Kantakouzenos

The house of Kantakouzenos (Greek:Καντακουζηνός; pl. Kantakouzenoi), Latinized as Cantacuzenus and Anglicized as Cantacuzene, was one of the most prominent noble families of the Byzantine Empire in the last centuries of its existence. The family was one of the Empire's wealthiest and provided several prominent governors and generals, as well as two Byzantine emperors. The Kantakouzenoi intermarried extensively with other Byzantine noble families such as the Palaiologoi, the Philanthropenoi, the Asen, and the Tarchaneiotes. The feminine form of the name is Kantakouzene (Greek:Καντακουζηνή), Latinized as Cantacuzena.