NICEPHORUS II PHOCAS

born 912, Cappadocia died Dec. 10/11, 969, Constantinople Byzantine emperor (963969), whose military achievements against the Muslim Arabs contributed to the resurgence of Byzantine power in the 10th century. Additional reading C. Schlumberger, Un Empereur byzantin au Xe sicle: Nicphore Phocas (1890), is a comprehensive biography. The same author's L'pope byzantine la fin du Xe sicle, 3 vol. (18961905); and A.A. Vasiliev, Byzance et les Arabes, vol. 2, La Dynastie macdonienne (1968), are useful for Nicephorus Phocas' career in the East. Also of interest is H. Gregoire, The Amorians and the Macedonians, 8421025, in The Cambridge Medieval History, new ed., vol. 4, pt. 1, pp. 147156 (1966).