Kontostephanos

Kontostephanos (Greek: Κοντοστέφανος), feminine form Kontostephanina (Κοντοστεφανίνα), was the name of an aristocratic Byzantine family active in the 10th–15th centuries, which enjoyed great prominence in the 12th century through its intermarriage with the Komnenian dynasty.

The progenitor of the family was Stephen, who served under Basil II (r. 976–1025) as Domestic of the Schools of the West, and was nicknamed "Kontostephanos" ("short Stephen") due to his height. Responsible to a large degree for Basil's humiliating defeat in the Battle of the Gates of Trajan against the Bulgarians, he was later involved in intrigues and beaten by the emperor.

The family then disappears until 1080, when Isaac Kontostephanos was captured by the Seljuk Turks. The pansebastos sebastos Isaac Kontostephanos went on to serve through most of the reign of Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118), until his unsuccessful appointment as admiral (thalassokrator) in 1107/8. His branch of the family rose to great prominence in the Komnenian period, intermarrying with the Komnenoi, the Doukai, the Angeloi, and other aristocratic families. They served mostly as military commanders, and seem not to have been involved in the cultural affairs of their time. Isaac's brother Stephen appears only once, along with Isaac in the synod of Blachernae in 1095.

Isaac's son, the panhypersebastos Stephen Kontostephanos, married Anna Komnene, the second daughter of Emperor John II Komnenos (r. 1118–43). He became megas doux of the fleet and was killed at the siege of Corfu in 1149. Another son, Andronikos, married Theodora, a daughter of Adrianos Komnenos, younger brother of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118). He led the campaign against Raymond of Antioch in 1144 and took part in the 1156 expedition to southern Italy. Another son of Isaac, John, became megas doux under Isaac II Angelos in 1186, while Alexios Kontostephanos, doux of Dyrrhachium in 1140, was probably also a son of Isaac.

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