Kourkouas
The Kourkouas family or Curcuas was, allegedly, one of the many nakharar families from Armenia that migrated to the Byzantine Empire during the period of Arab rule over Armenia although the latter is mostly speculative. They rose to prominence as part of the Anatolian military aristocracy in the 10th century, providing several high-ranking generals and an emperor. They intermarried extensively with the aristocratic families of Phokas and Skleros. In the 11th and 12th centuries, they shifted to the civilian bureaucracy.
Famous members
- John Kourkouas, Domestic of the Hikanatoi regiment and conspirator against Basil I
- John Kourkouas, Catepan of Italy in 1008–1010
- Gregory Kourkouas, doux of Philippopolis in 1089–1091
- Michael II Kourkouas, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in 1143–1146.