Eudokia of Trebizond

Last updated
Eudokia of Trebizond
Diedafter 4 September 1395
Spouse
(m. 1379;dead 1386)

(m. 1387;dead 1395)
Issue by Taj al-Din
Altamur Chelebi
Mahmud Chelebi
Süleyman Chelebi
Alp Arslan
House Komnenos
Father Alexios III of Trebizond
Mother Theodora Kantakouzene

Eudokia Megale Komnene (died after 4 September 1395), was a Trapezuntine princess and a member of the powerful Byzantine Komnenos dynasty as a daughter of Emperor Alexios III of Trebizond.

Contents

She was styled Despoina in Sinop after her first marriage to Muslim Turkmen Tadjeddin Pasha of Sinop, Emir of Limnia, which had been arranged by her father to foster peaceful relations between the Pontic Greek Christians and the neighbouring Muslims.

Family and marriages

Eudokia was born on an unknown date, the second daughter of Emperor Alexios III and Theodora Kantakouzene. She had two brothers, and four sisters; the eldest Anna later became Queen consort of Georgia as the second wife of King Bagrat V.

The Chronicle of Michael Panaretos records the marriage on "8 October 1379 at Oinaion of Eudokia and Muslim Turkmen ruler Tadjeddin Pasha of Sinop, Emir of Limnia" after which "the Emperor took over Limnia". [1] Her sisters, Maria and others two whose name has not come down to us also married Muslims, but "in this case the bridegroom ... was by far the best." [2] According to Elizabeth Zachariadou, Tadjeddin was not prince of Limnia, but of Niksar, where the tomb of Melik Danishmend is located, and whose territory comprised the fertile plain of Phanaroia, and important fortresses such as Iskefser and Sonusa. [2]

Tadjeddin had sent an envoy to Alexios, who met with the Emperor June 1362 to discuss a marriage, but popular sentiment was against a possible marriage at the time. [3] Such an arrangement was not unprecedented. Prior to Eudokia's wedding, at least two of Alexios' sisters had been married to neighboring Muslim rulers: Maria had been married to Fahreddin Kutlug beg, Emir of Aq Qoyunlu in 1352, while Theodora became the wife of Hajji 'Umar, Emir of Chalybia in 1358. [4]

Anthony Bryer discussed the diplomatic strategy of marriages like this—for which the later Empire of Trebizond was famous—in his 1975 paper. He documented no fewer than 11 marriages between princesses of the Grand Komnenoi and their Turkmen neighbors, while only five princesses were married to Christian rulers. Tension existed in these relationships not only due to difference over religions, but to marriage customs. "It would be especially interesting to know why popular opinion made Alexios III refuse Tadeddin's first request for a bride in 1362," writes Bryer, then discusses possible political reasons for the extended parley and Eudokia's possible situation in Tadjeddin's court, before admitting that the situation "was probably left as ambiguous as Panaretos is on the subject, for, so far as Alexios III was concerned, the ends amply justified the means." [5] Zachariadou notes that around 1362 Tadjeddin was an ally of the emir of Amasya, and both faced a dangerous foe in Eretna, the ruler of Sivas; to form an alliance with Tadjeddin at that time, observes Zachariadou, "would openly place them in the anti-Sivas front". Further, Tadjeddin was not on good terms with his neighbor Hajji 'Umar, the husband of Eudokia's aunt Theodora. But the situation changed considerably between 1362 and 1379: Eretna had been succeeded by Kadi Burhan al-Din as sultan of Sivas, and the Kadi had formed an alliance with Kılıç Arslan, an emir who had raided Trapezuntine territory several times between those two years. By the date of Eudokia's marriage, both Alexios and Tadjeddin needed each other. [6]

Following her marriage, Eudokia was styled Despoina in Sinop. [7] Although George Sphrantzes later notes that she had several children by Tadjeddin, [8] amongs them Altamur, Mahmud, Süleyman and Alp Arslan. [9] Altamur himself had children by other women, who left descendants. Tadjeddin died in battle 24 October 1386 fighting his uncle Haji 'Umar, where he was "cut to pieces". [10]

Not long after Tadjeddin died, she married Constantine Dragaš, a regional semi-independent Serbian lord. Although Laonikos Chalkokondyles states that Eudokia was the second wife of Byzantine Emperor John V Palaiologos, and William Miller repeats the historian's account of how she had been betrothed to John's son but upon meeting her the Emperor decided to marry her himself, [11] Chalkondyles' account has been rejected by modern scholars. [12] Eudokia's marriage to Constantine set a precedent for a Byzantine to marry a former member of a Turkish harem. [13] Although she did not bear her second husband offspring, she had stepchildren from his first marriage, including Helena Dragaš.

On 17 May 1395, she lost her second husband at the Battle of Rovine; and on 4 September of that same year, Panaretos notes that she "came from Constantinople with brides for her brother, Emperor Manuel and nephew, Lord Alexios", entering Trebizond "on Sunday, the following day in a shower of rain". [14] After that date there is no further mention of her, but it is presumed she spent her last years in Trebizond. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Empire of Trebizond</span> Byzantine Greek state on Black Sea coast

The Empire of Trebizond, or Trapezuntine Empire, was a successor state of the Byzantine Empire that existed during the 13th through to the 15th century. The empire consisted of the Pontus, or far northeastern corner of Anatolia, and portions of southern Crimea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manuel I of Trebizond</span> Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans

Manuel I Megas Komnenos was Emperor of Trebizond from 1238 until his death. He was the son of Emperor Alexios I and his wife, Theodora. At the time Manuel reigned, the Empire of Trebizond comprised a band of territory stretching along the southern coast of the Black Sea. Although Michael Panaretos, a 14th-century Trapezuntine chronicler, calls Manuel "the greatest general and the most fortunate" and states he ruled "virtuously in the eyes of God", the only event he documents for Manuel's reign is a catastrophic fire striking the city of Trebizond in January 1253. The major events of his reign are known from external sources, most important of which is the recovery of Sinope in 1254, which had been lost to the Sultanate of Rum forty years before.

Michael Panaretos was an official of the Trapezuntine empire and a Greek historian. His sole surviving work is a chronicle of the Trapezuntine empire of Alexios I Komnenos and his successors. This chronicle not only provides a chronological framework for this medieval empire, it also contains much valuable material on the early history of the Ottoman Turks from a Byzantine perspective, however it was almost unknown until Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer discovered it in the nineteenth century among the manuscripts of the Biblioteca Marciana of Venice. "Owing to this drab but truthful chronicle," writes the Russian Byzantist Alexander Alexandrovich Vasiliev, "it has become possible to a certain extent to restore the chronological sequence of the most important events in the history of Trebizond. This Chronicle covers the period from 1204 to 1426 and gives several names of emperors formerly unknown."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John II of Trebizond</span> Emperor and Autocrat of all the East, of the Iberians and of Perateia

John II Megas Komnenos was Emperor of Trebizond from June 1280 to his death in 1297. He was the youngest son of Emperor Manuel I and his third wife, Irene Syrikaina, a Trapezuntine noblewoman. John succeeded to the throne after his full-brother George was betrayed by his archons on the mountain of Taurezion. It was during his reign that the style of the rulers of Trebizond changed; until then, they claimed the traditional title of the Byzantine emperors, "Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans", but from John II on they changed it to "Emperor and Autocrat of all the East, the Iberians, and the Transmarine Provinces", although Iberia had been lost in the reign of Andronikos I Gidos.

Alexios IV Megas Komnenos or Alexius IV, Emperor of Trebizond from 5 March 1417 to 26 April 1429. He was the son of Emperor Manuel III and Gulkhan-Eudokia of Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexios II of Trebizond</span> Emperor and Autocrat of all the East, of the Iberians and of Perateia

Alexios II Megas Komnenos, was Emperor of Trebizond from 1297 to 1330. He was the elder son of John II and Eudokia Palaiologina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexios III of Trebizond</span> Emperor of Trebizond from 1349 to 1390

Alexios III Megas Komnenos, or Alexius III, was Emperor of Trebizond from December 1349 until his death. He is perhaps the best-documented ruler of that country, and his reign is distinguished by a number of religious grants and literary creations.

Eudokia Palaiologina or was the third daughter of Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos and his wife, Theodora, a grandniece of Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes of Nicaea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basil of Trebizond</span> Emperor of Trebizond from 1332 to 1340

Basil Megas Komnenos was Emperor of Trebizond from August 1332 until his death in 1340. Although Basil's reign was a period of stability during the civil war that dominated the pocket empire during the second quarter of the 14th century, some of that conflict had its origins in his marital actions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael of Trebizond</span> Emperor and Autocrat of all the East and Perateia

Michael Megas Komnenos was Emperor of Trebizond from 3 May 1344 to 13 December 1349. He was a younger son of Emperor John II of Trebizond and Eudokia Palaiologina.

Irene of Trebizond was an Empress consort of Trebizond as the bigamous wife of Basil of Trebizond. She had an important position in the regency of her son Alexios III of Trebizond in 1341-1352.

Kaykaus I or Izz ud-DinKaykaus ibn Kaykhusraw was the Sultan of Rum from 1211 until his death in 1220. He was the eldest son of Kaykhusraw I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theodora Kantakouzene</span> Empress consort

Theodora Komnene Kantakouzene was Empress of the Empire of Trebizond as the consort of Emperor Alexios III Megas Komnenos from their marriage in 1351 until her retirement after her husband's death in 1390.

Anna Philanthropene was the second Empress consort of Manuel III of Trebizond.

Bagrationi was the first Empress consort of John IV of Trebizond. Her name is unknown.

Anna Megale Komnene was a Trapezuntine Queen consort of Georgia as the second wife of King Bagrat V. She was the mother of his youngest son, Constantine I of Georgia, who would in 1407 succeed his half-brother, King George VII, and reign as king.

John Lazaropoulos was the Metropolitan of Trebizond from 1364 to November 1367 and a religious writer.

Limnia was the westernmost subdivision of the medieval Empire of Trebizond, consisting of the southern coastline of the Black Sea around the mouth of the Yeşilırmak River.

Theodora Megale Komnene, also known as Despina Khatun, was the daughter of John IV of Trebizond and Bagrationi who married the Aq Qoyunlu ruler Uzun Hasan in 1458. She became the mother of Halima Alamshah Hatun who became the mother of first Safavid king, Shah Ismail I.

Ghiyath al-Din Ahi Ayna Beg was Emir of Erzincan from 1348 until his death. Thought to be a local ahi, he gained control of the region and the city of Erzincan through a purchase from his predecessor sometime before 1348. He was initially loyal to Eretna, after whose death he practiced some degree of autonomy within the Eretnid Sultanate. He waged multiple wars against the Empire of Trebizond and Kingdom of Georgia. He is recorded to have died a shaheed (martyr) and was succeeded by Pir Husayn.

References

  1. Panaretos, Chronicle, 49; English translation in Bryer (1975), p.147
  2. 1 2 Elizabeth A. Zachariadou, "Trebizond and the Turks (1352-1402)", Archeion Pontou, 35 (1979), p. 345
  3. Panaretos, Chronicle, 31; English translation in Bryer (1975), p.145
  4. William Miller, Trebizond: The last Greek Empire of the Byzantine Era: 1204-1461, 1926 (Chicago: Argonaut, 1969), p. 60
  5. Bryer (1975), pp. 135-138
  6. Zachariadou, "Trebizond and the Turks", pp. 346ff
  7. Bryer (1975), p. 128
  8. Sphrantzes, Chronicle, 31.6; translated in Marios Philippides, The Fall of the Byzantine Empire: a Chronicle by George Sphrantzes, 1401-1477 (Amherst: University of Massachusetts, 1980), p. 61
  9. Bryer (1975), Appendix II
  10. Panaretos, Chronicle, 52; English translation in Bryer (1975), p. 148
  11. Miller, Trebizond, pp. 68ff
  12. Donald M. Nicol, The Byzantine family of Kantakouzenos (Cantacuzenus) ca. 1100-1460: a genealogical and prosopographical study (Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies, 1969), p. 137 n. 7
  13. 1 2 Bryer (1975), p. 148, fn. 141
  14. Panaretos, Chronicle, 55; English translation in Bryer (1975), p. 148

Sources