Maniakes the Second or also known as Maniakes the Younger, was the son of the famed cavalry general Maniakes I and the successor of Avtokrator Genesios. Maniakes' clan was of Vaspurakaner heritage as his father proudly proclaimed but Maniakes the younger was more Videssian than he admitted to his father. His mother died giving birth and he was brought up by his father, who he imitated by joining the Videssian imperial army. Maniakes felt guilty for the rest of his life about his failure to stop the Makuraners from overrunning the Videssian westlands and the damage that was caused.