'' of Michael VII|190px Michael VII was born 1050 in
Constantinople, the eldest son of
Constantine X Doukas and
Eudokia Makrembolitissa. He was probably associated with the throne by the end of 1060, together with or shortly before his newly born brother
Konstantios Doukas. When Constantine X died on 23 May 1067, Michael VII was already 17 years old and should have been able to rule by himself. He exhibited little interest in politics, however, and his mother Eudokia and uncle John Doukas governed the empire as effective
regents. On 1 January 1068, Eudokia married the general
Romanos IV Diogenes, who now became senior co-emperor alongside Michael VII, Konstantios, and another brother,
Andronikos. When Romanos IV was defeated and captured by
Alp Arslan of the Seljuk Turks at the
Battle of Manzikert in August 1071, Michael VII remained in the background, while the initiative to take power was taken by his uncle
John Doukas and his tutor
Michael Psellos. Michael VII was proclaimed emperor on 1 October 1071, although Eudokia co-ruled with Michael VII for a month before being dispatched to a monastery. Although still advised by Michael Psellos and John Doukas, Michael VII became increasingly reliant on his finance minister
Nikephoritzes. The emperor's chief interests, shaped by Psellos, were in academic pursuits, and he allowed Nikephoritzes to increase both taxation and luxury spending without properly financing the army. As an emperor he was incompetent, often surrounded by sycophantic court officials. In dire straits, imperial officials resorted to property confiscations and even expropriated some of the wealth of the church. The underpaid army tended to mutiny, and the Byzantines lost
Bari, their last possession in
Italy, to the
Normans of
Robert Guiscard in 1071. Simultaneously, they faced a
serious revolt under
Georgi Voyteh in the Balkans, where they faced an attempt at the restoration of the
Bulgarian state. Although this revolt was suppressed by the general Nikephoros Bryennios, the Byzantine Empire was unable to recover its losses in
Asia Minor. '' of Michael VII DoukasAfter Manzikert, the Byzantine government sent a new army to contain the
Seljuk Turks under Isaac Komnenos, a brother of the future emperor
Alexios I Komnenos, but this army was defeated and its commander captured in 1073. The problem was made worse by the desertion of the Byzantines' western mercenaries under
Roussel de Bailleul who were setting up an independent principality in the region of
Galatia and
Lycaonia. They became the object of the next military expedition in the area, led by Michael's uncle,
caesar John Doukas. This campaign also ended in failure, and John was likewise captured by the enemy. The victorious Roussel now forced John Doukas to stand as pretender to the throne and sacked
Chrysopolis, just opposite
Constantinople. A new army under
Alexios Komnenos (the future emperor), reinforced by Seljuk troops sent by
Malik Shah I, finally defeated the mercenaries and captured John Doukas in 1074. These misfortunes caused widespread dissatisfaction, exacerbated by the devaluation of the currency, which gave the emperor his nickname
Parapinakēs. In 1078 two generals,
Nikephoros Bryennios and
Nikephoros Botaneiates, simultaneously revolted in the Balkans and Anatolia, respectively. Botaneiates gained the support of the Seljuk Turks, and he reached Constantinople first. Michael VII resigned the throne with hardly a struggle on 24 or 31 March 1078 and retired into the
Monastery of Stoudios. He later became
metropolitan of Ephesus and died in Constantinople in c. 1090. Before his resignation from the throne, Michael VII may have sent an embassy to
Song China, following a series of
Byzantine embassies to the earlier
Tang Empire of China. From the
Wenxian Tongkao, written by Chinese historian
Ma Duanlin (1245–1322), and the 14th century work the
History of Song, it is known that the ruler "Mie-li-yi-ling-kai-sa" (滅力伊靈改撒) of
Fu-lin (i.e.
Byzantium) sent an embassy to the
Song dynasty which arrived on November 1081, during the reign of
Emperor Shenzong of Song (r. 1067–1085). The
History of Song mentions how the Byzantine diplomat and official named "Ni-si-tu-ling-si-meng-p'an" offered saddled horses, sword-blades, and real pearls as tributary gifts to the Song court. ==Usurpers==