Gregorios 71 was also known as Pterotos (ὄνομα τούτῳ Γρηγόριος ὁ οὕτω λεγόμενος Πτερωτός); Theoph. Cont. II 14 (p. 57), (possibly his family name, cf. Winkelmann, Quellenstudien, pp. 161, 180, 200, 210, 216); he was a nephew (αδελφιδοῦς) of the emperor Leo V (Leo 15); by 821 he had held many military commands (πολλάκις ἐστρατηγηκὼς: p. 57); following the murder of Leo 15 and the accession of Michael II (Michael 10), Gregorios 71 was sent into exile on the island of Skyros; in the presence of the new emperor, instead of performing the act of proskynesis he expressed his feelings by bitterly reproaching Michael 10 or the murder; Michael 10 told him to bear his grief in silence but after three days sent him into exile.

Gregorios 71 joined the rebellion of Thomas the Slav (Thomas 7), who put him in command of an army ten thousand strong at the siege of Constantinople (τοῦτον ἑταιρισάμενος ὁ Θωμᾶς στρατεύματος τινος τοῦ κατὰ γῆν ὡσεὶ χιλιάδας δέκα ἀνέδειξεν στρατηγόν): Theoph. Cont. II 14 (pp. 57-58). Following the loss of Thomas 7's fleet and his failure to achieve a decisive result on land, Gregorios 71 judged Thomas 7 no longer capable of succeeding and began negotiations with the emperor Michael 10 inside Constantinople, using as intermediary a monk from the Stoudite monastery (Anonymus 190); his wife (Anonyma 18) and children were in Constantinople and had been held in custody by Michael 10 since he had joined the rebellion of Thomas 7; Gregorios 71 took a section of Thomas 7's army (μοῖράν τινα τοῦ ὑφ' ἑαυτὸν τάγματος: Theoph. Cont. II 16, p. 63) and broke away from the rebel Thomas 7's forces, intending to threaten Thomas 7 from the rear; however the emperor Michael 10 knew nothing of this because communications were impossible, and Thomas 7 was able to defeat Gregorios 71 and put him to flight; Gregorios 71 was captured by Thomas 7 and executed: Theoph. Cont. II 16, (pp. 62-63).

Gregorios 71 was a former strategos (πάλαι μὲν χρηματίσαντα στρατηγόν) who had been accused before the emperor Michael 10 and exiled to Skyros in the Kyklades. He deserted to Thomas 7 and was put by him in command of a large part of Thomas 7's troops in Thrace and sent on first against Constantinople: Genesius II 5. When Thomas 7's fleet was defeated, Gregorios 71 deserted to the emperor; he withdrew to Thomas 7's rear, but was then defeated by him and killed: Genesius II 6. He may be identical with Gregorios 63 (strategos of Macedonia).

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