Johannes Komnenos Batatzes

Johannes Komnenos Batatzes ( Middle Greek Ἰωάννης Κομνηνός Βατάτζης ; * around 1132; † May 16, 1182 in Philadelphia ) was a high-ranking Byzantine military under the emperors Manuel I and Alexios II.

Life

Johannes was the son of Pansebastohypertatos Theodoros Batatzes , a member of the Batatzes officer family , which was promoted by Emperor Johannes II and who provided three Byzantine emperors in the 13th century . Through his mother, the purple-born Princess Eudokia Komnena , the youngest sister of Manuel I, he belonged to the ruling dynasty of the Komnenen . With his wife Maria Dukaina he had two sons, Manuel and Alexios .

Johannes Batatzes does not appear in contemporary sources as a high-ranking military leader under Manuel I until the 1170s. After the defeat of the Byzantines against the Seljuk Sultan Kılıç Arslan II in the battle of Myriokephalon , in which his brother Andronikos Batatzes fell, he destroyed a Turkish cavalry army that had plundered the Meander Valley. Under Manuel's son and successor Alexios II, Johannes Batatzes was Megas Domestikos at the head of the Byzantine military hierarchy; According to contemporary seals , he also bore the title Protospatharios . From Adrianople he managed the important topic of Thrace as strategos .

When Andronikos Komnenos was preparing to end the Latin-friendly reign of the widow of Manuel I, Maria of Antioch , and the Protosebastus Alexios Komnenos in the spring of 1182 , Johannes Batatzes refused the allegiance to the pretender . Batatzes' cousin, the Megas Dux Andronikos Kontostephanos , however, sided with Andronikos and enabled him to move into Constantinople in April 1182 .

After Andronikos Komnenos' seizure of power, Johannes Batatzes, who had presumably been removed from his offices, revolted in Philadelphia in Lydia against the new regent, who, as he expected, turned out to be a brutal arbitrary ruler. Andronikos Komnenos sent a force under the command of Andronikos Lampardas , who suffered a defeat against the rebel army. However, Johannes Batatzes was seriously ill in the meantime and died on May 16, just a few days after the victorious battle. With his death, the rebellion also collapsed.

Johannes Batatzes' sons Manuel and Alexios tried to flee across the sea to Sicily , but were shipwrecked off Crete . The brothers were captured and blinded . The victory over Johannes Batatzes was seen by Andronikos Komnenos as divine providence and strengthened his intention to crown himself as co-emperor alongside the young Alexios II.

swell

• Niketas Choniates 262–264 and passim (ed. Jan-Louis van Dieten, CFHB Vol. 11, 1975)
• Johannes Kinnamos 91; 138 (ed. Charles M. Brand)
• Theodoros Skutariotes 327–329 (ed. Konstantin Sathas , BGMAE vol. 7, 1892, reprint 1972)

literature

• Michael Angold: The Byzantine Empire, 1025-1204. A Political History. 2nd edition. Longman, London et al. 1997, ISBN 0-582-29468-1 , pp. 193, 267.
• Κωνσταντίνος Βαρζός: Η Γενεαλογία των Κομνηνών (= Βυζαντινά Κείμενα και Μελέται. Τ. 20β , ZDB ID 420491-8 ). Τόμος Β '. Κέντρο Βυζαντινών Ερευνών - ΑΠΘ, Θεσσαλονίκη 1984, pp. 382–389 No. 147 ( PDF; 44.6 MB ).
• John W. Birkenmeier: The Development of the Komnenian Army. 1081-1180 (= History of Warfare. Vol. 5). Brill, Leiden et al. 2002, ISBN 90-04-11710-5 , p. 196.
• Jean-Claude Cheynet: Pouvoir et contestations à Byzance (963-1210) (= Publications de la Sorbonne. Series Byzantina Sorbonensia. Vol. 9). Reimpression. Publications de la Sorbonne Center de Recherches d'Histoire et de Civilization Byzantines, Paris 1996, ISBN 2-85944-168-5 , p. 113 No. 154.
• Paul Magdalino: The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 1143-1180. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge et al. 2002, ISBN 0-52-152653-1 , p. 13 and passim .

Web links

• Batatzes on Medieval Lands