Leo Argyros ( el, Λέων Ἀργυρός) 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 ...

aristocrat and general active in the middle of the 9th century, and the founder of the noble family of the

Argyroi 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 t ...

Life

Leo Argyros is the first attested member and progenitor of the Argyros family, although it has been suggested on the basis of the family's onomastics that it descended from a certain ''

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 ...

'' Marianos and his son Eustathios, active ca. 741. Leo Argyros hailed from the area of

Charsianon Charsianon ( el, Χαρσιανόν) was the name of a Byzantine fortress and the corresponding theme (a military-civilian province) in the region of Cappadocia in central Anatolia (modern Turkey). History The fortress of Charsianon (Greek: Χαρ ...

, and served as a '' tourmarches'' under Emperor

Michael III Michael III ( grc-gre, Μιχαήλ; 9 January 840 – 24 September 867), also known as Michael the Drunkard, was Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian (or Phrygian) dynasty. ...

(reigned 842–867). He participated in the pogrom of 843 against the

Paulicians Paulicianism (Classical Armenian: Պաւղիկեաններ, ; grc, Παυλικιανοί, "The followers of Paul"; Arab sources: ''Baylakānī'', ''al Bayāliqa'' )Nersessian, Vrej (1998). The Tondrakian Movement: Religious Movements in the ...

, and distinguished himself in the border wars against the Arabs and their Paulician allies. He also founded the monastery of Saint Elizabeth in his native Charsianon, where he was probably buried. He had at least one son, the general Eustathios Argyros.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Argyros, Leo 9th-century Byzantine military personnel Leo 1 Byzantine people of the Arab–Byzantine wars Byzantine generals