John I Tzimiskes
John I Tzimiskes was a brilliant Armenian general who became emperor through murder and went on to be one of Byzantium's most successful warriors. Short in stature but renowned for athletic ability and personal courage, he participated in the conspiracy that assassinated Nikephoros II Phokas in 969. The patriarch Polyeuktos refused to crown him unless he submitted to penance, exiled the empress Theophano, and punished the co-conspirators - conditions John accepted. He then demonstrated exceptional military ability. His campaigns against the Rus prince Svyatoslav in Bulgaria, 970-971, were masterpieces of combined arms warfare: he drove the Rus out of Bulgaria entirely and forced Svyatoslav's submission. He then turned east, launching deep raids into Syria, advancing to the gates of Jerusalem in a campaign in 975 that reconquered much of Syria and Palestine up to the frontier of the Holy Land. He fell ill and died in January 976, probably from typhoid, though some suspected poison. His death was untimely: he was at the height of his powers and his eastern campaigns had been genuinely transformative.
- Lived: 925 CE – 976 CE
- Nationality: byzantine
- Roles: emperor, head_of_state, military_leader, general
