George Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Γεώργιος Παλαιολόγος) 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 ...

general, one of the most prominent military commanders and supporters 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 ...

(r. 1081–1118). He was the son of the first known member of the

Palaiologos The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; grc-gre, Παλαιολόγος, pl. , female version Palaiologina; grc-gre, Παλαιολογίνα), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greek f ...

family, the ''strategos'' of

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

Nikephoros Palaiologos Nikephoros Palaiologos ( el, Νικηφόρος Παλαιολόγος; died 18 October 1081) was a Byzantine general of the 11th century. Biography Nikephoros is the first known member of the Palaiologos family, which would eventually rise to beco ...

. His wife Anna Doukaina was the sister of

Irene Doukaina Irene Doukaina or Ducaena ( el, , ''Eirēnē Doukaina''; – 19 February 1138) was a Byzantine Greek empress by marriage to the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos. She was the mother of Emperor John II Komnenos and the historian Anna Komn ...

, the wife of

, making him the emperor's brother-in-law. As Alexios Komnenos’ leading general and close friend, he played an important role in his campaigns, especially the Battle of Dyrrhachium against the

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

or the

Battle of Levounion The Battle of Levounion was the first decisive Byzantine victory of the Komnenian restoration. On April 29, 1091, an invading force of Pechenegs was crushed by the combined forces of the Byzantine Empire under Alexios I Komnenos and his Cuman a ...

against the

Pechenegs The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პა� ...

. He was the chief source used by

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, ...

in her '' Alexiad'' on her father's battles, and is very favourably portrayed by her in her book as both capable and loyal.

Family

George had a younger brother, Nicholas. Through his marriage to Anna Doukaina, he had four sons:Kazhdan (1991), p. 1558 * Nikephoros, one of the ancestors of the

family that became the Empire's ruling dynasty after 1261. He had issue: ** Michael *** Alexios, '' megas doux''. Married to Irene Komnene. **** Andronikos Palaiologos, ''

megas domestikos The title of grand domestic ( grc-gre, μέγας δομέστικος, ''mégas doméstikos'') was given in the 11th–15th centuries to the commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army, directly below the Byzantine Emperor. It evolved from the earl ...

'' * Andronikos, '' doux'' of Thessalonica. Married to Komnene, granddaughter of Constantine X Doukas. * Michael, a ''

sebastos ( grc-gre, σεβαστός, sebastós, venerable one, Augustus, ; plural , ) was an honorific used by the ancient Greeks to render the Roman imperial title of . The female form of the title was (). It was revived as an honorific in the 11th-ce ...

'' * Alexios, married Anna Komnene Doukaina and he is the other ancestor of the imperial house of

. He had issue: **

George Palaiologos George Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Γεώργιος Παλαιολόγος) was a Byzantine general, one of the most prominent military commanders and supporters of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118). He was the son of the first know ...

, ''

megas hetaireiarches The ( grc-gre, ἑταιρειάρχης), sometimes anglicized as Hetaeriarch, was a high-ranking Byzantine officer, in command of the imperial bodyguard, the . In the 9th–10th centuries there appear to have been several , each for one of the su ...

'' ***

Alexios Alexius is the Latinized form of the given name Alexios ( el, Αλέξιος, polytonic , "defender", cf. Alexander), especially common in the later Byzantine Empire. The female form is Alexia ( el, Αλεξία) and its variants such as Alessia ...

despot. Married to Irene Angelina (daughter of Alexios III Angelos). **** Theodora Palaiologina, married to Andronikos Palaiologos, ''megas domestikos''

References

Bibliography

* * * * * 11th-century Byzantine people Byzantine generals

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

Generals of Alexios I Komnenos Byzantine people of the Byzantine–Norman wars {{europe-mil-bio-stub