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Kourkouas
The Kourkouas or Curcuas ( grc-x-medieval, Κουρκούας, from , ''Gurgen'') family was one of the many nakharar families from Armenia that migrated to the Byzantine Empire during the period of Arab rule over Armenia (7th–9th centuries). They rose to prominence as part of the Anatolian military aristocracy in the 10th century, providing several high-ranking generals and an emperor. They intermarried extensively with the aristocratic families of Phokas and Skleros. In the 11th and 12th centuries, they shifted to the civilian bureaucracy. Famous members *John Kourkouas (9th c.), Domestic of the ''Hikanatoi'' regiment and conspirator against Basil I *John Kourkouas (10th c.), grandson of the above, Domestic of the Schools of the East and famous general under Romanos I Lekapenos *Theophilos Kourkouas, brother of John, ''strategos'' of Chaldia and later Domestic of the Schools *Romanos Kourkouas, son of John Kourkouas and Domestic of the Schools of the West *John Kourkouas, son ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Kourkouas
John Kourkouas ( gr, Ἰωάννης Κουρκούας, Ioannes Kourkouas, ), also transliterated as Kurkuas or Curcuas, was one of the most important generals of the Byzantine Empire. His success in battles against the Muslim states in the East reversed the course of the centuries-long Arab–Byzantine wars and set the stage for Byzantium's eastern conquests later in the century. Kourkouas belonged to a family of Armenian descent that produced several notable Byzantine generals. As commander of an imperial bodyguard regiment, Kourkouas was among the chief supporters of Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos () and facilitated the latter's rise to the throne. In 923, Kourkouas was appointed commander-in-chief of the Byzantine armies along the eastern frontier, facing the Abbasid Caliphate and the semi-autonomous Muslim border emirates. He kept this post for more than twenty years, overseeing decisive Byzantine military successes that altered the strategic balance in the region. During t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romanos Kourkouas
Romanos Kourkouas ( el, Ῥωμανός Κουρκούας) was a Byzantine aristocrat and senior military leader in the mid-10th century. Biography Romanos was a scion of the Kourkouas family, a clan of Armenian origin that had established itself as one of the chief families among the Anatolian military aristocracy by the early 10th century.Kazhdan (1991), pp. 1156–1157 He was the son, and along with his sister Euphrosyne, the only known child of the great general John Kourkouas, who held the post of Domestic of the Schools (commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army) for 22 years and led the Byzantine armies against the Muslim border emirates in the period 926–944. As an infant, he was reportedly saved from a heavy fever by the intervention of the Virgin Mary, at the Church of Pege, and as a result he served in the church as a (a junior aide) until his coming of age.Andriollo (2012), p. 68 Like most male members of his family, Romanos pursued a military career, about whic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theophilos Kourkouas
Theophilos Kourkouas ( el, Θεόφιλος Κουρκούας, fl. ca. 920–960s) was a distinguished Byzantine general in the 10th century. He was also the grandfather of the Byzantine emperor John I Tzimiskes (r. 969–976). Biography Theophilos was a scion of the Kourkouas family, a clan of Armenian origin that had established itself as one of the chief families among the Anatolian military aristocracy by the early 10th century. His father was likely called Romanos, and he was possibly the grandson of John Kourkouas the Elder, who served as commander of the Hikanatoi regiment and conspired against Emperor Basil I (r. 867–886) in the 870s. Theophilos is probably to be identified with the person referred to in contemporary Arabic and Armenian sources as ''ash-Shamīshāq'' or ''Ch‘mšshik'' respectively, indicating that he already bore the surname or sobriquet of Tzimiskes, which was famously borne by his grandson, the Emperor John I Tzimiskes (r. 969–976). Although th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Kourkouas (9th Century)
John Kourkouas ( gr, Ἰωάννης Κουρκούας, Ioannes Kourkouas) was a senior Byzantine military commander who led a conspiracy against Emperor Basil I the Macedonian. John Kourkouas (or Κροκόας, Krokoas in Symeon the Logothete, George the Monk, and others) is the first known member of the Kourkouas family.. The family name is Armenian, being a Hellenization of the name "Gurgen", and they hailed from Dokeia (modern Tokat) in the Armeniac Theme. John Kourkouas was the commander () of the elite regiment of the , and led a conspiracy against Emperor Basil I the Macedonian (). No fewer than 66 members of the Senate and aristocracy were involved, including the commander of the imperial bodyguard, the , and prominent noblemen. The conspirators intended to strike on the Feast of the Annunciation, but the conspiracy was betrayed by Kourkouas' chamberlain. The emperor conducted a public trial of the conspirators in the Hippodrome of Constantinople, condemning them to be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Kourkouas (died 971)
John Kourkouas ( gr, Ἰωάννης Κουρκούας, Ioannes Kourkouas) was a senior Byzantine military commander in 970–971. Biography John was a scion of the Kourkouas family, a clan of Armenian origin that had established itself as one of the chief families among the Anatolian military aristocracy by the early 10th century. His father, Romanos Kourkouas, was a senior military commander in the 960s, and the son of the great general John Kourkouas, who held the post of Domestic of the Schools (commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army) for 22 years and led the Byzantine armies against the Muslim border emirates in the period 926–944. John was also cousin of John Tzimiskes, another general who became emperor on 969–976. John is first mentioned in 970, during the Byzantine campaigns in Bulgaria in the aftermath of the invasion by Sviaroslav of Kievan Rus'. At the time, John held the high rank of , likely due to his kinship with the new emperor. The main Byzantine forces, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romanos I Lekapenos
Romanos I Lekapenos ( el, Ρωμανός Λεκαπηνός; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinisation of names, Latinized as Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for the infant Constantine VII. Origin Romanos Lekapenos, born in Lakape (later Laqabin (West Syriac diocese), Laqabin) between Melitene and Samosata (hence the name), was the son of an Armenian peasant with the remarkable name of Theophylact the Unbearable (Theophylaktos Abastaktos). However, according to the Byzantinist Anthony Kaldellis, Romanos is discussed in many Byzantine sources, but none of them calls him an Armenian. His father came from humble origin and that's the reason he was assumed to have been Armenian. This alleged ethnicity has been repeated so often in literature that it has acquired the status of a known fact, even though it is based on the most tenuous of indirect connections. Nevertheless, his father Theophylact, as a soldier, had rescued the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Domestic Of The Schools
The office of the Domestic of the Schools ( gr, δομέστικος τῶν σχολῶν, domestikos tōn scholōn) was a senior military post of the Byzantine Empire, extant from the 8th century until at least the early 14th century. Originally simply the commander of the ''Scholae Palatinae, Scholai'', the senior of the elite ''tagma (military), tagmata'' regiments, the Domestic quickly rose in prominence: by the mid-9th century, its holders essentially occupied the position of commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army, next to the Byzantine emperor, Emperor. The office was eclipsed in the 12th century by that of the Grand Domestic, and in the Palaiologan period (13th–15th centuries), it was reduced to a purely honorary, mid-level court dignity. History The first holder of the office of Domestic of the Schools first appears in the sources (the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor) for the year 767, shortly after the creation of the . These were elite cavalry regiments stati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Kourkouas (catepan)
John Kourkouas or Curcuas ( gr, Ἰωάννης Κουρκούας) was the Byzantine catepan of Italy from 1008–1010. John belonging to the Kourkouas family of Armenian descent. According to a deed of grant to the monastery of San Giovanni in Lamis, he bore the titles of and .. Kourkouas arrived at Bari in May 1008, as a replacement for Alexios Xiphias, who had died sometime between April and August of the previous year. He served as catepan of Italy until some time before March 1010, when his successor, Basil Mesardonites, is attested in office. According to the Italian chronicles of Lupus Protospatharius and Anonymus Barensis, he died in office in 1010. Nothing is known of his tenure, as the only information about him comes from deeds confirmed by his successors, and brief references in Italian sources. John's government coincided with the first revolt of the Lombards in Greek Apulia, under Melus of Bari. A possible descendant or relative, the notary John Kourkouas, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John I Tzimiskes
John I Tzimiskes (; 925 – 10 January 976) was the senior Byzantine emperor from 969 to 976. An intuitive and successful general, he strengthened the Empire and expanded its borders during his short reign. Background John I Tzimiskes was born to a father belonging to the Kourkouas family of Armenian origin, and a mother belonging to the Phokas family of Greek-Armenian origin. Scholars have speculated that "''Tzimiskes''" was derived either from the Armenian ''Chmushkik'' (Չմշկիկ), meaning "red boot"," John I (Roman emperor)". ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. or from an Armenian word for "short stature", as explained by Leo the Deacon. A more favorable explanation is offered by the medieval Armenian historian Matthew of Edessa, who states that Tzimiskes was from the region of Khozan, from the area called Chmushkatzag. Khozan was located in the region of Paghnatun, in the Byzantine province of Fourth Armenia (Sophene).See Matthew of Edessa. ''The Chronicle of Matthew ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael II Kourkouas
Michael II Kourkouas (Oxeites) (Greek: Μιχαήλ Β΄ Κουρκούας), (? – after 1146) was an Eastern Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople (July 1143 – March 1146). In early 1143 Patriarch Leo and Emperor John II Komnenos died within a few months of each other, bringing a period of turbulence to the Byzantine Church.Paul Magdalino. (2002). The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 1143-1180, Cambridge University Press, pp.276-277 John's appointed successor, his son Manuel I Komnenos arrived in Constantinople on 27 June 1143, from Cilicia where his father had died.Angold, Michael. Church and Society in Byzantium under the Comneni, 1081-1261. Cambridge University Press, 1995, p.78-79 In order to fully assure his position as emperor, Manuel needed to arrange his coronation. However, to do this he first needed to appoint a patriarch. His choice fell on the abbot of the monastery of Oxeia, Michael Kourkouas. The coronation did not take place until 28 November 1143, because Mic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hikanatoi
The ''Hikanatoi'' ( gr, Ἱκανάτοι, 3=The Able Ones), sometimes Latinized as ''Hicanati'', were one of the Byzantine '' tagmata'', the elite guard units based near the imperial capital of Constantinople. Founded in the early 9th century, it survived until the late 11th century. History The exact date of the unit's establishment is uncertain: the ''Vita Ignatii'', a hagiographic account of the life of Patriarch Ignatius of Constantinople, records that the unit was said to have been established by Emperor Nikephoros I (). A brief notice in the '' Chronicle of 811'' fragment also records that in his ninth regnal year (which began on 1 November 810) Nikephoros I, in preparation for a campaign against the Bulgars, created a bodyguard for his son and heir Staurakios, recruiting into it the sons of the aristocracy. This date is generally accepted, although sigillographic evidence as to its establishment is vague, and could support a late 8th-century establishment. According to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phokas (Byzantine Family)
Phokas ( grc-gre, Φωκᾶς, ''Phōkâs'') or Phocas (from Latin), feminine form Phokaina or Phocaina (, ''Phṓkaina''), was the name of a Byzantine aristocratic clan from Cappadocia, which in the 9th and 10th centuries provided a series of high-ranking generals and an emperor, Nikephoros II Phokas (963–969). Its members and their clients monopolized the high-command positions of the Byzantine army for much of the 10th century and led the successful Byzantine offensive against the Arabs in the East. As one of the leading families of the Anatolian military aristocracy, the Phokades were also involved in a series of rebellions that laid claim to power and challenged the emperors at Constantinople. Their power was eventually broken by Basil II (r. 976–1025), and the family declined in importance after the 11th century. History Origin and early members According to Michael Attaleiates, the family descended from the ancient Roman ''gens Fabia'', while Ali ibn al-Athir ascribed th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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