Michael VII Doukas
Michael VII Doukas was the eldest son of Constantine X who came to power through a coup against the captive Romanos IV Diogenes in 1071 and presided over several more years of imperial decline. He was a cultivated man with genuine literary and philosophical interests, a pupil of Michael Psellos, but wholly unsuited to the political and military demands of his moment. His government was dominated by the logothetes Nikephoritzes, an efficient but deeply unpopular minister who controlled food supply through state monopolies and was blamed for rising prices and famine conditions - which earned Michael the nickname Parapinakes (minus a quarter) from the people. Under his reign the Seljuks rapidly consolidated their hold on Anatolia, establishing what would become the Sultanate of Rum at Nicaea, perilously close to Constantinople. He sought western help, writing to Pope Gregory VII about a possible church union in exchange for military assistance - an early gesture toward what would eventually become the Crusading concept. He was deposed in 1078 by a revolt that installed Nikephoros Botaneiates and retreated to a monastery.
- Lived: 1050 CE – 1090 CE
- Nationality: byzantine
- Roles: emperor, head_of_state
