ABSTRACT
Nikephoros' history was composed in the early twelfth century some time before his death. It tells the story of the military losses and rebellions of the 1070s, in which the grandparents, uncles and aunts of Nikephoros' primary audience were the major characters, and combatants. Eirene Doukaina asked Nikephoros to write a history of her husband Alexios, but the story of Alexios' rise to power involved the histories of all the most significant aristocratic families in the late eleventh century. The period of intense military decline and aristocratic infighting in the 1070s has the characteristics of a moment of community disruption that frequently call for intensive historicising. Nikephoros uses a variety of rhetorical techniques to make his heroes look good, but one significant and largely overlooked aspect of his work is an appeal to classical Roman ideals of masculinity and honour.
