him. Instead, Tzimiskes revealed the letter to Phokas and urged him to action. Phokas's troops proclaimed him emperor on 2 July 963 and set out for Constantinople. In the capital, Bringas brought in troops, seized all ships to prevent a crossing of the Bosporus by the rebels, and even took Nikephoros's father, the aged Bardas Phokas, as a hostage. The populace of the city, however, supported the rebellion, and as the rebel army approached, rose up against Bringas's troops, supported by the patriarch and Basil Lekapenos, who reportedly armed 3,000 of his retainers and sent them out to fight. The street clashes lasted for three days, and in the end, Phokas's supporters prevailed. Bringas was forced to flee to Hagia Sophia seeking sanctuary, while Basil Lekapenos assumed the post of parakoimomenos and welcomed Nikephoros Phokas into the capital, where he was crowned on August 16. Bringas was banished first to his native Paphlagonia, and then to the monastery of Asekretis at Pythia near Nicomedia, where he died in 965. References Sources 965 deaths 10th-century Byzantine people Byzantine admirals Byzantine officials Byzantine Paphlagonians Parakoimomenoi Patricii Byzantine eunuchs Year of birth unknown Byzantine courtiers Byzantine regents Constantine VII