Nikephoros II Phokas was Byzantine emperor from 963 to 969 CE. Known as “White Death of the Saracens,” Nikephoros was a fearsome commander who conquered Crete, Cilicia, and much of Syria. While he is known as a great military commander, he was a poor politician, and his reign was cut short by his murder.
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Timeline
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955The future Nikephoros II Phokas becomes the head Byzantine military commander, replacing his father Bardas.
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955John Tzimiskes is appointed domestikos of the East in the Byzantine Empire.
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961The Byzantine Empire reconquers Crete from the Arabs under Nikephoros Phokas, the future Emperor Nikephoros II.
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962Byzantine forces under Nikephoros Phokas sack Anazarbos and Hierapolis in Syria.
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963Romanos II dies.
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963Nikephoros II Phokas becomes Byzantine emperor.
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963Nikephoros II Phokas marries Theophano, the widow of Romanos II.
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963 - 969Reign of Byzantine emperor Nikephoros II Phokas.
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965Byzantine forces are defeated and forced out of Sicily by Muslim troops.
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967Sayf al-Dawla, the Hamdanid Emir of Mosul, dies.
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968Nikephoros II Phokas marches Byzantine forces as far south as Lebanon.
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968Rus forces under Sviatoslav raid deep into Bulgaria, effectively occupying it by the next year.
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968Byzantine forces under Nikephoros II Phokas take the important Lebanese port city of Laodikeia.
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969Byzantine forces recapture the city of Antioch from the Arabs.
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969John Tzimiskes murders Nikephoros II Phokas in the imperial Byzantine palace in Constantinople.
