Longibardopoulos | |
|---|---|
| Allegiance | Byzantine army (?–1071; 1073–?) Serbian army (1072–73) |
| Years of service | fl. 1072 |
| Battles / wars | Uprising of Georgi Voiteh (1072) |
Longibardopoulos (Greek:Λογγιβαρδόπουλος, "son of the Lombard";fl. 1071–1073) was a Byzantine general, a mercenary chief,[1] one of the commanders stationed inMacedonia during theUprising of Georgi Voiteh (1072).
ALombard chief,[1] or possiblyItalo-Norman,[2] he joined theByzantine army rather than submit to theNormans during theirconquest of southern Italy.[1]
In 1072, an uprising was prepared by the Bulgarian and Slavic[1] nobility inSkopje led byGeorgi Voiteh, known in modern historiography as theUprising of Georgi Voiteh. The rebels choseConstantine Bodin, a Serbian prince, the son ofMichael I ofDuklja, as their leader, as he was a maternal descendant of the Bulgarian EmperorSamuil;[3] in the autumn of 1072 Constantine Bodin arrived atPrizren, where he was proclaimed Emperor of the Bulgarians.[4] A Byzantine army underDamianos Dalassenos was immediately sent fromConstantinople to help thestrategos of theTheme of Bulgaria,Nikephoros Karantenos. In the battle that followed the Byzantine army was completely defeated. Dalassenos and several other Byzantine commanders, including Longibardopoulos, were captured and Skopje was taken by the rebel troops.[2][5]
Longibardopoulos was subsequently married to a sister of Constantine Bodin, and was put in command of an army consisting mainly of "Lombards andSerbs".[6] He was dispatched against the Byzantines, whom he had earlier served.[1]
Despite some initial success, Bodin was subsequently captured at Taonion[1] or Pauni (in southern Kosovo),[7] in December 1073[1] and then sent toConstantinople, thenAntioch, where he spent several years, while Voiteh dieden route.[6] When Michael of Duklja heard of the capture of his son, he sent Longibardopoulos to rescue him, but instead, Longibardopoulos defected to the Byzantines.[6]