Empire of Nikaia

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The Empire of Nicaea or Empire Nicaea was the largest of the three Byzantine exile kingdom after the conquest of Constantinople in 1204 and establishment of the Latin Empire in the Fourth Crusade . It existed until the reconquest of Constantinople and the relocation of the capital from Nikaia (now İznik ) there in 1261.

founding

The Latin Empire , Nicaea Empire, Trebizond Empire and the Despotate Epirus . The boundaries are unclear.

In 1204, the Byzantine Emperor Alexios V fled Constantinople after the Crusaders invaded the city . The son-in-law of Alexios III. , Theodor I , was crowned emperor. He fled to Nicaea in Bithynia when he realized that the situation in Constantinople was hopeless.

The Latin Empire, founded by the Crusaders, had insufficient control over the former Byzantine areas, and in many places it did not exist. Therefore, Byzantine successor states were able to establish themselves quickly: the despotate Epirus , the empire Trebizond and Nikaia. Because of its proximity to Constantinople, Nikaia was in the most favorable position to restore the Byzantine Empire. Theodor I. Laskaris initially suffered setbacks, for example in 1204 at Poimanenon and Prusa (today Bursa ). Nevertheless, he established himself in large parts of northwestern Anatolia, favored by the fighting between the Latin Empire and Bulgaria . In 1206 Theodor I was crowned Emperor of Nikaia. He defeated the Seljuks at Antioch in Pisidia in 1211 when they were Alexios III. presented as an excuse to expand west. He also wrested the Black Sea coast of Bithynia from the Emperor of Trebizond.

Many alliances and peace treaties between Bulgaria, Nikaia, the Seljuks and the Latins were concluded and broken in the next few years. Theodore I reinforced his claim to the diadem of Constantine the Great by installing a new Patriarch of Constantinople in Nicaea. In 1219 he married a daughter of the Latin Empress Jolante of Flanders . When he died in 1222, he left his successor and son-in-law John III. a small but viable state.

expansion

In 1224 the kingdom of Thessaloniki was conquered by the despot of Epiros and after the battle of Klokotnitsa in 1230 it came under Bulgarian suzerainty together with the despotate of Epiros. Since Trebizond was too remote and too weak, Nikaia remained as the only serious Byzantine successor state. John III was therefore able to expand his dominion into the Aegean and Thrace . In 1235 he allied himself with the Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Assen II. However, neither of them succeeded in retaking Constantinople.

In 1242 the Mongols invaded Asia Minor and after the Battle of the Köse Dağ made the Sultan of the Seljuks, Kai Chosrau II, liable for tribute. John III feared that the Mongols would then attack him too, but this did not happen. On the contrary, the Mongol victory represented the end of the Seljuk threat, which after 1261 led to the neglect of the eastern border and should have fatal consequences for Byzantium. In 1245, John III allied himself. with the Holy Roman Empire through marriage to Konstanze Anna , a daughter of Frederick II . Until 1248, John III. also defeated the Bulgarians and captured Thessaloniki. With this he had created the essential prerequisites for the reconquest of Constantinople by his death in 1254.

His son Theodor II fended off Bulgarian attacks in Thrace and forced the despots of Epirus, Kastoria and Dyrrhachion to cede. He also incorporated Laodikeia in Asia Minor into his empire in 1258. Shortly before Theodor II died in the same year, however, Epiros allied himself with Manfred of Sicily . His underage son John IV. Laskaris succeeded him, but under the tutelage of Michael VIII. Paleologus, who was crowned co-emperor in 1259 . Michael VIII defeated Manfred of Sicily and the Despot of Epiros in the Battle of Pelagonia in 1259 .

Recapture of Constantinople

A coin issued by Michael VIII on the occasion of the liberation of Constantinople and the restoration of the Byzantine Empire

In 1260 Michael launched an attack on Constantinople, which his predecessors were unable to do. He allied himself with Genoa while his general Alexios Strategopoulos spent months observing Constantinople. In July 1261 the Latins army was out of town. Alexios was also able to get the guards to open the city gates. Once in the city, he set a fire in the Venetian quarter (since Venice had directed the Fourth Crusade to Constantinople and was also an enemy of Genoa, an ally of Nikaia). Michael was crowned emperor a few weeks later and is therefore considered to be the restorer of the Byzantine Empire. Mistra was soon retaken, but Trebizond and Epiros remained independent Byzantine states. The restored empire also faced a threat from the Ottoman Empire , which replaced the defeated Seljuks. Although Constantinople was regained, the restored empire remained a shadow of its former power and could no longer build on its old position as a great power. The damage caused by the crusaders was too severe. Constantinople had been completely plundered and was unable to provide the empire with sufficient financial resources as it had previously been. In addition, there was the fragmentation into several states and the strengthening of local feudal lords. In this way Byzantium was only one power among many in the Balkans.

Emperor of Nikaia

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ P. Gounaridis: edification you patriarcat à Nicée . In: Christian host [u. a.]: The Patriarchate of Constantinople in Context and Comparison (Publications on Byzanzforschung 41). VÖAW, Vienna 2017, 25-30.