v1.1 Updated 08 February 2007

 

 

thessaloniki

 

 

RETURN TO CONTENTS

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

INTRODUCTION. 1

Chapter 1.            KINGS of THESSALONIKI (MONFERRATO) 2

BONIFAZIO 1204-1207, DEMETRIO 1207-1224. 2

Chapter 2.            EMPERORS at THESSALONIKI (ANGELOS) 3

THEODOROS I 1224-1230, MANUEL 1230-1237, IOANNES 1237-1244, DEMETRIOS 1244-1246. 3

Chapter 3.            LORDS of THESSALY (NEOPATRAS) 6

IOANNES 1267-1289, KONSTANTINOS 1289-1303, IOANNES 1303-1318. 7

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

 

After the fall of Constantinople to the armies of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, Byzantine nobles fled and established themselves in Asia Minor and in Thrace and Epirus on the Greek mainland.  Bonifazio Marchese di Monferrato, one of the leaders of the crusade, bought Venice's rights to Thessaloniki where he established himself as king after failing to be chosen as emperor of the new Latin empire (see Chapter 1).  He extended his kingdom northwards to include Macedonia and southwards into Thessaly[1].  He was succeeded as king in 1207 by his infant son Demetrio.  However, between 1215 and 1217, Theodoros Komnenos Dukas Angelos Lord of Epirus conquered most of Macedonia, and then pressed into Thessaly.  He attacked the Latin kingdom of Thessaloniki, which had been weakened by the return of many of its knights to the west.  He entered the city of Thessaloniki in Dec 1224 and deposed King Demetrio[2].  Theodoros declared himself despot and autokrator in the kingdom of Thessaloniki, and was crowned Emperor of the Romans in direct challenge to the right of the emperors at Nikaia to assume the imperial mantle of Byzantium (see Chapter 2).  Theodoros was captured by the Bulgarians in 1230 and remained in a Bulgarian prison for seven years, after which his state disintegrated[3].  He was released in 1237 and returned to Thessaloniki, where he deposed his brother Manuel and installed his son Ioannes in his place, although Theodoros continued to exercise a strong influence[4].  He was exiled to Voden in Edessa after Ioannes III Batatzes Emperor in Nikaia captured Thessaloniki in 1246[5]. 

 

A younger branch of the Angelos family of Epirus established themselves as Lords of Thessaly in the mid-13th century, based at Neopatras (see Chapter 3).  Their lordship survived for more than half a century, but was under continual pressure from the re-established empire of Byzantium and, in the early 14th century, from the Latin duchy of Athens.  Ioannes, last Lord of Neopatras, accepted Byzantine suzerainty in 1315 in order to free himself from Athens, and married the emperor's daughter[6].  After his death, the lordship of Thessaly was dismembered: the Melissenos family took control of Delphos, Venice took Ptelion, Neopatras was occupied by the Catalans, and the northern part of Thessaly was taken by Byzantium[7]. 

 

As will be seen below, it has been possible to verify only a small part of the information about these families against primary source documentation.  Chapters 2 and 3 of this document has been reviewed in detail by Morris Bierbrier, who has made additions where indicated.  I am very grateful for his helpful collaboration. 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 1.    KINGS of THESSALONIKI (MONFERRATO)

 

 

BONIFAZIO 1204-1207, DEMETRIO 1207-1224

 

BONIFAZIO di Monferrato, son of GUGLIELMO V "il Vecchio" Marchese di Monferrato & his wife Judith of Austria [Babenberg] (1150-killed in battle 4 Sep 1207).  The Cronica Alberti de Bezanis names "Gullielmus Spatam-longam, Conradum, Bonifacium, Fredericum et Raynerium" as the five sons of "Gulielmus marchio Montisferati" & his wife[8].  Regent of Monferrato 1191.  He succeeded his brother in 1192 as BONIFAZIO I Marchese di Monferrato.  He assisted Emperor Heinrich VI King of Germany in his conquest of Sicily in 1194[9].  He joined the movement for a Fourth Crusade, and was elected leader on the death of Thibaut III Comte de Champagne[10], a decision which was ratified at Soissons in Aug 1201[11].  Under the terms of the partition of the Byzantine Empire agreed in March 1204 between Venice and the crusading armies, approximately ³/₈ of the territory of the former empire was to be distributed between the crusaders.  Bonifazio, as leader of the crusade, expected to be installed as emperor of the newly formed Latin Empire of Constantinople.  He married the widow of ex-Emperor Isaakios II in order to advance his claims, but he was outmanoeuvred by Enrico Dandolo Doge of Venice who secured the appointment of Baudouin IX Count of Flanders whom he considered a less powerful candidate[12].  Bonifazio was assigned a large fief in Anatolia, but demanded Thessaloniki which he claimed belonged as of right to his family since Emperor Manuel I had granted his brother Ranieri a large estate there.  At a meeting with Venetian representatives at Adrianople 12 Aug 1204, he ceded the island of Crete (which he claimed had been given as a fief to his brother Ranieri by Emperor Manuel I) to Venice and bought Venice's rights to Thessaloniki[13].  Bonifazio captured Demotika and besieged Adrianople to press his claim.  Peace was soon mediated, and Emperor Baudouin exchanged Demotika for Thessaloniki, where Bonifazio declared himself King of Thessaloniki.  He extended his kingdom northwards to include Macedonia and southwards into Thessaly[14].  His fiefs were Othon de la Roche (for Attika and Boetia, later to form the Duchy of Athens), Guillaume de Champlitte and, after his death, Geoffroy de Villehardouin (for the Principality of Achaia or Morea in Peloponese).  He was faced with continual threats from the north from the Bulgarians and, against this common threat, allied himself with Henri Latin Emperor of Constantinople, confirmed by the marriage of his daughter to the Emperor[15].  He was killed by a small Bulgarian raiding party, his head being sent as a trophy to Kalojan Tsar of Bulgaria[16].  The Cronica of Sicardi Bishop of Cremona records the death in 1207 of "Bonifacius marchio Montis-ferrati" killed in battle[17]. 

1.             DEMETRIO ([1205]-[1230/39]).  The Cronica of Sicardi Bishop of Cremona names "Wilielmus in Ytalia et Demetrius aput Tessalonicam" as sons and successors of "Bonifacius marchio Montis-ferrati"[18].  He succeeded his father in 1207 as King of Thessaloniki, under the regency of his mother.  The regency was taken by Uberto di Biandrate who refused to swear allegiance to Henri I Latin Emperor of Constantinople, who invaded Thessaloniki to assert his authority, captured Uberto and crowned Demetrio 6 Jan 1209[19].  Theodoros Komnenos Dukas Angelos Lord of Epirus attacked the kingdom of Thessaloniki, which had been weakened by the return of many of its knights to the west, and entered the city in Dec 1224, deposing King Demetrio[20].  Demetrio bequeathed his rights to Thessaloniki to Emperor Friedrich II King of Germany (although the latter renounced his rights in favour of Bonifazio Marchese di Monferrato[21]) and returned to Italy where he died[22]. 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 2.    EMPERORS at THESSALONIKI (ANGELOS)

 

 

THEODOROS I 1224-1230, MANUEL 1230-1237, IOANNES 1237-1244, DEMETRIOS 1244-1246

 

1.             THEODOROS Komnenos Dukas Angelos, son of IOANNES Dukas Angelos Governor of Epirus & his wife --- ([1180]-in prison in Nikaia shortly after 1253).  Twin with his sister ---.  If his birth date is correct as shown here, it is likely that he was considerably younger than his brothers Isaakios and Alexios, which suggests that he may have been born from a later marriage.  Nicetas reports that, immediately after the flight of Emperor Alexios V Dukas Murzuphlos and before the arrival of the crusading army (presumably 13 Apr 1204), there were two candidates for emperor "a pair of young men … Dukas and Laskaris and the name of both was that of the champion [αρχηγός] of the faith".  The latter expression has been interpreted as referring to "Konstantinos", which would indicate that Konstantinos Laskaris rather than his brother Theodoros was chosen, although another otherwise less reliable manuscript refers to the first name "Theodoros"[23].  The only "Konstantinos Dukas" at the time appears to have been Theodoros's brother, but it is unclear why a younger brother should have been proposed as candidate for the throne.  Despite the interpretation referred to above, it appears more probable that Theodoros Komnenos Dukas Angelos was one of the chosen candidates and Theodoros Laskaris the other.  Theodoros Komnenos Dukas Angelos fled to Nikaia after the capture of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204, but went to Epirus to help his illegitimate half-brother in 1205[24].  Theodoros succeeded Leon Sgouros as Lord of Corinth, Navplion and Argos in 1208[25].  He was guardian for his nephew Mikhael, after the death of his illegitimate half-brother in 1215, but banished him to Peloponnesos and installed himself as Lord of Epirus.  He made peace with Serbia in [1216], confirmed by his brother's marriage to the sister of Grand Župan Stefan and, later, by his own daughter's marriage to Stefan's son Radoslav[26].  In 1216, he captured Pierre de Courtenay, recently crowned by the Pope as emperor of Constantinople, who was passing through Epirus on his way to Constantinople having been persuaded by the Venetians to help them recapture Durazzo[27].  Between 1215 and 1217, Theodoros conquered most of Macedonia, and then pressed into Thessaly.  He attacked the Latin kingdom of Thessaloniki, weakened after many of its knights had returned to the west, and entered the city in Dec 1224[28], declaring himself despot and autokrator in the kingdom of Thessaloniki.  He was crowned THEODOROS I Emperor of the Romans at Arta in [1225] by Demetrios Bishop of Ohrid, in direct challenge to the right of the emperors of Nikaia to assume the imperial mantle of Byzantium.  Relations between the churches of Nikaia and Epirus deteriorated after this event, resulting in a full scale schism which lasted until 1232/33[29].  Theodoros defeated a Nikaian army which had taken control of Adrianople and moved on Constantinople.  To forestall a Bulgarian attack, he agreed an alliance with Ivan Asen II Tsar of Bulgaria, confirmed by the marriage of his brother Manuel to the Tsar's daughter, but was unable to seize the capital[30].  He finally marched on Constantinople in 1230, but changed course and attacked Bulgaria.  The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines records that "Alsanus rex Bulgarie" captured and blinded "ducem Durachis Theodorum"[31] at Klokotnica, near Philippopolis, in Apr 1230[32].  Theodoros remained in a Bulgarian prison for seven years[33].  Tsar Ivan Asen then went on the offensive, conquering most of Macedonia and Albania, after which Theodoros's state disintegrated[34].  Theodoros was released in 1237 after Tsar Ivan Asen married his daughter, as his third wife.  He returned to Thessaloniki, where he deposed his brother Manuel and installed his son Ioannes in his place, although Theodoros exercised a strong influence over his son[35].  Theodoros was detained on a visit to Nikaia in 1240, and returned as a prisoner when the Nikaian army marched on Thessaloniki in 1242[36].  He was exiled to Voden in Edessa after Ioannes III Batatzes Emperor in Nikaia captured Thessaloniki in 1246[37].  He plotted with Mikhael I Angelos Lord of Epirus to break his 1249 treaty of friendship with Nikaia.  They were defeated 1252 when Theodoros was captured and sent to Nikaia a prisoner.  m (before 1210) MARIA Dukaina Komnene Petraliphaina, daughter of [THEODOROS] Petraliphos & his wife ---.  Emperor Theodoros I & his wife had four children:

a)             IOANNES Komnenos [Angelos] (-1244).  After his father's release from prison and return to Thessaloniki, he was installed in [1237/38] as IOANNES Emperor of Thessaloniki.  Besieged in Thessaloniki by the Nikaian army in 1242, he agreed to renounce the imperial title, in return receiving the title despot from Emperor Ioannes III Batatzes and being allowed to continue to rule as Lord of Thessaloniki[38].   

b)             ANNA Dukaina Angelina (-1258).  Her marriage was arranged by her father as part of peace terms with Serbia[39].  Her influence over her husband triggered the 1233 rebellion which led to his deposition[40].  She became a nun in Serbia.  m ([29 Oct 1219/9 Feb 1220]) STEFAN RADOSLAV of Serbia, son of STEFAN Grand Župan of Serbia & his first wife Evdokia Komnene Angelina ([1191/1201]-after 1235).  He succeeded on the abdication of his father [1224/27] as RADOSLAV "Krapalo" King of Serbia, deposed 1233.  He became a monk as Jovan. 

c)             EIRENE Komnene Angelina ([before 1220][41]-after 1241).  The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines refers to the second wife of "Alsannus rex" as "filia Theodori ceci" but does not name her[42].  Ivan Asen II Tsar of the Bulgarians had defeated her father at Klokotnica, near Philippopolis, in Apr 1230, blinded him and kept him prisoner in Bulgaria for seven years[43].  It appears that he was released in 1237 after he gave Tsar Ivan Asen permission to marry his daughter Eirene.  Tsarina Irina was probably exiled from Bulgaria soon after the accession in 1241 of her stepson, living with her brother in Thessaloniki[44].  She became a nun as XENIA.  m ([1237/38]) as his third wife, IVAN ASEN II Tsar of the Bulgarians, son of IVAN ASEN I Tsar of the Bulgarians & his [first/second] wife --- ([1190]-Jun 1241). 

d)             DEMETRIOS Komnenos Dukas [Angelos] ([1225]-in prison after Dec 1246).  He succeeded his brother in 1244 as Lord of Thessaloniki.  "An extravagant and reckless young man", his unpopularity provided the opportunity for Ioannes III Batatzes Emperor of Nikaia to capture Thessaloniki in Dec 1246.  Demetrios was deposed and briefly imprisoned, before being given large estates in Anatolia as compensation[45]. 

2.             MANUEL Angelos Dukas Komnenos (-1241).  The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines names "Theodorus Thessalonice rex cecatus…frater eius Manuel" when recording his flight in 1235 to "dominum Gaufridum" [Prince of Achaia][46].  Lord of Pharsale, Larissa and Platámona.  He was awarded the title despot by his brother after the latter's coronation as emperor in [1225][47].  After his brother Theodoros was captured by the Bulgarians at Klokotnica in Apr 1230, Manuel succeeded as regent of the kingdom of Thessaloniki, but was controlled by his father-in-law Tsar Ivan Asen[48].  Manuel assumed the title Emperor in Thessaloniki, although his territory was by then confined to the town of Thessaloniki itself[49].  His brother Theodoros deposed Manuel after being released from Bulgaria in 1237, and installed his own son in his place.  Manuel escaped to Nikaia to seek help for his restoration.  He returned to Greece in 1239, landed in Thessaly and conquered Larissa.  He reached a settlement with his brother Theodoros, who accepted him as Lord of Thessaly[50]. 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 3.    LORDS of THESSALY (NEOPATRAS)

 

 

IOANNES 1267-1289, KONSTANTINOS 1289-1303, IOANNES 1303-1318

 

IOANNES Dukas Komnenos Angelos, illegitimate son of MIKHAEL [II] Komnenos Dukas Angelos Lord of Epirus & his mistress Gangrene --- (-before Mar 1289).  His father appointed him governor of Thessaly, where he consolidated his position by his marriage.  He led a unit of Vlachs in his father's attack on Nikaia in 1259, but withdrew from the battle in the valley of Pelagonia after quarrelling with Guillaume de Villehardouin, defecting to Nikaia.  Forgiven by his father, they planned a joint counter-attack and succeeded in expelling the Nikaians from Epirus[51].  He succeeded his father as Lord of Thessaly in [1267/68], his capital being at Neopatras.  Emperor Mikhael VIII attempted to establish a durable alliance with Ioannes by arranging the marriage of his daughter with the emperor's nephew, Andronikos Tarchanaiotes, and by awarding Ioannes the title sébastokrator in 1271, although Tarchanaiotes subsequently turned against the emperor.  Ioannes made an alliance with Charles I King of Sicily in 1273[52].  Emperor Mikhael VIII attacked Thessaly in 1275 and besieged Neopatras, from where Ioannes escaped to Athens where he agreed an alliance with Jean de la Roche Duke of Athens, confirmed by the marriage of the duke's son to Ioannes's daughter[53].  Ioannes organised opposition to the emperor's union of the Orthodox and Roman churches, his council declaring the emperor a heretic in 1278.  He attacked Epirus in [1284/85] in revenge for the kidnap of his son by his half-brother Nikephoros and the latter's wife, who had tricked him into visiting Epirus with the promise of marriage to their daughter[54].  He became a monk. 

m (before 1259) ---, daughter of TARON, Vlach chief in Thessaly.  After her husband's death, she agreed to Byzantine suzerainty over Thessaly on behalf of her sons Konstantinos and Theodoros in order to obtain recognition of their right to rule[55].  She became a nun as HYPOMONE. 

Ioannes & his wife had [seven] children:

1.             MIKHAEL Dukas Komnenos Angelos (-murdered Constantinople 1307).  His betrothal to an unnamed daughter of Tsar Ivan Asen III is recorded by Pachymeres[56].  A fervent opponent of Byzantium, he was tricked by the offer of marriage with his first cousin, the daughter of Nikephoros Lord of Epirus, in [1283/84] but was kidnapped by Nikephoros when he arrived in Epirus for the wedding and sent in chains to Constantinople, where he remained in prison until he was killed[57].  Betrothed ([1283, contract broken [1283/84]) to --- Asanina, daughter of IVAN ASEN III Tsar of the Bulgarians & his wife Eirene Palaiologina ([1279]-). 

2.             KONSTANTINOS Komnenos Dukas (-1303).  He succeeded his father in [1289] as Lord of Thessaly, sharing power with his younger brother Theodoros.  He was granted the title sébastokrator under the treaty recognising Byzantine suzerainty over Thessaly which was negotiated by his mother[58].  However, he reversed this pro-Byzantine policy by recognising in 1296 the suzerainty of Charles II King of Sicily[59].  m [ANNA Evagionissa], daughter of --- (-1317).  Konstantinos & his wife had [one possible child]:

a)             [IOANNES Dukas Angelos ([1295/1300]-1318).  His parentage is nowhere stated, he could have been the son either of Konstantinos or of Konstantinos's brother Theodoros[60].  Sébastokrator.  He succeeded his father in 1303 as Lord of Thessaly, but a council of nobles invited Guy II Duke of Athens to become the infant's guardian in light of continuing threats of attack from Epirus.  Duke Guy took advantage of this role to assert considerable influence over Thessaly[61].  After Duke Guy was killed by the Catalans at Kephissos in 1311, Ioannes adopted the title "Lord of the lands of Athens and Neopatras" although he had no control over the territory[62].  Ioannes accepted Byzantine suzerainty in 1315 in order to free himself from Athens, and married the emperor's daughter[63].  After the death of Ioannes, the Lordship of Thessaly was dismembered: the Melissenos family took control of Delphos, Venice took Ptelion, Neopatras was occupied by the Catalans, and the northern part of Thessaly was taken by Byzantium[64].  m (1309 or 1315[65]) EIRENE Palaiologina, illegitimate daughter of Emperor ANDRONIKOS II & his mistress ---.  Her marriage was arranged when her future husband accepted Byzantine suzerainty over Thessaly[66].] 

3.             HELENE Komnenodukaina (-[1294/95]).  The primary source which confirms her parentage and two marriages has not yet been identified.  Her dowry for her first marriage consisted of the towns of Gravia, Siderokastron, Gardiki and Lamia[67].  Regent of the Duchy of Athens 1289-1294.  m firstly GUILLAUME de la Roche Duke of Athens, son of GUY I Duke of Athens & his wife --- [Briel/Bruyères of Karytena] (-1287).  Joint Lord of Thebes 1280.  m secondly (1291 before 14 Sep) HUGUES de Brienne Conte di Lecce, son of GAUTHIER [IV] "le Grand" de Brienne Count of Jaffa & his wife Marie of Cyprus (-before 27 Aug 1296).  Captain-General of Brindisi, Otranto and Apulia.   

4.             THEODOROS Komnenodukas Angelos (-after [1299]).  He shared power with his older brother Konstantinos when the latter succeeded their father as Lord of Thessaly.  He was granted the title sébastokrator under the treaty recognising Byzantine suzerainty over Thessaly which was negotiated by his mother[68].  [Betrothed (1294) to STEPHANIE of Armenia, daughter of LEO II King of Armenia & his wife Anna of Lampron [Armenia-Hethum] (1278-1296).  This betrothal is shown in Europäische Stammtafeln[69], according to which the name of Theodoros's betrothed was Theophana.  Rüdt-Collenberg[70] gives her name as Stephanie but states that she was betrothed to "Ioannes Angelos despot of Epirus", although it is unclear to whom this could refer.] 

5.             daughter.  Her marriage was arranged by her future husband's uncle, Emperor Mikhael VIII, as part of his policy of establishing close relations with her father[71], although this backfired after the marriage when her husband supported her father against the emperor.  m ANDRONIKOS Tarchanaiotes, son of NIKEPHOROS Tarchanaiotes, megas domestikos & his wife Maria Palaiologina (-1283).  Megas kontostavlos.  He allied himself with his father-in-law to challenge Emperor Mikhael VIII.  He died of the plague. 

6.             [HELENA] Angelina (-[1298/99]).  She is named "[Helene]/Jelena" in Europäische Stammtafeln[72] but the primary source on which this is based has not been identified.  m ([1276], repudiated 1283) as his first wife, STEFAN UROŠ MILUTIN, son of STEFAN UROŠ I "Veliki/the Great" or "Arapavi/the Holy" King of Serbia & his wife Jelena --- ([1253]-Castle Nerodimlja, Amselfeld 29 Oct 1321, bur Sardika [Sofija]).  He succeeded in 1282 on the abdication of his brother as STEFAN UROŠ II MILUTIN King of Serbia. 

7.             [daughter .  An unnamed daughter is attested in 1299, but she could have been one of the other known daughters of Ioannes.]