Taronites ( el, Ταρωνίτης), feminine form Taronitissa (Ταρωνίτισσα), was the name of a noble
Byzantine family, descended from the ruling family of the
Armenian principality of
Taron. In Georgian it is rendered 'Tornikes
' or ‘Tornikios’.
It was founded by the brothers
Gregory and Bagrat (Pankratios in Greek), who ceded the principality to the Byzantines in 968 in exchange for estates and high dignities. The wife of Theodosios Monomachos, and mother of his son,
Constantine IX, was a (Irene?) Tornikaina/Taronitissa.
[, citing Psellos.]
The family is prominent among the military aristocracy in the late 10th/early 11th centuries, and later became related to the
Komnenian dynasty through the marriage of
Michael Taronites Michael Taronites ( el, Μιχαήλ Ταρωνίτης) was a Byzantine aristocrat and brother-in-law of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. He was involved in a conspiracy against him and was banished in 1094.
Biography
Michael belonged to the aristocr ...
to Maria, the sister of
Alexios I Komnenos. In the 12th century, the Taronitai became mainly civilian bureaucrats, many occupying high posts in the central government in
Constantinople. The family lost its status and influence after the dissolution of the Byzantine Empire by the
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
in 1204.
References
Sources
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