Leo Tornikios

[3] During Leo's tenure in the east, a revolt broke out in the army in Thrace, which had its headquarters at Adrianople, 240 kilometres (150 mi) west of the capital, Constantinople.

Fearful of Tornikios' popularity among the military aristocracy, Constantine swiftly recalled him to Constantinople, where he was tonsured but otherwise left free.

Taking advantage of this freedom, he fled the capital to Adrianople on September 14, 1047, delaying pursuit by slaughtering the horses at each post station.

[12] Whatever his reasons, he lost his opportunity to take the city, for that night, Emperor Constantine managed to restore order and re-occupy the walls, to await the arrival of the Anatolian army.

The next morning, Constantine, dressed in full imperial regalia, installed himself in a position where all of the besieging army could see him, giving the lie to Tornikios' claim that he was dead.

Two assaults by Tornikios' men were turned back by the defenders on the walls under the personal leadership of Emperor Constantine, who, despite suffering from severe gout and arthritis, and having no military experience, showed courage and energy in defence of the city.

By the time he was run to ground at a church in Boulgarophygon, he had a single adherent, a minor noble named John Vatatzes.

[3][14] The revolt weakened Byzantine defences in the Balkans and, in 1048, the area was raided by the Pechenegs,[15] who continued to plunder it for the next five years.

While the Anatolian army was away from the eastern frontier, the neighbouring Seljuk Turks took advantage to launch a large scale raid into Byzantine Armenia.

They subsequently became nearly annual events,[17] culminating 24 years later in the Battle of Manzikert, when the Byzantine army was crushed and the Emperor captured.