Byzantine family Skliros - My family roots in Byzantium

The Skleros (Σκληρός; Σκληροί), Latinized Sclerus, feminine form Skleraina (Σκλήραινα), Latinized Scleraena, ( Skliros, Sklerus, Sklèrios, etc.*): A noble Byzantine family particularly active in the 9th–11th centuries as members of the military aristocracy, the Imperial Courts of Byzantium and royal courts of Europe. They served in high civic office over a recorded period of at least 500 years. An abundance of records, from a wide range of sources, provide a fascinating insight into their life and times during this exciting and tumultuous period.
Not only did the Skleroi shape the course of Byzantine history, they were also indirectly responsible for the Christianisation of Russia: As part of an elaborate quid pro quo concerning Emperor Basil II's problems with Bardas Skliros in 987, Vladimir the Rus (at the time a pagan of note with some 800 concubines, numerous wives and a more than passing interest in human sacrifice) agreed to adopt the Christian faith. A year later, Holy Great Prince Saint Vladimir Equal of the Apostles as he had become known, despite having been described by Thietmar of Merseburg as a fornicator immensus et crudelis, decreed that all Kievans must be baptised, proclaiming "Whoever does not go into the river tomorrow, be they rich, poor, beggar or slave, shall be my enemy." Considering that Vlad's enemies soon became acquainted with the afterlife, it's perhaps not surprising that everyone turned up. Thus began the spiritual journey of the Russian Orthodox Church. Click HERE for the full story. Apart from their adventures in Byzantium and Asia Minor, the Skleroi's influence on the daily lives of Europeans during the early middle ages cannot be underestimated. An example is the Skleroi's profound contribution to royal table manners: During her reign as Empress Regent of the Holy Roman Empire, Queen of Germany, Theophanu Skleros is credited with introducing the (cutlery) fork to Western Europe. Records recall the astonishment she caused when she "used a golden double prong to bring food to her mouth" instead of using her hands as was the norm at the time. Theophanu employed a particularly extravagant and splendid mode of dress, something she was sometimes criticized for by the ever envious hoi polloi.
She presided over elaborate and lengthy ceremonies that were magnified to match the pomp and grandeur of the Byzantium court. Ottonian goldsmiths furnished Theophanu with all manner of fabulous jewellery - from imperial regalia to intricate brooches, pendants and rings. Rumour has it that in some unkind circles, Theophanu was referred to as Zee Qeen of Bling.
In more modern times, Skliros luminaries have immortalised themselves through literature, music, poetry and skateboarding. Today, you will find Skliroi / Skleroi established on every continent except perhaps Antarctica.
References to eastern Asia Minor and the Caucasus appear in the most ancient extant myths of humanity. Trade and migrations were the two principal conduits by which goods and people passed to and from this area, and impressions were left in the early literature of the Greeks, Mesopotamians, Hurrians and Indo-Iranians. Archaeological evidence confirms the existence of trade relations between the southern shore of the Black Sea and Greek city-states in the 9-5th centuries B.C. Areas south of the Armenian highlands, as well, provide archaeological evidence for trade with parts of the highlands even farther back, as early as the 8th millennium B.C. Migrations of peoples from eastern Asia Minor and the Caucasus to lands to the south, east, and west, are the other likely source for references to this area in mythology. Evidence of migrations, however, is not complete and controversy surrounds every aspect, from the participants and the languages they spoke, to their motives, and especially the directions of the migrations. All of Armenia became a Roman province in AD 114 under Roman emperor Trajan, but Roman Armenia was soon after abandoned by the legions in 118 AD and became a vassal kingdom. Romans lost Armenia again to Vologases IV of Parthia in AD 161. In 163, a Roman counter-attack under Statius Priscus once again installed a favoured candidate on the throne of Armenia, and Roman influence in Armenia remained until the Roman temporary defeat at the Battle of Barbalissos in 253. But a few years later, at the end of the 3rd century, Rome was again in control of Armenia and successively promoted the Christianization of all Armenia. Lesser Armenia was reunited with the kingdom of Greater Armenia under the Arshakuni king Tiridates III in AD 287, until the temporary conquest of Shapur II in 337. Then it was formed into a regular province under Diocletian, and in the 4th century, was divided in two provinces: First Armenia and Second Armenia. Its population remained Armenian, but was being gradually Romanized(Hellenised). Since the 3rd century many Armenian soldiers were in the Roman army: later–in the 4th century–they made up two Roman legions, the Legio I Armeniaca and the Legio II Armeniaca. In 536, the emperor Justinian I reorganized the provincial administration, and First and Second Armenia were renamed Second and Third respectively, while some of their territory was split off to the other Armenian provinces. The borders of the Byzantine part of Armenia were expanded in 591 into Persarmenia, but the region was the focus of decades of warfare between the Byzantines and the Persians (the Byzantine-Sassanid Wars) until the Arab conquest of Armenia in 639. After this, the part of Lesser Armenia remaining under Byzantine control (in a lesser extent) became part of the theme of Armeniakon. The Armeniac Theme (Άρμενιακόν Θεμα), properly Theme of the Armeniacs (θέμα Άρμενιάκων) was a Byzantine theme (a military-civilian province) located in northeastern Asia Minor (modern Turkey). The Armeniac Theme was one of the four original themes, established sometime in the mid-7th century out of the territory of Lesser Armenia ("Armenia Minor"). Although the mention of a "George, tourmarchēs of the Armeniacs" in 629, during the Persian campaigns of Emperor Heraclius (r. 610–641),may suggest the existence of the theme at such an early date, the first unambiguous reference to it in literary sources occurs during the revolt of its general, Saborios, in 667/668.