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38-480: The continuity of descent amongst the various branches of the original, middle Byzantine family is not clear, and historians generally recognize several distinct groups of Doukai based on their occurrence in the contemporary sources. Polemis, who compiled the only overview work on the bearers of the Doukas name, in view of this lack of genealogical continuity "it would be a mistake to view the groups of people designated by

76-632: A branch of the Julii , Brutus and Silanus among the Junii , or Pilius and Metellus among the Caecilii ): others tended to be individual. And some names appear to have been used both as praenomen , agnomen , or non-hereditary cognomen . For instance, Vopiscus was used as both praenomen and cognomen in the Julii Caesares; likewise Nero among the early imperial Claudii , several of whom used

114-583: A freedom perhaps due to the nature of their country, with its lofty mountain ranges and difficult passes. All these rulers appear to have borne the name Pylaimenes as a sign that they claimed descent from the chieftain of that name who figures in the Iliad as leader of the Paphlagonians. At a later period, Paphlagonia passed under the control of the Macedonian kings, and after the death of Alexander

152-408: A son of the mythical Phineus . The greater part of Paphlagonia is a rugged mountainous country, but it contains fertile valleys and produces a great abundance of hazelnuts and fruit – particularly plums, cherries and pears. The mountains are clothed with dense forests, notable for the quantity of boxwood that they furnish. Hence, its coasts were occupied by Greeks from an early period. Among these,

190-547: Is Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus , whose cognomen Magnus was earned after his military victories under Sulla 's dictatorship. The cognomen was a form of distinguishing people who accomplished important feats, and those who already bore a cognomen were awarded another exclusive name, the agnomen . For example, Publius Cornelius Scipio received the agnomen Africanus after his victory over the Carthaginian general Hannibal at Zama, Africa ( Africanus here means "of Africa" in

228-762: Is derived from the Italian version and retains the same meaning. The term "cognomen" can also be applied to cultures with a clan structure and naming conventions comparable to those of Ancient Rome; thus, hereditary "cognomina" have been described as in use among the Xhosa ( Iziduko ), the Yoruba ( Oriki ), and the Zulu ( Izibongo ). Paphlagonia Paphlagonia ( / ˌ p æ f l ə ˈ ɡ oʊ n i ə / ; Greek : Παφλαγονία , romanized :  Paphlagonía , modern translit. Paflagonía ; Turkish : Paflagonya )

266-513: The cognomen of Doukas as forming one large family". Nothing is known for certain about the family's origin. Later tradition, mentioned by the historian Nikephoros Bryennios , held that they descended from a paternal cousin of the Roman emperor Constantine I who had migrated to Constantinople in the 4th century and allegedly became the city's governor with the title of doux . This tradition is, however, evidently an invention meant to glorify

304-606: The Kashka people, whose exact ethnic relation to the Paphlagonians is uncertain. It seems perhaps that they were related to the people of the adjoining country, Cappadocia , who were speakers of one of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European languages . Their language would appear, from Strabo's testimony, to have been distinctive. The Paphlagonians were one of the most ancient nations of Anatolia and were listed among

342-620: The Palaiologoi and the Pegonitai . The most important connection, however, was to the Komnenoi : in 1077, Alexios Komnenos , then a general and later emperor (r. 1081–1118), married Irene Doukaina , the great-niece of Constantine X; thereafter, the family name Komnenodoukas was often used. This marriage alliance was crucial for Alexios's own rise to the purple: his marriage to a Doukaina made him senior to his elder brother Isaac, and it

380-495: The 12th century, the prestige of the Doukas name meant that it was often taken as a second surname by members of other families, even if remotely (and usually matrilineally ) linked to the actual Doukai, who became relatively obscure after the turn of the century. It is hence impossible to clearly distinguish the numerous holders of the name or to discern their exact relationship with the 11th-century Doukid dynasty. The actual bloodline of Constantine X died out probably before 1100, and

418-517: The 15th century. Other examples include John III Doukas Vatatzes , Nicaean emperor (r. 1221–1254) and his relatives, the late Byzantine historian Doukas , and the megas papias Demetrios Doukas Kabasilas in the mid-14th century. The name spread far and wide across the Greek-speaking world as well as in Albania , and remains fairly common to this day. Among the more notable bearers of

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456-647: The Doukas name in the post-Byzantine period were the 16th-century Cretan scholar Demetrius Ducas , the 17th-century rulers of Moldavia George Ducas and Constantine Ducas (their descent is variously given as Greek, Vlach or Albanian ) or the 19th-century scholar and educationalist Neophytos Doukas . Several variations also developed, such as Doukakes (Δουκάκης) (cf. former Massachusetts state governor Michael Dukakis ), Doukopoulos (Δουκόπουλος), Doukatos (Δουκάτος), Makrodoukas or Makrydoukas (Μακροδούκας/Μακρυδούκας), etc. Other variants like Doukaites (Δουκαΐτης) or Doukides (Δουκίδης) seem to derive not from

494-557: The Great , it was assigned, together with Cappadocia and Mysia , to Eumenes . However, it continued to be governed by native princes until it was absorbed by the encroaching power of Pontus . The rulers of that dynasty became masters of the greater part of Paphlagonia as early as the reign of Mithridates Ctistes (302–266 BC), but it was not until 183 BC that Pharnaces reduced the Greek city of Sinope under their control. From that time,

532-673: The allies of the Trojans in the Trojan War (ca. 1200 BC or 1250 BC), where their king Pylaemenes and his son Harpalion perished ( Iliad , ii. 851–857). According to Homer and Livy , a group of Paphlagonians, called the Enetoi in Greek, were expelled from their homeland during a revolution. With a group of defeated Trojans under the leadership of the Trojan prince Antenor, they emigrated to

570-683: The context of Ancient Rome. According to the 2012 edition of the Random House Dictionary , cognomen can mean a "surname" or "any name, especially a nickname". The basic sense in English is "how one is well known". For example Alfred the Great . (This is more similar to the Roman use of agnomen than their use of cognomen.) Catalan cognom and Italian cognome , derived from the Latin cognomen , mean "family name". Maltese kunjom

608-637: The end of the first group of Doukai recorded in Byzantine sources. It is likely, as the 12th-century historian Zonaras records, that the Doukai line died out, and that the later bearers of the name were descendants through the female line only. Towards the end of the 10th century, there appeared a second family, sometimes known as Lydoi ("the Lydians ", likely indicating their origin). Its members were Andronikos Doux Lydos and his sons, Christopher and Bardas,

646-592: The family appears in the mid-9th century, during the regency of Empress Theodora (r. 842–855), when he was sent to forcibly convert the Paulicians to Orthodoxy. He is only known as "the son of Doux", although Skylitzes interpolates the name of Andronikos, probably in confusion with Andronikos Doukas (see next). This name is also used by some modern sources-- e.g. , in the Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit ( Andronikos #433 ). The first branch of

684-462: The family to achieve prominence was in the early 10th century (they are usually referred to with the archaic form Doux rather than Doukas in the sources), with Andronikos Doukas and his son Constantine Doukas . Both were senior generals during the reign of Emperor Leo VI the Wise (r. 886–912). In circa 904, Andronikos engaged in an unsuccessful rebellion and was forced to flee to Baghdad where he

722-501: The family, at the time the Empire's ruling dynasty, by 11th-century court chroniclers. In fact, it is more likely that the surname derives from the relatively common military rank of doux . Some authors have raised the possibility of an Armenian descent, but all evidence suggests that the Doukai were native-born Greeks , probably from Paphlagonia in north-central Anatolia , where their estates were located. The first representative of

760-622: The flourishing city of Sinope , founded by colonists from Miletus in ca. 630 BC, stood pre-eminent. Amastris , a few miles east of the Parthenius river, became important under the rule of the Macedonian monarchs; while Amisus , a colony of Sinope situated a short distance east of the Halys river (and therefore not strictly in Paphlagonia as defined by Strabo), grew to become almost a rival of its parent city. The most considerable towns of

798-539: The general Andronikos Doukas . During this period, the family intermarried with other aristocratic clans: before becoming emperor, Constantine X had married into the powerful Dalassenoi family, and took as a second wife Eudokia Makrembolitissa , niece of the Patriarch Michael Keroularios . Further dynastic matches were made with the clans of the Anatolian military aristocracy, including

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836-582: The interior were Gangra – in ancient times the capital of the Paphlagonian kings, afterwards called Germanicopolis , situated near the frontier of Galatia – and Pompeiopolis , in the valley of the Amnias river, near extensive mines of the mineral called by Strabo sandarake (red arsenic or arsenic sulfide), largely exported from Sinope . In the time of the Hittites , Paphlagonia was inhabited by

874-501: The last known descendants of his brother, the Caesar John, lived in the first half of the 12th century. The majority of the 12th-century bearers of the name were therefore most likely members of other families, linked through marriage with the Doukai, who chose to emphasize this relationship due to the prestige the name conferred. In this way, mingled with other noble families or adopted de novo even by humble families unrelated to

912-465: The latter known by the sobriquet Mongos ("hoarse"). It is unclear whether the doux in Andronikos's name is a surname or a military rank; some scholars consider them as belonging to the Doukas clan, although the exact relation, if any, with the earlier Doukai is impossible to ascertain. The family was involved in the 976–979 rebellion of Bardas Skleros against Emperor Basil II (r. 976–1025), but

950-474: The northern end of the Adriatic coast and later merged with indigenous Euganei , giving the name Venetia to the area they settled. Paphlagonians were mentioned by Herodotus among the peoples conquered by Croesus , and they sent an important contingent to the army of Xerxes in 480 BC. Xenophon speaks of them as being governed by a prince of their own, without any reference to the neighboring satraps ,

988-713: The original lineage, the Doukas name survived into the last centuries of the Byzantine Empire. A prominent example of the Late Byzantine period were the Komnenodoukai of the Despotate of Epirus in northwestern Greece, founded by Michael I Komnenos Doukas and other descendants of John Doukas , a grandson of Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina. From them the surname "Doukas" was used by the Greek, and later Serbian, rulers of Epirus and Thessaly until

1026-416: The reign of Alexios I, the Doukai continued to play an important role: Constantine Doukas was recognized as heir-apparent and affianced to Anna Komnene (although he lost his title when the future John II Komnenos was born); and Irene Doukaina's brothers, the protostrator Michael Doukas and the megas doux John Doukas were among the most prominent military leaders of the late 11th century. During

1064-583: The relationship of this group with the Doukai of the 9th and 10th centuries is unclear; the contemporary writers Michael Psellos and Nicholas Kallikles affirm such a relationship, but Zonaras openly questioned it. The most famous members of this group were the dynasty's founder, Emperor Constantine X Doukas (r. 1059–1067), his brother John Doukas , katepano and later Caesar , Constantine's son Michael VII Doukas (r. 1071–1078), Michael's younger brothers, Konstantios and Andronikos Doukas , Michael's son and co-emperor Constantine Doukas and John's son,

1102-458: The second name, the nomen gentilicium (the family name , or clan name), in order to identify a particular branch within a family or family within a clan. The term has also taken on other contemporary meanings. Because of the limited nature of the Latin praenomen , the cognomen developed to distinguish branches of the family from one another, and occasionally, to highlight an individual's achievement, typically in warfare. One example of this

1140-600: The sense that his fame derives from Africa, rather than being born in Africa, which would have been Afer ); and the same procedure occurred in the names of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus (conqueror of Numidia) and Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus . In contrast to the honorary cognomina adopted by successful generals, most cognomina were based on a physical or personality quirk; for example, Rufus meaning " red-haired " or Scaevola meaning " left-handed ". Some cognomina were hereditary (such as Caesar among

1178-732: The sons were later pardoned and resumed their careers. Bardas the Mongos is attested as late as 1017, when he led a military expedition against the Khazars . The third group of the family, the Doukai of the 11th century, was the more numerous and distinguished one, providing several generals and governors, and founding the Doukid dynasty which ruled Byzantium from 1059 to 1081. These Doukai seem to have come from Paphlagonia , and were exceedingly wealthy, possessing extensive estates in Anatolia . Again,

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1216-431: The surname, but from a locality and a first name "Doukas" respectively. Cognomen A cognomen ( Latin: [kɔŋˈnoːmɛn] ; pl. : cognomina ; from co- "together with" and (g)nomen "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome , under Roman naming conventions . Initially, it was a nickname , but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary cognomina were used to augment

1254-481: The traditional hereditary Claudian cognomen as a praenomen. The upper-class usually used the cognomen to refer to one another. In present academic context, many prominent ancient Romans are referred to by only their cognomen ; for example, Cicero (from cicer " chickpea ") serves as a shorthand for Marcus Tullius Cicero, and Caesar for Gaius Julius Caesar . The term "cognomen" (sometimes pluralized "cognomens") has come into use as an English noun used outside

1292-478: The whole province was incorporated into the kingdom of Pontus until the fall of Mithridates (65 BC). Pompey united the coastal districts of Paphlagonia, along with the greater part of Pontus, with the Roman province of Bithynia et Pontus , but left the interior of the country under the native princes, until the dynasty became extinct and the whole country was incorporated into the Roman Empire . The name

1330-525: Was Doukai financial and political support that largely facilitated the successful and bloodless coup that brought him to the throne. Their association with the Komnenoi helped ensure the continued prominence and prestige of the Doukas name at the apex of the Byzantine aristocracy into the Komnenian period , and the presence of the family's members amongst the higher officials of the Byzantine state. During

1368-603: Was an ancient region on the Black Sea coast of north-central Anatolia , situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus to the east, and separated from Phrygia (later, Galatia ) by a prolongation to the east of the Bithynian Olympus . According to Strabo , the region was bounded by the river Parthenius to the west and the Halys River to the east. Paphlagonia was said to be named after Paphlagon,

1406-593: Was killed circa 910. Constantine managed to escape and was restored to high office, becoming Domestic of the Schools . He was killed, however, along with his son Gregory and nephew Michael, in an unsuccessful coup in June 913. These deaths, along with the castration and exile of Constantine's younger son Stephen and the death of a Nicholas Doukas (of uncertain relation to the others) at the Battle of Katasyrtai in 917, mark

1444-473: Was still retained by geographers, though its boundaries are not distinctly defined by the geographer Claudius Ptolemy . Paphlagonia reappeared as a separate province in the 5th century AD ( Hierocles , Synecdemus c. 33). In the 7th century it became part of the theme of Opsikion , and later of the Bucellarian Theme , before being split off c. 820 to form a separate province once again. Under

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