Michael Komnenos

Coins issued by Michael Komnenos

Michael Komnenos (* 1285 ; † after 1355 ) was Emperor and Grand Comnene of Trebizond in 1341 and after an interruption from 1344 to 1349 .

Life

Michael was born in 1285 as the son of the Trapezuntian emperor John II and his wife Eudokia Palaiologina . After the death of his older brother, the Emperor Alexios II , he had to face his son and successor Andronikos III in 1330 . by Konstantin Opel flee into exile. He had all male relatives killed that he could get hold of.

In 1341 Michael was chosen by the Eastern Roman Emperor Johannes V Palaiologos to be the husband of the Trapezuntian Empress Irene . When he arrived in Trebizond with a small fleet of three ships, however, Irene had already been deposed and replaced by his niece Anna . As a male member of the Trapezunti ruling family of the Comnenes , he contested the throne of Anna after his arrival and achieved her deposition. His subsequent reign as emperor was short-lived, however, as he was considered a stranger by the Trapezuntian nobles because of his long exile in Constantinople. In addition, it was feared that he would marry Irene, who was hated in Trebizond, and help her return to the throne. He was therefore arrested on the day of his coronation, deposed and sent into exile in Oinaion (today Ünye ), where he was held as a prisoner by the governor Johannes von Limnia . In his place, Anna, who had previously been deposed, became Empress again.

In 1342 Michael's son John III succeeded. To drive Anna from the throne and succeed her as emperor. At that time, Michael was still in captivity. Johannes obviously didn't want to change anything in this situation. However, his incompetent style of government quickly made him enemies. The influential General Niketas, the secret emperor of those years, turned away from Johannes. He freed Michael from prison in 1344 and then marched with him to Trebizond. Upon their arrival, John was deposed and sent to the monastery, the noble supporters of John murdered and Michael reinstated as emperor.

As a reward for his support and under the pressure of the true balance of power, Michael gave the Niketas the title of magnus dux and issued orders according to which the actual power in the state should be exercised by him and the officials appointed by him. However, this system of government was short-lived because it was extremely unpopular with the people of Trapezunts. Since the population could not understand that the emperor was relieving himself of his powers, they rose against the oligarchical system of Nicetas. Michael seized the opportunity, deprived him of the authority he had just been granted and threw him into dungeon. As a precaution, he had his son Johannes exiled to Adrianople in order to deprive the discontented Trapezuntian nobility the reason for a new revolt.

In 1347 Michael repulsed an attack by the Turkmens who wanted to take advantage of the internal turmoil in Trebizond. In the same year Trebizond was struck by the Black Death and Kerasunt , the second largest city in the empire, was lost to the Genoese , who started a campaign against Trebizond from their base in Kaffa in the Crimea . The Trapezuntian fleet under the Admiral Michael Tzanichites was completely destroyed by the Genoese. The angry population then committed a massacre among Western merchants who were just in the capital. In the course of a peace agreement concluded a little later with the Genoese, Trebizond received the city of Kerasunt back, but had to leave the fortress Leontokastron to the Genoese. This ushered in the decline of the trade power of Trebizond and control of the lucrative trade routes in the Black Sea came more and more into the hands of the Genoese.

The seriously ill Michael was finally no longer able to rule his unsteady empire. In the meantime, things had turned around in Constantinople when Michael's patron, Emperor John V Palaiologos, was temporarily replaced by John VI. Kantakuzenos was ousted. He supported Johannes, a son of the Trapezuntian emperor Basileios , who was murdered by Irene in 1340 , in an attempt to oust Michael. On December 13, 1349, Johannes and his troops took Trebizond. Michael was deposed and Johannes climbed under the name Alexios III . the throne.

After his patron Johannes V. Palaiologos had regained the upper hand in Constantinople, Michael made an attempt in 1355 with his support, Alexios III. ousted from the throne again. However, he was beaten and had to return to Constantinople, where he died shortly afterwards.

predecessor	Office	successor
Anna	Emperor of Trebizond 1341	Anna

predecessor	Office	successor
John III	Emperor of Trebizond 1344–1349	Alexios III