Kourtikios ( el, Κουρτίκιος) or Kourtikes (Κουρτίκης) was the name of 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 ...

aristocratic family of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

origin. The family's eponymous founder, K'urdik, was an

nobleman who went over to the Byzantine Empire and surrendered his domain, the town of Lokana, to Emperor

Basil I the Macedonian Basil I, called the Macedonian ( el, Βασίλειος ὁ Μακεδών, ''Basíleios ō Makedṓn'', 811 – 29 August 886), was a Byzantine Emperor who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a lowly peasant in the theme of Macedonia, he rose in the ...

(), settling with his family in Byzantine territory. His descendants counted among the senior members of the military aristocracy in the next two centuries. Several members supported the rebellions of various military aristocrats from

Constantine Doukas Constantine X Doukas or Ducas ( el, Κωνσταντῖνος Δούκας, ''Kōnstantinos X Doukas'', 1006 – 23 May 1067), was Byzantine emperor from 1059 to 1067. He was the founder and first ruling member of the Doukid dynasty. Duri ...

( Kourtikios the Armenian) to

Bardas Skleros Bardas Skleros (Greek: Βάρδας Σκληρός) or Sclerus was a Byzantine general who led a wide-scale Asian rebellion against Emperor Basil II during the years 976 to 979. Background Bardas belonged to the great family of the Skleroi, wh ...

(

Michael Kourtikios Michael Kourtikios ( el, Μιχαήλ Κουρτίκιος) was a senior Byzantine military commander and a partisan of Bardas Skleros during the latter's rebellion against Basil II. Biography The Kourtikios or Kourtikes family was Armenian in ori ...

), and in the 11th century, they intermarried with the leading aristocratic families of the time, including the imperial dynasties of the

Komnenoi 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� ...

and the

Doukai The House of Doukas, Latinized as Ducas ( el, Δούκας; feminine: Doukaina/Ducaena, Δούκαινα; plural: Doukai/Ducae, Δοῦκαι), from the Latin title '' dux'' ("leader", "general", Hellenized as 'ðouks'', is the name of a Byzan ...

. The family's fortunes declined abruptly in the 12th century, when a single member is known, occupying a modest provincial post. At the same time, a branch of the family became active in

Armenian Cilicia The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (Middle Armenian: , '), also known as Cilician Armenia ( hy, Կիլիկեան Հայաստան, '), Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia ( hy, ...

. The family produced a few senior officials under the

Empire of Nicaea The Empire of Nicaea or the Nicene Empire is the conventional historiographic name for the largest of the three Byzantine Greek''A Short history of Greece from early times to 1964'' by W. A. Heurtley, H. C. Darby, C. W. Crawley, C. M. Woodhouse ...

, but declined again in the

Palaiologan period The Byzantine Empire was ruled by the Palaiologos dynasty in the period between 1261 and 1453, from the restoration of Byzantine rule to Constantinople by the usurper Michael VIII Palaiologos following its recapture from the Latin Empire, founded ...

References

Sources

* * {{The Making of Byzantium, 600–1025