Leon Tornikes
Leon Tornikes (also Tornikios , Middle Greek Λέων Τορνίκης ; * after 1000 in Adrianople ; † after 1047) was a Byzantine patrician and usurper against Emperor Constantine IX.
Life
Leon Tornikes was a nephew of Emperor Constantine IX, who appointed him strategos on the subject of Macedonia . As early as 1043, the local troops planned to make him emperor against his uncle, but let several opportunities slip by. Tornikes, characterized as cunning and ambitious, was openly favored by the emperor's sister, Euprepia , who apparently intended to build him up as a candidate for the throne against her unloved brother. When rumors of this kind began to circulate around 1046 and doubts about Tornikes' loyalty at the court in Constantinople began to circulate , the emperor took the initiative and praised the potential rival by making him the Dux of Iberia (or Melitene ) at the one threatened by the Seljuks The eastern border of the empire.
During his stay in the east, supporters of the Tornike started a revolt on the subject of Macedonia. The emperor suspected him of direct incitement, it summoned back to Constantinople Opel, it was the monk scissors and Adrian Opel under house arrest provide. Tornikes now proceeded to open usurpation, gathered his followers and some disaffected troop leaders around him and was proclaimed a basileus in Adrianople on September 14, 1047 . He marched immediately with his troops against the capital and began a siege on September 25th , which he had to break off after only four days, despite an almost successful attempt at surprise. On the retreat into the Thracian hinterland, the usurper suffered another defeat in front of Raidestos , whereupon his supporters turned away from him. He took refuge in a church in Bulgarophygon but was lured out and captured.
At Christmas 1047, Tornikes was to be executed together with his general Johannes Batatzes . Due to an intervention by the Patriarch Michael Kerularios , the sentence was softened into glare at the last minute . His further fate is unknown.
swell
- Michael Attaleiates 22; 29
- Michael Glykas 596-597
- Johannes Mauropous , Orationes 178-195
- Michael Psellos , Chronographia 6, 99-122; Kerularios 347
- Johannes Skylitzes , Constantine IX 8
- Johannes Zonaras 17, 23
literature
- 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 , pp. 59-61, No. 64-65.
- Alexander P. Kazhdan (Ed.): The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium . Oxford University Press, New York NY 1991, ISBN 0-19-504652-8 , pp. 2096-2098.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Leon Tornikes |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Leon Tornikios; Λέων Τορνίκης (Middle Greek) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Byzantine patrician, usurper against Emperor Constantine IX. |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 11th century |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Adrianople |
| DATE OF DEATH | after 1047 |