Il modello del perfetto generale: Niceforo Foca il Vecchio nelle fonti storiche bizantine

Abstract

The Byzantine general Nikephoros Phokas the Elder enjoyed great fame and esteem among the rulers of his time (9th-10th century). Leo VI in his work of strategy (Tactica) presented Nikephoros Phokas as «our strategos», making him an excellent model for general: able in the application of the tactics of the ‘guerrilla’, but also noble, esteemed by the soldiers and loved by the people of the provinces. Nikephoros Phokas the Elder seemed to embody all these virtues, but Leo VI insists that the power of his generals –and therefore also that of Nikephoros Phokas and his family – reflects the will of the sovereign,
who is the guarantor of taxis and good government in the Empire.

Keywords : Byzantine Empire; Strategy; Aristocracy; Imperial Power; Political Ideology.