Nikephoros Phokas (; died 895/6 or ), usually surnamed the Elder to distinguish him from his grandson, Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas, was one of the most prominent Byzantine generals of the late 9th century, and the first important member of the Phokas family. As a youth he was taken into the personal retinue of Emperor Basil I the Macedonian, rising quickly to the posts of protostrator and then governor of Charsianon, whence he fought with success against the Arabs. In he led a major expedition in southern Italy, where his victories laid the foundation for the Byzantine resurgence in the peninsula. After his return, he was raised to the post of Domestic of the Schools, in effect commander-in-chief of the army, which he led with success against the Arabs in the east and the Bulgarians of Tsar Simeon in the Balkans. He died either in 895/6 or, less likely, sometime . Contemporaries and later historians lauded him for his military ability and character. Both of his sons later succeeded him as Domestics of the Schools. His grandsons Nikephoros and Leo were likewise distinguished generals, while the former became emperor in 963–969, spearheading the recovery of several lost provinces from the Arabs.
Life
Early life and career
Nikephoros was the son of the founder of the Phokas family, a man called Phokas, a native of Cappadocia. During one of the campaigns of Emperor Basil I the Macedonian () sometime in the 870s (probably ), Nikephoros' father caught the emperor's attention and was raised to the rank of tourmarches. At the same time Nikephoros, still in his youth, was taken into the imperial retinue, and was soon appointed to the guard corps of the manglabitai. He possibly participated in Basil's 873 campaign against Samosata.
Shortly after, at any rate before 878, Nikephoros was promoted to the rank of protostrator and received from the emperor his own palace in the vicinity of the Church of St. Thecla. Eventually he rose to the post of military governor (strategos) of the theme of Charsianon, a post from which, according to the continuators of Georgios Monachos, he scored "numerous" but unspecified successes against the Arabs.
Command in southern Italy
Nikephoros remained in command of Charsianon until his appointment as the commander-in-chief (monostrategos, "single-general") against the Arabs in southern Italy in replacement of Stephen Maxentios, who had been defeated by the Arabs. This took place in 885, according to traditional dating. It is likely, however, that Nikephoros was originally sent to Italy already before that, at the head of a picked detachment of troops from Charsianon, which Theophanes Continuatus records as part of Maxentios' expeditionary force. His command involved the forces of several western themes (Thrace, Macedonia, Cephallenia, Longobardia and Calabria), but Theophanes Continuatus also reports that Nikephoros received further reinforcements from the themes of Asia Minor, including a Paulician detachment. Nikephoros' command in Italy lasted until his recall to Constantinople following the accession of Leo VI the Wise, in late 886. Shaun Tougher however posits that Nikephoros was sent to Italy only after the accession of Leo VI, as Leo in his writings takes credit for his dispatch there, and that his recall was not until .