Niketas Chalkoutzes

Chalkoutzes and his entourage escape during a battle between the Byzantines and the Arabs. Miniature from the Madrid Skylitzes

The patrikios Niketas Chalkoutzes (Greek: Νικήτας Χαλκούτζης, fl. 950–965) was a Byzantine general, the first attested member of the Chalkoutzes family, and most notable for his recovery of Cyprus from the Arabs in 965. He was probably the island's first Byzantine governor. He also served as an ambassador to the Hamdanid Emir of Aleppo, Sayf al-Dawla, ca. 950. According to John Skylitzes, Sayf took Chalkoutzes along with him in a raid into Byzantine territory, but Chalkoutzes bribed his guards and managed to escape with his servants during an ambush upon Sayf's forces by Leo Phokas the Younger.

Sources

• Savvides, Alexios G. C. (1993). "Προσωπογραφικό σημείωμα για τον απελευθερωτή της Κύπρου Νικήτα Χαλκούτζη και για τη χρονολογία ανακατάληψης της μεγαλονήσου (965 μ.Χ.)" (in Greek). Nicosia. pp. 371–378. 
• Wortley, John, ed (2010). "John Skylitzes: A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811-1057". Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. pp. 233–234. ISBN 978-0-521-76705-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=vGE8Xq832A0C.