Apion family

The Apion family (Greek: Ἀπίων, plural: Ἀπίωνες; Latin: Apiones) was a wealthy clan of landholders in Byzantine Egypt, especially in the Middle Egyptian nomes of Oxyrhynchus, Arsinoe and Heracleopolis Magna. Beginning as a local aristocracy, it rose to prominence in the 5th, 6th and early 7th centuries when several successive heads of the family occupied high imperial offices, including the consulship. After the Sasanian conquest of Egypt, the family disappeared.

The history of the Apion family is chronicled in the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, a series of manuscripts dating from 32 BC to 640 AD. Members of the family held the positions of comes sacri consistorii, comes sacrarum largitionum, and comes domesticorum, with Apion II (also known as Strategius Apion) obtaining the role of consul. After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the family dominated the political scene in Byzantine Egypt, holding vast swathes of Middle Egyptian property through the acquisition of landed estates. Despite their influence in Egypt, the family largely remained in Constantinople as absentee landlords.