Acropolitissa, wife of Michael of Trebizond
Encyclopedia
Family
Her father was Constantine Acropolites. According to his entry in "Porphyrogenita:Essays on the History and Literature of Byzantium and the Latin East" (2003) Constantine was married to Maria Komnene Tornikina. Constantine was a scholar in the courts of Michael VIII PalaiologosMichael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus reigned as Byzantine Emperor 1259–1282. Michael VIII was the founder of the Palaiologan dynasty that would rule the Byzantine Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453...
and Andronikos II Palaiologos
Andronikos II Palaiologos
Andronikos II Palaiologos , Latinized as Andronicus II Palaeologus, was Byzantine emperor from 1282 to 1328. He was the eldest surviving son of Michael VIII Palaiologos and Theodora Doukaina Vatatzina, grandniece of John III Doukas Vatatzes...
in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. He was granted the title Megas Logothetes
Megas logothetes
The megas logothetēs or Grand Logothete, was an official supervising all the sekreta ....
in 1294, succeeding Theodore Mouzalon...
Constantine was the eldest son of George Acropolites and his wife Eudokia.. Her maternal grandfather was John Tornikes, sevastokrator..
John Tornikes is considered a probable son of Demetrios Tornikes, an important noble in the court of John III Doukas Vatatzes
John III Doukas Vatatzes
John III Doukas Vatatzes, Latinized as Ducas Vatatzes |Nymphaion]]) was emperor of Nicaea 1221–1254.-Life:John Doukas Vatatzes was probably the son of the general Basileios Vatatzes, Duke of Thrace, who died in 1193, and his wife, an unnamed daughter of Isaakios Angelos and cousin of the Emperors...
. The chronicle of George Acropolites mentions Demetrios having married an unnamed relative of Michael VIII, possibly a member of the Palaiologos
Palaiologos
Palaiologos , often latinized as Palaeologus, was a Byzantine Greek noble family, which produced the last ruling dynasty of the Byzantine Empire. After the Fourth Crusade, members of the family fled to the neighboring Empire of Nicaea, where Michael VIII Palaiologos became co-emperor in 1259,...
family. Assuming the theory is correct, the siblings of John would include: (1)Constantine Tornikes, who shared the duties of megas primikerios with Alexios Strategopoulos
Alexios Strategopoulos
Alexios Strategopoulos was a Byzantine general during the reign of Michael VIII Palaiologos, rising to the rank of megas domestikos and Caesar. He is most notable for leading the reconquest of Constantinople from the Latins in 1261.- Early life :...
. Constantine fell out of favor and removed from position by Theodore II Laskaris
Theodore II Laskaris
Theodore II Doukas Laskaris or Ducas Lascaris was emperor of Nicaea, 1254–1258.-Life:Theodore II Doukas Laskaris was the only son of Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes and Eirene Laskarina, the daughter of Emperor Theodore I Laskaris and Anna Angelina, a daughter of Emperor Alexios III Angelos and...
. His Tornikaina daughter was a mistress and probably second wife of John Doukas Palaiologos
Despot John Palaeologus
John Komnenos Palaiologos was a Byzantine aristocrat, brother to Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos , who served as the commander in chief of the Byzantine army. He played a prominent part in his brother's military campaigns, most notably in the crucial victory at the Battle of Pelagonia, but also...
. Their illegitimate daughter Theodora married David VI of Georgia. (2)Andronikos Tornikes. (3) Tornikina, wife of Theodore Petraliphas.
.
Marriage
According to Trebizond: The Last Greek Empire of the Byzantine Era by William Miller, Acropolitissa married Michael of Trebizond. He was a younger son of John II of TrebizondJohn II of Trebizond
John II Megas Komnenos was Emperor of Trebizond from 1280 to 1297. He was the youngest son of Emperor Manuel I and his third wife, Irene Syrikaina, a Trapezuntine noblewoman...
and Eudokia Palaiologina
Eudokia Palaiologina
Eudokia Palaiologina or was the third daughter of Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos and his wife, Theodora Doukaina Vatatzaina, a grandniece of Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes of Nicaea....
. John II died in 1297 and Eudokia returned to the court of her brother Andronikos II in Constantinople. Michael apparently followed his mother and did not return to Trebizond
Trabzon
Trabzon is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Iran in the southeast and the Caucasus to the northeast...
until 1341, forty-four years later. Their marriage probably took place during his lengthy stay in Constantinople. Their only known son was John III of Trebizond
John III of Trebizond
John III Megas Komnenos was Emperor of Trebizond from September 4, 1342 to May 3, 1344...
.
In 1341, the throne of Trebizond was held by Irene Palaiologina, widow of his nephew Basil of Trebizond
Basil of Trebizond
Basil Megas Komnenos was Emperor of Trebizond from August 1332 to his death in 1340. Basil was a younger son of Emperor Alexios II of Trebizond and his wife Djiadjak Jaqeli...
. The Scholarioi faction, led by Niketas and Gregory, decided to invite Michael to claim the throne instead. The regency of the underage John V Palaiologos
John V Palaiologos
John V Palaiologos was a Byzantine emperor, who succeeded his father in 1341, at age nine.-Biography:...
of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
, at the time headed by Anna of Savoy
Anna of Savoy
Anna of Savoy, born Giovanna, was a Byzantine Empress consort, as the second wife of Andronikos III Palaiologos.-Family:She was a daughter of Amadeus V, Count of Savoy and his second wife Maria of Brabant. Her maternal grandparents were John I, Duke of Brabant and Margaret of Flanders...
and John Kantakouzenos
John VI Kantakouzenos
John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzenus was the Byzantine emperor from 1347 to 1354.-Early life:Born in Constantinople, John Kantakouzenos was the son of a Michael Kantakouzenos, governor of the Morea. Through his mother Theodora Palaiologina Angelina, he was a descendant of the reigning house of...
, decided to dispatch Michael and three ships towards Trebizond. Miller claimed that Michael was intended as a new consort of Irene. Whether this means he was already widowed is uncertain.
On 30 July 1341, Michael and his ships reached Trebizond to find Irene already deposed. She had been replaced by Anna of Trebizond
Anna of Trebizond
Anna Anachoutlou Megale Komnene , , Empress of Trebizond from July 17, 1341 to September 4, 1342. Anna was the elder daughter of Emperor Alexios II of Trebizond and his Georgian wife, Djiadjak Jaqeli....
, sister of Basil, sister-in-law of Irene and niece to Michael. As the legitimate male descendant of the ruling family, Michael received the support of much of the populace and was acclaimed emperor. Some of the nobility, led by the Metropolitan Akakios received him as their lord and escorted him into the palace. As soon as night fell, however, the nobles imprisoned Michael, not wishing to be ruled by a mature and forceful monarch. Anna's Lazic troops dispersed Michael's supporters and plundered his ships. The following day he was sent off to Oinaion and then Limnia, where he was held captive by the Grand Duke John the Eunuch. His first reign had only lasted a day.
On 4 September 1342, John III managed to depose his cousin Anna and claimed the throne for himself. Michael remained a prisoner of John the Eunuch. John III turned out to be a weak and dissolute ruler, who cared only for entertainment, self-indulgence, and luxury. In 1344, the Eunuch was assassinated. Niketas of the Scholarioi marched to Limnia and released Michael. They headed to Trebizond.
On 3 May 1344, John III was deposed and Michael restored to the throne. John III was exiled to a monastery. Michael granted Niketas the title of Grand Duke (megas doux) and was forced to sign the document which gave Niketas and his ministers almost all power in the Empire, promising to seek their counsel in all official actions. This constitutional experiment was short-lived, because the greatest opposition came from the people of Trebizond. They were infuriated to see the Emperor stripped of his effective authority and rose up in revolt against the oligarchy of the Scholarioi. Michael swiftly took advantage of the opportunity, and arrested and imprisoned Niketas in 1345.
However the subsequent reign of Michael would prove troubled. Two invasions by Turkmen
Turkmen people
The Turkmen are a Turkic people located primarily in the Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and northeastern Iran. They speak the Turkmen language, which is classified as a part of the Western Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages family together with Turkish, Azerbaijani, Qashqai,...
and one by the Republic of Genoa
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
resulted in territorial losses and consequent decline of Trebizond's role in the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
trade. Thec Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
reached Trebizond in 1347 and caused further panicked reactions by the populace. Discredited for failing to govern the crumbling Empire, Michael was deposed on 13 December 1349. He was replaced by a grandnephew, Alexios III of Trebizond
Alexios III of Trebizond
Alexios III Megas Komnenos or Alexius III , Emperor of Trebizond from December 1349 until his death. He was the son of Emperor Basil of Trebizond and his second wife, Irene of Trebizond...
. Michael would unsuccessfully reclaim the throne in 1355.
Whether Acropolitissa was alive during the reign of Michael is uncertain. She would probably have remained in Constantinople for its entire duration.
Possible descendants
The "Georgian Chronicle" of the 18th century reports George V of GeorgiaGeorge V of Georgia
George V, the "Brilliant" was King of Georgia from 1299 to 1302 and again from 1314 until his death. A flexible and far-sighted politician, he recovered Georgia from a century-long Mongol domination, restoring the country’s previous strength and Christian culture.-Reign:George was born to King...
marrying a daughter of "the Greek Emperor, Lord Michael Komnenos
Komnenos
Komnenós or Comnenus was the name of a ruling family of the Eastern Roman Empire , who halted the political decline of the Empire from c.1081 to c.1185.-Origins:...
". However the reigning dynasty of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
in the 14th century were the Palaiologoi
Palaiologos
Palaiologos , often latinized as Palaeologus, was a Byzantine Greek noble family, which produced the last ruling dynasty of the Byzantine Empire. After the Fourth Crusade, members of the family fled to the neighboring Empire of Nicaea, where Michael VIII Palaiologos became co-emperor in 1259,...
, not the Komnenoi. The marriage of a daughter of Michael IX Palaiologos
Michael IX Palaiologos
Michael IX Palaiologos or Palaeologus , , reigned as Byzantine co-emperor with full imperial style 1294/1295–1320...
and his wife Rita of Armenia
Rita of Armenia
Rita of Armenia was a daughter of King Levon II of Armenia and Queen Keran. She was the wife of Byzantine co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos, making her a junior empress-consort of the Byzantine Empire. In 1317, she became the only empress upon the death of the senior empress, Irene of Montferrat...
to a Georgian ruler is not recorded in Byzantine sources. Neither is the existence of any illegitimate daughters of Michael IX. Whether this was a daughter of Michael Komnenos of Trebizond and Acropolitissa is unknown.