As far as Manuel knew, the Gavras Family name originally seemed to be a variation of "Gabriel." In other words, the true surname of the earliest Gavras, his ancestor, was likely not Gavras.
However, this was all before the Macedonian Dynasty. Although it is unknown what accomplishments his "Gabriel" ancestor had back then, at least by the time of the Macedonian Dynasty, the Gavras Family, which originated in Chaldia, had already gained some renown. After Constantine Gavras, the family's first patriarch, founded the Gavras Family, several family members successfully held important positions in both central and local government, suppressing or participating in various rebellions, thus laying the foundation for the family.
After the Battle of Manzikert, when nearly all of Asia Minor fell into the hands of the Oghuz Turks, the greatest ancestor of the Gavras Family, Theodore Gavras, stepped forward. At that time, Theodore, a military district commander, single-handedly raised an army of ten thousand men in his hometown and successfully recaptured the Chaldia military district from the Turks in the 1080s. Although Alexius, the first emperor of the Komnenos Dynasty, was very displeased with his autonomous hereditary rule in Pontus, he was forced by circumstances to eventually recognize and enfeoff him as the Governor of Chaldia.
Unfortunately, after Theodore's youngest son, Constantine, inherited the governorship, he was outmaneuvered in a political struggle with John II Komnenos. Furthermore, this "handsome" emperor successfully conquered the Black Sea coast, causing the Chaldia military district to lose its basis for autonomy and be brought back under direct control. After this, Constantine also moved his family to Constantinople, reuniting with his brother Gregory Gavras, who had been a hostage there. These two brothers are the ancestors of all current Gavras.
Incidentally, during this period, due to resentment over the Komnenos seizing their family lands, some Gavras defected to the Sultanate of Rum to serve the Seljuk family. For example, Ikhtiyar al-Din Hasan Ibn Ghafras, the Grand Vizier in the later period of Kilij Arslan II, was the son of a Gavras who had defected to Rum.
Later, as the Gavras Family expanded and developed, those who remained within the Empire experienced greater disagreements than ever before. Finally, after Andronikos I Comnenus usurped the throne and began sweeping reforms, the political divisions within the Gavras Family became extremely fragmented.
Speaking of the fragmentation of the Gavras Family, one must mention Andronikos I, the last emperor of the Komnenos Dynasty. In a sense, Andronikos was the emperor who best fit the later fantasies of Easterners. He was dashing, decisive, and keenly aware of the problems facing the Empire at the time, implementing drastic reforms. The specific implementation process during this period was also very simple—
The young Emperor Alexius II? Kill!
Empress Dowager Mary? Kill!
Disobedient imperial relatives? Kill!
Power-grabbing confidants? Kill!
Small nobles who didn't pay taxes? Kill!
Latins who monopolized trade? Kill!
Ordinary Roman citizens caught in rebellions? Kill!
The Basileus is the only sun of Rome, the Thirteenth Apostle of the orthodox, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!
Then, as expected, the Komnenos Dynasty collapsed, and the Angelos Dynasty inherited the throne. Congratulations, congratulations.
Even with things reaching this point, some within the Gavras Family still insisted on supporting Andronikos's descendants. However, the majority of the Gavras, including the main branch, wished nothing more than for this tyrannical emperor and his descendants to be as far away as possible. The minority who supported Andronikos were ostracized, and during the turmoil of 1204, they, along with the remnants of Andronikos's supporters, fled with his grandsons Alexius and David to the Chaldia military district in Pontus to establish the Empire of Trebizond. The core members of the majority, on the other hand, remained in Constantinople until after the disaster of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, when the main branch and other majority factions gradually fled to Nicaea or Epirus. After Palaiologos recaptured Constantinople and the Komnenos-Doukas rule in Epirus collapsed, they gradually retreated back to Constantinople, continuing to exist as the main branch of the Gavras Family.
Although his own branch's ancestors ultimately followed Andronikos's grandsons to Pontus to establish Trebizond, Manuel truly had no good feelings for Andronikos, an emperor who resembled Director Bo.
So how did Manuel's branch, the Theodoro branch, come about? It's simple: when the Empire of Trebizond was first established, it effectively controlled the Chersonese military district (South Tauris Peninsula). At that time, Theodore II Gavras was sent by Alexius I Megas Komnenos to manage the area with his family, in recognition of his meritorious support for the new emperor. Over time, the rule of this Gavras branch in the area became solidified, and as Trebizond declined and was unable to control the northern Black Sea coast, it recognized the hereditary rule of this Gavras branch, known as "Theodoro," in the area.
And from the time the Komnenos abandoned the title of Perateia after 1364, the independent Principality of Theodoro was born.
While reviewing his family history in his mind, Manuel had already passed through the Forum of Constantine, the Forum of Theodosius, and the Forum of the Ox. Just before reaching the Forum of Arcadius, he took Badars and made a small detour to the left, entering a narrow alley. After walking for about five minutes inside the alley, he stood before the door of an exquisitely classical marble house.
This is the residence of John Gavras, the current patriarch of the main branch of the Gavras Family.