Theophilos Kourkouas

John Kourkouas
Allegiance	Byzantine Empire
Years of service	ca. 923–960s
Rank	monostrategos of Chaldia, Domestic of the Schools
Relations	John Kourkouas, Romanos Kourkouas, John Tzimiskes

Theophilos Kourkouas (Greek: Θεόφιλος Κουρκούας, fl. ca. 920–970) was a distinguished Byzantine general in the 10th century. He was also the grandfather of the Byzantine emperor John I Tzimiskes (r. 969–976).

Theophilos was a scion of the Kourkouas family, a clan of Armenian origin that had established itself as one of the chief families among the Anatolian military aristocracy by the early 10th century.^[1]^[2] His elder brother was John Kourkouas, who was appointed as Domestic of the Schools of the East (i.e. supreme commander of the eastern armies) in ca. 923 by Emperor Romanos Lekapenos and served in this post for 22 years. In 923 Theophilos assisted his brother in the suppression of the revolt of the strategos of Chaldia, Bardas Boilas, and succeeded the defeated rebel as governor of this strategically important province.^[3]

From 927 on, when John Kourkouas launched continuous campaigns against the neighbouring Muslim emirates, Theophilos assisted him ably, especially in the direction of Armenia. Together with his brother, Theophilos besieged Theodosiopolis (modern Erzurum), the capital of the emirate of Kalikala, from autumn 930 until its fall, after seven months, in spring 931.^[4] Little is recorded of his activity afterwards, but he is praised in the chronicle of Theophanes Continuatus for his excellence and valour, and compared for his exploits in Mesopotamia with Justinian I's general Solomon.^[5] The chronicle also records that "for his intelligence and valour and tirelessness" he was made strategos of various themata, raised to the rank of patrikios, and under the Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas (r. 963–969) he was made a magistros and raised to Domestic of the Schools.^[5]

Theophilos' unnamed son married the sister of Nikephoros Phokas, and their son was John Tzimiskes, who overthrew and murdered Phokas in 969.^[6]

References

^ Kazhdan (1991), pp. 1156–1157
^ Whittow (1996), pp. 337–338
^ Runciman (1988), pp. 70–71
^ Runciman (1988), pp. 139–140
^ ^a ^b Niebuhr (1838), p. 428
^ Kazdan (1991), pp. 1045, 1157

Sources

Niebuhr, Barthold Georg, ed. (1838), Theophanes continuatus: Ioannes Cameniata, Symeon Magister, Georgius Monachus, E. Weber, http://books.google.com/?id=0GgGAAAAQAAJ
Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991), Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6
Runciman, Steven (1988), The Emperor Romanus Lecapenus and His Reign: A Study of Tenth-Century Byzantium, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-35722-7, http://books.google.com/?id=XHVzWN6gqxQC
Whittow, Mark (1996), The Making of Byzantium, 600–1025, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0-520-20497-3

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Name	Kourkouas, Theophilos
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