Nikephoros Xiphias

Nikephoros Xiphias
Bornbefore ca. 980
Diedafter 1028
AllegianceByzantine Empire
Years of serviceca. 1000–1022
Rankstrategos
WarsByzantine conquest of Bulgaria
RelationsAlexios Xiphias (father)

Nikephoros Xiphias (Greek: Νικηφόρος Ξιφίας, fl.c. 1000 – 1028) was a Byzantine military commander during the reign of Emperor Basil II. He played a distinguished role in the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria, and was instrumental in the decisive Byzantine victory at the Battle of Kleidion in 1014. In 1022 he led an unsuccessful rebellion against Basil II, and was disgraced, tonsured and exiled. He is last mentioned in 1028, when he was recalled from exile and retired to a monastery.