[citation needed] Nikephoros had steadily risen through the ranks of the military, to the point that he was given an important command by Romanos IV at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071.
[6] Assembling an army of Vlachs, Bulgarians, Sclavonians, Italians, Franks, Uzes and native troops from the Peloponnese,[5] in November 1077 his forces reached the walls of Constantinople.
Bryennios refused, and Botaneiates sent the young Alexios Komnenos against him with an army composed of native troops, Franks and Turkish cavalry.
[8] As he no longer posed a threat, Nikephoros III allowed his estates and property to be returned to him, and gave Bryennios new honours.
It is unclear whether the general and historian Nikephoros Bryennios the Younger, who was married to the daughter of emperor Alexios I Komnenos, Anna Komnene, was his son or grandson.