Demetrios I. Kantakuzenos

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Demetrios I. Kantakuzenos ( Middle Greek Δημήτριος Καντακουζηνός , * around 1343 ; † between 1384 and 1420 ) was 1383 Byzantine despot of Morea .

Family and ancestors

Demetrios I. Kantakuzenos belongs to the Byzantine imperial family of the Kantakuzenos , as well as to the Bulgarian tsar family of the Asanes . He was the son of Matthaios Asanes Kantakuzenos , Despot of Morea, and Irene Palaiologina , granddaughter of Andronikos II (Byzantium) and Yolande (Violante, Irene) of Montferrat . His grandfather was John VI. Kantakuzenos . Through the ancestors of the great-grandmother, Yolande (Violante, Irene) von Montferrat , Demetrios I is related to several royal families in Europe. This is proven by the genealogical table of Demetrios I.

history

From 1361 Demetrios was co-despot of Morea. The Byzantine emperor John V Palaiologos decided in 1381 to replace Matthaios Asanes Kantakuzenos with his son Theodor I. Palaiologos . With all diplomatic means, but ultimately unsuccessfully, Matthaios tried to avert this decision. He handed over power to Demetrios in 1383 and commissioned him to make the handover to the palaeologists peaceful and calm. Demetrios' attempt to resist the handover of power to Theodor I Palaiologus failed.

A grandson or nephew (depending on the source) of Demetrios, Manuel Kantakuzenos tried in 1453, shortly after the fall of Constantinople , to take power in the Morea.

Descendants

As for the descendants of Demetrios I, the sources are divided.

According to the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, Byzantium 1261-1453 , Demetrios I Kantakuzenos had two children:

  • Theodoros Kantakuzenos, * after 1361; † 1410
  • N. Kantakuzenos

According to the same source, Theodoros Kantakuzenos (* after 1361; † 1410) had the following children:

  • Georgios Palaiologos Kantakuzenos, "Sachatai", scholar and military leader, defended Smederevo in 1456 against a Hungarian attack.
  • Andronikos Palaiologos Kantakuzenos, executed June 3, 1453, the last chief steward of the Byzantine Empire .
  • Thomas Kantakuzenos, † July 25, 1463 in Adrianople , diplomat of Đurađ Branković , despot of Serbia .
  • Eirene Kantakuzene, * approx. 1400; † May 2, 1457 in Rudnik, wife of Đurađ Branković.
  • Helena Kantakuzene, † around November 1, 1463 in Adrianople, Empress of Trebizond , wife of David Komnenos , Emperor of Trebizond.
  • Manuel Kantakuzenos, protostrator
  • Maria Kantakuzene
  • Theodora Kantakuzene, † Nov. 2, 1426
  • Demetrios Kantakuzenos

According to Genealogy.eu by Miroslav Marek, some of these children were not grandchildren of Demetrios I, but his own children.

For more descendants of Demetrios see the web links.

Demetrios I or his brother Joannes are considered to be the ancestors of the Romanian branch of the family called Cantacuzino . Whether this is the successor of Demetrios I or his brother Ioannes is a matter of dispute among historians. The descent from the father Matthaios is certain.

literature

  • Donald M. Nicol : The Byzantine family of Kantakouzenos (Cantacuzenus) approx. 1100-1460. A genealogical and prosopographical study. (= Dumbarton Oaks Studies. Vol. 11). Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies, Washington DC 1968, pp. 158-160, No. 50.
  • Donald M. Nicol: The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261-1453. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1993, ISBN 0-521-43991-4 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ In "Medieval lands" by Charles Cawley.
  2. ↑ Pedigree of Demetrios I. Kantakuzenos
  3. ^ Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, Byzantium 1261-1453
  4. ^ Miroslav Marek: Genealogy.eu: Kantakuzenos family
predecessor Office successor
Matthaios Asanes Kantakuzenos Despot of Morea
1383 		Theodor I. Palaiologos
personal data
SURNAME Kantakuzenos, Demetrios I.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Despot of Morea
DATE OF BIRTH around 1343
DATE OF DEATH between 1384 and 1420