Tarchaneiotes ( el, Ταρχανειώτης), feminine form Tarchaneiotissa (Ταρχανειώτισσα), also attested in the variant forms Trachaneiotes, Trachaniates, Tarchoniates, was the name of a Byzantine aristocratic family from

Adrianople Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...

, active from the late 10th to the 14th century, mostly as military commanders. From the 15th century on some of its members were active in Italy, while a branch of the family migrated to Russia, where their name was russified to Trakhaniot (Траханиот). They are attested until the 17th century. The origin of the family is unknown. It has been suggested that their name derives from the village of Tarchaneion in Thrace, but alternatives have also been suggested, such a derivation from Mongol ''targan'', "smith", suggested by

Gyula Moravcsik Gyula (Julius) Moravcsik (Budapest, 29 January 1892 – Budapest, 10 December 1972), who usually wrote just as Gy. Moravcsik, was a Hungarian professor of Greek philology and Byzantine history who in 1967 was awarded the Pour le Mérite for Science ...

, or the

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

origin ascribed to them by Claude Cahen. No hypothesis can be conclusively proven. The family first appear with

Gregory Tarchaneiotes Gregory Tarchaneiotes or Trachan otes ( el, Γρηγόριος Ταρχανειώτης/Τραχαν ��ώτης, in Latin sources and ). was an imperial and the long-reigning catepan of Italy from 998 to 1006. He assumed his office sometime after ...

, catepan of Italy in 998–1006. Other members of the family occupied high military posts in the course of the 11th century. In the conflict between the Anatolian military aristocracy and the Constantinopolitan civil bureaucracy, the Tarchaneiotai sided with the latter. As a result, they were distrusted by the Komnenoi after 1081 and lost in prominence in the 12th century. They regained their position in 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 ...

, where Nikephoros Tarchaneiotes long served as grand domestic (commander-in-chief of the army). He and his sons became closely connected to the Palaiologos dynasty through ties of marriage.

Notable members

, first catepan of Italy in 998–1006 * Basil Tarchaneiotes, '' stratelates'' of the West in ca. 1057 *

Joseph Tarchaneiotes Joseph Tarchaneiotes ( el, Ιωσήφ Ταρχανειώτης) was a Byzantine general primarily known for his lack of participation in the decisive Battle of Manzikert (1071). Biography An experienced general, Joseph was second-in-command of th ...

(died 1074), general who played a dubious role in the

Battle of Manzikert The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, theme of Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army and th ...

, later '' doux'' of Antioch * John Tarchaneiotes, ''

protos Protos means "first," derived from the ancient Greek . Protos may also refer to: * Protos (monastic office), a monastic office at the Eastern Orthodox monastic state of Mount Athos * Protos (constructor), a former racing car constructor * Protos ...

'' of the monastic community of

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

in the early 12th century * Nikephoros Tarchaneiotes (died before 1266), '' grand domestic'' of the

, married to Maria, the sister of Michael VIII Palaiologos (r. 1259–1282) **

Andronikos Tarchaneiotes Andronicus or Andronikos ( grc-gre, Ἀνδρόνικος) is a classical Greek name. The name has the sense of "male victor, warrior". Its female counterpart is Andronikè (Ἀνδρονίκη). Notable bearers of the name include: People *Androni ...

, son of Nikephoros, '' megas konostaulos'' ** John Tarchaneiotes, son of Nikephoros, leader of the

Arsenites In chemistry, an arsenite is a chemical compound containing an arsenic oxyanion where arsenic has oxidation state +3. Note that in fields that commonly deal with groundwater chemistry, arsenite is used generically to identify soluble AsIII anions. ...

and general **

Michael Tarchaneiotes Michael Palaiologos Tarchaneiotes ( el, Μιχαήλ Παλαιολόγος Ταρχανειώτης) was a Byzantine aristocrat and general, active against the Turks in Asia Minor and against the Angevins in the Balkans from 1278 until his death ...

(died 1284), son of Nikephoros, '' grand domestic'' from 1278 until his death, defeated the Angevins at Berat *

Michael Doukas Glabas Tarchaneiotes Michael Doukas Glabas Tarchaneiotes or Michael Tarchaneiotes Glabas ( el, ; – after 1304) was a notable Byzantine aristocrat and general. He served under emperors Michael VIII Palaiologos and Andronikos II Palaiologos in the Balkans, fighting ...

(ca. 1235 – after 1304), '' protostrator'' and one of the most distinguished Byzantine generals of the late 13th century ** Tarchaneiotissa, whose first name is not known, spouse of Andronikos Asen, daughter of Glabas and his wife Maria Doukaina Komnene Palaiologina Branaina and great-great-grandmother of Byzantine emperors John VIII Palaiologos and

Constantine XI Palaiologos Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos or Dragaš Palaeologus ( el, Κωνσταντῖνος Δραγάσης Παλαιολόγος, ''Kōnstantînos Dragásēs Palaiológos''; 8 February 1405 – 29 May 1453) was the last List of Byzantine em ...

Constantine Tarchaneiotes Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

, admiral in 1352 * Michael Tarchaniota Marullus (c. 1458–1500), Renaissance scholar in Italy * Yuri Trakhaniot, Muscovite ambassador to Milan in 1486

References

Sources

* * {{cite web , last = Vougiouklaki , first = Penelope , title = Tarchaneiotes family , work = Encyclopedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor , publisher = Foundation of the Hellenic World , url = http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=9245 , year = 2003 , accessdate = 26 September 2012