Archontopouloi

The archontopouloi () were an elite military formation of the Byzantine army during the Komnenian era, in the 11th-12th centuries. They were founded by Emperor Alexios I Komnenos () as part of his military reforms and were recruited among the orphans of Byzantine officers who were killed in battle.

==History== During the Seljuq invasion of Byzantine Asia Minor after the Battle of Manzikert (1071), there were increased numbers of orphaned children; this led Emperor Alexios I Komnenos () to initiate rescue efforts. In , while involved in a war against the Pechenegs, Alexios recruited some of these orphans, drawn from the children of the Byzantine officers who had died in battle, and armed and trained to form an elite 2,000-strong cavalry unit, known as the archontopouloi, the "sons of the archons (leaders)".