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The Trapezuntine Civil War was a series of conflicts fought in the 1340s for the succession of the throne of the Empire of Trebizond.
On 6 April 1340, after the death of Basil Grand Komnenos, the governance of the empire was assumed by Irene Palaiologina, the illegitimate daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos (c. 1328–1341), and the lawful wife of Basil. Irene was suspected of having had some share in causing his death,[2] and was prepared for the event, and had already organized movements of a party which placed her on the throne. After her ascent to the throne, Irene attempted to consolidate her power with the help of the Amytzantarioi and other notable aristocrats. However, the controversy between the Amytzantarioi and the Scholarioi, who at the time formed the two major parties of the local aristocracy, had become very complicated due to personal disputes. In the absence of an heir to the throne, as well as due to the inability of the empress to assert her authority, the two sides conflicted bitterly as they each intended to impose its sociopolitical beliefs.[3] As a result, the Scholarioi family reacted immediately and revolted against the empress. When the Scholarioi, who were supported by the Meizomates, Doranites, Kabasites and Kamachenos families, turned against the empress, the Amytzantarioi took sides with Irene and helped her gain control over the situation.
In the subsequent civil war, Empress Irene was assisted by the Amytzantarioi; by the powerful party among the nobles, the Genoese, and by Byzantine mercenaries. The opposing rebels were the sebastos, megas stratopedarches and Tzanichites an aristocratic family. The captain-general of the Scholarioi, or city militia — the imperial guard which remained faithful to the memory of the emperor Basil and a body of the people, who hated Irene as a Constantinopolitan stranger — established themselves in possession of the great Monastery of St. Eugenios. This monastery then rose like a fortress over the ravine to the southeast of the capital. On the other hand, the empress managed to maintain control over the harbour and the citadel, helped by the Amytzantarios family. The revolt ended on 2 July 1340, when the megas doux, John the Eunuch, who had murdered the young emperor Manuel II, arrived at Trebizond from Constantinople to assist the empress. John’s forces joined the imperial troops and they jointly attacked the monastery of St. Eugenios, which was set on fire. The Scholarioi were defeated and their leaders were initially arrested and taken to the fortress of Limnia, while in the following year (July 1341) some of them were executed.
It was evident that, without a husband who could wear the imperial crown, Irene could not hope to maintain her position long; Irene consoled herself for the delay by falling in love with the megas domestikos of her own empire. The favour this passion led her to confer on a few individuals divided her own court into factions, and afforded her old enemies, who had escaped the catastrophe at St Eugenia an opportunity of again taking up arms, so that a new storm burst on the head of the thoughtless empress.
Anna Anachoutlou
Another female now appeared to claim the throne, with a better title than Irene: Anna, called Anachoutlou, the eldest daughter of the emperor Alexios II, had taken the veil and until this time had lived in seclusion. The opposition persuaded her to quit her monastic dress and escape to Lazia, where she was crowned empress and gained control over the region, and all the Laz and the Tzan people,[4] recognised her as the legal heir to the throne for being nearest legitimate heir of her brother Basil. So, on July 17, 1341, Anna entered Trebizond triumphantly, followed by Laz warriors of the Georgian King George V (1314-1346) as well as by Trapezuntine Laz of the bandon of Greater Lazia, and ascended to the throne. She was crowned empress, supported, on the one hand, by the Amytzantarios family and, on the other, by the Laz, the Tzan[5] and, in general, the people of the provinces of the Empire of Trebizond. the prevalence of the indigenous Amytzantarioi after Anna’s ascension to the throne had provoked continuous attempts by the opposing Scholarioi to overthrow her with the support of other noble families.
The conflicts between the aristocratic families of Trebizond marked the reign of Anna, who was continuously under the threat of being deposed by the Scholarios family, as well as other aristocratic circles related to Constantinople. The attempts of the Scholarios family were supported by Constantinople, which was disappointed with the fall of Eirene Palaiologina and the ascent of Anna, the Venetians and the Genoese.
On July 30, 1341, Michael Grand Komnenos, the second son of John II, the subsequent emperor (1344-1349), aided by the Byzantine Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos (1341/1347-1355), sailed from Constantinople to Trebizond with three battle ships and the company of Niketas Scholares the captain-general of the Scholarioi and Gregory Meizomatis in order to marry the former empress Irene and assume the authority of the empire.[6] At first the dignitaries and the metropolitanAkakios accepted him with all solemnity as an emperor. Michael received the oath of allegiance of the assembled nobles and officers of state, and retired to the palace to prepare for his coronation the following day. At daybreak the scene was changed. The people had been incited during the whole night to resist the invasion of a new swarm of Constantinopolitan adventurers, and they now rose in rebellion. The opposing nobles and government officials facilitated their enterprise. Not wishing to be governed by a forceful man of mature years, they promptly imprisoned Michael in the palace and later was sent to captivity at Oinaion. The Laz soldiers, after several engagements, captured three Byzantine ships and a few days later the dethroned Irene was put on a Frankish ship bound for Constantinople. The nobles of the Laz faction now became the sole possessors of political power, and used the name of the empress Anna to govern the empire by an association of powerful chiefs.
John III Megas Komnenos
Niketas, the captain-general of the Scholarioi and the Greek party, which looked to the Byzantine alliance as the surest guarantee of civil order, resolved to make another attempt to drive their rivals from power. Niketas Scholarios, Constantine Doranites, the brothers Gregory and Michael Meizomatis and others, fled on a Venetian ship to Constantinople, where they met John Grand Komnenos, Michael’s son, and offered him the throne of the Empire of Trebizond. John, subsequent John III (1342-1344). The expedition was undertaken secretly and without any public support from the Byzantine government. Three Genoese galleys were hired, in addition to two fitted out by the chiefs of Trebizond; and a body of chosen troops was enrolled, for an attack on the government of the empress Anna. They reached Trebizond in early September 1342 and after fierce street battles the invaders forced their way into the fortress. Empress Anna was taken prisoner in the imperial palace and, to guard against the possibility of a counter-coup, she was immediately strangled. John Grand Komnenos arrived at Trebizond on September 4, 1342, and was crowned emperor in the church of Theotokos Chrysokephalos on the same day. The ascension of John III to the throne was followed by persecutions against members of the aristocracy. The Scholarios family, who had supported him from the start, took advantage of the power they held after his ascension to the throne and turned against their rival Amytzantarios family, who had supported the dethroned Anna Anachoutlou. Many nobles of the Laz party, particularly the Amytzantaraoi, and their notable descendants were murdered. The massacres of Anna’s followers continued in the provinces.
Michael Grand Komnenos
The aristocrats who elevated John III apparently grew dissatisfied with him, for Niketas freed his father Michael from captivity at Limnia and put him on the throne on May 1344, and had John banished to the Monastery of St. Sabas. In return, Michael granted Niketas the title of megas doux, Gregory Meitzomates the title of stratopedarches, while Gregory's son was made epikernes, John Kabazitesmegas logothetes, Niketas Scholares's son parakoimomenos, Michael Meitzomates amytzantarios, and Stephan Tzanichites received the title of megas konostaulos. Thus the Scholarioi achieved overwhelming control of the government.
The emperor Michael seems to have made some attempt to improve the condition of the government, but his talents were unequal to the task. The two great parties of the Laz nobles and Greek leaders of the citizens maintained themselves in a condition to control the imperial administration, by personal combinations and political arrangements, arising out of temporary and local causes. Michael resolved to break the power of both parties. Immediately after his accession, he condemned to death the most eminent of the nobles of the Lazic party — a measure that was supported by the Greek party, who inherited all the great offices of state.
However, the power of the Scholarioi proved unpopular with the populace of Trebizond. The people of the capital and the Laz rose in rebellion, demanding the restoration of a lawful emperor, and not under the arbitrary rule of a band of nobles. In November 1345 Niketas was arrested and imprisoned, along with his associate Gregory Meitzomates and others of their party. However, the Emperor Michael, old and sick, released Niketas from prison and restored to him his former office of megas doux on 13 December 1349. Nine days later, on 22 December, Niketas led a coup that deposed Michael and installed John, the son of Emperor Basil to the throne, who took the name of Alexios III of Trebizond, thus ending the Trapezuntine Civil War.
This is an alphabetical index of people, places, things, and concepts related to or originating from the Byzantine Empire. Feel free to add more, and create missing pages. You can track changes to the articles included in this list from here.
The Empire of Trebizond, or Trapezuntine Empire, was a monarchy and one of three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire that flourished during the 13th through 15th centuries, consisting of the far northeastern corner of Anatolia and the southern Crimea. The empire was formed in 1204 with the help of the Georgian queen Tamar after the Georgian expedition in Chaldia and Paphlagonia, commanded by Alexios Komnenos a few weeks before the sack of Constantinople. Alexios later declared himself Emperor and established himself in Trebizond. Alexios and David Komnenos, grandsons and last male descendants of deposed Emperor Andronikos I Komnenos, pressed their claims as "Roman Emperors" against Byzantine Emperor Alexios V Doukas. The later Byzantine emperors, as well as Byzantine authors, such as George Pachymeres, Nicephorus Gregoras and to some extent Trapezuntines such as John Lazaropoulos and Basilios Bessarion, regarded the emperors of Trebizond as the "princes of the Lazes", while the possession of these "princes" was also called Lazica, in other words, their state was known as the Principality of the Lazes. Thus from the point of view of the Byzantine writers connected with the Laskaris and later with the Palaiologos dynasties, the rulers of Trebizond were not emperors.
Komnenos is a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185, and later, as the Grand Komnenoi founded and ruled the Empire of Trebizond (1204–1461). Through intermarriages with other noble families, notably the Doukai, Angeloi, and Palaiologoi, the Komnenos name appears among most of the major noble houses of the late Byzantine world.
The Byzantine–Georgian wars were a series of conflicts fought during the 11th-13th centuries over several strategic districts in the Byzantine-Georgian marchlands.
Andronikos II Megas Komnenos, or Andronicus II Megas Comnenus, was the Emperor of Trebizond from 1263 to 1266. Despite being the designated successor of his father Manuel I, Andronikos' tenure was short due to premature death from unrecorded causes. The major event of his reign was the definitive loss of Sinope to the Seljuk Turks under the regency of Mu‘in al-Din Suleyman, also known as the Pervane, in the summer or fall of 1265. The capture of Sinope by the Turks gave them the best port on the Black Sea, allowing them to create a navy and compete with the Trapezuntines for influence in the Black Sea.
Alexios I Megas Komnenos or Alexius I Megas Comnenus was, with his brother David, the founder of the Empire of Trebizond and its ruler from 1204 until his death in 1222. The two brothers were the only male descendants of the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos I, who had been dethroned and killed in 1185, and thus claimed to represent the legitimate government of the Empire following the conquest of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Although his rivals governing the Nicaean Empire succeeded in becoming the de facto successors, and rendered his dynastic claims to the imperial throne moot, Alexios' descendants continued to emphasize both their heritage and connection to the Komnenian dynasty by referring to themselves as Megas Komnenos or Grand Komnenos.
Alexios II Megas Komnenos, was Emperor of Trebizond from 1297 to 1330. He was the elder son of John II and Eudokia Palaiologina.
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.
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.
Irene Palaiologina, was Empress of Trebizond from April 6, 1340 to July 17, 1341. She was an illegitimate daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos, and she married Emperor Basil of Trebizond in 1335.
Anna Anachoutlou was Empress regnant of Trebizond from 17 July 1341 to 4 September 1342. Anna was the elder daughter of Emperor Alexios II of Trebizond and his Georgian wife, Djiadjak Jaqeli.
John III Megas Komnenos or Grand Comnenus was emperor of Trebizond from September 4, 1342, to May 3, 1344. He was a son of Emperor Michael of Trebizond and Acropolitissa, a daughter of Constantine Acropolites.
Michael Megas Komnenos was Emperor of Trebizond for one day, July 30, 1341, and from May 3, 1344 to December 13, 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.
Theodora Komnene Kantakouzene was the Empress consort of Alexios III of Trebizond.
Niketas Scholares, was a Byzantine Greek aristocrat and one of the leading officials of the Empire of Trebizond, eventually becoming megas doux. Niketas was a leader of the Scholarioi faction in Trebizond during the civil wars of the mid-14th century.
Constantine Doranites, was a Trapezuntine aristocrat and military leader in the Empire of Trebizond. A prominent member of the Doranites aristocratic family from Trebizond, Constantine Doranites’ activity should be viewed within the context of the civil strife that disrupted the Empire of Trebizond in the 14th century.
John the Eunuch was a dignitary of the Empire of Trebizond who lived during the first half of the 14th century. There is no evidence in the sources regarding his descent, but apparently he did not belong to any notable aristocratic family. It is more likely that he rose thanks to his competence. He bore the high title of megas doux which meant that he was commander of the naval forces of Trebizond. He lived in Limnia, a town on the coast of the Black Sea, which was a naval base. John played an important role in the internal affairs of the Empire of Trebizond until his assassination in March 1344.
↑ Miller, W., Trebizond. The Last Greek Empire (London 1926), p. 46.
↑ Λυμπερόπουλος, B., O Bυζαντινός Πόντος. H αυτοκρατορία της Tραπεζούντας (Αθήνα 1999), p. 138.
↑ Bryer, A., ‘Some notes on the Laz and the Tzan (1) (2)’, in People and Settlement in Anatolia and the Caucasus, 800-1900 (VR, London 1988), pp. 161-168, 174-195.
↑ On the historical background of the Laz and the Tzan, see Bryer, A., “Some notes on the Laz and the Tzan (1) (2)”, in Bryer, A., People and Settlement in Anatolia and the Caucasus, 800-1900 (VR, London 1988), pp. 161-168 (=1), 174-195 (=2). They were native inhabitants of the northeastern Pontos, descending from the Colchians and the Macrones. They used to meddle in the political affairs of the Empire of Trebizond.
↑ In 1341, Michael Grand Komnenos started from Constantinople as the future husband of Eirene Palaiologina, according to the diplomatic plan of John VI Kantakouzenos. Before he reached Trebizond, the revolt instigated by Anna Anachoutlou, which ended in the forced resignation of Eirene and the ascension of Anna to the throne, had already broken out. See Χρύσανθος, μητροπολίτης Τραπεζούντος (Chrysanthos of Trebizond), "Η Εκκλησία της Τραπεζούντος" Αρχείον Πόντου 4-5, (1933), pp. 241-242.
Sources
Bryer, Anthony (1980). The Empire of Trebizond and the Pontos. London: Variorum Reprints. ISBN978-0-86078-062-5.
Sergei Karpov. История Трапезундской империи ("A history of the empire of Trebizond"). Saint Petersburg, 2007, 656 pp.
William Miller, Trebizond: The Last Greek Empire, (1926; repr. Chicago: Argonaut Publishers, 1968)
Savvides, Alexios G. K. (2009). Ιστορία της Αυτοκρατορίας των Μεγάλων Κομνηνών της Τραπεζούντας (1204-1461). 2η Έκδοση με προσθήκες[History of the Empire of the Grand Komnenoi of Trebizond (1204-1461). 2nd Edition with additions] (in Greek). Thessaloniki: Kyriakidis Brothers S.A. ISBN978-960-467-121-2.
Zehiroglu, Ahmet. M. (2016). Trabzon Imparatorlugu[The Empire of Trebizond (Vol.2)] (in Turkish). Trabzon: Lazika Yayin Kolektifi. ISBN978-605-4567-52-2.
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