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Maniakes Family

Συγγραφή : Makripoulias Christos (1/11/2005)
Μετάφραση : Velentzas Georgios

Για παραπομπή: Makripoulias Christos, "Maniakes Family ",
Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Μ. Ασία
URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=7767>
Μανιάκηδες (22/2/2006 v.1) Maniakes Family (20/2/2007 v.1) 
 

1. Emergence of the Family

The Maniakes family, whose residence was in Asia Minor, became powerful in the Middle Byzantine period, particularly at the end of 10th and in the 11th century, while its members distinguished themselves as military officers. Having become powerful, some of them rebelled against the imperial authority.

2. Prominent Members

The first known member of the family is Goudelios Maniakes, who was possibly born in the third quarter of the 10th century. There is no information about his roots, although some scholars believe that he was of Slavic (probably Bulgarian) origin.1 Nothing is known about his birthplace or whether he was of noble descent.

There is more information about the son of Goudelios, George, who was born towards the late 10th or the early 11th century and is known to have owned large estates. It is also known that his property and that of Romanos Skleros abutted in the theme of Anatolikon, in central Asia Minor. There is no more information about the marital status of George, apart from the fact that he was married and a brief reference to his wife.2 As a result, nothing is known about his relations with the other identified member of the family, Theophylaktos Maniakes, who must have been born in the first quarter of the 11th century.

There is no evidence about the education or the upbringing of the family members. In all probability, they must have received an education higher than the usual general studies, as they made a career in the army as officers.

3. Activity of the Maniakes Family

Historical sources provide scant information about the career of Goudelios Maniakes, unless he is actually identified with the aristocrat accused of conspiracy against Constantine VIII (1025-1028). His son, George Maniakes, was serving in 1030 as a strategos of the theme of Telouch. In August of the same year he eliminated a force of 800 Arabs, who were returning triumphantly after their victory over Emperor Romanos III Argyros (1028-1034). As a reward he was awarded the title protospatharios and commander of the cities along the border of the Euphrates River, with Samosata of Mesopotamia as his base. Towards the late October 10313 he managed to occupy Edessa and repel a counterattack by the local Arab emir. For this success George Maniakes was awarded the honorary title patrikios.

In 1034-1035, by order of the new Emperor Michael IV Paphlagon (1034-1041), he was transferred from Edessa to Vaspurakan. In 1037-1038, at the head of an expeditionary corps, he was sent to recapture Sicily, occupied by Muslims at the time . Thanks to his military skill, George Maniakes was highly successful and subordinated several cities of east Sicily by defeating the Arabs of Sicily and North Africa in Rametta in 1038 and in Dragines in 1040. However, his conflict with patrikios Stephen, commander of the fleet in Sicily and brother-in-law of the emperor, resulted in his being slandered by the latter. Towards the end of 1040 he was recalled to Constantinople and was imprisoned as a suspect for rebellion.

In the beginning of 1042 the new Emperor Michael V Calaphates (1041-1042), son of patrikios Stephen, set him free and sent him back to the West. Michael V was deposed in April 1042, but shortly later Empress Zoe appointed Maniakes as commander in Italy and honoured him with the title of magistros.

In the summer of 1042, in Italy, George Maniakes confronted successfully the revolted Norman mercenaries but showed cruelty to the populations of the cities he reoccupied. However, Maniakes did not manage to complete his mission because he was recalled when Constantine IX Monomachus (1042-1055) ascended to the throne. In August-September 1042 he was removed from the command of the troops in South Italy because of Romanos Skleros, who took advantage of his influence over the emperor (his sister was the mistress of Monomachus) and took revenge for earlier disputes over land property. The reaction of Maniakes was to openly rebel against the emperor. During the battle (between April and June 1043) in the area of Marmari, near Amphipolis of the Struma (Strymon) River, George Maniakes was fatally injured.

As regards the activity of Theophylaktos Maniakes, the third identified member of the family, who was loyal to Emperor Michael VI (1056-1057), it is known that in the summer of 1057 he failed to deal successfully with the rebel Isaac Komnenos in Βithynia and resorted to Constantinople.

In general, after the 11th century, the Maniakes family does not seem to have played any active role in the political and military matters of the empire.

4. Evaluation and Opinions

In Byzantine sources comments are made only about George Maniakes. We are given definitely favourable opinions, as all historians underline his military skills and his courage. Even the scholar Michael Psellos, who was a mamber of the emperor Constantine IX Monomachus' court, seems to be impressed by the great size and the spirit of Maniakes, whom he knew personally. What is more, the scholar reports that Maniakes rightly earned his promotions and offices, while the accusations made against him at times came from aspersions cast on him or calumnies. Only the sources of western origin are against George Maniakes and they repeatedly report the atrocities he committed in South Italy. The fact is that his name remained indelibly graven on the memory of the people in the areas where he lived and was active.4

Most modern scholars don't argue against the positive depiction of George Maniakes in Byzantine sources. Although there are certain historians who disagree with the opinion that the court of Constantine IX was the only one responsible for the developments that led to Maniakes' rebellion and death, most of them evaluate his actions positively and recognise his military skills.

1. Goudelios Maniakes is usually erroneously identified with Goudelios who was punished as a conspirator by the Emperor Constantine VIII (1025-1028). See Α. Γ. Κ. Σαββίδης, Γεώργιος Μανιάκης. Κατακτήσεις και υπονόμευση στο Βυζάντιο του 11ου αιώνα (Athens 2004), pp. 29-32 including criticism of the earlier theory supporting the Maniakes family was of Turkish origin.

2. The information that Maniakes was married and that his wife remained in the family estates in Asia Minor while he was away in Italy, is provided by Skylitzes,  I. Thurn, (ed.)  Iohannis Scylitzae Synopsis Historiarum (Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae 5, Berlin - New York 1973), p. 427, 65-66. According to C. Brand – A. Cutler, ‘Maniakes George’, The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium 2 (New York - Oxford 1991), p. 1285, there was some George Maniakes possessing land in Central Greece, who may have been a grandson bearing the same name, unless he can be identified with the strategos. In case he was a grandson, he may have possessed the seal presented by Κ. Μ. Κωνσταντόπουλος, ‘Η σφραγίς του στρατηγού Μανιάκη’, Επετηρίς Εταιρείας Βυζαντινών Σπουδών 9 (1932), pp. 123-128, which probably did not belong to strategos Maniakes.

3. The exact chronology is based on the analysis of the Arabic sources by W. Felix, Byzanz und die islamische Welt in früheren 11. Jahrhundert (Byzantina Vindobonensia 14, Wien 1981), pp. 128, 143-145; Δ. Ζακυθηνός, Βυζαντινή Ιστορία 324-1971 (Athens 1972), p. 467, and Αικατερίνη Χριστοφιλοπούλου, Βυζαντινή Ιστορία2 2 (Thessaloniki 1997), p. 197, believe that Edessa fell in 1032.

4. The name ‘Maniakes tower’ has been preserved for buildings in Edessa, Syracuse, Dragines and Messina of Sicily. In Messina there is a church called Santa Maria di Maniace. Moreover, it seems that notable citizens of Italian cities were given the general’s name as their baptismal or family name and this must explain the existence of some Giorgio Maniace in Taranto in the 12th c. Finally, the name of George Maniakes is found in the Scandinavian epics of the 13th c. See Α. Γ. Κ. Σαββίδης, Γεώργιος Μανιάκης. Κατακτήσεις και υπονόμευση στο Βυζάντιο του 11ου αιώνα (Athens 2004), pp. 22, 35, 45-46, 63.
     
 
 
 
 
 

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