Byzantine Civil War (1321-1328)

The Byzantine Civil War from 1321 to 1328 was a series of conflicts for supremacy in the Byzantine Empire between Emperor Andronikos II. Palaiologos and his grandson Andronikos III.

Andronikos II. (Left) fought against his grandson Andronikos III in the Byzantine Civil War from 1321 to 1328 . (right)

prehistory

In September 1320 the despot Manuel Palaiologos was in Constantinople by followers of his older brother and later emperor Andronikos III. murdered because they mistakenly thought he was a rival . The grief over the tragic loss of his son led to the fact that the co-emperor Michael IX. a little later, on October 12, 1320, at the age of only 43 years, also died. As emperor Andronikos II. His grandson Andronikos III. then wanted to withdraw the line of succession , this sparked the civil war .

1321: First conflict

Andronikos III. had many supporters, especially Johannes Kantakuzenos and Syrgiannes Palaiologos , who acquired governorships in Thrace , where there was great dissatisfaction with the old emperor. At Easter 1321 Andronikos III sat down. from the capital to Adrianople to establish his court there and start an uprising against his grandfather. Syrgiannes Palaiologos marched with a large army on Constantinople and forced the old emperor to enter into negotiations. On June 6, 1321 a division of the rule was agreed: Andronikos III. received Thrace with the Adrianople residence as a quasi- appanage , while Andronikos II continued to rule in Constantinople as senior emperor.

1322: Second conflict

The peace agreement of 1321 did not last long, as both Andronikoi de facto operated an independent foreign policy. In the Andronikos III camp the rivalry between the Megas Domestikos Johannes Kantakuzenos and Syrgiannes Palaiologos, who was from Andronikos III. for his support in the struggle for the throne was not sufficiently appreciated and in favor of Kantakuzenos. In addition, chroniclers report an alleged attempt by Andronikos to seduce Syrgiannes' wife. In December 1321 Syrgiannes changed sides and fled to Constantinople. Awarded the proud title of Megas Dux , he persuaded Andronikos II to resume the war against his grandson. But the two Andronikoi reached a new agreement in July 1322, which put Syrgiannes in a quandary. He saw the only way out in murdering the aged Andronikos II and usurping the throne. However, the plot was foiled and Syrgiannes was sentenced to life in prison. On February 2, 1325 Andronikos III. officially crowned co-emperor of his grandfather.

1327-1328: Third Conflict

In February 1327 the dispute between the two Andronikoi broke out again, but this time the neighboring Balkan powers also intervened in the intra-dynastic conflict. While Andronikos II relied on the help of weapons from the Serbian King Stefan Dečanski , Andronikos III closed. in May 1327 an alliance with the Bulgarian Tsar Michael III. Schischman . In several battles in Macedonia Andronikos III. and his general Johannes Kantakuzenos the upper hand; in January 1328 they also took control of the second largest city in the empire, Thessaloniki . Encouraged by these successes, Andronikos III decided. for the march on Constantinople, which he took in May 1328. Andronikos II was forced to abdicate and had to leave sole rule to his grandson.

consequences

With Andronikos III. Palaiologos (1328-1341) there was a generation change at the head of the Byzantine state, with the emperor concentrating on military matters and Johannes Kantakuzenos on political leadership. The civil war had exhausted the empire and led to a collapse of the currency , but the new government was able to stabilize the domestic situation again.

swell

• Chronica Byzantina breviora 1, 78; 1, 92 (ed.Peter Schreiner , CFHB Ser.Vind. Vol. 12, 1975)
• Nikephoros Gregoras 1, 285–426 (ed. Ludwig Schopen , CSHB , 1829)
• Johannes Kantakuzenos 1, 1–59 (ed. Peter Wirth , transl. Georgios Fatouros / Tilman Krischer , BGL Vol. 17, 1982)

literature

• Mark C. Bartusis: The Late Byzantine Army: Arms and Society 1204-1453. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia PA 1997, ISBN 0-8122-1620-2 .
• Ursula Victoria Bosch: Emperor Andronikos III. Palaiologos. Attempt to portray Byzantine history in the years 1321–1341. Adolf M. Hakkert, Amsterdam 1965.
• John Van Antwerp Fine: The Late Medieval Balkans: A critical Survey from the late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor MI 1994, ISBN 0-472-08260-4 .
• Donald M. Nicol : The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261-1453. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1993, ISBN 0-521-43991-4 .
• Georg Ostrogorsky : History of the Byzantine State (= Handbook of Classical Studies . Dept. 12: Byzantine Handbook . Vol. 1,2). CH Beck, Munich 1940, 3rd revised edition 1963, ISBN 3-406-01414-3 .
• Erich Trapp , Hans-Veit Beyer, Sokrates Kaplaneres: Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit . 9. Fascicle: [Ογουζάλπης] - Πέτκος (= Publications of the Commission for Byzantine Studies . Vol. 1/9). Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1989, ISBN 3-7001-1641-1 , p. 101 No. 21511.
• Warren Treadgold : A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press, Stanford CA 1997, ISBN 0-8047-2630-2 .
• István Vásáry: Cumans and Tatars: Oriental Military in the Pre-Ottoman Balkans, 1185–1365. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2005, ISBN 0-521-83756-1 .

Remarks

1. ↑ See PLP 9, p. 101.
2. ↑ See Ostrogorsky, Geschichte , p. 411 f.
3. ↑ See Treadgold, History , p. 755.
4. ↑ See Nicol, Last Centuries , p. 157; Fine, Late Medieval Balkans , p. 251; Bartusis, Late Byzantine Army , p. 87.
5. ↑ See Vásáry, Cumans , p. 121.
6. ↑ See Nicol, Last Centuries , p. 157 f.
7. ↑ See Bosch, Andronikos III. , P. 51; Nicol, Last Centuries , pp. 159-161; Fine, Late Medieval Balkans , p. 271.