Constantine Doukas

Constantine Doukas was an officer in the army of the Byzantine Empire.

By 1305 AD, he had attained the rank of merarch and commanded a division in Andreas Hermoniakos' army on the Danube frontier. His division was on the right flank when the army attacked the Jurchen army and attempted a screened flanking manoeuvre. However, the nomads shifted horsemen to their left and attacked with such force that the flanking attack was never begun. In fact, his forces had to fight hard to not be outflanked themselves.

Several days after the battle, Doukas attended an officers' council to discuss the army's next move. Hermoniakos indicated that he was inclined to retreat across the Danube since another battle like the one they had just fought would destroy the army. Doukas agreed and added that the devil must have been telling the khan what they were up to since the Jurchens should not have been able read their plans that well. Hermoniakos retorted that some people blamed the devil to cover their own shortcomings.

This angered Doukas but before he could respond Basil Argyros, commander of the scouts, reported seeing a white-haired Jurchen holding a tube at the Roman army as it manoeuvred and thought it was a new magic involving the evil eye. Doukas agreed it was a potent spell and that they needed to find out how it worked, else it be used against the Romans again. All eyes turned to Argyros.