Alexios Charon ( el, Ἀλέξιος Χάρων, ) was a
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 Constantinopl ...
official in
southern Italy
Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half.
The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...
and the maternal grandfather of Emperor
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 ...
(reigned 1081–1118), the founder of the
Komnenian dynasty
Komnenos ( gr, Κομνηνός; Latinized Comnenus; plural Komnenoi or Comneni (Κομνηνοί, )) was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185, and later, as the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγαλοκομνην ...
.
Very little is known about his life. The only references to him come from the history of
Nikephoros Bryennios the Younger
Nikephoros Bryennios (or Nicephorus Bryennius; Greek: Νικηφόρος Βρυέννιος, ''Nikēphoros Bryennios; ''1062–1137) was a Byzantine general, statesman and historian. He was born at Orestias (Adrianople) in the theme of Macedonia.D ...
, who married his great-granddaughter
Anna Komnene
Anna Komnene ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the ''Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...
.
Bryennios reports that "Charon" was a sobriquet given to him for his bravery, referring to the
ferryman of the underworld in
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
, but the name is attested as an actual surname as well.
On Alexios' career, Bryennios only reports that he "handled the emperor's affairs" in the Byzantine provinces of southern Italy (the
Catepanate of Italy
The Catepanate (or Catapanate) of Italy ( el, ''Katepaníkion Italías'') was a province of the Byzantine Empire from 965 until 1071. At its greatest extent, it comprised mainland Italy south of a line drawn from Monte Gargano to the Gulf of S ...
) some time in the first half of the 11th century. The exact office that Alexios held is unknown; it has been suggested that he may have been the governor (
catepan) of Italy, but his name appears in no other source.
The historian of Byzantine Italy
Vera von Falkenhausen
Vera may refer to:
Names
*Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
*Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name)
**Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarrag ...
suggested that he might be identical with
Alexios Xiphias
Alexios Xiphias ( gr, Ἀλέξιος Ξιφίας, la, Alexius Xifea) was a Byzantine ''protospatharios'' and catepan of Italy from 1006 to 1007, following the long term of office of Gregory Tarchaneiotes. In March 1007, he promulgated a diploma ...
, who was catepan in 1006/07, but Xiphias died in 1007, and Charon's daughter—and mother of Emperor
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 ...
—
Anna Dalassene
Anna Dalassene ( el, ; ca. 1025/30 – 1 November 1100/02) was an important Byzantine noblewoman who played a significant role in the rise to power of the Komnenoi in the eleventh century. As '' Augusta'', a title bestowed upon her by her son, A ...
was not born until sometime between 1020 and 1030.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charon, Alexios
11th-century Byzantine people
11th-century deaths
Catepanate of Italy