MICHAEL VII  . DUCAS, Or PARAPINACES, was the eldest son of Constantine X . Ducas . After a joint reign with his brothers, Andronicus I. and Constantine XI . (1067—1071), he was made sole emperor through his uncle John Ducas . The feebleness of Michael, whose chief interest lay in trifling academic pursuits, and the avarice of his ministers, was disastrous to the empire . As the result of anarchy in the army, the Byzantines lost their last possessions in Italy (1071), and were forced to cede a large strip of Asia Minor which they were unable to defend against the Seljuk Turks (1074) . These misfortunes, which were but partially retrieved by the suppression of a Bulgarian revolt (1073), caused widespread dissatisfaction . In 1078 two generals, Nicephorus Bryennius and Nicephorus Botaniates, simultaneously revolted . Michael resigned the throne with hardly a struggle and retired into a monastery . His nickname Parapinaces (" starver ") was due to his causing the price of wheat to rise .