Pothos Argyros or Argyrus ( el, Πόθος Ἀργυρός; it, Potone Argiro or Poto Argiro) 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 ...

commander, who served as the

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 ...

during the eventful years of 1029 to 1031. Pothos is first mentioned in the history of

John Skylitzes John Skylitzes, commonly Latinized as Ioannes, la, Johannes, label=none, la, Iōannēs, label=none Scylitzes ( el, Ἰωάννης Σκυλίτζης, ''Iōánnēs Skylítzēs'', or el, Σκυλίτση, ''Skylítsē'', label=none ; la, ...

in , or perhaps still under

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar S ...

(), as a commander in the eastern frontier, when he captured the

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

chieftain

Nasr ibn Musharraf al-Rawadifi Nasr ibn Musharraf al-Rawadifi ( ar, نصر بن مشرف الروادفي; died 1032) was an Arab chieftain of the Citadel of Maniqa and Jabal al-Rawadif near Antioch. Biography In 1027 AD, the ruler of Aleppo, Salih ibn Mirdas, was able to defe ...

, ruler of the disputed border area of Jabal Rawadif near

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

. Nasr succeeded in being set free after promising assistance to Pothos' superior, the '' doux'' of Antioch,

Michael Spondyles Michael Spondyles ( el, , it, Michele Sfrondilo) was a high-ranking Byzantine courtier who became governor of Antioch, and then Apulia and Calabria. Biography A court eunuch and favourite of Constantine VIII (r. 1025–28), Spondyles was among ...

. Following the rise to the throne of

Romanos III Argyros Romanos III Argyros ( el, Ρωμανός Αργυρός; Latinized Romanus III Argyrus; 968 – 11 April 1034), or Argyropoulos was Byzantine Emperor from 1028 until his death. He was a Byzantine noble and senior official in Constantinople whe ...

(), Pothos was appointed

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 1029. Pothos' relation to Romanos III is unknown, but according to the historians Jean-Claude Ceynet and Jean-François Vannier, he may have been his nephew. A surviving lead seal of office gives his titles as "''

protospatharios ''Prōtospatharios'' ( el, πρωτοσπαθάριος) was one of the highest court dignities of the middle Byzantine period (8th to 12th centuries), awarded to senior generals and provincial governors, as well as to foreign princes. History Th ...

'' and ''

katepano The ''katepánō'' ( el, κατεπάνω, lit. " he oneplaced at the top", or " the topmost") was a senior Byzantine military rank and office. The word was Latinized as ''capetanus/catepan'', and its meaning seems to have merged with that of th ...

'' atepanof Italy". According to

Lupus Protospatharius Lupus Protospatharius Barensis was the reputed author of the ''Chronicon rerum in regno Neapolitano gestarum'' (also called ''Annales Lupi Protospatharii''), a concise history of the Mezzogiorno from 805 to 1102. He has only been named as the auth ...

, he arrived at Bari as the new

in July 1029, and immediately fought in its vicinity against the Muslim commander Rayca, who had previously forced the capitulation of the fortress of Obbianum (probably modern Uggiano). Lupus then reports''mense Iunij comprehenderunt Sarraceni Cassianum. Cod. Andr. in terra Hydruntina, et tertio die mensis Iulij fecit proelium (a) Potho cum Sarracenis, et ceciderunt Graeci''.
Annales
', 57.45–46 that in 1031 (or 1032, according to some modern interpretations), he faced another invasion by the Emirate of Sicily. The Italian chroniclers report that the Muslims sacked Cassano in June, and that, hurrying to confront them, on 3 July, Pothos Argyros was defeated and killed. Pothos' death in battle is not entirely certain, however, since an inventory of the

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a ...

Reggio di Calabria Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label=Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popula ...

includes a set of panegyrics offered by ''kyr'' Pothos and his wife, both related to a possession of a ''katepanissa'' Theoktiste. An identification of Theoktiste with the wife of ''kyr'' Pothos, and of Pothos with the catepan is very likely, but the copyist of the works recorded that this was done in 1033/34, "during the times of catepan Pothos, under the reign of Romanos and Zoe", by which time Pothos is supposed to have been dead.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Argyros, Pothos 11th-century catepans of Italy Pothos Byzantine people of the Arab–Byzantine wars Byzantines killed in battle Protospatharioi