Mikhail Kantakouzinos Şeytanoğlu

Michail Kantakouzinos ( Greek Μιχαήλ Καντακουζηνός , also: Cantacuzenus ; * 1510 ; † March 3, 1578 , nicknamed Şeytanoğlu - "son of shaytan ") was an Ottoman-Greek magnate who was known for his immense wealth and political influence. Until his fall and execution in 1578, he dominated the politics of the Greek Orthodox community ( millet ) of the Ottoman Empire and was responsible for the rise and fall of bishops and patriarchs .

Life

origin

Nothing is known about his origins and youth. Although it bears the name of one of the most famous dynasties ( Kantakouzenos ) of the late Byzantine Empire , it is unlikely that it belongs to the family, as it was customary for the Greeks of his day to take Byzantine family names and claim ancestry from the famous noble houses. About Kantakouzenos himself, the German chaplain Stephan Gerlach , who was living in Constantinople at the time, writes that he was actually the son of the English ambassador, but this is largely rejected by today's historians. The Byzantinist Steven Runciman writes that the later Kantakouzenoi “are perhaps the only family whose claim to a direct descent from the Byzantine emperors is authentic”. while another scholar, Donald Nicol , writes: “Patriotic Romanian historians have tried very hard to show that [...] of all the Byzantine imperial families, that of the Kantakouzenos is the only one who can truly be said except for survived this day; but the line of succession after the middle of the fifteenth century is, to say the least, uncertain. "

Career

Kantakouzenos made his fortune through successful trade speculations that allowed him to participate in the lucrative tax lease system in the provinces of the Ottoman Empire. He was so cruel and strict towards his fellow Christians that he was nicknamed Şeytanoğlu ( Shaytanoglu ) by them . In addition, he secured the profitable salt monopoly for the salt pans of Anchialos and the customs monopoly of Constantinople , as well as fishing rights and the monopoly on the fur trade with the Grand Duchy of Moscow , which, according to some traditions, brought him an annual income of 60,000 ducats . His wealth was so great that after the destruction of the Ottoman fleet in the naval battle of Lepanto in 1571 he was able to build and equip 60 galleys from his own resources. His power was supported and secured by his close relationship with the powerful Grand Vizier , Sokollu Mehmed Pascha , as well as other influential personalities at the Ottoman court, who received a share of his income.

Kantakouzenos thus became the most important and powerful of all Greek magnates ( Archontes ) of the Ottoman capital. His influence was so great that contemporaries referred to him as the "pillar" of the Greek nation, and the German scholar Martin Crusius called him "the god" of the Greeks. As a sign of his power, he used the double-headed eagle of the Byzantine emperors as a seal for his letters . In accordance with this self- image , Kantakouzenos also played a decisive role in the trade in offices within the Greek Orthodox community ( Millet ). He influenced the allocation of posts from provincial bishops to Ecumenical Patriarchs in Constantinople and even the two Danube principalities of Moldavia (Țara Moldovei) and Wallachia (Țara Românească). For example, he had the popular patriarch Joasaph II (Ιωάσαφ Β΄ ο Μεγαλοπρεπής) deposed in 1565 and Metrophanes III in his place . (Μητροφάνης Γ΄ o Βυζάντιος), whom he had already helped to acquire the episcopal offices of Larisa and Chios . In exchange, Metrophanes paid Kantakouzenos a sum of 2,000 florins per year over eight years . A large part of this money also ended up in the pockets of Sokollu Mehmed.

“The election of the metropolitan is done in the same way. Those who have money give gifts to the Bassas Pascha and Kantakouzenos in the amount of several hundred ducats, then this or that will write to the patriarch: «Give this one an office as metropolitan ; then the patriarch has to obey without being allowed to say a word against it. ""

Although Metrophanes was initially a willing helper in Kantakouzenos' various conspiracies, he ultimately fell out with him and was deposed in 1572, on accusations of conspiratorial contacts with Western powers. Kantakouzenos also brought about the overthrow of the Prince of Wallachia, Petru cel Tânăr (Peter the Young) and apparently he also secured control of the income of Wallachia and Moldavia, where he extorted high taxes. His preferred residence was Anchialos, a city that was almost exclusively inhabited by Greeks. There he had a magnificent palace built for himself, which cost 20,000 ducats and could compete with the palace of the Sultan. However, his extravagance aroused envy and hostility, not only among his Greek comrades but also among Turks, and when the influence of his patron Sokollu Mehmed waned, his enemies struck too: in July 1576 he was imprisoned and his property confiscated, but he could saved his life once again and secured his release through the intervention of Sokollu Mehmed. He was even able to regain his fortune, but was charged again with intriguing against the Sultan, and on March 3, 1578, he was hanged at the gate of his palace in Anchialos.

His possessions, including "an almost infinite number" of silks , brocades and velvet dresses set with gold and rubies and other precious stones, horses and other treasures, were auctioned. This event made such an impression that the phrase “bought at Şeytanoğlu's auction” became a standing phrase for generations. Kantakouzeno's extensive library with valuable manuscripts was also auctioned. Most of these were acquired by the monasteries of Athos , which had come together for this purpose.

family

Michael Kantakouzenos married twice. His first wife is unknown, but he had at least one daughter with her who married a man from the Rallis family . His second wife, whom he had married at an advanced age, was a daughter of the Prince of Wallachia, Mircea Ciobanul . She refused to follow him to Istanbul. Michael's three sons, Andronikos (* 1553), Demetrios (* 1566) and Joannis (* 1570), survived their father. Andronikos was even able to regain part of his father's property and rose to the position of kingmaker for the Wallachian princes: it was he who named Mihai Viteazul (Michael the Brave) as prince of Wallachia (1593), and two of his sisters were married to Michael's predecessors, Prince Ștefan Surdul (Stefan the Dove) (or alternatively with Michael's half-brother Petru Cercel (Peter Ohrring ) and Aron Tiranul from Moldavia).

swell

• Fernand Braudel : The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II, Volume II . University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles 1995, ISBN 0-520-20330-5 .
• George Finlay : The History of Greece under Othoman and Venetian Domination . William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh and London 1856.
• Halil İnalcık : An Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire. Volume One, 1300-1600 . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1997, ISBN 0-521-57456-0 .
• Nicolae Iorga : Byzance après Byzance ( French ). Editions de l'Institut d'études byzantines, Bucharest 1935.
• Donald Nicol : The Byzantine family of Kantakouzenos (Cantacuzenus) approx. 1100-1460: A Genealogical and Prosopographical Study . Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies, Washington, DC 1968.
• Tom Papademetriou: Render Unto the Sultan: Power, Authority, and the Greek Orthodox Church in the Early Ottoman Centuries . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2015, ISBN 978-0-19-871789-8 .
• Steven Runciman : The Great Church in Captivity: A Study of the Patriarchate of Constantinople from the Eve of the Turkish Conquest to the Greek War of Independence . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1985, ISBN 0-521-31310-4 .
• Stefan Gerlach the Elder's diary of the two most glorious Roman Emperors, Maximiliano and Rudolpho, on both sides of the others, the embassy dispatched to the Ottoman gate at Constantinople. Given by his grandson M. Samuelem Gerlachium. Frankfurt a. M., published by Johann-David Zunners, 1674, 552 p.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Finlay 1856: 188-189.
2. ^ Iorga 1935: 116 n.6; Runciman 1985: 197 n.2.
3. ^ "Perhaps the only family whose claim to be in the direct line from Byzantine Emperors was authentic". Runciman 1985: 197.
4. ↑ “Patriotic Rumanian historians have indeed labored to show that ... of all the Byzantine imperial families that of the Kantakouzenos is the only one which can truthfully be said to have survived to this day; but the line of succession after the middle of the fifteenth century is, to say the least, uncertain. "Nicol 1968: v.
5. ↑ Finlay 1856: 188-189
6. ↑ Braudel 1995: 696; İnalcık 1997: 211-212.
7. ↑ Runciman 1985: 197; Iorga 1935: 115.
8. ↑ Finlay 1856: 188-189; Iorga 1935: 115.
9. ↑ Finlay 1856: 188-189.
10. ↑ İnalcık 1997: 211-212
11. ^ Iorga 1935: 116.
12. ↑ Braudel 1995: 696.
13. ↑ Iorga 1935: 113-114, 116; Runciman 1985: 199.
14. ↑ Papademetriou 2015: 156.
15. ^ "The election of the metropolitan proceeds in the same way. Those who have money will make gifts to the Bassas and to Kantakouzenos of several hundred ducats, then this or that one will write to the patriarch: "Give this one there the office of metropolitan; then the patriarch has to obey without speaking a word against it. ” Stephan Gerlach's diary , translated in Papademetriou 2015: 152.
16. ↑ Finlay 1856: 188-189; Runciman 1985: 199,200.
17. ^ Iorga 1935: 116-117.
18. ↑ Runciman 1985: 197.
19. ↑ Finlay 1856: 188-189; Braudel 1995: 696.
20. ↑ Finlay 1856: 188-189; Braudel 1995: 696; Iorga 1935: 117.
21. ^ Iorga 1935: 117-118.
22. ↑ Runciman 1985: 210,389.
23. ^ Iorga 1935: 115-116.
24. ^ Iorga 1935: 117-120

Web links

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