Vikings: Valhalla Invents Most of General George Maniakes' Plot
Vikings: Valhalla season 3 introduced General George Maniakes, but the show gave him a completely different story than that of the real General Maniakes.
Vikings: Valhalla ended with its third season, and despite not having enough time to properly cover the stories of new characters, it introduced some notable historical figures as part of the plots of its main characters. Among them was George Maniakes, whose introduction was possible thanks to Harald and Leif's trip to Constantinople in season 2 and their long stay, as revealed in season 3.
Who Was General George Maniakes?
George Maniakes was a general of the Byzantine Empire, born in 998 in Macedonia. Maniakes was known for his great height and strength, as well as his temper. There are no historical records on Maniakes' life before joining the Byzantine army, so his story begins during a campaign in 1030-1031, when the Byzantine army was defeated at Aleppo (a city in Syria).
Some time later, he attacked and captured Edessa (in Upper Mesopotamia, now Urfa, Turkey) from the Seljuk Turks. However, Maniakes' greatest achievement was the partial reconquest of Sicily, which was under Arab control back then.
Emperor Michael IV assigned Maniakes with taking back control of Sicily, for which he counted on the help of Harald Hardrada and his Varangian Guard. In 1039, Maniakes successfully took the island, but the Carthaginians (North Africans) returned the following year. A battle began, but the Emperor sent his brother-in-law, Stephen, to help Maniakes, but he was quite incompetent – so much so that, before the battle, Maniakes sent him to secure the coast and prevent any Arabs and Carthaginians from escaping.
Fighting with Maniakes was Norman mercenary William de Hauteville, who defeated the Emir of Syracuse in single combat, earning the nickname "Iron Arm".
Maniakes and his army won the battle and Stephen failed at his task, and so the Carthaginian leaders escaped. Maniakes lost his temper with Stephen and ostracized him. This, along with Maniakes publicly humiliating the leader of the Lombard contingent, Arduin, which led them to desert along with the Normans and Norsemen, prompted the Emperor to recall Maniakes, who was arrested and imprisoned. Maniakes spent one or two years in prison until Emperor Michael IV died in 1041. The new Emperor, Michael V, released Maniakes in 1042. Empress Zoe sent him to Bari, and that same year, Constantine IX became Emperor.
George Maniakes Rebelled Against Emperor Constantine IX, Not Romanos
In Vikings: Valhalla, Maniakes was jealous of Harald being a "favorite" of Emperor Romanos and knew that he had an affair with Empress Zoe, so he plotted the Emperor's death in a way that he could frame Harald. The real George Maniakes also rebelled against an Emperor, but it wasn't Romanos.
After the people of Constantinople protested against Michael V, Zoe and her sister, Theodora, were crowned. After a two-month joint reign, Zoe married her former lover, Constantine, who would become Emperor Constantine IX (and though he brought his mistress, Zoe continued to rule the empire).
Constantine IX ignored Maniakes' achievements in Sicily and relieved the general from his command in Italy. In addition to that, Syracuse fell into Arab hands again, Michael Doukejanos replaced Maniakes as the catapan of Italy, and the Emperor gave Arduin the city of Melfi as a fief. If that wasn't enough, Romanus Sclerus, a wealthy landowner just like Maniakes and whose estates bordered the latter's, had a violent dispute over land with Maniakes.
Sclerus used his influence with the emperor, which he owed to his sister, Maria Skleriana, the Emperor's mistress, to turn him against Maniakes. As a result, Maniakes rallied his troops and marched on Constantinople, and he did one thing that mirrors his most important move in Vikings: Valhalla, though with big differences.
Was George Maniakes Ever Emperor?
In Vikings: Valhalla, following Emperor Romanos' death and Harald's imprisonment, Maniakes threatened Empress Zoe: she either married him and made him Emperor, or killed herself. With no other choice, Zoe married Maniakes, and so he became Emperor. The real Geoge Maniakes also became Emperor, though not officially. During his rebellion against Emperor Constantine IX, Maniakes was declared emperor by his troops, including the remaining Norsemen, and they attempted to take Constantinople.
George Maniakes' Plot Against Harald Sigurdsson Didn't Happen
Maniakes' plan in Vikings: Valhalla was to have Emperor Romanos killed in front of Harald so he could bring the Emperor's guards in as Harald attempted to save the Emperor, making it look as if he had killed him. As Maniakes knew of Harald's affair with Zoe (though he most likely didn't know that it was the Emperor's plan for them to sleep together), he used it against Harald during his trial. As admitting to the affair would have also affected Zoe, Harald took the blame and said he had forced her to sleep with him, saving Zoe but leading to his death sentence.
In real life, there are no historical records of enmity between Maniakes and Hardrada, though the latter was arrested and imprisoned during Emperor Michael V's reign. According to the sagas, Harald's arrest was because he defrauded the emperor of his treasurer and requested marriage with an apparently fictional niece or granddaughter of Zoe. Harald escaped and he and some of his Varangians supported the revolt against Emperor Michael V, with some sagas claiming it was Harald who blinded Michael V. Harald escaped Constantinople after Zoe and Constantine IX took control, so he wasn't around during Maniakes' rebellion against Emperor Constantine IX.
How George Maniakes Died In Real Life
Unfortunately for Maniakes, his time as (unofficial) Emperor didn't last long. As mentioned above, Maniakes and his troops tried to take Constantinople in 1043 along with the remaining Norsemen, and they clashed with armies loyal to Emperor Constantine IX near Thessalonica. Maniakes was killed in battle after receiving a fatal wound to the heart. The town of Maniace in Sicily and the Syracusan fortress Castello Maniace were named after him.
Vikings: Valhalla gave George Maniakes a completely different plot from what the real one went through, who already had an interesting enough story that deserved to be portrayed more closely.
Sources: Best of Sicily, Eileen Stephenson.
