1.
Byzantine Emperor
–
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Emperors listed below up to Theodosius I in 395 were sole or joint rulers of the entire Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire was the direct legal continuation of the eastern half of the Roman Empire following the division of the Roman Empire in 395. All Byzantine emperors considered themselves to be the rightful Roman emperor in direct succession from Augustus, the title of all Emperors preceding Heraclius was officially Augustus, although other titles such as Dominus were also used. Their names were preceded by Imperator Caesar and followed by Augustus, following Heraclius, the title commonly became the Greek Basileus, which had formerly meant sovereign but was then used in place of Augustus. Following the establishment of the rival Holy Roman Empire in Western Europe, in later centuries, the Emperor could be referred to by Western Christians as the Emperor of the Greeks. Towards the end of the Empire, the standard formula of the Byzantine ruler was in Christ, Emperor. For Roman emperors before Constantine I, see List of Roman emperors, family tree of the Byzantine emperors List of Roman emperors List of Roman usurpers List of Byzantine usurpers List of Roman and Byzantine empresses
Byzantine Emperor
–
Constantine XI
Byzantine Emperor
–
Imperial insignia used by the
Palaiologos dynasty
Byzantine Emperor
–
Constantine I "the Great" (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Α' ὁ Μέγας, Latin: Gaius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus)
Byzantine Emperor
–
Constantius II (Κωνστάντιος [Β'], Flavius Iulius Constantius)
2.
Byzantine Empire
–
It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD
Byzantine Empire
–
Tremissis with the image of
Justinian the Great (r. 527–565) (see
Byzantine insignia)
Byzantine Empire
–
Byzantine
lamellar armour klivanium (Κλιβάνιον) - a predecessor of Ottoman krug
mirror armour
Byzantine Empire
–
The Baptism of Constantine painted by
Raphael 's pupils (1520–1524,
fresco, Vatican City,
Apostolic Palace);
Eusebius of Caesarea records that (as
was common among converts of early Christianity) Constantine delayed receiving
baptism until shortly before his death
Byzantine Empire
–
Restored section of the Theodosian Walls.
3.
Empire of Trebizond
–
The Empire of Trebizond or the Trapezuntine Empire was a monarchy that flourished during the 13th through 15th centuries, consisting of the far northeastern corner of Anatolia and the southern Crimea. The Emperors of Trebizond pressed their claim on the Imperial throne for decades after the Nicaean reconquest of Constantinople in 1261, the Trapezuntine monarchy survived the longest of the Byzantine successor states. The Despotate of Epirus was slowly decimated, and briefly occupied by the restored Byzantine Empire c. 1340, thereafter becoming a Serbian dependency and later inherited by Italians, ultimately falling to the Ottoman Empire in 1479, having long ceased to contest the Byzantine throne. While the Empire of Nicaea had become the resurrected Byzantine Empire, the Empire of Trebizond continued until 1461 when the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II conquered it after a month-long siege and took its ruler and his family into captivity. The Crimean Principality of Theodoro, an offshoot of Trebizond, lasted another 14 years and its demographic legacy endured for several centuries after the Ottoman conquest in 1461 and the region retained a substantial number of Greek Orthodox inhabitants until 1923. These are usually referred to as Pontic Greeks and their displacement was formalized, and the few still remaining were required to leave, in 1923 with the population exchange between Greece and Turkey. Many were resettled in Greek Macedonia and those living in the Crimea and the Russian province of Kars Oblast, much of which lies in modern Georgia, stayed longer, with some Greek speaking villages remaining in both locations today. Anthony Bryer has argued that six of the seven banda of the Byzantine theme of Chaldia were maintained in working order by the rulers of Trebizond until the end of the empire, helped by geography. This territory corresponds to an area comprising all or parts of the modern Turkish provinces of Sinop, Samsun, Ordu, Giresun, Trabzon, Bayburt, Gümüşhane, Rize, and Artvin. In the 13th century, some believe the empire controlled the Gazarian Perateia. However, after Michael VIII Palaiologos of Nicaea recaptured Constantinople in 1261, in 1282, John II Komnenos stripped off his imperial regalia before the walls of Constantinople before entering to marry Michaels daughter and accept his legal title of despot. However, his successors used a version of his title, Emperor and Autocrat of the entire East, of the Iberians, rulers of Trebizond were also known as Prince of Lazes. Its wealth and exotic location endowed a lingering fame on the polity, cervantes described the eponymous hero of his Don Quixote as imagining himself for the valour of his arm already crowned at least Emperor of Trebizond. Rabelais had his character Picrochole, the ruler of Piedmont, declare, other allusions and works set in Trebizond continue into the 20th century. The city of Trebizond was the capital of the theme of Chaldia, the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos confirmed him as governor of Chaldia, but kept his son at Constantinople as a hostage for his good conduct. Nevertheless, Gabras proved himself a worthy guardian by repelling a Georgian attack on Trebizond, one of his successors, Gregory Taronites also rebelled with the aid of the Sultan of Cappadocia, but he was defeated and imprisoned, only to be made governor once more. Another successor to Theodore was Constantine Gabras, whom Niketas describes as ruling Trebizond as a tyrant, although that effort came to nothing, this was the last rebel governor known to recorded history prior to the events of 1204. Henceforth, the links between Trebizond and Georgia remained close, but their nature and extent have been disputed, both men were the grandsons of the last Komnenian Byzantine emperor, Andronikos I Komnenos, by his son Manuel Komnenos and Rusudan, daughter of George III of Georgia
Empire of Trebizond
–
Alexios III, from the
chrysobull he granted to the
Dionysiou monastery on
Mount Athos.
Empire of Trebizond
–
Empire of Trebizond (violet) and surrounding states in 1300
Empire of Trebizond
–
A 14th-century miniature Greek manuscript depicting
Byzantine Greek soldiers from the Empire of Trebizond.
Empire of Trebizond
–
Manuel I Megas Komnenos, "The Great Captain", "The Most Fortunate"
4.
Greek language
–
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any living language, spanning 34 centuries of written records and its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history, other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic and many other writing systems. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world, during antiquity, Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world and many places beyond. It would eventually become the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire, the language is spoken by at least 13.2 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey, and the Greek diaspora. Greek roots are used to coin new words for other languages, Greek. Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around the 3rd millennium BC, the earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the worlds oldest recorded living language. Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now extinct Anatolian languages, the Greek language is conventionally divided into the following periods, Proto-Greek, the unrecorded but assumed last ancestor of all known varieties of Greek. The unity of Proto-Greek would have ended as Hellenic migrants entered the Greek peninsula sometime in the Neolithic era or the Bronze Age, Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Mycenaean civilisation. It is recorded in the Linear B script on tablets dating from the 15th century BC onwards, Ancient Greek, in its various dialects, the language of the Archaic and Classical periods of the ancient Greek civilisation. It was widely known throughout the Roman Empire, after the Roman conquest of Greece, an unofficial bilingualism of Greek and Latin was established in the city of Rome and Koine Greek became a first or second language in the Roman Empire. The origin of Christianity can also be traced through Koine Greek, Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, the continuation of Koine Greek in Byzantine Greece, up to the demise of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. Much of the written Greek that was used as the language of the Byzantine Empire was an eclectic middle-ground variety based on the tradition of written Koine. Modern Greek, Stemming from Medieval Greek, Modern Greek usages can be traced in the Byzantine period and it is the language used by the modern Greeks, and, apart from Standard Modern Greek, there are several dialects of it. In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia, the historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of the Greek language is often emphasised. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than a foreign language and it is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, Homeric Greek is probably closer to demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English, Greek is spoken by about 13 million people, mainly in Greece, Albania and Cyprus, but also worldwide by the large Greek diaspora. Greek is the language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population
Greek language
–
Idealized portrayal of
Homer
Greek language
–
regions where Greek is the official language
Greek language
–
Greek language road sign, A27 Motorway, Greece
5.
Mesazon
–
The mesazōn was a high dignitary and official during the last centuries of the Byzantine Empire, who acted as the chief minister and principal aide of the Byzantine emperor. The terms origins lie in the 10th century, when senior ministers were sometimes referred to as the mesiteuontes, the title first became official in the mid-11th century, when it was conferred to Constantine Leichoudes, the future Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Rather, it was a title bestowed on the imperial secretary of the moment. The office of mesazōn became formally institutionalized in the Empire of Nicaea, as the emperor and historian John Kantakouzenos records, the mesazōn was needed by the emperor day and night. This arrangement was inherited by the restored Palaiologan Empire and continued in use until the Fall of Constantinople in May 1453, the office was also used in the same function in the Byzantine courts of Epirus, Morea, and Trebizond. In the latter case, it acquired the epithet megas, Theodore Styppeiotes, under Emperor Manuel I Komnenos. John Doukas Kamateros, under Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, michael Hagiotheodorites, under Emperor Manuel I Komnenos. Theodore Maurozomes, under Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, demetrios Komnenos Tornikes, under Emperor John III Vatatzes. Nikephoros Choumnos, 1294–1305, under Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos, Theodore Metochites, 1305–1328, under Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos. Alexios Apokaukos, 1328–1345, under Emperors Andronikos III Palaiologos and John V Palaiologos, demetrios Kydones, 1347–1354, under Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos, 1369–1383 under Emperor John V Palaiologos, 1391–1396 under Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos. George Goudelis, late 1390s under Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos, demetrios Chrysoloras, 1403–1408 in Thessalonica under Emperor John VII Palaiologos. John Phrangopoulos, 1428/9 in Morea under despot Theodore II Palaiologos George Doukas Philanthropenos, demetrios Palaiologos Kantakouzenos, 1434/5–1448 under Emperor John VIII Palaiologos. George Doukas Philanthropenos and Manuel Iagaris Palaiologos, 1438–1439, while accompanying Emperor John VIII Palaiologos to Italy, loukas Notaras, 1434–1453, last mesazōn of the Byzantine Empire under Emperors John VIII Palaiologos and Constantine XI Palaiologos. A Byzantine Government in Exile, Government and Society under the Laskarids of Nicaea, Oxford, United Kingdom, Oxford University Press. The Late Byzantine Army, Arms and Society 1204–1453, philadelphia, Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania Press. In Jeffreys, Elizabeth, Haldon, John, Cormack, Robin, the Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford, United Kingdom, Oxford University Press, New York, New York and Oxford, United Kingdom, Oxford University Press. The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 1143–1180, Cambridge, United Kingdom, Cambridge University Press
Mesazon
–
Mosaic portraying
Theodore Metochites (left), mesazon to Emperor
Andronikos II Palaiologos (r. 1261-1328), presenting the model of the renovated
Chora Church to
Christ Pantocrator.
6.
Komnenian era
–
The Byzantine Empire or Byzantium is a term conventionally used by historians to describe the Greek ethnic and speaking Roman Empire of the Middle Ages, centered on its capital of Constantinople. Having survived the fall of the Western Roman Empire during Late Antiquity, in the context of Byzantine history, the period from about 1081 to about 1185 is often known as the Komnenian or Comnenian period, after the Komnenos dynasty. Moreover, it was during the Komnenian period that contact between Byzantium and the Latin Christian West, including the Crusader states, was at its most crucial stage. Above all, the impact of Byzantine art on the west at this period was enormous. The Komnenoi also made a significant contribution to the history of Asia Minor, by reconquering much of the region, the Komnenoi set back the advance of the Turks in Anatolia by more than two centuries. In the process, they planted the foundations of the Byzantine successor states of Nicaea, Epirus, meanwhile, their extensive programme of fortifications has left an enduring mark upon the Anatolian landscape, which can still be appreciated today. The Komnenian era was born out of a period of great difficulty, in fact, most of the money was given away in the form of gifts to favourites of the emperor, extravagant court banquets, and expensive luxuries for the imperial family. Meanwhile, the remnants of the armed forces were allowed to decay. Elderly men with ill-maintained equipment mixed with new recruits who had never participated in a training exercise, the simultaneous arrival of aggressive new enemies – Turks in the east and Normans in the west – was another contributory factor. In 1040, the Normans, originally landless mercenaries from northern parts of Europe in search of plunder, in order to deal with them, a mixed force of mercenaries and conscripts under the formidable George Maniakes was sent to Italy in 1042. Maniakes and his army conducted a successful campaign, but before it could be concluded he was recalled to Constantinople. Angered by a series of outrages against his wife and property by one of his rivals, he was proclaimed emperor by his troops, however, a mortal wound led to his death shortly afterwards. With opposition thus absent in the Balkans, the Normans were able to complete the expulsion of the Byzantines from Italy by 1071, despite the seriousness of this loss, it was in Asia Minor that the empires greatest disaster would take place. With imperial armies weakened by years of insufficient funding and civil warfare, Emperor Romanos Diogenes realised that a time of re-structuring, consequently, he attempted to lead a defensive campaign in the east until his forces had recovered enough to defeat the Seljuks. However, he suffered a defeat at the hands of Alp Arslan at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. Romanos was captured, and although the Sultans peace terms were fairly lenient, on his release, Romanos found that his enemies had conspired against him to place their own candidate on the throne in his absence. After two defeats in battle against the rebels, Romanos surrendered and suffered a death by torture. The new ruler, Michael Doukas, refused to honour the treaty that had signed by Romanos
Komnenian era
–
Nikephoros III Botaniates, Byzantine emperor from 1078 to 1081.
Komnenian era
–
The Byzantine Empire during the reign of
Manuel I Komnenos, ca. 1170
Komnenian era
–
This
electrum histamenon was struck by Alexios during his war against
Robert Guiscard. The catastrophic financial situation of the Empire after 1071 had led to large-scale debasement of its coinage.
Komnenian era
–
Medieval manuscript depicting the Capture of Jerusalem during the First Crusade.
7.
Empire of Nicaea
–
Founded by the Laskaris family, it lasted from 1204 to 1261, when the Nicaeans restored the Byzantine Empire in Constantinople. In 1204, Byzantine emperor Alexios V Ducas Murtzouphlos fled Constantinople after crusaders invaded the city. Theodore I Lascaris, the son-in-law of Emperor Alexios III Angelos, was proclaimed emperor but he too, realizing the situation in Constantinople was hopeless, fled to the city of Nicaea in Bithynia. The Latin Empire, established by the Crusaders in Constantinople, had control over former Byzantine territory, and Byzantine successor states sprang up in Epirus, Trebizond. Trebizond had broken away as an independent state a few weeks before the fall of Constantinople, Nicaea, however, was the closest to the Latin Empire and was in the best position to attempt to re-establish the Byzantine Empire. Theodore also defeated an army from Trebizond, as well as minor rivals. In 1206, Theodore proclaimed himself emperor at Nicaea, numerous truces and alliances were formed and broken over the next few years, as the Byzantine successor states, the Latin Empire, the Bulgarians, and the Seljuks of Iconium fought each other. In 1211, at Antioch on the Meander, Theodore defeated an invasion by the Seljuks. The Nicaeans were compensated for this loss when, in 1212. Theodore consolidated his claim to the throne by naming a new Patriarch of Constantinople in Nicaea. In 1219, he married the daughter of Latin Empress Yolanda of Flanders, the accession of Vatatzes was initially challenged by the Laskarids, with the sebastokratores Isaac and Alexios, brothers of Theodore I, seeking the aid of the Latin Empire. Vatatzes prevailed over their forces, however, in the Battle of Poimanenon, securing his throne. It proved short-lived, as it came under Bulgarian control after the Battle of Klokotnitsa in 1230, with Trebizond lacking any real power, Nicaea was the only Byzantine state left, and John III expanded his territory across the Aegean Sea. In 1235, he allied with Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria, allowing him to extend his influence over Thessalonica and Epirus. In 1242, the Mongols invaded Seljuk territory to the east of Nicaea, in 1245, John allied with the Holy Roman Empire by marrying Constance II of Hohenstaufen, daughter of Frederick II. In 1246, John attacked Bulgaria and recovered most of Thrace and Macedonia, by 1248, John had defeated the Bulgarians and surrounded the Latin Empire. He continued to land from the Latins until his death in 1254. Theodore II Lascaris, John IIIs son, faced invasions from the Bulgarians in Thrace, a conflict between Nicaea and Epirus broke out in 1257
Empire of Nicaea
–
Nicaea city wall, Lefke gate;
Iznik,
Turkey
Empire of Nicaea
–
The
Latin Empire, Empire of Nicaea,
Empire of Trebizond, and the
Despotate of Epirus. The borders are very uncertain.
Empire of Nicaea
–
Coin issued by
Michael VIII Palaeologus to celebrate the liberation of Constantinople from the Latin army, and the restoration of the Roman/Byzantine Empire.
8.
Fall of Constantinople
–
The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by an invading army of the Ottoman Empire on 29 May 1453. The Ottomans were commanded by the then 21-year-old Mehmed the Conqueror, the sultan of the Ottoman Empire. The conquest of Constantinople followed a 53-day siege that had begun on 6 April 1453, the capture of Constantinople marked the end of the Roman Empire, an imperial state that had lasted for nearly 1,500 years. The Ottoman conquest of Constantinople also dealt a blow to Christendom. After the conquest, Sultan Mehmed II transferred the capital of the Ottoman Empire from Edirne to Constantinople. The conquest of the city of Constantinople and the end of the Byzantine Empire was a key event in the Late Middle Ages, which also marks, for some historians, Constantinople had been an imperial capital since its consecration in 330 under Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great. In the following centuries, the city had been besieged many times but was captured only once. The crusaders established an unstable Latin state in and around Constantinople while the remaining empire splintered into a number of Byzantine successor states, notably Nicaea, Epirus and they fought as allies against the Latin establishments, but also fought among themselves for the Byzantine throne. The Nicaeans eventually reconquered Constantinople from the Latins in 1261, thereafter there was little peace for the much-weakened empire as it fended off successive attacks by the Latins, the Serbians, the Bulgarians, and, most importantly, the Ottoman Turks. The Black Plague between 1346 and 1349 killed almost half of the inhabitants of Constantinople, the Empire of Trebizond, an independent successor state that formed in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade, also survived on the coast of the Black Sea. This optimism was reinforced by friendly assurances made by Mehmed to envoys sent to his new court, but Mehmeds actions spoke far louder than his mild words. Since the mutual excommunications of 1054, the Pope in Rome was committed to establishing authority over the eastern church, nominal union had been negotiated in 1274, at the Second Council of Lyon, and indeed, some Palaiologoi emperors had since been received into the Latin church. Emperor John VIII Palaiologos had also recently negotiated union with Pope Eugene IV, finally, the attempted Union failed, greatly annoying Pope Nicholas V and the hierarchy of the Roman church. Although some troops did arrive from the city states in the north of Italy. Some Western individuals, however, came to defend the city on their own account. One of these was a soldier from Genoa, Giovanni Giustiniani. A specialist in defending walled cities, he was given the overall command of the defense of the land walls by the emperor. In Venice, meanwhile, deliberations were taking place concerning the kind of assistance the Republic would lend to Constantinople
Fall of Constantinople
–
The last siege of Constantinople, contemporary 15th century French miniature
Fall of Constantinople
–
Restored Walls of Constantinople
Fall of Constantinople
–
Modern painting of
Mehmed II and the
Ottoman Army approaching
Constantinople with a giant bombard, by
Fausto Zonaro
Fall of Constantinople
–
A picture of the Fall of Constantinople by
Theophilos Hatzimihail.
9.
Danubian Principalities
–
Danubian Principalities was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th century. The term was coined in the Habsburg Monarchy after the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca in order to designate an area on the lower Danube with a common geopolitical situation, the term was largely used then by foreign political circles and public opinion until the union of the two Principalities. Alongside Transylvania, the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia became the basis for the Kingdom of Romania, and by extension the modern Romanian nation-state. In a wider context, the concept may also apply to the Principality of Serbia as one of The Principalities of the Danube which came under the suzerainty of the Porte from 1817, the two emerged as vassals of the Hungarian Crown, and remained so until their independence. The aftermath of Russian defeat in 1856 brought forth a period of common tutelage of the Ottomans, a Kingdom of Romania emerged in 1881. Boyar History of Romania Hospodar List of rulers of Moldavia List of rulers of Wallachia Romanian Old Kingdom United Principalities
Danubian Principalities
–
The Principalities of
Moldavia and
Wallachia in 1786, Italian map by G. Pittori, since the geographer Giovanni Antonio Rizzi Zannoni.
Danubian Principalities
–
The Principalities of the Danube wider concept- Moldavia, Wallachia and Serbia
Danubian Principalities
–
Royal Full Achievement of Arms (coat of arms) of the
Rosetti (
Rossetti) family; motto: VERENO AUT NUBILO SOSPES
Danubian Principalities
–
Theodor Aman 's painting The Union of the Principalities.
10.
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
–
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is one of the fourteen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is headed by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, currently Bartholomew I, from that time, the importance of the church there grew, along with the influence of its bishop. With the development of the structure of the Church, the bishop of Constantinople came to be styled as exarch. Constantinople was recognized as the patriarchate at the First Council of Constantinople in 381, after Antioch, Alexandria. The patriarch was usually appointed by Antioch, in turn, the affairs of the Constantinopolitan church were overseen not just by the patriarch, but also by synods held including visiting bishops. This pan-Orthodox synod came to be referred to as the ενδημουσα συνοδος, the resident synod not only governed the business of the patriarchate but also examined questions pertinent to the whole Church as well as the eastern half of the old empire. As the Roman Empire stabilized and grew, so did the influence of the patriarchate at its capital, the council resulted in a schism with the Patriarchate of Alexandria. The cathedral church of Constantinople, Hagia Sophia, was the center of life in the eastern Christian world. In history and in literature, the Ecumenical Patriarchate has been granted certain prerogatives which other autocephalous Orthodox churches do not have. Not all of these prerogatives are today universally acknowledged, though all do have precedents in history and canonical references. The emperor Leo III issued a decree in 726 against images, and ordered the destruction of an image of Christ over one of the doors of the Chalke, an act which was fiercely resisted by the citizens. Following the death of his son Leo IV in 780, the empress Irene restored the veneration of images through the agency of the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. The iconoclast controversy returned in the early 9th century, only to be resolved once more in 843 during the regency of Empress Theodora and these controversies contributed to the deterioration of relations between the Western and the Eastern Churches. Most of the causes of the Great Schism, however, are far less grandiose than the famous Filioque. The relations between the papacy and the Byzantine court were good in the leading up to 1054. The emperor Constantine IX and the Pope Leo IX were allied through the mediation of the Lombard catepan of Italy, Argyrus, who had spent years in Constantinople, originally as a political prisoner. Patriarch Michael I ordered a letter to be written to the bishop of Trani in which he attacked the Judaistic practices of the West, the letter was to be sent by John to all the bishops of the West, including the Pope. Although he was hot-headed, Michael was convinced to cool the debate, however, Humbert and the pope made no concessions and the former was sent with legatine powers to the imperial capital to solve the questions raised once and for all
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
–
The Church of
Hagia Irene, seat of the Patriarchate before Hagia Sophia was completed in 360
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
–
Ecumenical Patriarchate
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
–
The
Hagia Sophia church in Nicaea
11.
Alexios I Komnenos
–
Alexios I Komnenos, was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the founder of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power, the basis for this recovery were various reforms initiated by Alexios. His appeals to Western Europe for help against the Turks were also the catalyst that contributed to the convoking of the Crusades. Alexios was the son of the Domestic of the Schools John Komnenos and Anna Dalassena, Alexios father declined the throne on the abdication of Isaac, who was thus succeeded by four emperors of other families between 1059 and 1081. Under one of these emperors, Romanos IV Diogenes, Alexios served with distinction against the Seljuq Turks. Under Michael VII Doukas Parapinakes and Nikephoros III Botaneiates, he was employed, along with his elder brother Isaac, against rebels in Asia Minor, Thrace. In 1074, western mercenaries led by Roussel de Bailleul rebelled in Asia Minor, in 1078, he was appointed commander of the field army in the West by Nikephoros III. Alexios was ordered to march against his brother-in-law Nikephoros Melissenos in Asia Minor and this did not, however, lead to a demotion, as Alexios was needed to counter the expected invasion of the Normans of Southern Italy, led by Robert Guiscard. While Byzantine troops were assembling for the expedition, the Doukas faction at court approached Alexios, the mother of Alexios, Anna Dalassena, was to play a prominent role in this coup détat of 1081, along with the current empress, Maria of Alania. First married to Michael VII Doukas and secondly to Nikephoros III Botaneiates, she was preoccupied with the future of her son by Michael VII, furthermore, to aid the conspiracy Maria had adopted Alexios as her son, though she was only five years older than he. Maria was persuaded to do so on the advice of her own Alans and her eunuchs, given Annas tight hold on her family, Alexios must have been adopted with her implicit approval. As a result, Alexios and Constantine, Marias son, were now adoptive brothers, by secretly giving inside information to the Komnenoi, Maria was an invaluable ally. As stated in the Alexiad, Isaac and Alexios left Constantinople in mid-February 1081 to raise an army against Botaneiates, however, when the time came, Anna quickly and surreptitiously mobilized the remainder of the family and took refuge in the Hagia Sophia. From there she negotiated with the emperor for the safety of family members left in the capital, the tutor discovered they were missing and eventually found them on the palace grounds, but Anna was able to convince him that they would return to the palace shortly. However, before they were to gain entry into the sanctuary, Straboromanos and she refused to go with them and demanded that they allow her to pray to the Mother of God for protection. This request was granted and Anna then manifested her true theatrical and manipulative capabilities, Nikephoros III Botaneiates was forced into a public vow that he would grant protection to the family. Straboromanos tried to give Anna his cross, but for her it was not sufficiently enough for all bystanders to witness the oath. She also demanded that the cross be personally sent by Botaneiates as a vow of his good faith and he obliged, sending a complete assurance for the family with his own cross
Alexios I Komnenos
–
Portrait of Emperor Alexios I, from a Greek manuscript
Alexios I Komnenos
–
Seal of Alexios as "
Grand Domestic of the West "
Alexios I Komnenos
–
Europe in 1097, during the
First Crusade
Alexios I Komnenos
–
Rare seal of Alexios I with a depiction of the
Resurrection
12.
Isaac II Angelos
–
Isaac II Angelos or Angelus was Byzantine Emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204. His father Andronikos Doukas Angelos was a leader in Asia Minor who married Euphrosyne Kastamonitissa. Andronikos Doukas Angelos was the son of Constantine Angelos and Theodora Komnene, thus Isaac was a member of the extended imperial clan of the Komnenoi. During the brief reign of Andronikos I Komnenos, Isaac was involved in the revolt of Nicaea, atypically, the Emperor did not punish him for this disloyalty, and Isaac remained at Constantinople. On September 11,1185, while Andronikos was absent from the capital, Isaac killed Hagiochristophorites and took refuge in the church of Hagia Sophia. Andronikos was a ruler in some ways but was hated for his cruelty. Isaac appealed to the populace, and a tumult arose that spread rapidly over the whole city, when Andronikos returned he found that he had lost popular support, and that Isaac had been proclaimed emperor. Andronikos attempted to flee by boat but was apprehended, Isaac handed him over to the people of the City, and he was killed on 12 September 1185. Isaac II Angelos strengthened his position as emperor with dynastic marriages in 1185 and 1186 and his niece Eudokia Angelina was married to Stefan, son of Stefan Nemanja of Serbia. Isaacs sister Theodora was married to the Italian marquis Conrad of Montferrat, in January 1186 Isaac himself married Margaret of Hungary, daughter of King Béla III. Isaac inaugurated his reign with a victory over the Norman King of Sicily, William II. William had invaded the Balkans with 80,000 men and 200 ships towards the end of Andronikos Is reign, elsewhere Isaacs policy was less successful. In late 1185, he sent a fleet of 80 galleys to liberate his brother Alexius III from Acre and he then sent a fleet of 70 ships, but it failed to recover Cyprus from the rebellious noble Isaac Komnenos, thanks to Norman interference. The oppressiveness of his taxes, increased to pay his armies and finance his marriage, the rebellion led to the establishment of the Second Bulgarian Empire under the Asen dynasty. Also in 1187 an agreement was made with Venice, in which the Venetian Republic would provide between 40 and 100 galleys at six months notice in exchange for favorable trading concessions. Because each Venetian galley was manned by 140 oarsmen, there were about 18,000 Venetians still in the Empire even after Manuel Is arrests, the Emperors attention was next demanded in the east, where several claimants to the throne successively rose and fell. In 1189 the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa sought and obtained permission to lead his troops on the Third Crusade through the Byzantine Empire and he had no sooner crossed the border than Isaac, who had meanwhile sought an alliance with Saladin, threw every impediment in his way. In retaliation Barbarossas army occupied the city of Philippopolis and defeated a Byzantine army of 3,000 men that attempted to recapture the city, thus compelled by force of arms, Isaac II was forced to fulfill his engagements in 1190
Isaac II Angelos
–
Isaac II Angelos Ισαάκιος Β’ Άγγελος
Isaac II Angelos
–
Killing of Stephen Hagiochristophorites, c. 1473,
miniature by
Jean Colombe in Les Passages d'outremer (fr),
BNF.
13.
Chrysobull
–
A golden bull or chrysobull was a decree issued by Byzantine Emperors and later by monarchs in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, most notably by the Holy Roman Emperors. The term was coined for the golden seal, attached to the decree. Such decrees were known as golden bulls in western Europe and chrysobullos logos, or chrysobulls, for nearly eight hundred years, they were issued unilaterally, without obligations on the part of the other party or parties. However, this eventually proved disadvantageous as the Byzantines sought to restrain the efforts of foreign powers to undermine the empire, during the 12th century, the Byzantines began to insert into golden bulls sworn statements of the obligations of their negotiating partners. The Golden Bull of 1136, issued by Pope Innocent II, the Golden Bull of Sicily, issued in 1212 by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor. The Golden Bull of 1213, issued by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, the Golden Bull of 1213, issued by the papacy to recognize its agreement with John Lackland. The Golden Bull of 1214, issued by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor to cede all German territories north of the rivers Elbe, the Golden Bull of Berne, supposedly issued by Frederick II in 1218, but now considered a forgery. The Golden Bull of 1222, issued by King Andrew II of Hungary to confirm the rights of nobility, the Golden Bull of 1224 issued by Andrew to grant certain rights to the Saxon inhabitants of Transylvania. The Golden Bull of Rimini, issued by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, the Golden Bull of 1242 issued by King Béla IV to proclaim a free royal Borough for the inhabitants of Gradec and Samobor in Croatia, during the Mongol invasion of Europe. The Golden Bull of 1267, issued by King Bela IV of Hungary, the Golden Bull of 1348, issued by King Karel I of Bohemia, later Holy Roman Emperor as Charles IV, to establish Charles University in Prague, one of the oldest universities in the world. The Golden Bull of 1356, issued by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV for promulgation at the Diet of Nuremberg, to define the constitutional structure of the Holy Roman Empire. The Golden Bull of 1702, issued by Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor to establish the Akademia Leopoldina in the Silesian capital of Breslau, the future University of Breslau
Chrysobull
–
Imperial chrysobull of
Alexios III of Trebizond, 1374
Chrysobull
–
The
Golden Bull of 1356 issued by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV
14.
Sultan
–
Sultan is a noble title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning strength, authority, rulership, derived from the verbal noun سلطة sulṭah, the dynasty and lands ruled by a sultan are referred to as a sultanate. A feminine form of sultan, used by Westerners, is Sultana or Sultanah, but Turkish and Ottoman Turkish also uses sultan for imperial lady, because Turkish grammar uses the same words for women and men. However, this styling misconstrues the roles of wives of sultans, in a similar usage, the wife of a German field marshal might be styled Frau Feldmarschall. The female leaders in Muslim history are known as sultanas. Special case in Brunei, the Queen Consort is known as Raja Isteri with suffix Pengiran Anak if the queen consort is a royal princess. Among those modern hereditary rulers who wish to emphasize their secular authority under the rule of law and these are generally secondary titles, either lofty poetry or with a message, e. g. g. Sultan ul-Mujahidin as champion of jihad, ghaznavid Sultanate Sultans of Great Seljuk Seljuk Sultanate of Rum Sultans of the Ottoman Empire, the Osmanli Elisu Sultanate and a few others. A Sultan ranked below a Khan and this usage underlines the Ottoman conception of sovereign power as family prerogative. Western tradition knows the Ottoman ruler as sultan, but Ottomans themselves used padişah or hünkar to refer to their ruler, the emperors formal title consisted of sultan together with khan. In formal address, the children were also entitled sultan, with imperial princes carrying the title before their given name. Example, Şehzade Sultan Mehmed and Mihrimah Sultan, son and daughter of Suleiman the Magnificent, henceforth, the mother of the reigning sultan was the only person of non imperial blood to carry the title sultan. In Kazakh Khanate a Sultan was a lord from the ruling dynasty elected by clans, the best of sultans was elected as khan by people at Kurultai. See ru, Казахские султаны In a number of states under Mongol or Turkic rule. These administrations were often decimal, using originally princely titles such as khan, malik, in the Persian empire, the rank of sultan was roughly equivalent to that of a modern-day captain in the West, socially in the fifth-rank class, styled Ali Jah
Sultan
–
Royal and noble ranks in Iran, Turkey, Caucasus, Pakistan and Afghanistan
Sultan
–
Sultan
Mehmed II is considered one of the most famous
Ottoman sultans.
Sultan
–
Ottoman Sultan
Mehmed IV attended by a eunuch and two pages.
Sultan
–
Artistic representation of
Saladin, the first
Ayyubid sultan of
Egypt and
Syria.
15.
Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty
–
From the start, the régime faced numerous problems. The Turks of Asia Minor had since 1263 been raiding and expanding into Byzantine territory in Asia Minor, Anatolia, which had formed the very heart of the shrinking empire, was systematically lost to numerous Turkic ghazis, whose raids evolved into conquering expeditions inspired by Islamic zeal. By 1380, the Byzantine Empire consisted of the capital Constantinople and a few other isolated exclaves, the last remnants of the Byzantine Empire, the Despotate of the Morea and the Empire of Trebizond, fell shortly afterwards. However, the Palaiologan period witnessed a flourishing in art. The migration of Byzantine scholars to the West also helped to spark the Renaissance in Italy, in addition, the disintegration of the Byzantine Empire allowed the Bulgarians, the Serbs and the various Turcoman emirates of Anatolia to make gains. Although Epirus was initially the strongest of the three Greek states, the Nicaeans were the ones who succeeded in taking back the city of Constantinople from the Latin Empire, the Nicaean Empire was successful in holding its own against its Latin and Seljuk opponents. At the Battle of Meander Valley, a Turkic force was repelled, in the west, the Latins were unable to expand into Anatolia, consolidating Thrace against Bulgaria was a challenge that kept the Latins occupied for the duration of the Latin Empire. In 1261, the Empire of Nicaea was ruled by John IV Laskaris, however, John IV was overshadowed by his co-emperor, Michael VIII Palaiologos. In 1261, while the bulk of the Latin Empires military forces were absent from Constantinople, Thrace, Macedonia and Thessalonica had already been taken by Nicaea in 1246. Following the capture of Constantinople, Michael ordered the blinding of John IV in December 1261, as a result, Patriarch Arsenios excommunicated Michael, but he was deposed and replaced by Joseph I. The Fourth Crusade and their successors, the Latin Empire, had much to reduce Byzantiums finest city to an underpopulated wreck. Michael VIII began the task of restoring many monasteries, public buildings, the Hagia Sophia, horribly looted in the Crusade of 1204, was refurbished to Greek Orthodox tradition. The Kontoskalion harbour and the walls of Constantinople were all strengthened against a new expedition by the Latin West. Many hospitals, hospices, markets, baths, streets and churches were built, even a new Mosque was built to compensate for the one burnt during the Fourth Crusade. These attempts were costly and crippling taxes were placed on the peasantry, nonetheless, the city grew new cultural and diplomatic contacts, notably with the Mamelukes. Both had common enemies, Latin aggression, and later on, the Sultanate of Rum was in chaos and decentralized ever since the Mongol invasions in ca. The situation became worse when Charles of Anjou, brother of the King of France, in 1267, Pope Clement IV arranged a pact, whereby Charles would receive land in the East in return for assisting a new military expedition to Constantinople. Unfortunately for Michael VIII, the new union was seen as a fake by the Clements successor, the Greek Church was excommunicated, and Charles was given renewed Papal support for the invasion of Constantinople
Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty
–
The Byzantine Empire ca. 1265
Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty
–
Dynastical Banner
Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty
–
After 1204, the Byzantine Empire was partitioned between various successor states, with the Latin Empire in control of Constantinople
Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty
–
Hyperpyron of Michael VIII
16.
Eparch of Constantinople
–
The praefectus urbanus or praefectus urbi, in English the urban prefect, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, the office survived the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, and the last urban prefect of Rome, named Iohannes, is attested in 599. In the East, in Constantinople, the office survived until the 13th century, in 753 BC when Romulus founded the city of Rome and instituted the monarchy, he also created the office of custos urbis to serve as the king’s chief lieutenant. Appointed by the king to serve for life, the custos urbis served concurrently as the Princeps Senatus, as the second highest office of state, the custos urbis was the king’s personal representative. However, the imperium he possessed was only valid within the walls of Rome, under the kings, only three men held the position. The custos urbis exercised within the city all the powers of the Consuls if they were absent from Rome and these powers included, convoking the Senate and Comitia Curiata, and, in times of war, levying and commanding legions. The first major change to the office occurred in 487 BC, the office was only open to former consuls. Most of the powers and responsibilities had been transferred to the urban praetor. The praefectus urbi was appointed each year for the purpose of allowing the Consuls to celebrate the Latin Festival. The praefectus urbi no longer held the power to convoke the Senate, or the right of speaking in it, and was appointed by the Consuls instead of being elected. When the first Roman Emperor, Augustus, transformed the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire in 27 BC, he reformed the office of Prefect at the suggestion of his minister and friend Maecenas. Again elevated into a magistracy, Augustus granted the praefectus urbi all the powers needed to order within the city. The office’s powers also extended beyond Rome itself to the ports of Ostia, the provisioning of the citys large population with the grain dole was especially important, when the Prefect failed to secure adequate supplies, riots often broke out. To enable the Prefect to exercise his authority, the cohortes urbanae, Rome’s police force, the Prefect also had the duty of publishing the laws promulgated by the Emperor, and as such acquired a legal jurisdiction. This extended to cases between slaves and their masters, patrons and their freedmen, and over sons who had violated the pietas towards their parents. Gradually, the powers of the Prefect expanded, as the Prefects office began to re-assume its old powers from the praetor urbanus. Eventually there was no appeal from the Prefect’s sentencing, except to that of the Roman Emperor, even the governors of the Roman provinces were subject to the Prefect’s jurisdiction. The Prefect also possessed judicial powers over criminal matters, originally these powers were exercised in conjunction with those of the quaestors, but by the 3rd century, they were exercised alone
Eparch of Constantinople
–
Ancient Rome
17.
Andronikos III Palaiologos
–
Andronikos III Palaiologos, commonly Latinized as Andronicus III Palaeologus, was Byzantine emperor from 1328 to 1341. Born Andronikos Doukas Angelos Komnenos Palaiologos, he was the son of Michael IX Palaiologos and he was proclaimed co-emperor in his youth, before 1313, and in April 1321 he rebelled in opposition to his grandfather, Andronikos II Palaiologos. He was formally crowned co-emperor on February 1325, before ousting his grandfather outright and his early death left a power vacuum that resulted in the disastrous civil war between his Empress-dowager, Anna of Savoy, and his closest friend and supporter, John VI Kantakouzenos. Andronikos was born in Constantinople on 25 March 1297, the 38th birthday of his paternal grandfather and his father, Michael IX Palaiologos, began reigning in full imperial style as co-emperor circa 1295. In March 1318, Andronikos married Irene of Brunswick, daughter of Henry I, in circa 1321 she gave birth to a son, who died in infancy. In 1320, Andronikos accidentally caused the death of his brother Manuel, after which their father, co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos, Emperor Andronikos II disowned his grandson Andronikos, who then fled the capital and rallied his supporters in Thrace and began to reign as rival emperor in 1321. Andronikos then waged the intermittent Byzantine civil war of 1321–28 against his reigning grandfather, empress Irene died on 16/17 August 1324 with no surviving child. Theodora Palaiologina, sister of Andronikos III, married the new tsar Michael Shishman of Bulgaria in 1324, Andronikos III, then a widower, married Anna of Savoy in October 1326. In 1327 she gave birth to Maria Palaiologina, Andronikos III concluded the Treaty of Chernomen of 1327, an alliance with tsar Michael Shishman of Bulgaria against Stephen Uroš III Dečanski of Serbia. The Byzantine civil war flared again and ultimately led to the deposition in 1328 of Emperor Andronikos II, Ottoman Turks besieged Nicaea in Asia Minor, historically the provisional capital of the Byzantine Empire from the Fourth Crusade until the Byzantine recapture of Constantinople. Andronikos III launched an attempt, which Ottoman sultan Orhan defeated at the Battle of Pelekanon on 10 or 15 June 1329. Nevertheless, Andronikos III effected the recovery of Lordship of Chios from Martino Zaccaria in a naval battle, an alliance with Bulgaria failed to secure any gains for the Byzantine empire. On 28 July 1330, the Serbians decisively defeated the Bulgarians in the Battle of Velbazhd without significant Byzantine participation, the Ottomans continued to advance in 1331, finally taking Nicaea. Andronikos III wanted Nicomedia and the other few Byzantine forts in Anatolia not to suffer the same fate, Andronikos III reorganized and attempted to strengthen the weakened Byzantine navy, which comprised only 10 ships by 1332, in emergencies, he still could muster a hundred extra merchant ships. The Muslim traveler Ibn Battuta visited Constantinople towards the end of 1332, Byzantine sources do not attest to the meeting. Stephen Gabrielopoulos, ruler over Thessaly, died circa 1333, taking advantage of the secession crisis, Syrgiannes Palaiologos, entrusted with the governorship of Thessalonica, deserted to the side of king Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia and aided their advance in Macedonia. He led the Serbians to take Kastoria, Ohrid, Prilep, Strumica, Byzantine general Sphrantzes Palaiologos, posing as a deserter, entered the Serbian camp and killed Syrgiannes Palaiologos, ending his advance and bringing the Serbian army into disarray. In August 1334, the king of Serbia made peace with Andronikos III, Andronikos III meanwhile effected the recovery of Phocaea in 1334 from the last Genoese governor, Domenico Cattaneo
Andronikos III Palaiologos
–
Andronikos III Palaiologos, 14th century
miniature.
Stuttgart,
Württembergische Landesbibliothek
18.
Protostrator
–
Prōtostratōr was a Byzantine court office, originating as the imperial stable master. From the mid-11th century, the post rose in importance, becoming more an honorific dignity for senior members of the court, from the 13th century on, the post could be held by several persons, and ranked eighth in the overall hierarchy of the court. Throughout its history, it was a title borne by senior military commanders. The female form of the title, given to the wives of the prōtostratores, was prōtostratorissa, a domestikos tōn stratorōn appears under Justinian II and a prōtostratōr of the Opsikion named Rouphos in 712. The spatharios Constantine is also the first known holder of the post of imperial prōtostratōr, in the Klētorologion of 899 he is recorded as one of the special dignities and ranked 48th among the sixty most senior palace officials. Holders of the post could aspire to some of the highest court ranks, the imperial prōtostratōr had a prominent place in imperial ceremonies, riding beside the Byzantine emperor on processions or during the hunt. During campaigns, he and the Count of the Stable stood by near the imperial tent, on certain occasions, he even had the task of introducing foreign envoys at imperial audiences. In the 9th–11th centuries, his subordinates included the stratores, the armophylakes, by the mid-11th century, however, the post seems to have risen in importance, and was now awarded as an honorific court dignity to distinguished members of the court. The office continued to exist during the Palaiologan period until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 and it remained one of the highest dignities of state, ranking eighth overall in the hierarchy, although from the late 13th century on, multiple persons could hold it. In the mid-14th century Book of Offices of Pseudo-Kodinos, the prōtostratōr is the fifth highest non-imperial office, coming after the megas doux and its insignia of office were similar to those of the megas doux, i. e. Only his staff of office differed, with only the topmost carved knots in gold, the knobs in the staff remained gold, bordered with silver braid. In war, the prōtostratōr was responsible for the irregulars and scouts who preceded the army, the title is also attested in the medieval Kingdom of Georgia, where it was held by the duke of Svaneti, Iovane Vardanisdze, under King David IV. A variant of the title, stratoros, was used in the Kingdom of Cyprus in the 15th century. Note, the list does not include holders known only through their seals, the Imperial Administrative System of the Ninth Century - With a Revised Text of the Kletorologion of Philotheos. Recherches sur les institutions byzantines, Tome I, new York and Oxford, Oxford University Press. Kyrris, Costas P. Στράτορος = τράτωρ, or Strator, a Military Institution in XVth Century Cyprus. Lilie, Ralph-Johannes, Ludwig, Claudia, Zielke, Beate, Pratsch, Thomas, george Akropolites, The History – Introduction, Translation and Commentary. The Making of the Georgian Nation, vienna, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
Protostrator
–
Basil I the Macedonian, founder of the
Macedonian dynasty, held the post of prōtostratōr during his rise to the throne
19.
Andronikos II Palaiologos
–
Andronikos II Palaiologos, usually Latinized as Andronicus II Palaeologus, was Byzantine emperor from 11 December 1282 to 23 or 24 May 1328. Andronikos II was born Andronikos Doukas Angelos Komnenos Palaiologos at Nicaea and he was the eldest surviving son of Michael VIII Palaiologos and Theodora Palaiologina, grandniece of John III Doukas Vatatzes. Andronikos was acclaimed co-emperor in 1261, after his father Michael VIII recovered Constantinople from the Latin Empire, Andronikos II was also plagued by economic difficulties. During his reign the value of the Byzantine hyperpyron depreciated precipitously, in 1291, he hired 50–60 Genoese ships, but the Byzantine weakness resulting from the lack of a navy became painfully apparent in the two wars with Venice in 1296–1302 and 1306–10. Later, in 1320, he tried to resurrect the navy by constructing 20 galleys, Andronikos II Palaiologos sought to resolve some of the problems facing the Byzantine Empire through diplomacy. After the death of his first wife Anne of Hungary, he married Yolanda of Montferrat, another marriage alliance attempted to resolve the potential conflict with Serbia in Macedonia, as Andronikos II married off his five-year-old daughter Simonis to King Stefan Milutin in 1298. Andronikos II had resettled those Cretans in the region of Meander river, in spite of some successes, the Catalans were unable to secure lasting gains. There they conquered the Duchy of Athens and Thebes, the Turks continued to penetrate the Byzantine possessions, and Prusa fell in 1326. By the end of Andronikos IIs reign, much of Bithynia was in the hands of the Ottoman Turks of Osman I and his son and heir Orhan. Also, Karasids conquered Mysia-region with Paleokastron after 1296, Germiyan conquered Simav in 1328, Saruhan captured Magnesia in 1313, the Empires problems were exploited by Theodore Svetoslav of Bulgaria, who defeated Michael IX and conquered much of northeastern Thrace in c. The conflict ended with yet another marriage, between Michael IXs daughter Theodora and the Bulgarian emperor. The conflict precipitated Bulgarian involvement, and Michael Asen III of Bulgaria attempted to capture Andronikos II under the guise of sending him military support, in 1328 Andronikos III entered Constantinople in triumph and Andronikos II was forced to abdicate. Andronikos II died as a monk at Constantinople in 1332, on 8 November 1273 Andronikos II married as his first wife Anna of Hungary, daughter of Stephen V of Hungary and Elizabeth the Cuman, with whom he had two sons, Michael IX Palaiologos. Constantine was forced to become a monk by his nephew Andronikos III Palaiologos, Anna died in 1281, and in 1284 Andronikos married Yolanda, a daughter of William VII of Montferrat, with whom he had, John Palaiologos, despotes. Simonis Palaiologina, who married King Stefan Milutin of Serbia, the Late Byzantine Army, Arms and Society 1204–1453. The Late Medieval Balkans, A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest, ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press. Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, laiou, Angeliki E. Constantinople and the Latins, The Foreign Policy of Andronicus II, 1282–1328. Η εσωτερική πολιτική του Ανδρονίκου Β΄ Παλαιολόγου, the Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261–1453
Andronikos II Palaiologos
–
Painting of Andronikos II
Andronikos II Palaiologos
–
Andronikos II and
Michael IX Palaeologus (Silver basilikon)
Andronikos II Palaiologos
–
Gold
hyperpyron of Andronikos II, kneeling before Christ.
20.
Theodore Metochites
–
Theodore Metochites was a Byzantine statesman, author, gentleman philosopher, and patron of the arts. From c.1305 to 1328 he held the position of personal adviser to emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos, Metochites was born in Constantinople as the son of the archdeacon George Metochites, a fervent supporter of the union of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. After the Council of Blachernae, his father was condemned and exiled and he devoted himself to studies of both secular and religious authors. When Andronicus II visited Nicaea in 1290/1291, Metochites made such an impression on him that he was called to the court. Little more than a later, he was appointed a Senator. Besides carrying out his duties, Metochites continued to study. In 1312/1313, he started learning astronomy from Manuel Bryennios, later he became the teacher of Nicephorus Gregoras. He was married with five sons and one daughter, Irene, metochites’ political career culminated in 1321, when he was invested as Grand Logothete. He was then at the summit of his power, and also one of the richest men of his age, metochites’ fortunes were, however, linked with his emperor’s. After a few years of intermittent civil war, Andronicus II was overthrown in 1328 by his own grandson and he was deprived of his possessions and forced into exile in Didymoteichon. In 1330, he was allowed to return to Constantinople and he then withdrew to Chora, where he died on 13 March 1332, having adopted the monastic name Theoleptos. Many of these works are still unedited, Editions with English translations, Featherstone, J. M.2000. ISBN 3-7001-2853-3 Reviewed by Lazaris, S.2002, jeffrey Michael Featherstone, Theodore Metochites’s poems ‘to Himself’, Wien, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften,2000, Scriptorium 56, p. 328*-330* Hult, K.2002. Theodore Metochites on Ancient Authors and Philosophy, Semeioseis gnomikai 1–26 &71, a Critical Edition with Introduction, Translation, Notes, and Indexes. Studia Graeca et Latina Gothoburgensia 65, Theodore Metochites on the Human Condition and the Decline of Rome. A Critical Edition with Introduction, Translation, Notes, and Indexes, studia Graeca et Latina Gothoburgensia 70. ISBN 978-91-7346-889-3, Editions without translation, Polemis, I. D.2015, Theodore Metochites Stoicheiosis astronomike and the study of natural philosophy and mathematics in early Palaiologan Byzantium. 2nd rev. ed. Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis, studia Graeca et Latina Gothoburgensia 66
Theodore Metochites
–
Theodore Metochites presenting the model of the renovated
Chora Church to
Christ Pantocrator.
21.
Kabbadion
–
The kabbadion was a caftan-like garment, of oriental origin, which became a standard part of court costume in the last centuries of the Byzantine Empire. The first known reference to the kabbadion occurs in the Kletorologion of 899, where it is mentioned as the dress of the members of the Emperors bodyguard. It re-appears in the century in the Book of Offices of pseudo-Kodinos as the standard ceremonial dress for almost all court members. Kodinos describes it as an Assyrian garment adopted by the Persians and it is therefore usually equated with the long, caftan-like and full-sleeved tunic worn by various Byzantine officials in depictions of the 13th–15th centuries. It fastened down the front and was worn with a belt, parani, Maria G. Reconstructing the Reality of Images, Byzantine Material Culture and Religious Iconography. New York and Oxford, Oxford University Press
Kabbadion
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The
megas doux Alexios Apokaukos in the garb of his office, including a richly-decorated blue kabbadion
22.
Danubian principalities
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Danubian Principalities was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th century. The term was coined in the Habsburg Monarchy after the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca in order to designate an area on the lower Danube with a common geopolitical situation, the term was largely used then by foreign political circles and public opinion until the union of the two Principalities. Alongside Transylvania, the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia became the basis for the Kingdom of Romania, and by extension the modern Romanian nation-state. In a wider context, the concept may also apply to the Principality of Serbia as one of The Principalities of the Danube which came under the suzerainty of the Porte from 1817, the two emerged as vassals of the Hungarian Crown, and remained so until their independence. The aftermath of Russian defeat in 1856 brought forth a period of common tutelage of the Ottomans, a Kingdom of Romania emerged in 1881. Boyar History of Romania Hospodar List of rulers of Moldavia List of rulers of Wallachia Romanian Old Kingdom United Principalities
Danubian principalities
–
The Principalities of
Moldavia and
Wallachia in 1786, Italian map by G. Pittori, since the geographer Giovanni Antonio Rizzi Zannoni.
Danubian principalities
–
The Principalities of the Danube wider concept- Moldavia, Wallachia and Serbia
Danubian principalities
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Royal Full Achievement of Arms (coat of arms) of the
Rosetti (
Rossetti) family; motto: VERENO AUT NUBILO SOSPES
Danubian principalities
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Theodor Aman 's painting The Union of the Principalities.
23.
Moldavia
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Moldavia is a historical region, and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river. The western half of Moldavia is now part of Romania, the eastern side belongs to the Republic of Moldova, the original and short-lived reference to the region was Bogdania, after Bogdan I, the founding figure of the principality. Dragoș was accompanied by his female hound called Molda, when reached the shores of an unfamiliar river. The dogs name would have given to the river and extended to the country. The old German Molde, meaning open-pit mine the Gothic Mulda meaning dust, dirt, a Slavic etymology, marking the end of one Slavic genitive form, denoting ownership, chiefly of feminine nouns. In several early references, Moldavia is rendered under the composite form Moldo-Wallachia, Ottoman Turkish references to Moldavia included Boğdan Iflak and Boğdan. See also names in other languages, the name of the region in other languages include French, Moldavie, German, Moldau, Hungarian, Moldva, Russian, Молдавия, Moldaviya, Turkish, Boğdan Prensliği, Greek, Μολδαβία. The inhabitants of Moldova were Christians, archaeological works revealed the remains of a Christian necropolis at Mihălășeni, Botoșani county, from the 5th century. The place of worship, and the tombs had Christian characteristics, the place of worship had a rectangular form with sides of 8 and 7 meters. Similar necropolis and place of worship were found at Nicolina, in Iași The Bolohoveni, the chronicle shows that this land is bordered on the principalities of Halych, Volhynia and Kiev. Archaeological research also identified the location of 13th-century fortified settlements in this region, Alexandru V. Boldur identified Voscodavie, Voscodavti, Voloscovti, Volcovti, Volosovca and their other towns and villages between the middle course of the rivers Nistru/Dniester and Nipru/Dnieper. The Bolohoveni disappeared from chronicles after their defeat in 1257 by Daniil Romanovichs troops, in the early 13th century, the Brodniks, a possible Slavic–Vlach vassal state of Halych, were present, alongside the Vlachs, in much of the regions territory. On the border between Halych and the Brodniks, in the 11th century, a Viking by the name of Rodfos was killed in the area by Vlachs who supposedly betrayed him. In 1164, the future Byzantine Emperor Andronikos I Komnenos, was prisoner by Vlach shepherds around the same region. In 1342 and 1345, the Hungarians were victorious in a battle against Tatar-Mongols, the Polish chronicler Jan Długosz mentioned Moldavians as having joined a military expedition in 1342, under King Władysław I, against the Margraviate of Brandenburg. In 1353, Dragoș, mentioned as a Vlach Knyaz in Maramureș, was sent by Louis I to establish a line of defense against the Golden Horde forces of Mongols on the Siret River and this expedition resulted in a polity vassal to Hungary, centered around Baia. His realm extended north to the Cheremosh River, while the part of Moldavia was still occupied by the Tatar Mongols. After first residing in Baia, Bogdan moved Moldavias seat to Siret, disfavored by the brief union of Angevin Poland and Hungary, Bogdans successor Lațcu accepted conversion to Roman Catholicism around 1370, but his gesture was to remain without consequences
Moldavia
–
Neamț Citadel
Moldavia
Moldavia
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Căpriana Monastery (1429)
Moldavia
–
Suceava Seat Fortress
24.
Wallachia
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Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians, Wallachia is traditionally divided into two sections, Muntenia and Oltenia. Wallachia as a whole is referred to as Muntenia through identification with the larger of the two traditional sections. In 1417, Wallachia accepted the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire, in 1859, Wallachia united with Moldavia to form the United Principalities, which adopted the name Romania in 1866 and officially became the Kingdom of Romania in 1881. In the Early Middle Ages, in Slavonic texts, the name of Zemli Ungro-Vlahiskoi was also used as a designation for its location, official designations of the state were Muntenia and Țara Românească. The traditional Hungarian name for Wallachia is Havasalföld, or literally Snowy Lowlands, in Ottoman Turkish, the term Eflâk Prensliği, or simply Eflâk افلاق, appears. Mavrovlachi is another name of the Balkan Vlachs or Aromanians, both names could come from a confusion, Kara Iflak, the Turkish name of Wallachia, means land of Wallachians, but later kara was misconstrued as kara. Later, the Turks renamed Moldavia and Wallachia as Kara Iflak and Ak Iflak according to the Turkish cardinal points symbolism, north is symbolized by black, and west is symbolized by white. Ardeal/Erdel was the name of Transylvania, and Kara Iflak, Northern Wallachia was either Wallachia, north of the Balkan territories inhabited by Vlachs, the second explanation is typologically better. In the Second Dacian War western Oltenia became part of the Roman province of Dacia, the Roman limes was initially built along the Olt River, before being moved slightly to the east in the 2nd century—during which time it stretched from the Danube up to Rucăr in the Carpathians. The Roman line fell back to the Olt in 245 and, in 271, in 328, the Romans built a bridge between Sucidava and Oescus which indicates that there was a significant trade with the peoples north of the Danube. A short period of Roman rule in the area is attested under Emperor Constantine I, the period of Goth rule ended when the Huns arrived in the Pannonian Plain and, under Attila, attacked and destroyed some 170 settlements on both sides of the Danube. Wallachia was under the control of the First Bulgarian Empire from its establishment in 681, in 1241, during the Mongol invasion of Europe, Cuman domination was ended—a direct Mongol rule over Wallachia was not attested, but it remains probable. His successor was his brother Bărbat.1334, Basarab was succeeded by Nicolae Alexandru, followed by Vladislav I. Under Radu I and his successor Dan I, the realms in Transylvania, as the entire Balkan Peninsula became an integral part of the growing Ottoman Empire, Wallachia became engaged in frequent confrontations in the final years of Mircea the Elders reign. Mircea initially defeated the Ottomans in several battles, driving away from Dobruja and briefly extending his rule to the Danube Delta, Dobruja. He swung between alliances with Sigismund of Hungary and Jagiellon Poland, and accepted a treaty with the Ottomans in 1417, after Mehmed I took control of Turnu Măgurele. The two ports remained part of the Ottoman state, with interruptions, until 1829
Wallachia
–
The
Battle of Posada in the
Chronicon Pictum
Wallachia
–
Flag
Wallachia
–
Wallachia as pictured in the 1493
Nuremberg Chronicle
Wallachia
–
Fighting between Michael the Brave and the Ottomans in
Giurgiu, 1595
25.
Ban (title)
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Ban /ˈbɑːn/ was a noble title used in several states in Central and Southeastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century. In English, common term for the province governed by ban is banate, in the 30th chapter, describing how the Croatian state was divided into eleven ζουπανίας, the ban βοάνος, καὶ ὁ βοάνος αὐτῶν κρατεῖ τὴν Κρίβασαν, τὴν Λίτζαν καὶ τὴν Γουτζησκά. In 1029 was published a Latin charter by Jelena, sister of ban Godemir, in Obrovac, in it she is introduced as Ego Heleniza, soror Godemiri bani. Franjo Rački noted that if is not an original, then is certainly a transcript from the same 11th century, in the 12th century, the title was mentioned by Byzantine historian John Kinnamos, anonymous monk of Dioclea, and in the Supetar Cartulary. The Byzantine historian John Kinnamos wrote the title in the form μπάνος. In the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja, which is dated to 12th and 13th century, in the Latin redaction is written as banus, banum, bano, and in the Croatian redaction only as ban. The Supetar Cartulary includes information until the 12th century, but the writing about bans is dated to the late 13th and early 14th century. It mentions that there existed seven bans and they were elected by the six of twelve Croatian noble tribes, the Late Proto-Slavic word *banъ is not of native Slavic lexical stock and is generally considered to be a borrowing from a Turkic language. The titles origin among medieval Croats is not completely understood, and as much is hard to determine the exact source and to reconstruct the primal form of the Turkic word it is derived from. It is generally explained as a derivation from the Avar name Bayan, the Proto-Turkic root *bāj- is sometimes explained as a native Turkic word, however, it is generally considered a borrowing from the Iranian bay. Within the Altaic theory, the Turkic word is inherited from the Proto-Altaic *bēǯu numerous, the title word ban was also derived from the name Bojan, and there were additionally proposed Iranian, and Indo-European, language origin. Some scholars assume that the name was a possible misinterpretation of a title, but Bayan already had a title of khagan, however, the title ban among the Avars has never been attested to in the historical sources. It was used as evidence throughout the history of historioraphy to prove ideological assumptions on Avars, the starting point of the debate was year 1837, and the work of historian and philologist Pavel Jozef Šafárik, whose thesis has influenced generations of scholars. However, modern scholars until now proved the opposite, that Avars never lived in Dalmatia proper, and that statement occurred somewhere in Pannonia. Franc Miklošič wrote that the word, of Croatian origin, probably was expanded by the Croats among the Bulgarians and Serbs, Đuro Daničić decided for an intermediate solution, by origin is Avar or Persian from bajan. Bury derived the title from the name of Avar khagan Bayan I, tadija Smičiklas and Vatroslav Jagić thought that the title should not derive from bajan, but from bojan, as thus how it is written in the Greek historical records. He mentioned both thesis, as well the German-Gothic theory derivation, ferdo Šišić considered that is impossible it directly originated from a personal name of an Avar ruler because the title needs a logical continuity. He doubted its existence among Slavic tribes during the great migration, the thesis of alleged Avar governor title Šišić based on his personal derivation of bajan from the title khagan
Ban (title)
–
The Seal of
Paul I Šubić of Bribir, ban of Croatia (1275–1312).
Ban (title)
–
Ban of Croatia 's
standard
Ban (title)
–
Josip Jelačić, ban of Croatia (1848–1859).
26.
Theodore I Laskaris
–
Theodoros I Komnenos Laskaris was the first Emperor of Nicaea. Theodore Laskaris was born in ca,1174, to the Laskaris, a noble but not particularly renowned Byzantine family of Constantinople. He was the son of Manuel Laskaris and wife Ioanna Karatzaina, william Miller identified the wife of Marco I Sanudo as the sister of Theodore, based on his interpretation of the Italian sources. In 1198/9, Theodore married Anna Angelina, daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Alexios III Angelos and Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera, shortly after he was raised to the rank of despotēs. Theodore later distinguished himself during the sieges of Constantinople by the Latins of the Fourth Crusade and he remained in Constantinople until the Latins actually penetrated into the city, at which point he fled across Bosphorus together with his wife. At about the time his brother Constantine Laskaris was unsuccessfully proclaimed emperor by some of the defenders of Constantinople. In Bithynia Theodore established himself in Nicaea, which became the chief rallying-point for his countrymen, in addition, his own control over the Anatolian domains of the Byzantine Empire was challenged, by David Komnenos in Paphlagonia and Manuel Maurozomes in Phrygia. It was only after defeating the two in 1205 that he was proclaimed Emperor and invited Patriarch John X Kamateros to Nicaea. But John died in 1206 before crowning Theodore, Theodore appointed Michael IV Autoreianos as the new Patriarch and was crowned by him in March 1208. In the meantime, Theodore had been defeated by the Latins at Adramyttion and this temporarily stalled the Latin advance, but it was renewed by Emperor Henry of Flanders in 1206. Theodore entered into an alliance with Kaloyan and took the offensive in 1209, in spite of predominantly peaceful relations, Theodore attacked the Latin Empire again in 1220, but peace was restored. Theodore died in November 1221 and was succeeded by his son-in-law John III Doukas Vatatzes and he was buried in the Monastery of Hyakinthos in Nicaea. At the end of his reign he ruled over a roughly coterminous with the old Roman provinces of Asia and Bithynia. His first wife was Anna Komnene Angelina, whom he married in 1199 and she was a daughter of King Ruben III of Armenia, this marriage was annulled a year later and they divorced in 1216. Theodores third wife was Maria of Courtenay, whom he married in 1219 and she was the daughter of Emperor Peter II of Courtenay and Empress Yolanda of Flanders, but they had no children. List of Byzantine emperors This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh. Jonathan Harris, Byzantium and the Crusades, Bloomsbury, 2nd ed.2014, ISBN 978-1-78093-767-0 The New Cambridge Medieval History, Vol. V, Cambridge University Press,1995. ISBN 0-521-36289-X,9780521362894 Kazhdan, Alexander, ed, New York and Oxford, Oxford University Press
Theodore I Laskaris
–
Portrait of Theodore I from a 15th-century manuscript
