Tatikios - Appearance and Descendants

Appearance and Descendants

The Crusade chroniclers mention that Tatikios had a mutilated nose; mutilation of the face was a common Byzantine punishment for traitors but this does not appear to be the case in this instance. According to Guibert of Nogent he had a prosthetic gold nose as a replacement. Contrary to the Crusaders' opinions of him, Anna describes him as "a valiant fighter, a man who kept his head under combat conditions," and "a clever orator and a powerful man of action." Anna also tells the story that Tatikios and Alexius were playing polo when the general was thrown from his horse and landed on the emperor. Alexius injured his knee in the incident and was thereafter afflicted by gout. Anna does not mention the date of this incident; it is an aside in her account of Alexius' campaigns against the Turks around 1110.

There is no record of the dates of Tatikios' birth or death. Although the office of Grand Primicerius (megas primikerios) was usually held by a eunuch, Tatikios seems to have had descendants who were members of a powerful noble family in the 12th century, including another general, prominent at the Battle of Sirmium, under Manuel I Comnenus. A probable descendant, Constantine Tatikios, was deprived of his sight following a failed plot against Isaac Angelos.