Nicephorus Bryennius

…rival claimant to the throne, Nicephorus Bryennius, the empire’s commander in Albania; he also defeated a later pretender, Nicephorus Basilacius, who succeeded Bryennius in Albania.

…help him against his rivals, Nicephorus Bryennius and Nicephorus Botaneiates, each of whom proclaimed himself emperor at Adrianople in 1077 and at Nicaea in 1078. In the four years of ensuing civil war there were no troops to defend the eastern frontier. By 1081 the Turks had reached Nicaea. The…