Leo Perenos 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 ...
governor (''
doux'') of
Dyrrhachium, and the penultimate
Catepan 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 Sa ...
.
In April 1064, as the ''doux'' of Dyrrhachium, Perenos provided military and financial aid to
Robert
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
, the Norman Count of Mentescaglioso, who was revolting against his uncle, Duke
Robert Guiscard of the
Apulia and Calabria.
In 1068, the incumbent Catepan of Italy,
Abulchares
Abulchares ( el, Αβουλχαρέ, la, Apochara; died 1068) was a Byzantine general of Arab origin who served as the catepan of Italy from 1064 until his death. The chief sources for his catapanate are ''Skylitzes Continuatus'' and '' Anonymi Ba ...
, died. Perenos was appointed as his replacement. The capital of the Catepanate,
Bari,
had been besieged by the Normans. However, Perenos could not provide a relief mission, as he was unable to cross the sea.
Sources
Leon (20276) Perenos, doux of Italy ''
Prosopography of the Byzantine World
The Prosopography of the Byzantine World (PBW) is a project to create a prosopographical database of individuals named in textual sources in the Byzantine Empire and surrounding areas in the period from 642 to 1265. The project is a collaboration b ...
''.
*
11th-century catepans of Italy
Byzantine governors of Dyrrhachium
Byzantine people of the Byzantine–Norman wars
{{Byzantine-bio-stub