[1] The family name is Armenian, being a Hellenization of the name "Gurgen", and they hailed from Dokeia (modern Tokat) in the Armeniac Theme.
[1][2] John Kourkouas was the commander (domestikos) of the elite regiment of the Hikanatoi, and led a conspiracy against Emperor Basil I the Macedonian (r. 867–886).
No fewer than 66 members of the Senate and aristocracy were involved, including the commander of the imperial bodyguard, the Hetaireia, and prominent noblemen.
[1] The emperor conducted a public trial of the conspirators in the Hippodrome of Constantinople, condemning them to beatings and forcible tonsure; the hairs left were burned.
Then the emperor led the festive procession for the Feast of the Annunciation, forcing the conspirators to march behind him naked.