace officials.The Patria of Constantinople mention an ostiarios Antiochos in the 6th century at the time of Justinian I, and a 7th-century seal records an ostiarios and koubikoularios...
, and a number of seals trace his gradual advancement, to hypatos and patrikios, vestes and 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 Chios
Chios
Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...
, vestarches
Vestarches
Vestarchēs was a senior Byzantine honorific dignity in use from the late 10th to the early 12th centuries.Vestarchēs means "head of the vestai", another group of high court dignitaries...
and katepano
Katepano
The katepánō was a senior Byzantine military rank and office. The word was Latinized as capetanus/catepan, and its meaning seems to have merged with that of the Italian "capitaneus"...
of Dyrrhachium
Dyrrhachium (theme)
The Theme of Dyrrhachium was a Byzantine military-civilian province located in modern Albania, covering the Adriatic coast of the country...
, magistros, proedros
Proedros
Proedros was a senior Byzantine court and ecclesiastic title in the 10th to mid-12th centuries. The female form of the title is proedrissa .-Court dignity:...
and doux
Dux
Dux is Latin for leader and later for Duke and its variant forms ....
of the Bucellarian Theme
Bucellarian Theme
The Bucellarian Theme , more properly known as the Theme of the Bucellarians was a Byzantine theme in northern Asia Minor...
, to kouropalates and doux of 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...
.
In the Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium
Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium
The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium is a three volume historical dictionary published by the English Oxford University Press. It contains comprehensive information in English on topics relating to the Byzantine Empire. It was edited by the late Dr. Alexander Kazhdan, and was first published in 1991...
, Alexander Kazhdan
Alexander Kazhdan
- Soviet :Born in Moscow, Kazhdan was educated at the Pedagogical Institute of Ufa and the University of Moscow, where he studied with the historian of medieval England, Evgenii Kosminskii...
accepts the identity of the magnate Maurex and the admiral, but considers the equation with Michael Maurex doubtful as the former is not recorded as bearing any of the latter's titles. Similarly, Michael Hendy doubts the identification of the magnate Maurex, "a private person", with any of the military commanders identified as him, but considers the general Michael Maurex and the naval commander as the same person.
In 1066, according to the Breve chronicon Northmannicum
Breve chronicon Northmannicum
The Breve chronicon Northmannicum or Little Norman Chronicle is a short, anonymous Latin chronicle of the Norman conquest of southern Italy, supposed to have been written in Apulia in the early twelfth-century. It covers the years from the first Norman "invasion" of Apulia in 1041 to the death of...
, Maurex (Mambrica/Mambrita) commanded a fleet that stopped an attempted invasion of the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
by Count Geoffrey of Taranto
Geoffrey of Taranto
Geoffrey, Godfrey, or Goffredo , called Lofredus in Latin, was an Italo-Norman military leader and the first Count of Taranto. He was the second son of Peter I of Trani, though of his elder brother, Amicus, nothing is known...
, and in the next year, at the head of a Byzantine army he landed in Apulia
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
and took Bari
Bari
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...
, Taranto
Taranto
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
and Castellaneta
Castellaneta
Castellaneta is a city and comune in the province of Taranto, in the Puglia region of Southern Italy, about 40 km from Taranto. Located in a territory spanning from the Murgia to the Ionian Sea, characterized by numerous gravina ravines, it is part of the Comunità Montana della Murgia...
from the Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
. He could not prevent the Normans from besieging Bari again in 1068, however, and in 1070, he is recorded as fighting against Geoffrey and Robert Guiscard
Robert Guiscard
Robert d'Hauteville, known as Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and Calabria, from Latin Viscardus and Old French Viscart, often rendered the Resourceful, the Cunning, the Wily, the Fox, or the Weasel was a Norman adventurer conspicuous in the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily...
.
Around 1076, according to Bryennios, Maurex hosted the future emperor Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus , was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118, and although he was not the founder of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power. The title 'Nobilissimus' was given to senior army commanders,...
at his estate in Heraclea. Alexios was then still a general campaigning against the Seljuk Turks, and Maurex provided him with many troops drawn from his large personal armed retinue and his servants.
Maurex is next recorded by Anna Komnene
Anna Komnene
Anna Komnene, Latinized as Comnena was a Greek princess and scholar and the daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos of Byzantium and Irene Doukaina...
, without further comment, as leading a joint Byzantine-Venetian
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
fleet to victory over the Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
in spring 1082. He appears for the last time in 1084, when he is briefly mentioned (dux Mabrica) by William of Apulia
William of Apulia
William of Apulia was a chronicler of the Normans, writing in the 1090s. His Latin epic, Gesta Roberti Wiscardi , written in hexameters, is one of the principal contemporary sources for the Norman conquest of southern Italy, especially the career of Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia . It was composed...
as commander of the Byzantine fleet stationed at Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
.