Nikephorus II. Dukas

Nikephoros II. Dukas , also Nikephoros II. Orsini or Nikephoros II. Dukas-Angelos-Orsini (* between 1326 and 1329 or 1328/29; † spring or summer 1359) was titular Count Palatine of Kephalonia . 1340 still underage of Andronikos III. Deposed in Epirus, he was again ruler of Epirus from the house of Orsini from 1356 until his death in 1359 .

Life

Nikephoros was born around 1328 as the son of Giovanni II Orsini and Anna Komnene Palaiologina († after 1357). After the murder of his own brother Nikola Orsini in 1323, his father Giovanni was in conflict with his liege lord, the Angevinen Philip I of Taranto and husband of the titular empress of the Latin Empire Katherina II of Valois . Around 1325 Philip withdrew from Giovanni II the rule of the Palatinate Counties of Kephalonia, Zakynthos and Ithaca, which merged Giovanni's rule into the areas of the Akarnania region . Giovanni II, who was still obligated to serve as a vassal to Philip, tried to break free of his suzerainty around 1328 and submitted to the Byzantine emperor Andronikos III. From this he also received the title of despot , who was to administer his territory from then on as a Byzantine possession. But as early as 1331 an army of Walter von Brienne forced him to submit again to the Angevin sovereignty. He also had to cede the island of Leukas and the city of Vonitsa to him. The pro-Byzantine forces, to which Nikephoros' mother Anna Palaiologina is said to have belonged, poisoned Giovanni II in 1335 and took over the reign of the young Nikephorus.

In 1337 Emperor Andronikos invaded the northern part of Epirus to fight revolting Albanian tribes. Anna Palaiologina, who feared an invasion, tried to save the remaining inheritance of her son, and sought to negotiate with Andronikos III. after, who on this occasion tried to reintegrate Epirus into the Byzantine Empire. Finally Anna gave up and was to be taken to a country house with lands in Thessaloniki with her son. Theodoros Synadenos was installed as the imperial governor ( protostrator ) of Epirus . Nikephorus was supposed to be betrothed to a daughter of Johannes Kantakuzenos , but did not arrive in Thessaloniki. Epirotian aristocrats, who feared for their independence, and anti-Byzantine circles, supported by Catherine II of Valois , had brought Nikephorus to the court in Morea, where Catherine had been in office since the end of 1338. In 1339 Nikephoros was shipped to Thomokastron, accompanied by an Angevin army. At the same time, uprisings broke out in some cities of Epirus. a. also in Arta , where the protostrator Theodor Synadenus was imprisoned (and released again in 1340).

Around 1339/1340 the reaction of the Byzantines took place, with a force, first led by Johannes Kantakuzenos, then by the emperor himself, suppressed the uprising within a few months, mostly through negotiations. Thomokastron was also besieged because the resident troops of the anti-Byzantine faction avoided a battle because they could be supplied from the sea. By November 1340, however, all the uprisings had died down and Arta, the capital of Epirus, had surrendered. The besieged troops in Thomokastron finally gave up after negotiations and were given safe conduct. Nikephoros was transferred to Byzantium, where he lived from then on in Thessaloniki. In the same year, under the influence of Johannes Kantakuzenos, he was given the title of Panhypersebastos , which, however, was not associated with an office. When the Byzantine Civil War broke out, Nikephorus was in the custody of Irene Asanina , in Didymoticho in Thrace. Irene was the wife of John VI, who had meanwhile been proclaimed emperor. Kantakuzenos. Nikephoros married his daughter Maria Kantakuzena there in the summer of 1342. After the victory of the party of John VI. in the civil war in 1347 Nikephorus was appointed despotes , as was the custom with the emperor's sons and sons-in-law. John VI incorporated Nikephoros into his government. Between 1351 and 1355 he was the Byzantine governor of Ainos and Thracian cities on the Hellespont and from 1356 Archon (until 1358) of Epirus and Thessaly. In the meantime, attacked the Serbian King Stephan IV. Dušan , who was defeated by John VI early during the civil war. had turned away, the now weakened empire. By 1346 he had largely brought the Albanian mainland under his control and in the following years, until 1348, also subjugated parts of Thessaly and the heartland of Epirus. Stephan IV died in December 1355, as did the Thessalian governor Preljub, who was appointed by him .

After John VI. When the Byzantine emperor abdicated, Nikephorus no longer felt bound to Byzantium himself and sailed from Ainos to Thessaly in the spring of 1356, where he, supported by the local Greeks, Simeon Uroš Nemanjić , the husband of his sister Thomais and half-brother of Stephan IV Dušan distribution. However, his influence in the rural regions remained considerably limited, as the Albanians who settled in the countryside evaded his control. The disparity break between tried in cities living Greeks and settled in the country Albanians Nikiforos by unilaterally fought the Albanians, but the danger looked immediately subjected to convey an alliance between the displaced from them Simeon Nemanjić and the Albanians. After negotiating with Simeon, Nikephoros was to divorce his previous wife Maria Kantakuzena in 1357 and marry the sister of Stephan Dušan's widow, Theodora of Bulgaria . Maria was also to be extradited to the Serbs, but was able to secure the support of Epirot and Albanian aristocrats and was brought to Morea to her brother Manuel Kantakuzenos , who ruled there . With the repudiation of Maria, Nikephoros made himself extremely unpopular. The Albanians took this as an excuse and openly rebelled against him. Nikephorus had the divorce revised. But before Maria returned to Epirus, she learned of his death. In the spring or summer of 1359, Nikephorus fell against the Albanians. a. led by Karl Thopia , in the battle of Acheloos in Aetolia .

legacy

After the death of Nikephorus II, Epirus was occupied by rival princes, including Thomas Preljubović and Simeon Uroš Nemanjić. The latter was able to bring Thessaly and Epirus under control as far as possible and divided the territory into two territories. Aetolia was assigned to Albanian princes, Gjin Bua Shpata received Acheloos and Angelokastron (a district of Agrinio since 2011 ), Peter Losha the areas around Arta and Rogoi . Nemanjić's son-in-law, Thomas Preljubovic, received Ioannina and the surrounding area. In the following time there were disputes between the individual rulers, so that Epirus remained divided under Carlo I. Tocco (1418–1429) until its brief restoration .

Maria Kantakuzena later became a nun and died after 1379 near Constantinople. The mother Anna Palaiologina basilissa , fled from Thessaloniki to Arta in 1341 and was imprisoned there again from 1342 to 1347 under Johannes Angelos , before she was released again after the Serbian invasion of Epirus. In 1355 she married the Serbian despot and Kephalen (governor) of Berat, Valona and Kanina, Johannes Komnenos Asen († 1363). After his death, she lived with her son-in-law Simeon Uroš in Trikala .

Akarnanien was briefly (1376-1377) occupied by Johanniter , Angevinen and Franks, which also included the Florentine adventurer Esau de 'Buondelmonti . Esau was imprisoned there and later became the despot of Ioannina . In 1384 the Turks tried to conquer Arta, but were repulsed by Gjin Bua Shpata. From the Tocco family , who had been the Count Palatine of Kephalonia since 1357, Carlo I. Tocco was able to conquer the largest cities of the Ioannina and Arta region in 1416 and from 1418 was nominally ruler of Aetolia, Acarnania and Epirus.

progeny

Nikephoros II. Orsini married Maria Kantakuzena basilissa († after 1379 in Constantinople), daughter of Emperor John VI , in the summer of 1342 . A son may have come from this marriage:

• Antonios Kantakuzenos, monk in a monastery near Meteora .

literature

• John VA Fine: The late medieval Balkans. A critical survey from the late twelfth century to the Ottoman conques. 3rd printing. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor MI 1997, ISBN 0-472-08260-4 .
• Donald M. Nicol : The last centuries of Byzantium. 1261-1453. 2nd edition, reprinted. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge u. a. 1996, ISBN 0-521-43991-4 .
• Donald M. Nicol: The Despotate of Epiros, 1267-1479. A Contribution to the History of Greece in the Middle Ages Paperback re-issue, digitally printed version. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge u. a. 2010, ISBN 978-0-521-13089-9 .

Remarks

1. ↑ ^{a b} Andreas Thiele: Narrative genealogical family tables for European history, Volume III, 2001, plate 226.
2. ↑ MB Wellas: Nikephorus II. (Dukas), ruler v. Ep (e) iros. In the Lexicon of the Middle Ages . 10 volumes (Stuttgart: Metzler, [1977] -1999), Volume VI, Column 1158, in Brepolis Medieval Encyclopaedias - Lexikon des Mittelalters Online ), accessed on November 22, 2014.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Detlev Schwennicke: European family tables. Family tables on the history of the European states. New series, Volume III, Part 1, Dukes and Counts of the Holy Roman Empire and other European Princely Houses , Plate 199.
4. ^ Donald M. Nicol: The Despotate of Epirus. 2010, p. 136.
5. ^ John A. Fine: The late medieval Balkans. 1997, p. 247; Deviating from it Detlev Schwennicke: European family tables. Volume III Part 1, Plate 199 .: " 1339 panhypersebastos "
6. ^ John A. Fine: The late medieval Balkans. 1997, p. 248.
7. ^ Donald M. Nicol: The last centuries of Byzantium. 1996, p. 180.
8. ^ ^{A b} Donald M. Nicol: The last centuries of Byzantium. 1996, p. 181.
9. ^ Donald M. Nicol: The Despotate of Epirus. 2010, p. 114.
10. ^ Donald M. Nicol: The last centuries of Byzantium. 1996, p. 182.
11. ^ John A. Fine: The late medieval Balkans. 1997, p 622. In the Ranghierachie of the Byzantine Empire in the 14th century, the fifth highest title under which Basileus (Emperor), despot Sebastocrator and Kaisar standing.
12. ^ John A. Fine: The late medieval Balkans. 1997, p. 231; Deviating from it Detlev Schwennicke: European family tables. Volume III Part 1, Plate 199 .: " 1341 despotes "
13. ^ Donald M. Nicol: The Despotate of Epirus. 2010, p. 128.
14. ^ Donald M. Nicol: The Despotate of Epirus. 2010, pp. 129-130.
15. ^ Donald M. Nicol: The Despotate of Epirus. 2010, p. 134.
16. ^ John A. Fine: The late medieval Balkans. 1997, p. 347.
17. ^ John A. Fine: The late medieval Balkans. 1997, p. 348.
18. ^ ^{A b c} Donald M. Nicol: The Despotate of Epirus. 2010, p. 136
19. ^ Wilhelm Bahnson: Stamm- und Regentafeln zur political history, first volume, 1912, plate 76.
20. ^ Donald M. Nicol: The Despotate of Epirus. 2010, p. 142.
21. ^ Donald M. Nicol: The Despotate of Epirus. 2010, p. 125.
22. ↑ Schwennicke, European Family Tables , Volume III, Part 1, Plate 199: "1342/49 in Konstantinopel in Haft"
23. ^ ^{A b} Donald M. Nicol: The Despotate of Epirus. 2010, p. 132.
24. ^ John A. Fine: The late medieval Balkans. 1997, p. 352.
25. ^ John A. Fine: The late medieval Balkans. 1997, p. 357.

predecessor	Office	successor
Giovanni II Orsini	Despot of Epirus 1335-1340 (under the reign of his mother Anna Palaiologina)	John Angelus (as Cephale of Thessaly and Epirus)
Preljub (as governor of Serbia)	Despot of Epirus de facto only partial ruler 1356–1359	-