Historian Warren Treadgold further suggested that the revolt was a reaction against Nikephoros's usurpation and aimed, at least ostensibly, at the restoration of Irene.
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He is usually regarded by modern scholars as an Armenian on account of his first name (a Hellenized form of Vardan), whilst his sobriquet "Tourkos", which was bestowed upon him, probably disparagingly, only after his revolt, could suggest a Khazar origin.