The Gavras were a political family in the Empire of Videssos; the height of their power took place roughly 1200 years after the empire's founding. At this period, the throne changed back and forth between the Sphrantzes and the Gavras family due to assassinations, coups, and palace and bureaucratic intrigue. Prominent members of the Sphrantzes family include: * Mavrikios Gavras, Avtokrator of Videssos; slain in battle. * Thorisin Gavras, Mavrikios' younger brother and second-in-command of the empire.