Although he lived and worked in Constantinople, his family hailed from elsewhere, as he records in a letter a visit by his mother by ship to Pylae, on the Asian shore of the Propontis, probably during the early 920s.
Meskipun ia tinggal dan bekerja di Konstantinopel, keluarganya berasal dari tempat lain, ketika ia mencatat dalam sebuah surat kunjungan oleh ibundanya dengan kapal ke Pylae, di pantai Asia dari Propontis, mungkin pada awal tahun 920-an.