of his subordinates, and turned against Nikephoros, forcing him to rebel against Michael to protect himself from imprisonment. Nikephoros declared himself emperor shortly after, on 2 July/October 1077, mobilizing an army of native troops and Turkish mercenaries. Michael sent Nikephoros a letter in which he reminded Nikephoros that he owed much to the emperor who had brought him out of exile. A month later, in November 1077, the general Nikephoros Bryennios the Elder raised his own revolt against Michael. The military acumen and family renown of Nikephoros (III) helped him to solidify his support base, and the tyranny of Michael ensured that even some of the elites of Constantinople sided with Nikephoros—something Attaleiates notes as being very rare, since generally people defect from the usurper's side to the emperor's side. The defection of some of the capital elites was even more astonishing because the march from the Anatolic Theme to Constantinople was not safe due to Turkish raids, which had reached deep into Anatolia by 1078, meaning that Nikephoross rebellion might be destroyed before it even reached Constantinople. On 7 January 1078, the Byzantine Senate proclaimed Nikephoros III as emperor, although he was still far from the city. Michael's wife, Maria of Alania, seeing that Michael would soon be overthrown, defected to the side of Nikephoros. Michael VII abdicated after a popular uprising and was forced to become a monk on 31 March. Three days later, on 3 April, Nikephoros entered Constantinople and seized the throne. Upon taking power, Nikephoros married Maria of Alania, exiled Michael to a monastery, a common Byzantine practice for removing threats to the throne since the 7th century, and castrated Michael's sons. The castration of the sons was viewed poorly by the Byzantine nobility, possibly due to the brutality of the act, although Michael the Syrian does not provide an in-depth explanation of exactly why the Byzantine elite opposed it. Reign During the reign of Nikephoros, he had to contend with four revolts and plots before the revolt of Alexios I Komnenos which ultimately ended his reign. The first revolt was that of Nikephoros Bryennios, who had contended for the throne of Michael VII at the same time as Nikephoros III; Nikephoros, now too old to command armies, sent Alexios Komnenos to defeat him. Once Bryennios was defeated, Nikephoros III had him blinded, but granted him and his partisans amnesty. The second revolt came from