Theodoros Gabras

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Follis from Trebizond embossed under Theodoros Gabras

Theodore Gabras ( medium Greek Θεόδωρος Γαβρᾶς ; † 2. October 1099 at Theodosiopolis ) was a Byzantine military commander who under Emperor I. Alexios as a quasi-autonomous rulers of Trebizond established.

Life

Theodoros Gabras, who originally came from the subject of Chaldia , already held the high dignity of Patrikios , Topoteretes and Hypatos under Emperor Constantine X († 1067) . Around the mid-1080s, the successful military succeeded in recapturing Trebizond, annexed by the Seljuks , for Byzantium and establishing itself as a de facto independent ruler on the Pontic Black Sea coast .

In order to prevent a possible secession of the topic, Emperor Alexios I legitimized the position of Gabras by formally confirming him in Constantinople as Dux of Chaldia and probably also conferring the title of Sebastos on him . On this occasion, Gabras' eldest son Gregorios was betrothed to a daughter of the Sebastocrator Isaac and stayed behind in the capital.

After the death of his first wife, Theodoros Gabras married Mariam , a daughter of the Georgian King Bagrat IV and sister of the Empress Maria of Alania, probably in 1091 . Because of the newly established relationship to the imperial family, the engagement of Gregorios Gabras and the Komnenen princess was dissolved, but Alexios I kept Gregorios as a pledge at court in order to insure his father's future conduct.

Theodoros Gabras traveled to Constantinople and demanded the release of his son. After the emperor refused, Gabras secretly kidnapped his son from the palace and fled by ship to the Black Sea. Alexios I sent a flotilla behind which the rebel ship landed off the Paphlagonian coast. In view of the overwhelming power, Gabras handed his son over, but was allowed to continue his journey to Trebizond. After another failed attempt to escape, Gregorios Gabras was imprisoned in Philippopel a little later .

In the following years Theodoros Gabras ruled Trebizond largely independently of Constantinople and also issued his own coins , although de iure he continued to submit to the suzerainty of the emperor. In 1097 he fought together with the allied crusaders against the Danischmenden . While the Franks were besieging Antioch , Gabras helped the emperor recapture several cities in western Asia Minor and claimed the Baiburt fortress against the Turks.

During a campaign in the region of Theodosiopolis in 1099, Theodoros Gabras was captured by the Turks and tortured to death. He is venerated as a martyr in the Orthodox Church (Remembrance Day: October 2nd). His younger son Konstantin Gabras was also appointed Dux of Chaldia while Emperor Alexios I was still alive .

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literature

  • Anthony AM Bryer: The Empire of Trebizond and the Pontos. Variorum Reprints, London 1980, ISBN 978-0-86078-062-5 , p. 47.
  • 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. 92-93 No. 117.
  • Alexander P. Kazhdan (Ed.): The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium . Oxford University Press, New York NY 1991, ISBN 0-19-504652-8 , p. 812.
  • Lynda Garland, Stephen Rapp: Mary "of Alania": Woman and Empress Between Two Worlds. In: Lynda Garland (ed.): Byzantine Women: Varieties of Experience, 800–1200. Ashgate Publishers, Farnham 2006, ISBN 0-7546-5737-X , pp. 94-95.
  • Basile Skoulatos: Les Personnages Byzantins de l'Alexiade. Analysis Prosopographique et Synthèse (= Recueil de Travaux d'Histoire et de Philologie. Sér. 6, Vol. 20, ZDB -ID 437846-5 ). Nauwelaerts, Louvain-la-Neuve 1980, No. 200 (also: Louvain, Universität, Dissertation, 1978).
  • Alexios G. Savvides, Benjamin Hendrickx (Eds.): Encyclopaedic Prosopographical Lexicon of Byzantine History and Civilization . Vol. 3: Faber Felix - Juwayni, Al- . Brepols Publishers, Turnhout 2012, ISBN 978-2-503-53243-1 , pp. 37-38.
  • Warren Treadgold : A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press, Stanford CA 1997, ISBN 978-0-8047-2630-6 , p. 624.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Theodoros Gabras
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Θεόδωρος Γαβρᾶς (Middle Greek)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Byzantine Dux of Chaldia, rebel against Alexios I.
DATE OF BIRTH 11th century
DATE OF DEATH October 2, 1099
Place of death near Theodosiopolis (today Erzurum)