Alexios Apokaukos

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Alexios Apokaukos in the costume of the Megas Doux

Alexios Apokaukos († June 11, 1345 ) (Greek: Ἀλέξιος Ἀπόκαυκος) was a leading Byzantine statesman and Megas Doux of the empire during the reign of the ruler Andronikos III. Palaiologos and John V. Palaiologos . Although he owed his political and military rise to the latter, he turned against him in the civil war between 1341 and 1347 .

biography

Early life

Apokaukos comes from modest circumstances and was only a scribe in the service of the Domestikos of the subjects. However, he managed to rise in the hierarchy of the empire, so that in 1321 he became imperial chamberlain ( Parakoimōmenos ). Apokaukos was useful in his position for Johannes Kantakouzenos , who wanted to usurp the throne for the grandson of the ruler at that time, Andronikos II . Under threat of war, the already aged ruler left some areas in Macedonia and Thrace to his grandson. As Andronikos III. Palaiologos was able to rule the empire completely after the death of his grandfather in 1328, he drew Apokaukos with the office of the imperial secretary ( mesazōn ) and the finance minister, offices that John previously held. The fortune that Apokaukos was able to earn with these offices, he invested among other things in the construction of a private refuge near Selymbria on the Marmara Sea.

Until the sudden death of Palaiologos in June 1341, Apokaukos was apparently loyal to Kantakouzenos. Shortly before the basileus died, he had given Apokaukos the office of Megas Doux , which earned him the supreme command of the Byzantine fleet .

Civil war

After death, two parties claimed the throne for themselves: the proponents of Johannes Kantakouzenos, mostly the noble landowners from Macedonia and Thrace, and the supporters of the palaeologists who stood behind the widow of the late Basileus, Anna of Savoy . Kantakouzenos took over the reign for the only nine-year-old John V and was thus in a favorable position to ascend the throne. However, out of loyalty to his deceased friend, he preferred to respect the young regent. This decision encouraged his opponents and also Apokaukos, who would have liked to see Kantakouzenos accepted the rulers, as he was also keen on promoting his own career. Apokaukos now switched sides to the supporters of the empress. After Kantakouzenos left Constantinople in July 1341 to go on a campaign against the Serbs, the field was free for Apokaukos. Although he, as Megas Doux, was responsible for protecting the Dardanelles against the Ottomans , he let the Ottomans cross the Dardanelles and invade Thrace in order to cause unrest there. He also tried to kidnap the young monarch, but failed, so he had to retreat to his home in Epibatai. After Kantakouzenos had returned victorious to the capital of the empire, he refrained from punishing Apokaukos, contrary to the advice of his friends, but forgave him. After an exaggerated respect on the part of Apokaukos, he was allowed to keep his offices and stay in Constantinople, while Kantakouzenos went back into the field against his enemies.

John VI Kantakouzenos

But as soon as Apokaukos returned to the city, he again prepared a conspiracy against Kontakouzenos. He went to the Patriarch Johannes Kalekas, to whom he told that Kantakouzenos was planning his deposition and was anxious to harm the ruler. The men who now gathered around Apokaukos were soon strong enough to take power in Constantinople and imprison Kantakouzenos' friends and family. Theodora, the mother of Johannes Kantakouzenos, died in her captivity. The patriarch was appointed regent, while Empress Anna Apokaukos provided the office of governor ( eparchos ) in Constantinople.

Kantakouzenos reacted to this measure by having himself proclaimed emperor in Didymoteicho in October 1341. His opponents then had John V crowned the following month. These two coronations brought about a civil war into which the empire sank for six years and which ended with the victory of Kantakouzenos. The war weakened the empire in the long term, as Byzantine society split into two parties: the nobles and the rich sided with Kantakouzenos, the poor, especially those living in cities, but also merchants and sailors, sided with Palaiologos and his rulers . Especially the enormous wealth of Kantakouzenos and his followers, which stood in stark contrast to the poor conditions of the majority of the population, became an effective means of propaganda on the part of Apokaukos. Religious disputes also broke out during the civil war. According to the historian Angeliki Laiou, Apokaukos can be seen as a representative of the radical restructuring of the Byzantine state: he wanted to break the hegemony of the old, conservative, land-based nobility and replace it with a commercial, maritime and westward-oriented society, according to the model of the Italian commercial republics.

A few days after Kantakouzenos' coronation as emperor, an uprising broke out in the city of Adrianopolis among the citizens, who deposed the urban nobility and gave themselves the power of government. They asked Apokaukos and his son Manuel to support them in their cause. The Thessaloniki , the second largest Byzantine city, rose up against the local nobility and was able to also count on Apokaukos, who sent a 70 strong fleet ships in the harbor.

These revolts took place in almost every city in the empire, so that most of the empire soon declared itself in favor of the regents. Kantakouzenos, cut off from his main base Didymoteicho , was forced to leave the empire and seek refuge with the Serbian king. But from 1343 he was able to enjoy the support of an old friend, the emir Umur of Aydın , and thus turn the tide. He was able to expand his power in Macedonia more and more and although he failed to take Thessaloniki, his Turkish allies enabled him to make his way to Didymoteicho. Gradually the camp of those who were still for Apokaukos thinned out and his son Manuel also placed himself in the service of his father's enemy after he had given up his post in Adrianopolis.

In the spring of 1345 Apokaukos refused to accept an offer of peace with Kantakouzenos. To consolidate his dwindling power in the capital, he ordered proscriptions and built a new prison for political enemies. On June 11th, Apokaukos suddenly decided to visit the prison that was under construction. Amazingly, he made this visit without his bodyguards. When the prisoners saw this, they overpowered and killed him, and later his head was impaled on a spear. With the killing of Apokaukos, the prisoners were certain that they would soon regain the favor of Empress Anna. However, she was so shocked by the death of her leading minister that she gave the deceased's supporters permission to take revenge. All 200 prisoners were then executed, although some tried to escape to a nearby monastery. Although Apokaukos' death did not trigger the collapse of the reign, it was a grave loss. From now on the empress's cause waned and Kantakouzenos' victory became increasingly certain. However, the civil war did not end until February 3, 1347, when Kantakouzenos entered Constantinople and forced the Empress to recognize him as a legitimate emperor.

family

Alexios Apokaukos had two brothers, Ioannis and Nikephoros, both of whom were mentioned in the chronicles of Johannes Kantakouzenos in 1362, but nothing further is known about them. Apokaukos was married twice. His first wife came from a small noble family, his second, whom he married around 1341, came from the grand nobility: She was the daughter of the great stratopedarch Georgios Choumnos. The marriages resulted in a total of five children:

  • Ioannis Apokaukos, governor of Thessaloniki, murdered in July 1345 after the death of his father when he tried to surrender the city to Kantakouzenos
  • Manuel Apokaukos, governor of Adrianopolis between 1342 and 1344, defected to Kantakouzenos
  • Namely unknown daughter who married Andronikos Palaiologos and after his death Ioannis Asan
  • Daughter unknown by name, who married the son of Patriarch Ioannis Kalekas in 1341
  • Daughter unknown by name, who married the son of one of the empress's maids in 1341.

literature

  • Mark C. Bartusis: The Late Byzantine Army: Arms and Society 1204-1453 . University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997, ISBN 0-8122-1620-2 .
  • Guglielmo Cavallo : The Byzantines. University of Chicago Press, 1997, ISBN 0-226-09792-7 .
  • Angeliki Laiou: The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies . Ed .: Elizabeth Jeffreys, John Haldon, Robin Cormack. Oxford University Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0-19-925246-6 , Political-historical survey - D. 1204-1453.
  • Donald MacGillivray Nicol: The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261-1453 . Cambridge University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-521-43991-4 ( google.com ).
  • Donald MacGillivray Nicol: The Reluctant Emperor: A Biography of John Cantacuzene, Byzantine Emperor and Monk, c . 1295-1383 . Cambridge University Press, 1996, ISBN 0-521-52201-3 ( google.gr ).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Donald MacGillivray Nicol: The Reluctant Emperor: A Biography of John Cantacuzene, Byzantine Emperor and Monk, C. 1295-1383. 2002, ISBN 0-521-52201-3 , p. 73. (English), accessed on June 10, 2011.