Illustrious commanders

One scion of a highly prominent Byzantine family was Michael Karantinos, Duke of Crete, who was in overall command of Crete in the late 11^th century. A few years later he was followed by Nicephorus Diogenes, son of the ill-fated emperor Romanus IV Diogenes. In the second half of the twelfth century at least three commanders on Crete came from the Contostephanus family: Alexius in 1167, Stephanus in 1193 and Nicephorus, son-in-law of Alexius III Angelus, in 1197. It is thus clear that imperial power wanted the administration of Crete to lie in trustworthy hands.