John Skylitzes
Pothos is first mentioned in the history of John Skylitzes in , or perhaps still under Basil II (), as a commander in the eastern frontier, when he captured the Arab chieftain Nasr ibn Musharraf al-Rawadif, ruler of the disputed border area of Jabal Rawadif near Antioch. Nasr succeeded in being set free after promising assistance to Pothos' superior, the "doux" of Antioch, Michael Spondyles.