A CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF BYZANTINE PROSOPOGRAPHY : THE BYZANTINE FAMILY OF OPOI

In this study we examine the information in the sources concerning the Byzantine family of Opoi in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. According to the sources, the Opoi were an important family in that period. Although they did not belong to the major aristocratic families, many of them were distinguished in the military administration of the Empire, such as Constantine Opos during the reign of Romanos III Argyros (1028-1034) and Michael IV Paphlagon (1034-1041), the homonymous officer of Alexios I Komnenos (1081-1118), the megas hetaireiarches Opos under John II Komnenos (1118-1143) and Constantine Opos under Manuel I Komnenos (1143-1180).