John Doukas (son of Nikephoros Bryennios)
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Born around 1103, John was a younger son of the general and historian Nikephoros Bryennios the Younger and Anna Komnene, the eldest daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118).[1] In the sources, he is never referred to with the surnames "Komnenos" or "Bryennios", but always with the name "Doukas", which he inherited from his maternal grandmother, Empress Irene Doukaina.[2] He married at the same time as his older brother, Alexios, in 1122. John too married a princess from an unnamed Caucasian principality, whose original name is not known. She had come to the Byzantine court at a young age, become a ward of Irene Doukaina and Anna Komnene, and received the name Theodora.[3]
John was active as a military commander, but few details are known about his career.[4] In 1138 he was away on campaign against the Seljuk Turks near the Sangarios River, when his wife died.[5] Later, likely during the reign of Manuel I Komnenos (r. 1143–1180), John fought against the Turks in Anatolia, against the Italo-Normans, and in the Caucasus (likely against Georgia).[6] In 1140/1142 John married a second time. The name and identity of his wife are not known, other than that she was a Byzantine noblewoman noted for her intelligence and education.[7] The historian Konstantinos Varzos hypothesizes that she was possibly the daughter of the senior official Michael Hagiotheodorites.[8]
In 1166, John participated in a church synod that tried the bishop of Lampe for heresy.[6] Both Eustathius of Thessalonica and Constantine Manasses praise John's bravery in their works, as well as his erudition.[9] John died some time after 1173.[10]