a supporter of Bryennios, Nikephoros Basilakes the protoproedros, rebelled in Dyrrhachium (modern-day Durrës) in 1078, but he was quickly defeated by Alexios, and similarly blinded. In 1079 the Varangian Guard attempted to murder Nikephoros during an evening inspection, but they were unsuccessful as Nikephoros was able to command his retinue and defend himself until his imperial guards could arrive to defeat the Varangians. Nikephoros had the ringleaders of the plot sent to remote forts and granted amnesty to the rest. Around this time, Michael of Nicomedia, the hypertimos (head of the imperial administration), who may be the same person as Michael Psellos, died in Nicomedia; it is not known if his death was related to the assassination plot of the Varangians. Around the same time, Constantine Doukas plotted against Nikephoros, despite the emperor's favor towards him. Meanwhile, Nikephoros was planning to deal with Byzantine Anatolia, now practically overrun by the Seljuk Turks. Nikephoros hired mercenaries to strengthen his forces, as he viewed his native forces as being too little in number; however, the mercenaries were rowdy and disloyal. At one point Nikephoros had to personally address the mercenaries to attempt to make them cooperate. Constantine Doukas's rebellion put an end to Nikephoros's eastern campaign, but Nikephoros was popular enough that none outside of the immediate army under Constantine joined him, allowing Nikephoros to quickly assemble an army of levies and his imperial guard to challenge Constantine. Nikephoros quickly sent emissaries to Constantine to inquire why he had rebelled and was able to persuade the soldiers under Constantine to surrender their general through an offer of amnesty; after Constantine was handed over to Nikephoros by his own troops, he was sent into exile at a monastery. In 1078 the Paulician sect attempted to use the chaos of the rebellions of Bryennios and Basilakes and their growing popularity in the Balkans to rise up against Nikephoros; Leca the Paulician agitated against Nikephoros and attempted to convince the Pechenegs, with whom Basilakes had earlier attempted to ally, to invade Byzantine land. At the same time, Dobromir the Paulician stirred up a revolt in Mesembria, in co-operation with Leca, and began to pillage the surrounding areas. Leca and Dobromir soon abandoned their rebellion after they were informed that Nikephoros was quickly assembling an army to defeat them. Knowing their few loyalists would not be able to confront the Byzantine army, they begged Nikephoros for