Editing Nikephoros III Botaneiates (section)

===Early career===
Nikephoros first attracts the attention of his Byzantine contemporaries and historians for his actions after the Battle of Zygos Pass in 1053. Attaleiates records that Nikephoros was able to wield effective command over his retreating mounted troops, preventing them from being overrun by [[Pecheneg]] forces during the Pecheneg revolt. Nikephoros ordered his cavalry to hold a tight formation, limiting the damage the [[horse-archers]] of the Pechenegs could inflict and deployed scouts to prevent his troops from being ambushed. During his maneuvering, the Pechenegs attempted to assault his troops and break their formation several times, but each time they were rebuffed. Nikephoros led his troops for eleven days in spite of constant harassment. According to Attaleiates, the Pechenegs attempted to convince the Byzantines to surrender and killed their horses with their bows when this failed. Nikephoros had them continue on foot and refused to flee when offered a horse, proclaiming he would prefer death to the dishonor of cowardice, which reinforced the morale of his troops. After eleven days of constant attacks, they reached the Byzantine city of [[Adrianople]], where the Pechenegs finally gave up their pursuit.{{sfn|Maynard|2018}}{{sfn|Attaleiates|Kaldellis (tr.)|Krallis (tr.)|2012|loc=7.13-7.16}} For his actions, Emperor Constantine IX awarded Nikephoros the high court rank of ''[[magistros]]''. While it is possible that his actions were exaggerated by Attaleiates, it fits comfortably with his reputation as a strong commander.{{sfn|Maynard|2018}}{{sfn|Attaleiates|Kaldellis (tr.)|Krallis (tr.)|2012|loc=11.6}}

Nikephoros is next mentioned for his role in the revolt of [[Isaac I Komnenos]] against the Byzantine Emperor [[Michael VI Bringas]] ({{reign|1056|1057}}) in 1057. This revolt was a result of Michael's favoritism toward the civil officials of Constantinople, and his scorn toward the military elites. After the ''[[Dynatoi]]'' were humiliated by Michael by his refusal to grant them any gifts, Isaac attempted to reconcile with Michael, only to be personally insulted by him, sparking a civil war, which is mentioned by Skylitzes, Psellos, and Attaleiates; Psellos himself led the embassy from Michael to Isaac. Isaac then gathered the support of other military elites before marching for Constantinople. At Constantinople, the [[Battle of Petroe]] took place on 20 August 1057, a decisive victory for Isaac, and reportedly one of the bloodiest battles the Byzantines engaged in during a civil war. Isaac's victory placed the military aristocracy firmly back in control and marked the first time a general had held the throne since the death of Emperor Basil II in 1025. Nikephoros led a wing of Isaac's forces during the battle, suggesting he had been a part of Isaac's inner circle; Skylitzes mentions that during this battle Nikephoros fought a duel against one of Michael's mercenaries, [[Randolf the Frank]].{{sfn|Maynard|2018}} In 1059, Isaac placed Nikephoros in command of the Danube frontier, where he remained until 1064. During his time at this command, he saved the life of the future Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes during Isaac's campaign against the Hungarians.{{sfn|Maynard|2018}}{{sfn|Kazhdan|1991|p=1479}}{{sfn|Attaleiates|Kaldellis (tr.)|Krallis (tr.)|2012|loc=16.8}}

By October 1061 at the latest, Nikephoros was serving as ''[[dux|doux]]'' of [[Thessalonica (theme)|Thessalonica]].<!-- Karagiorgou 2008, p. 111 --> The evidence for his time in Thessalonica comes from several surviving signed and dated documents from the [[Iviron|Iveron Monastery]] on [[Mount Athos]].<!-- Karagiorgou 2008, p. 111-2 --> The first of these is an ''engraphon'' dated to December 1061.<!-- Karagiorgou 2008, p. 112 --> It mentions that Iveron's abbot and two of its monks had delivered an order from [[Constantine X Doukas]] ({{reign|1059|1067}}) to Nikephoros, ''doux'' of Thessalonica, in October (so Nikephoros{{'}}s tenure must have begun by then).<!-- Karagiorgou 2008, p. 112-3 --> The next two documents are a ''praktikon'' and a ''[[hypomnema]]'' both dated to August 1062.<!-- Karagiorgou 2008, p. 112 --> The ''praktikon'' still has a [[seal (emblem)|seal]] of Nikephoros{{'}}s attached to it, and all three documents also have Nikephoros{{'}}s signature.<!-- Karagiorgou 2008, p. 112 --> He misspelled his own name on all three.<!-- Karagiorgou 2008, p. 113 -->{{efn|group=lower-alpa|Just about every piece of writing that can be attributed to Nikephoros is riddled with spelling errors.<ref name="Karagiorgou 2008"/>{{rp|113}}}} A fourth Athonite document, dated to February 1063, is signed by a ''doux'' of Thessalonica named Theodoros Dalassenos, so Nikephoros{{'}}s time as ''doux'' of Thessalonica must have ended by then.<!-- Karagiorgou 2008, p. 113 --><ref name="Karagiorgou 2008"/>{{rp|111–3}}

The Iveron documents record some of Nikephoros{{'}}s activity settling complaints in the theme of Thessalonica. The first complaint we know of was a dispute centered on the Byzantine government's confiscation of some of the property and ''[[Paroikoi]]'' ([[serfs]]) of the [[Iviron|Iveron Monastery]] of [[Mount Athos]], which the monastery viewed as unlawful. Nikephoros sent Michael the ''[[spatharokandidatos]]'' to inquire into the case, before ruling that, based upon a [[chrysobull]] issued by Basil II which had declared that the monastery's property and ''Paroikoi'' were exempt from taxes, they could not be confiscated by the government.{{sfn|Maynard|2018}}{{sfn|Kravari|Lefort|Oikonomides|Papachryssanthou|2001|loc=2.91.22-24}} Nikephoros settled another dispute in February 1062, this time between the [[Great Lavra|Monastery of Lavra]] and [[Theodoros of Aichmalotou]], a local landowner, over monastic property; Nikephoros ruled in favor of the monastery.{{sfn|Maynard|2018}}{{sfn|Prosopography of the Byzantine World}}{{sfn|Lemerle|Guillou|Svoronos|Papachryssanthou|1970|loc=228.1-229.35}} Nikephoros settled a boundary dispute between the Iveron Monastery and the [[Bishop of Ezoba]], basing his ruling on the knowledge of the local populace.{{sfn|Maynard|2018}}{{sfn|Kravari|Lefort|Oikonomides|Papachryssanthou|2001|loc=2.97-104}} The last Thessalonian dispute we know of that Nikephoros ruled on was between the Iveron Monastery and the ''[[metochion]]'' of [[Melissourgeion]]; the ''metochion'' appears to have ignored a ruling previously made by Empress [[Theodora Porphyrogenita (11th century)|Theodora Porphyrogenita]], which Nikephoros reasserted.{{sfn|Maynard|2018}}{{sfn|Kravari|Lefort|Oikonomides|Papachryssanthou|2001|loc=2.107-110}}

In the fall of 1064, the Oghuz Turks invaded the Byzantine Balkans and defeated both Nikephoros and [[Basil Apokapes]], ''[[archon]]'' of [[Paristrion]], in battle, and took them captive, which Attaleiates suggests was greatly humiliating for Nikephoros;{{sfn|Maynard|2018}}{{sfn|Attaleiates|Kaldellis (tr.)|Krallis (tr.)|2012|loc=14.6}} however, the two men were able to escape captivity after the Oghuz Turk forces were devastated by both Bulgarian raids and disease.{{sfn|Maynard|2018}} The surviving Oghuz Turks were quickly recruited into the Byzantine army.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=298}}

Nikephoros may have also served as ''doux'' of Cyprus sometime in the mid-1060s.<!-- Karagiorgou 2008, p. 129 --> The only source for this is [[Bar Hebraeus]], who wrote that Nikephoros "ruled first over the island of Cyprus, and then over Antioch".<!-- Karagiorgou 2008, p. 129 --> Olga Karagiorgou suggests a date of {{circa}} 1065-67 for this stage in Nikephoros{{'}}s career.<!-- Karagiorgou 2008, p. 129 --><ref name="Karagiorgou 2008">{{cite book |last1=Karagiorgou |first1=Olga |editor1-last=Stavrakos |editor1-first=Christos |editor2-last=Wassiliou |editor2-first=Alexandra-Kyriaki |editor3-last=Krikorian |editor3-first=Mesrob K. |title=Hypermachos: Studien zu Byzantinistik, Armenologie und Georgistik |date=2008 |publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag |location=Wiesbaden |isbn=978-3-447-05748-6 |pages=105–32 |url=https://www.academia.edu/6186952 |access-date=18 February 2024 |chapter=On the Way to the Throne: The Career of Nikephoros III Botaneiates before 1078}}</ref>{{rp|129}}