Nicephorus Phocas, the brave General of Constantine Porphyrogennetus, the warrior under whom Crete was rescued from the Saracens and brought under Byzantine rule, is the hero of the story.

At the premature death of Romanus II, his mother, Theophano, married the famous general Nicephorus II Phocas in order to ward off threats to her remaining two young sons. He is depicted here with the ...