A Turkish Commander in the Eastern Roman Empire; Tatikios
and another Turk under the command of Tatikios: Ilhan
Prof. Dr. Işın Demirkent
The life and activities of Tatikios, who was one of the most trusted commanders and a close friend of Emperor Alexion I Komnenos (1081-1118), can be found in the well-known work Alexiade by the emperor's daughter, Princess Anna Komnene, about her father's life, and the history written by Anna's husband, Caesar Nikephoros Bryennios. In addition, most contemporary Crusader works and writers on the First Crusade, such as the Gesta Francorum, Albertus Aquensis, Raimundus Aguilers, Tudobodus, Guibertus Novigenti, Baldricus and Willermus Tyrensis mention Tatikios in their accounts of events during the sieges of Nicaea and Antioch.
According to Anna Komnene's record, Tatikios, a formidable warrior and a daring commander who never lost his cool in battle, was not of free blood. Tatikios' father had been captured by Anna's grandfather, Ioannes Komnenos the Duke, during a raiding raid. Anna did not record the date of this event. However, it is highly probable that Tatikios was captured together with his father, in which case this event should be dated after 1057. Because Nikephoros Bryennios wrote in his work that Tatikios was the same age as the emperor Alexios and grew up with him. Since the year 1057 is accepted for the birth of Alexios, Tatikios must have been born in the same year, i.e. 1057.
It is noteworthy that Anna Komnene praises Tatikios as a cautious and far-sighted person, as well as for his courage and warriorism, although she uses almost no eulogising words for foreigners in her work. Bryennios' account of Tatikios is similarly full of praise, expressing his loyalty to the emperor and his farsighted character. At the same time, Bryennios noted that Tatikios was almost as if he was a member of the family of Emperor Alexios, thus emphasising the intimacy between him and Alexios. Anna also has the following record about Tatikios: Anna wrote that her father's later knee pain was inadvertently caused by Tatikios when they were both playing polo. Another point, which Anna Komnene and N.Bryennios do not mention but which is mentioned by the Crusader writers, is that Tatikios' nose was cut off and that he wore a false nose made of gold in its place...
There is no information about Tatikios' death or personal life. We know nothing about whether he married or had children. However, a man named Mikhail, who says that his father was Tatikios and his mother was Komnene, may indeed have been his son. Also in the 1104 charter, a certain Constantinos, kuropalates and anaagrapheos, is mentioned as ‘nephew of megas primikerios’. Furthermore, in the intrigues against the emperor Isaacos Angelos II at the end of the 12th century, a man named Konstantinos Tatikios may have been one of Tatikios' descendants.
We are also aware of the existence of a commander named Tatikios in Kinnamos' work. Kinnamos mentions that during Emperor Manuel's campaign and war against the Hungarians in 1167, there was a commander named Tatikios nicknamed ‘Aspietes’ in his army. It is quite possible that this person was also a descendant of megas primikerios Tatikios.
Prof.Dr. Işın Demirkent
Tatikios (A Byzantine Commander of Turkish Origin)
Belleten, Volume: LXVII - Issue: 248 - Year: 2003 April
