Nikephoros was reassigned as "doux" of Antioch in 1065 by Constantine X in response to the incompetence and mismanagement of the province by its previous "doux", Nikephoritzes, who would later serve as "logothetes" under Michael VII. Although his troops were inexperienced and under-equipped, Nikephoros was able to repel numerous raids against Antioch from the Emirate of Aleppo, largely due to his own military prowess, his well-trained retinue, and his use of local levies. Nikephoros was relieved of his command in 1067, likely due to the political efforts of the civil officials, who wished to eliminate the military aristocracy, which Nikephoros was a member of. The political machinations of the civil officials, and their willingness to undermine the military elites, had built up under previous emperors such as Romanos III () and Michael VI; during this period the civil officials had increasingly become more powerful, until the reforms of Isaac I curbed their power so strongly as to leave a lasting impression. Constantine X had become emperor when Isaac abdicated in 1059 and was considerably weaker than Isaac had been, allowing the civil officials to manipulate him to prevent him from gaining the level of control that Isaac had. This was largely accomplished by undermining the Byzantine military elites, even while the Turks had begun to invade Byzantine Armenia.