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Argyros Family
Argyros (, derived from , "silver"), feminine Argyre (), Latinized as Argyrus and Argyra, was the name of a prominent aristocratic family of Roman Emperors of the Byzantine Empire active from the middle of the 9th century until the very end of the Empire in the 15th century, although it passed its peak after the mid-11th century. The name also evolved the variant forms Argyropoulos () and the feminine Argyropoulina (). The Argyroi apparently originated in the province of Charsianon, where they had large estates. They hence belonged to the Anatolian land-holding military aristocracy (the "'' dynatoi''"); indeed, they are among the earliest, and almost archetypal, such families to emerge, along with the Doukai. The family is first securely attested in the mid-9th century, but may have its origins in a certain ''patrikios'' Marianos and his son Eustathios, who was captured by the Umayyads in 740/41 and executed after refusing to convert to Islam. Beginning with the family's founde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople. It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire remained the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in Europe. The terms "Byzantine Empire" and "Eastern Roman Empire" were coined after the end of the realm; its citizens continued to refer to their empire as the Roman Empire, and to themselves as Romans—a term which Greeks continued to use for themselves into Ottoman times. Although the Roman state continued and its traditions were maintained, modern historians prefer to differentiate the Byzantine Empire from Ancient Rome a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Umayyad Caliphate
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty ( ar, ٱلْأُمَوِيُّون, ''al-ʾUmawīyūn'', or , ''Banū ʾUmayyah'', "Sons of Umayyah"). Uthman ibn Affan (r. 644–656), the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member of the clan. The family established dynastic, hereditary rule with Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan, long-time governor of Greater Syria, who became the sixth caliph after the end of the First Fitna in 661. After Mu'awiyah's death in 680, conflicts over the succession resulted in the Second Fitna, and power eventually fell into the hands of Marwan I from another branch of the clan. Greater Syria remained the Umayyads' main power base thereafter, with Damascus serving as their capital. The Umayyads continued the Muslim conquests, incorpo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Argyropoulos
John Argyropoulos (/ˈd͡ʒɑn ˌɑɹd͡ʒɪˈɹɑ.pə.ləs/ el, Ἰωάννης Ἀργυρόπουλος ''Ioannis Argyropoulos''; it, Giovanni Argiropulo; surname also spelt ''Argyropulus'', or ''Argyropulos'', or ''Argyropulo''; c. 1415 – 26 June 1487) was a lecturer, philosopher and humanist, one of the émigré Greek scholars who pioneered the revival of classical Greek learning in 15th century Italy. He translated Greek philosophical and theological works into Latin besides producing rhetorical and theological works of his own. He was in Italy for the Council of Florence during 1439–1444, and returned to Italy following the Fall of Constantinople, teaching in Florence (at the Florentine Studium) in 1456–1470 and in Rome in 1471–1487. Biography John Argyropoulos was born c. 1415 in Constantinople where he studied theology and philosophy. As a teacher in Constantinople, Argyropoulos had amongst his pupils the scholar Constantine Lascaris. He was an official in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isaac Argyros
Isaac Argyros (Greek: Ισαάκιος Αργυρός) was a Byzantine mathematician and monk, born about 1312, who wrote a treatise named ''Easter Rule'', along with books on arithmetic, geometry and astronomy. Works * ''An Easter Rule'', a treatise on Easter * ''New Tables: An Astronomical treatise'', based on Ptolemaic astronomy Bibliography * ''Science and Civilisation in China, Volume 3: Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth'', Joseph Needham, Cambridge University Press 1959, References 1312 births 14th-century Byzantine people Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ... Greek mathematicians Year of death unknown 14th-century Byzantine writers 14th-century astronomers 14th-century Byzantine scientists Byzantine astronomers 14th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Komnenian Period
The Byzantine Empire was ruled by emperors of the Komnenos dynasty for a period of 104 years, from 1081 to about 1185. The ''Komnenian'' (also spelled ''Comnenian'') period comprises the reigns of five emperors, Alexios I Komnenos, Alexios I, John II Komnenos, John II, Manuel I Komnenos, Manuel I, Alexios II Komnenos, Alexios II and Andronikos I Komnenos, Andronikos I. It was a period of sustained, though ultimately incomplete, restoration of the military, territorial, economic and political position of the Byzantine Empire. Byzantium under the Komnenoi played a key role in the history of the Crusades in the Holy Land, while also exerting enormous cultural and political influence in Europe, the Near East, and the lands around the Mediterranean Sea. The Komnenian emperors, particularly John and Manuel, exerted great influence over the Crusader states of Outremer, whilst Alexios I played a key role in the course of the First Crusade, which he helped bring about. Moreover, it was d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power and initiated a hereditary succession to the throne. Inheriting a collapsing empire and faced with constant warfare during his reign against both the Seljuq Turks in Asia Minor and the Normans in the western Balkans, Alexios was able to curb the Byzantine decline and begin the military, financial, and territorial recovery known as the Komnenian restoration. His appeals to Western Europe for help against the Turks was the catalyst that sparked the First Crusade. Biography Alexios was the son of John Komnenos and Anna Dalassene,Kazhdan 1991, p. 63 and the nephew of Isaac I Komnenos (emperor 1057–1059). Alexios' father declined the throne on the abdication of Isaac, who was thu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basil Argyros
Basil Argyros ( el, Βασίλειος Ἀργυρός, Basileios Argyros; – after 1023) was a Byzantine nobleman and general of the Argyros family and a brother of the emperor Romanos III.Kazhdan (1987), p. 69. Basil was the maternal grandfather of emperor Romanos IV Diogenes. According to the ''Synopsis Historion'' by John Skylitzes, Basil Argyros was the ''strategos'' of Samos who was sent to fight the Italian rebel Meles .Cheynet & Vannier (2003), p. 72. It is possible that the account of Basil's career in Italy is the result of Skylitzes' conflation of Argyros with another contemporary Basil, surnamed Mesardonites, who was the catepan of Italy. On the other hand, he may have been a commander of the fleet sent to support Basil Mesardonites in his crackdown on the rebellion. He was recalled from Italy . Modern scholars such as Guilou and Vannier consider Basil Argyros and Basil Mesardonites to have been the same person, a view not shared by Alexander Kazhdan. After a gap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pothos Argyros (Domestic Of The Schools)
Pothos Argyros ( el, Πόθος Ἀργυρός; ) was a Byzantine general active in the first half of the 10th century. Early life He was the eldest son of the ''magistros'' Eustathios Argyros, Drungary of the Watch under Leo VI the Wise (ruled 886–912). He had two brothers, Leo and Romanos. In ca. 910, Pothos and his brother Leo Argyros were serving at court as manglabites (personal bodyguards of the emperor), when their father was poisoned after being suspected by Leo for plotting against him. The two brothers brought their father's body for burial to the monastery of Saint Elizabeth in the Charsianon district, founded by their grandfather Leo Argyros. Accordingly he was born probably ca. 890 or a little later. Military career Pothos and Leo both followed military careers and reached high office. In ca. 921 Pothos was appointed to the post of Domestic of the Schools by Romanos I (r. 920–944) in succession to Adralestos, who had died recently. A "most handsome and exper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leo Argyros (10th Century)
Leo Argyros ( el, Λέων Ἀργυρός) was a Byzantine aristocrat and general active in the first decades of the 10th century. Life He was the son of the ''magistros'' Eustathios Argyros, ''droungarios'' of the Watch under Leo VI the Wise (ruled 886–912). In ca. 910, Leo and his brother Pothos Argyros were serving at court as manglabites (personal bodyguards of the emperor), when their father was poisoned after being suspected by Leo for plotting against him. The two brothers brought their father's body for burial to their ancestral monastery of Saint Elizabeth in the Charsianon district. Pothos and Leo both followed military careers. According to Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, already in 911, Leo, despite his youth, became military governor ('' strategos'') of the theme of Sebasteia, with the rank of ''protospatharios''. Both brothers played a distinguished role during the regency of Empress Zoe Karbonopsina (913–919). Leo and a younger brother, Romanos, partici ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eustathios Argyros (general Under Leo VI)
Eustathios Argyros ( el, Εὐστάθιος Ἀργυρός; died ca. 910) was a Byzantine aristocrat and one of the most prominent generals under Emperor Leo VI the Wise (r. 886–912). The first member of the Argyros family to rise to high posts, he fought with distinction against the Arabs in the east, before being disgraced ca. 907, possibly in connection with the flight of Andronikos Doukas to the Arabs. Rehabilitated soon after, he was appointed as ''strategos'' of Charsianon, from which post he oversaw the settlement of Armenian lords as march-wardens along the Empire's eastern frontier. Promoted to commander of the imperial bodyguard in late 908, he again fell into disgrace shortly after and died of poison (apparently a suicide) on his way to his estates. Life Eustathios Argyros was the son of the ''tourmarches'' Leo Argyros, the founder of the noble Argyros family. Nothing is known of his life or prior to the turn of the 10th century, although he may have been in i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patrikios
The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 BC). By the time of the late Republic and Empire, membership in the patriciate was of only nominal significance. The social structure of Ancient Rome revolved around the distinction between the patricians and the plebeians. The status of patricians gave them more political power than the plebeians. The relationship between the patricians and the plebeians eventually caused the Conflict of the Orders. This time period resulted in changing the social structure of Ancient Rome. After the Western Empire fell, the term "patrician" continued as a high honorary title in the Eastern Empire. In the Holy Roman Empire and in many medieval Italian republics, medieval patrician classes were once again formal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dynatoi
The ''dynatoi'' ( el, δυνατοί, sing. Δυνατός, ''Dynatos'' "the powerful") was a legal term in the Byzantine Empire, denoting the senior levels of civil, military and ecclesiastic (including monastic) officialdom, who usually, but not always, also commanded considerable fortunes and landed estates. Although such positions were not usually hereditary, by the late 10th and early 11th centuries they had started to become monopolized by a limited number of families who by the mid-11th century formed a hereditary aristocracy. Although the exact composition of the ''dynatoi'' class has been the subject of considerable scholarly debate (cf. Lemerle), in economic terms, it encompassed the wealthy land-owners as opposed to the middling and small landowners, the ''penetes'' (πένητες). The former were usually members of military families, who had been able to use their influence to grab up the extensive lands that had been abandoned, especially in Asia Minor, as the result ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
