View source for Michael VII Doukas

{{short description|Byzantine emperor from 1071 to 1078}}
{{Infobox monarch
| image        = Michael VII Doukas from the Khakhuli Triptych.png
| caption      = A [[Cloisonné|cloisonné engraving]] of Michael VII Doukas in full imperial regalia, as depicted in the Georgian [[Khakhuli_triptych|Khakuli Triptych]]
| succession   = [[Byzantine emperor]]
| reign        = {{circa}} 1 October 1071 – March 1078
| coronation   = {{circa}} 1060 ''as co-emperor''
| cor-type     = [[coronation of the Byzantine emperor|Coronation]]
| predecessor  = [[Romanos IV Diogenes]]
| successor    = [[Nikephoros III Botaneiates]]
| spouse       = [[Maria Bagrationi|Maria of Alania]]
| issue        = [[Constantine Doukas (co-emperor)|Constantine Doukas]]
| dynasty      = [[Doukas|Doukid]]
| father       = [[Constantine&nbsp;X Doukas]]
| mother       = [[Eudokia Makrembolitissa]]
| religion     = [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Orthodox Christian ]]
| birth_date   = {{circa}} 1050
| death_date   = 1090 (aged ~40)
| title        = [[List of Byzantine emperors|Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans]]
| reg-type     = Regent
| regent       = [[Eudokia Makrembolitissa]] (until late October 1071)
| reg-type1    = {{nowrap|Co-emperors}}
| regent1      = {{List collapsed|title=''See list''|{{ubl
|[[Leo Diogenes]] <small>(1070)</small>|[[Nikephoros Diogenes]] <small>(1070)</small>|[[Konstantios Doukas]]|[[Andronikos Doukas (co-emperor)|Andronikos Doukas]]|[[Constantine Doukas (co-emperor)|Constantine Doukas]]}}}}
}}

'''Michael&nbsp;VII Doukas''' or '''Ducas''' ({{langx|el|Μιχαήλ Δούκας|Mikhaḗl Doúkās}}), nicknamed '''Parapinakes''' ({{langx|el|Παραπινάκης|Parapinákes}}, {{Lit|minus a quarter}}, a reference to the [[devaluation]] of the [[Byzantine currency]] under his rule), was the senior [[Byzantine emperor]] from 1071 to 1078. He was known as incompetent as an emperor and reliant on court officials, especially of his finance minister [[Nikephoritzes]], who increased taxation and luxury spending while not properly financing their army (which later mutinied). Under his reign, [[Bari]] was lost and his empire faced [[Uprising of Georgi Voyteh|open revolt]] in the Balkans. Along with the advancing [[Seljuk dynasty|Seljuk Turks]] in the eastern front, Michael also had to contend with his mercenaries openly turning against the empire. Michael stepped down as emperor in 1078 and later retired to a monastery.

== Life ==
[[File:Histamenon of Michael VII.png|thumb|left|''[[Histamenon]]'' of Michael&nbsp;VII|190px]]
Michael VII was born {{circa}} 1050 in [[Constantinople]], the eldest son of [[Constantine X Doukas]] and [[Eudokia Makrembolitissa]].{{sfn|Kazhdan|1991|p=1366}} He was probably associated with the throne by the end of 1060, together with or shortly before his newly born brother [[Konstantios Doukas]].{{sfn|Dumbarton Oaks|1973|p=779}} When Constantine X died on 23 May 1067,{{sfn|Gauthier|1966}} Michael VII was already 17 years old and should have been able to rule by himself. He exhibited little interest in politics, however, and his mother Eudokia and uncle John Doukas governed the empire as effective [[regents]].{{sfn|Dumbarton Oaks|1973|p=780}}

On 1 January 1068, Eudokia married the general [[Romanos IV|Romanos IV Diogenes]], who now became senior co-emperor alongside Michael VII, Konstantios, and another brother, [[Andronikos Doukas (co-emperor)|Andronikos]].{{sfn|Dumbarton Oaks|1973|p=785}} When Romanos&nbsp;IV was defeated and captured by [[Alp Arslan]] of the Seljuk Turks at the [[Battle of Manzikert]] in August 1071,{{sfn|Norwich|1993|p=353}} Michael&nbsp;VII remained in the background, while the initiative to take power was taken by his uncle [[John Doukas, Caesar|John Doukas]] and his tutor [[Michael Psellos]].{{sfn|Norwich|1993|p=355}} Michael&nbsp;VII was proclaimed emperor on {{circa}} 1 October 1071, although Eudokia co-ruled with Michael&nbsp;VII for a month before being dispatched to a monastery.{{efn-lg|Polemis dates the joint rule of Eudokia and Michael VII in 24 September – 24 October 1071,{{Sfn|Dumbarton Oaks|1973|p=780}} while Schreiner dates it in 1 October – 1 November 1071.{{Sfn|Schreiner|1975|p=161}}}}{{efn-lg|The date was traditionally given as 24 September 1071 based on [[Michael Attaliates]] statement that [[Michael VII]] reigned "6 years and 6 months", reckoning from his deposition on 24&nbsp;March according to the same author. (''[[cf.]]'' [[:de:Peter Schreiner (Byzantinist)|P. Schreiner]], [[iarchive:kleinchroniken1/page/n81/mode/1up|''Kleinchroniken'' '''I''' 161]]; [[iarchive:kleinchroniken2/page/156/mode/1up|''Kleinchroniken'' '''II''' 156]])}}

Although still advised by Michael Psellos and John Doukas, Michael&nbsp;VII became increasingly reliant on his finance minister [[Nikephoritzes]].{{sfn|Norwich|1993|p=359}} The emperor's chief interests, shaped by Psellos, were in academic pursuits, and he allowed Nikephoritzes to increase both taxation and luxury spending without properly financing the army. As an emperor he was incompetent, often surrounded by sycophantic court officials.{{sfn|Kazhdan|1991|p=1366}} In dire straits, imperial officials resorted to property confiscations and even expropriated some of the wealth of the church. The underpaid army tended to mutiny, and the Byzantines lost [[Bari]], their last possession in [[Italy]], to the [[Normans]] of [[Robert Guiscard]] in 1071.{{sfn|Norwich|1993|p=355}} Simultaneously, they faced a [[Uprising of Georgi Voyteh|serious revolt]] under [[Georgi Voyteh]] in the Balkans, where they faced an attempt at the restoration of the [[Bulgaria (theme)|Bulgaria]]n state.{{sfn|Norwich|1993|p=359}}  Although this revolt was suppressed by the general Nikephoros Bryennios,{{sfn|Norwich|1993|p=359}} the Byzantine Empire was unable to recover its losses in [[Asia Minor]].

[[File:Michael VII Miliarension (reverse).jpg|thumb|''[[Miliaresion]]'' of Michael&nbsp;VII Doukas]]After Manzikert, the Byzantine government sent a new army to contain the [[Seljuk Turks]] under Isaac Komnenos, a brother of the future emperor [[Alexios&nbsp;I Komnenos]], but this army was defeated and its commander captured in 1073.{{sfn|Finlay|1854|p=52}} The problem was made worse by the desertion of the Byzantines' western mercenaries under [[Roussel de Bailleul]] who were setting up an independent principiality in the region of [[Galatia]] and [[Lycaonia]].{{sfn|Beihammer|2017|pages=209}} They became the object of the next military expedition in the area, led by Michael's uncle, ''[[Caesar (title)|caesar]]'' [[John Doukas (Caesar)|John Doukas]].{{sfn|Finlay|1854|p=52}}  This campaign also ended in failure, and John was likewise captured by the enemy.  The victorious Roussel now forced John Doukas to stand as pretender to the throne and sacked [[Üsküdar|Chrysopolis]], just opposite [[Constantinople]].{{sfn|Beihammer|2017|pages=210}} A new army under [[Alexios I Komnenos|Alexios Komnenos]] (the future emperor), reinforced by Seljuk troops sent by [[Malik Shah&nbsp;I]], finally defeated the mercenaries and captured John Doukas in 1074.{{sfn|Norwich|1993|p=360}}

These misfortunes caused widespread dissatisfaction, exacerbated by the devaluation of the currency, which gave the emperor his nickname ''Parapinakēs.''{{efn-lg|{{harvnb|Speake|2021|p=511}}: "His nickname, Parpinakes, derives from the diminution of corn measures by the fraction known as a ''pinakion''".}} In 1078 two generals, [[Nikephoros Bryennios the Elder|Nikephoros Bryennios]] and [[Nikephoros III|Nikephoros Botaneiates]], simultaneously revolted in the Balkans and Anatolia, respectively.{{sfn|Norwich|1993|p=360}}  Botaneiates gained the support of the Seljuk Turks, and he reached Constantinople first. Michael&nbsp;VII resigned the throne with hardly a struggle on 24 or 31 March 1078 and retired into the [[Monastery of Stoudios]].{{efn-lg|{{harvnb|Michael Attaleiates|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FNmTmyFFcHIC&pg=PA491 VI.37]}}: "This was on the eve of the day of the [[Annunciation]] [...] They deposed the emperor." The same date is found in the [[iarchive:kleinchroniken2/page/157/mode/1up|''Kleinchroniken'' '''II''', p. 157.]]}}{{efn-lg|Skylitzes Continuatus, (VI, 38.): "On the eve of the [[Annunciation]], [the city] proclaimed Botaneiates emperor. They made [Michael VII] convert to the monastic life... on the same Sunday [[Lazarus Saturday]] when the miracle performed on Lazarus is celebrated."{{sfn|McGeer|Nesbitt|2020|p=175}}}} He later became [[metropolitan of Ephesus]] and died in Constantinople in c. 1090.{{sfn|Kazhdan|1991|p=1366}}

Before his resignation from the throne, Michael&nbsp;VII may have sent an embassy to [[History of the Song dynasty|Song China]], following a series of [[Sino-Roman relations|Byzantine embassies]] to the earlier [[Tang dynasty|Tang Empire]] of China.{{sfn|Halsall|2021}} From the ''[[Wenxian Tongkao]]'', written by Chinese historian [[Ma Duanlin]] (1245–1322), and the 14th century work the ''[[History of Song (Yuan dynasty)|History of Song]],'' it is known that the ruler "Mie-li-yi-ling-kai-sa" (滅力伊靈改撒) of ''Fu-lin'' (i.e. [[Byzantium]]) sent an embassy to the [[Song dynasty]] which arrived on November 1081, during the reign of [[Emperor Shenzong of Song]] (r. 1067–1085).{{sfn|Sezgin|Ehrig-Eggert|Mazen|Neubauer|1996|p=25}}{{sfn|Halsall|2021}} The ''History of Song'' mentions how the Byzantine diplomat and official named "Ni-si-tu-ling-si-meng-p'an" offered saddled horses, sword-blades, and real pearls as tributary gifts to the Song court.{{sfn|Halsall|2021}}

==Usurpers==
Various usurpers attempted to overthrow Michael&nbsp;VII or rule parts of the empire. These included:

* Nestor – A former slave of [[Constantine&nbsp;X]], Nestor had been promoted to become the [[dux]] of [[Paradounavon]],{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|p=607}} a region bordering the Danube. Having had much of his property and wealth confiscated by the minister Nikephoritzes, he rebelled in around 1076,{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|p=607}} placing himself at the head of the garrisons under his command, which were already in a state of mutiny due to an arrears in their pay. The troops were eager to plunder the Bulgarians, and Nestor obtained the assistance of one of the chiefs of the [[Pechenegs]] before marching onto [[Constantinople]]. The rebels demanded the dismissal of Nikephoritzes, but discovering that he didn't have the numbers to attack the capital, Nestor's troops separated into smaller parties and proceeded to plunder Thrace.{{sfn|Finlay|1854|p=50}} Defeated by Alexios Komnenos in 1078,{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|p=610}} Nestor remained with the Pechenegs, and retreated with them back to Paradunavum.{{sfn|Finlay|1854|p=50}}
* [[Philaretos Brachamios]]
* [[John Doukas (Caesar)|John Doukas]] (the [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]]), Michael's uncle
* [[Nikephoros Bryennios the elder|Nikephoros Bryennios]]
* [[Nikephoros III|Nikephoros Botaneiates]]

==Family==
Michael&nbsp;VII Doukas married [[Maria Bagrationi|Maria of Alania]], daughter of King [[Bagrat&nbsp;IV of Georgia]].  By her he had at least one son, [[Constantine Doukas (co-emperor)|Constantine Doukas]], co-emperor from c. 1075 to 1078 and from 1081 to 1087/8. He died c. 1095.

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="200px" heights="190px">
File:Constantine X, Michael VII and Eudokia.jpg|Miniature of Michael VII alongside [[Constantine X Doukas|Constantine X]] and [[Eudokia Makrembolitissa|Eudokia]], {{circa}} 1060
Image:Michael VII and Maria in the Khakhuli triptych (cropped).jpg|Michael VII and [[Maria of Alania]] on the [[Khakhuli triptych]], {{circa}} 1072.
File:Michael VII Doukas on the Holy Crown.jpg|Michael&nbsp;VII Doukas on the back of the [[Holy Crown of Hungary]], {{circa}} 1074.
File:Nicephorus III and Maria of Alania BnF Coislin79 fol2bis.jpg|Miniature of Michael VII, later retouched to portray [[Nikephoros III]]
File:137 - Michael VII Doukas (Mutinensis - color).png|15th-century depiction of Michael VII, from the ''[[Mutinensis gr. 122]]''
</gallery>

==See also==
* {{portal inline|Byzantine Empire}}

==Notes==
{{notelist-lg}}

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=20em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
===Primary===
* {{cite book |author=Michael Psellos |author-link=Michael Psellos |title=Chronographia|ref=none}}
* {{cite book |author=Michael Attaleiates |author-link=Michael Attaleiates |title=The Histories}}
* {{cite book |author=Pseudo-John Skylitzes |author-link=Skylitzes Continuatus |title=Scylitzes Continuatus|ref=none}}
* {{cite book |author=Anna Komnene |author-link=Anna Komnene |title=[[Alexiad|The Alexiad]]|ref=none}}
===Attribution===
* {{EB1911 |wstitle=Michael (emperors)#MICHAEL_VII |display=Michael § Michael VII Ducas |volume=18 |page=359|ref=none}}

===Secondary===
* {{cite book |last=Beihammer |first=Alexander Daniel |title=Byzantium and the Emergence of Muslim-Turkish Anatolia, Ca. 1040-1130 |year=2017 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1351983860}}
* {{citation |author=Dumbarton Oaks |year=1973 |author-link=Dumbarton Oaks Papers |title=Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection: Leo III to Nicephorus III, 717–1081 |url=https://archive.org/details/docoins-3/DOCoins_3-2_WEB/page/779/mode/2up?view=theater}}
* {{citation |last=Finlay |first=George |author-link=George Finlay|year=1854 |title=History of the Byzantine and Greek Empires from 1057–1453 |volume=2 |publisher=William Blackwood & Sons}}
* {{cite journal |last=Gauthier |first=Paul |year=1966 |title=Monodie inédite de Michel Psellos sur le basileus Andronic Doucas |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/rebyz_0766-5598_1966_num_24_1_1367 |journal=[[Revue des études byzantines]] |volume=24 |pages=153–170 |doi=10.3406/rebyz.1966.1367}}
* {{cite web |orig-year=1998 |date=2021-01-20 |first=Paul |last=Halsall |editor-first=Jerome S. |editor-last=Arkenberg |url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/eastasia/romchin1.html |title=East Asian History Sourcebook: Chinese Accounts of Rome, Byzantium and the Middle East, c. 91 B.C.E. - 1643 C.E. |publisher=[[Fordham University]] |website=Internet History Sourcebooks Project |access-date=2022-09-06}}
* {{citation |title=[[Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium]] |pages=1366–1367 |year=1991 |editor-last=Kazhdan |editor-first=Alexander |chapter=Michael VII Doukas |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/odb_20210521/page/1366/mode/2up?view=theater |publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-504652-6 |editor-link=Alexander Kazhdan}}
* {{cite book | last1=McGeer | first1=Eric | last2=Nesbitt | first2=John W. | title=Byzantium in the time of troubles : the continuation of the Chronicle of John Skylitzes (1057-1079) | publication-place=Leiden | date=2020 | isbn=978-90-04-41940-7 | oclc=1129395117 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CmjIDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA175}}
* {{cite book |last=Norwich |first=John Julius |year=1993 |title=Byzantium: The Apogee |publisher=Penguin |isbn=0-14-011448-3}}
* {{cite book |first1=Fuat |last1=Sezgin |first2=Carl |last2=Ehrig-Eggert |first3=Amawi |last3=Mazen |first4=E. |last4=Neubauer |title=نصوص ودراسات من مصادر صينية حول البلدان الاسلامية |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k3ygAAAAMAAJ&q=nicholas+in+the+year+1338+had+not+yet+arrive+in+peking+for+the+christians+there+compalined+ina+letter+written+at+the+above+that+that+they+were+eight+years+without+a+curate |year=1996 |place=Frankfurt am Main |publisher=Institut für Geschichte der Arabisch-Islamischen Wissenschaften (Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University) |isbn=9783829820479}}
* {{cite book |last=Speake |first=Graham |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ockEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA511 |title=Encyclopedia of Greece and the Hellenic Tradition |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2021 |isbn=9781135942069}}
* {{A History of the Byzantine State and Society}}
* {{Cite book|last=Schreiner|first=Peter|url=https://archive.org/details/kleinchroniken1|title=Die byzantinischen Kleinchronike |publisher=[[ÖAW]]|year=1975|isbn=978-3-7001-0206-9|series=[[Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae]]|location=Vienna|trans-title=Byzantine small chronicles}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation |author=Dumbarton Oaks |chapter-url=http://www.doaks.org/resources/seals/gods-regents-on-earth-a-thousand-years-of-byzantine-imperial-seals/rulers-of-byzantium/michael-vii-doukas-1071-78 |title=God's Regents on Earth: A Thousand Years of Byzantine Imperial Seals |chapter= Michael VII Doukas (1071–1078) |access-date=2016-05-01}}
* {{citation|ref=none | last=Garland | first=Linda |year=1999 | title=Byzantine Empresses: Women and Power in Byzantium AD 527–1204 |isbn=978-0-415-14688-3 | publisher=Routledge | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6JY2fpMTkKwC}}
* {{cite book|editor-last=Jeffreys|editor-first=C.|title=Michael 7|url=https://pbw2016.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/person/Michael/7/|via=[[Prosopography of the Byzantine World]]|date=2016|publisher=[[King's College London]]|isbn=978-1-908951-20-5|ref={{harvid|PBW|2016}}}}
* {{citation|ref=none  |last=Polemis |first=Demetrios I. |year=1968 |title=The Doukai: A Contribution to Byzantine Prosopography | location= London}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/byz/michael_VII/t.html Coins of Michael VII]

{{S-start}}
{{S-hou|[[Doukas|Doukid]] dynasty||c. 1050||c. 1090|}}
{{S-reg|}}
{{s-bef
| before = [[Constantine X]]
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = [[List of Byzantine emperors|Byzantine emperor]]
| years = 1 October 1071 – 24/31 March 1078 <br />''under [[Constantine X]] (1059–1067)<br />with [[Konstantios Doukas]] (1060–1078)<br/>[[Romanos IV]] (1068–1071),<br/>[[Andronikos Doukas (co-emperor)|Andronikos Doukas]] (1068–1078)<br/>[[Constantine Doukas (co-emperor)|Constantine Doukas]] (1075–1078)<br/>and [[Leo Diogenes|Leo]] & [[Nikephoros Diogenes]] (1070)<br> as junior co-emperors''
}}
{{s-aft
| after = [[Nikephoros III]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Roman emperors}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michael 07 Doukas}}
[[Category:11th-century Byzantine emperors]]
[[Category:Doukid dynasty]]
[[Category:Keroularios family]]
[[Category:Bishops of Ephesus]]
[[Category:11th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops]]
[[Category:1050s births]]
[[Category:1090s deaths]]
[[Category:Byzantine emperors who abdicated]]
[[Category:Studite monks]]
[[Category:1070s in the Byzantine Empire]]
[[Category:Sons of Byzantine emperors]]
[[Category:Forcibly monasticised]]