John I Tzimiskes | |
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Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans | |
![]() Detail of the Gunthertuch, a Byzantine silk tapestry depicting John Tzimiskes being greeted by the Blues and Greens at a triumph. | |
Byzantine emperor | |
Reign | 11 December 969 – 10 January 976 |
Coronation | 19 December 969[1] |
Predecessor | Nikephoros II Phokas |
Successor | Basil II |
Born | 925 (now Çemişgezek,[2] Tunceli Province, Turkey) |
Died | 10 January 976 Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) | (aged 50–51)
Spouse | Maria Skleraina Theodora |
Dynasty | Macedonian |
John I Tzimiskes (Greek: Ἰωάννης ὁ Τζιμισκής, romanized: Iōánnēs ho Tzimiskēs; c. 925 – 10 January 976) was the senior Byzantine emperor from 969 to 976. An intuitive and successful general who married into the influential Skleros family, he strengthened and expanded the Byzantine Empire to include Thrace and Syria by warring with the Rus' under Sviatoslav I and the Fatimids respectively.