between Byzantium and the leaders of the crusade to retain his liaison officer in Constantinople for other duties. 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, some records suggest Tatikios 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 possible descendant, Constantine Tatikios, was deprived of his sight following a failed plot against Isaac Angelos. Notes References Primary: Secondary: Steven Runciman, A History of the Crusades, Vol. 1: The First Crusade. Cambridge, 1952. Albert of Aix, Historia Hierosolymitana. Gesta Francorum et aliorum Hierosolimitanorum (anonymous) Guibert of Nogent, Dei gesta per Francos. Peter Tudebode, Historia de Hierosolymitano itinere. Raymond of Aguilers, Historia Francorum qui ceperunt Iherusalem. Charles M. Brand, "The Turkish Element in Byzantium, Eleventh-Twelfth Centuries", Dumbarton Oaks Papers 43:1-25 (1989) at JSTOR Magdalino, Paul (2002). The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 1143–1180. Cambridge University Press. . Byzantine generals Christians of the First Crusade 11th-century Byzantine military personnel 1040s births 12th-century deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death unknown Generals of Alexios I Komnenos 12th-century Byzantine military personnel