Talk:Nikephoros (Caesar)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Nikephoros (Caesar)/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Ealdgyth - Talk 13:52, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

I'll be reviewing this article shortly. Ealdgyth - Talk 13:52, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

GA review (see here for what the criteria are, and here for what they are not)

1. It is reasonably well written.

   a (prose): b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists):

   Just a few spots where the prose needs some polish

2. It is factually accurate and verifiable.

   a (references): b (citations to reliable sources): c (OR):

3. It is broad in its coverage.

   a (major aspects): b (focused):

4. It follows the neutral point of view policy.

   Fair representation without bias:

5. It is stable.

   No edit wars, etc.:

6. It is illustrated by images, where possible and appropriate.

   a (images are tagged and non-free images have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):

7. Overall:

   Pass/Fail:

• Lead:
  • The second sentence of the lead is confusing: The first "he" clearly refers to Nikephoros, but the second "him" is unclear - is it Nikephoros again or is it Leo? Needs clearing up.
  • How is Irene related to Nikephoros?
  • You need to explain the abbreviations in the article "r.". Best practice would be to do "(reigned (r.) 741-775)" at the first mention.
• Early life
  • As above with the abbreviation - "ca." needs explanation (There is also an article for linking to circa).
  • The first sentence is a bit too concise here. I'd rather see a bit more words expended to make sure everything is explicated firmly. As I understand it, Constantine was married three times - Leo is the son of either a first or second wife, and Nikephoros is the second son of the third wife. Christopher is also Eudokia's? If so, this needs to be made clear. Suggest perhaps "Nikephoros was born in the late 750s, probably around 756 to 758, and was the son of Constantine V and Eudokia. Eudokia was Constantine's third wife, and was already the mother of Christopher (born about 755). Nikephoros had an elder half-brother, Leo, who was the son of Constantine's (blank) wife."
  • Do we know when Eudokia married Constantine?
  • "Either Christopher or Nikephoros were also perhaps twin brothers to the couple's only daughter, Anthousa." Clunky. Suggest "Christopher or Nikephoros were perhaps twins to Eudokia and Constantine's only daughter..."
  • "..while the younger Niketas was made..." Who is Niketas??
  • I'm not really happy with calling "Leo IV" by that number before he's ascended the throne, can we call him just Leo, and then in the second paragraph go "When Constantine V died in 775, his son Leo ascended the throne as Leo IV..."?
  • while you've linked "tonsure" you need to make clear in the article that the nobles were forced to become clergy. Most folks won't know that withough clicking through to the tonsure article (and may even think it was some novel torture)
  • Need to explain "iconophile" in the article besides just linking it, so you don't lose readers.
  • Same for the other linked terms in this sentence. This may mean the sentence needs breaking up into smaller sentences after the addition of the information.
  • "...Nikephoros and his brothers were made to admission the communion in the Hagia Sophia." I think you mean that he was forced to administer communion? Perhaps a better wording might be "... Nikephoros and his brothers were forced to perform the communion service at Hagia Sophia."
  • Need to explain what "tagmata" are.
  • Link for the monastery at Terapeia?
• After 792
  • "...a group of disgruntled soldiers tried to proclaim the brothers." Proclaim them what?
  • Who were these other brothers? I only see Christopher mentioned as a sure (full) brother of Nikephoros?
• General:
  • I've seen his name given as Nicephoros also (among other spots - Ostrogorsky, History of the Byzantine State pp. 176 and 180). Not saying the article should be moved, but other spellings need mentioning. And redirects for those spellings would need to be made also.

I've put the article on hold for seven days to allow folks to address the issues I've brought up. Feel free to contact me on my talk page, or here with any concerns, and let me know one of those places when the issues have been addressed. If I may suggest that you strike out, check mark, or otherwise mark the items I've detailed, that will make it possible for me to see what's been addressed, and you can keep track of what's been done and what still needs to be worked on. Ealdgyth - Talk 15:07, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Hello Ealdgyth, and thanks for another review! I think I've addressed most issues, and in the process I've expanded certain sections. Only one point cannot be answered, the date of Eudokia's marriage to Constantine, which is unknown. Check it again and let me know if there's anything that remains unclear (or whether I've introduced new problems in the expanded sections). Cheers, Constantine ✍ 07:32, 7 May 2011 (UTC)

I did a bit of copyediting, and it looks good. Passing this now. Ealdgyth - Talk 17:08, 7 May 2011 (UTC)