Nikephoros III Botaneiates, Latinized as Nicephorus III Botaniates (Greek: Νικηφόρος Βοτανειάτης, 1002–1081), was Byzantine emperor from 7 January 1078 to 1 April 1081. He was born in 1002, and became a general during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos, serving in the Pecheneg revolt of 1048–1053. His actions in guiding his forces away from the Pechenegs following the Battle of Zygos Pass, in which they suffered eleven days of harassment before finally reaching the Byzantine city of Adrianople, attracted the attention of fellow officers, and he received the title of magistros as a reward. Nikephoros served in the revolt of Isaac I Komnenos against the Byzantine Emperor Michael VI Bringas, leading forces at the decisive Battle of Petroe. Under the Emperor Constantine X