Background which houses the remains of Gregory Pakourianos. Gregory's origins are a matter for scholarly dispute. He is believed to have hailed from the region of
Tao or
Tayk, which had been ruled by Georgian
Bagratids of
kouropalatate of Iberia, later
annexed by the Byzantines to the
theme of Iberia in 1001. According to
Anna Comnena Gregory was "descended from a noble Armenian family." According to N. Aleksidze, the only source that indicates his Armenian origin is Anna Comnena who was only three years old when Gregory died. The 12-century
Armenian chronicler
Matthew of Edessa, wrote that he was of
vrats, or "Georgian," origin, though here he was likely referring to Pakourianos' being part of the Georgian Orthodox Church rather than necessarily being an ethnic Georgian. Gregory himself proclaimed that he belonged to "the glorious people of the
Iberians" and claimed to belong to a "brilliant
Georgian family". He also insisted that his monks know the
Georgian language. Under Byzantine suzerainty, the population of Upper Tao identified itself as 'Georgian'. The élite of Tao (
Basil Bagratisdze, P'eris Jojikisdze, Abas and Grigol Bakurianisdze) regarded Georgia as 'our country' and strove for its spiritual, cultural and political prosperity. Thus, he, like other representatives of the elite from the Tao region, considered Georgia his homeland and strove for its spiritual, cultural and political prosperity. Taking into account all the evidence available on Pakourianos, the scholar Nina G. Garsoïan proposed that "the most likely explanation is that [the Pakourian family] belonged to the mixed Armeno-Iberian Chalcedonian aristocracy, which dwelt in the border district of Tayk/Tao."
Anna Comnena described Pakourianos as having a tiny frame but being a mighty warrior.
Byzantine service Since 1060 Gregory served in
Byzantine army. In 1064 he had achieved a significant position among the Byzantine military aristocracy, but failed at defending
Ani against the
Seljuk leader
Alp Arslan, Since 1071 he was appointed as a
Strategos (governor) of the
theme of Iberia. As the Seljuk advance forced the Byzantines to evacuate the eastern
Anatolian fortresses and the theme of Iberia, Gregory ceded control over
Kars and
Tao to King
George II of Georgia in 1074. This did not help, however, to stem the Turkish advance and the area became a battleground of the
Georgian-Seljuk wars. Afterwards he served under
Michael VII Doukas (1071–78) and
Nikephoros III Botaneiates (1078–81) in various responsible positions on both the eastern and the western frontiers of the empire. Later Gregory was involved in a coup that removed Nikephoros III. The new Emperor,
Alexios I Komnenos, appointed him "
megas domestikos of All the West" and gave him many more properties in the
Balkans. He possessed numerous estates in various parts of the
Byzantine Empire and was afforded a variety of privileges by the emperor, including exemption from certain taxes. In 1081, he commanded the left flank against the
Normans at the
Battle of Dyrrachium. A year later he evicted the Normans from
Moglena. He died in 1086 fighting the
Pechenegs at the battle of Beliatoba, charging so vigorously he crashed into a tree. Gregory was also known as a noted patron and promoter of Christian culture. He together with his brother Abas (Apasios) made, in 1074, a significant donation to the
Eastern Orthodox Holy Monastery of Iviron on
Mount Athos and commissioned the regulations (
typikon) for this foundation. He signed the
Greek version of the Typikon in
Armenian. He also signed his name in
Georgian and
Armenian characters rather than Greek. Gregory Pakourianos and his brother Abas were buried in a bone-vault house near the
Bachkovo Monastery. The portraits of the two brothers are painted on the north wall of the bone-vault house. ==Notes==