John IV of Trebizond
Encyclopedia
John IV Megas Komnenos (c. 1403 – 1459) was Emperor
of Trebizond
from 1429 to 1459. He was a son of Emperor Alexios IV of Trebizond
and Theodora Kantakouzene
.
John had been designated despotes
by his father as early as 1417, but did not see eye-to-eye with his parents. In 1426 he murdered a courtier for allegedly having an affair with the Empress Theodora, and then proceeded to attack his parents. His attempt on them was overcome by the palace staff, and John was forced to flee to Georgia
.
In Georgia John married Bagrationi
, a daughter of King Alexander I
but could not obtain sufficient support to establish himself in Trebizond. In 1427 he sailed off to the Genoese
colony of Caffa in the Crimea
. Here he managed to charter a large galley and its crew, with which he returned to Trebizond in 1429. Although his father Alexios IV marched out against him, John managed to win the support of some of the nobility, who allowed John's agents to murder his father while he was sleeping in his tent. John's brother Alexander, who had succeeded him as despotes
proved no match for the invader and fled, and by late October 1429 John IV was recognized as emperor in Trebizond some time before October 28, 1429.
John IV began his reign by punishing the physical murderers of his father and burying him in state in the Metropolitan church. His reign was dominated by ongoing attempts to defend Trebizond from its Turkmen
neighbors and the increasingly aggressive Ottoman Empire
to the west. The first challenge was posed by the ruler of Ardabil, Junayd, who defeated the emperor and briefly besieged Trebizond before giving up and raising the siege.
In 1442 the Ottoman Sultan Murad II
sent out a fleet to plunder the shores and to attempt to capture the city. This expedition did not seriously impact Trebizond itself, but attacked Trebizond's dependencies in the Crimea and was partly destroyed by a storm on its return journey. The Ottomans did not make another attack on the Empire of Trebizond until the reign of the next Sultan, Mehmed II
.
In 1451 the Byzantine
diplomat Sphrantzes arrived in Trebizond to arrange a marriage alliance between Emperor Constantine XI
Palaiologos
and a princess from either John IV's family or that of the kings of Georgia. This incident is notable in Sphrantzes's Chronicle for the color it paints of the emperor, since Sphrantzes arrived in Trebizond having not heard yet of the death of the Ottoman sultan Murad II, which John gleefully related. He told Sphrantzes how great it was that now his empire could last longer and be blessed because of the youth of Mehmed II. Sphrantzes, however, was taken aback and explained to him that Mehmed's youth and seeming friendship to the new emperor Constantine XI
were only ploys, and that under John's brother-in-law John VIII the empire had been deeply in debt, but now his new emperor was trying to change that. The incident as described should well have served to John IV the new peril which had come forth. In 1453, after the Fall of Constantinople
to Mehmed II, Trebizond and the Morea
were left as the last remnants of the Byzantine imperial tradition. Mehmed II immediately summoned John to pay tribute in Constantinople
and imposed heavy tolls on Trapezuntine and Venetian
shipping through the straits. John apparently failed to cooperate, and in 1456 the Sultan dispatched his governor of Amasya
to attack Trebizond by both land and sea.
The fall of his capital seeming imminent, John at long last made his submission and agreed to pay an annual tribute of 2,000 gold pieces. He sent his brother David
to ratify the treaty before Mehmed II himself, which he did in 1458, but the tribute was raised to 3,000 gold pieces. Aware of the Ottoman advance against the remaining Byzantine possessions in Greece
, John attempted to bolster his position by resorting to marital alliances with neighboring princes. So he married off one of his daughters to Uzun Hasan of the Ak Koyunlu
, and another daughter (or perhaps sister) to the Italian lord of Syros
, Niccolò Crispo.
In the increasingly desperate situation of Trebizond, John IV came to favor the idea of obtaining Western support by effecting a union with the Roman Catholic Church
. As early as 1434 he responded to the letters of Pope Eugenius IV (in marked contrast to earlier emperors of Trebizond, who had ignored papal missives). In the late 1430s the Metropolitan of Trebizond joined the Byzantine clergy at the Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence.
However, these approaches to the Papacy were not marked by harmonious relations with the most important Western power concerned with Trebizond, the Republic of Genoa. Although John owed his throne to a Genoese crew, he repeatedly failed to reimburse the Genoese for debts owed to them in 1431, and in 1441 refused to provide reparations for having ordered the seizure and pillage of a Genoese ship in 1435. Further diplomatic initiatives by Genoa failed in 1443, and in 1447 the Genoese of Caffa advanced on Trebizond with their fleet, threatening to set up an embargo. The disputes were never fully settled and seriously injured commerce in the Black Sea
.
John's hostile attitude towards Genoa is credited to his fear of a potential Byzantino-Genoese alliance against him that could place his brother Alexander on the throne of Trebizond. Alexander had fled Trebizond for the Byzantine court in 1429 and had eventually married Maria Gattilusio, the daughter of the Genoese lord of Lesbos. The apprehensiveness towards Genoa was contrasted by friendlier relations with Venice, although the Venetians never recovered their former influence in the Black Sea.
John died some time before April 22, 1459, when his brother David is first attested as emperor of Trebizond.
John IV was married twice, first to an unnamed daughter of King Alexander I of Georgia, and then to a unnamed daughter of Dawlat Berdi
. Probably by his first marriage he had a son and at least one, or possibly two daughters:
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
of Trebizond
Empire of Trebizond
The Empire of Trebizond, founded in April 1204, was one of three Byzantine successor states of the Byzantine Empire. However, the creation of the Empire of Trebizond was not directly related to the capture of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade, rather it had broken away from the Byzantine Empire...
from 1429 to 1459. He was a son of Emperor Alexios IV of Trebizond
Alexios IV of Trebizond
Alexios IV Megas Komnenos or Alexius IV , , Emperor of Trebizond from March 5, 1417 to October 1429. He was the son of Emperor Manuel III and Gulkhan-Eudokia of Georgia.- Reign :...
and Theodora Kantakouzene
Theodora Kantakouzene, wife of Alexios IV of Trebizond
Theodora Kantakouzene was the Empress consort of Alexios IV of Trebizond.-Family:Theodora and her relations are named in Dell'Imperadori Constantinopolitani, a manuscript held in the Vatican Library. The document is also known as the "Massarelli manuscript" because it was found in the papers of...
.
John had been designated despotes
Despotes
Despot , was a senior Byzantine court title that was bestowed on the sons or sons-in-law of reigning emperors, and initially denoted the heir-apparent...
by his father as early as 1417, but did not see eye-to-eye with his parents. In 1426 he murdered a courtier for allegedly having an affair with the Empress Theodora, and then proceeded to attack his parents. His attempt on them was overcome by the palace staff, and John was forced to flee to Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
.
In Georgia John married Bagrationi
Bagrationi, wife of John IV of Trebizond
Bagrationi was the first Empress consort of John IV of Trebizond. Her first name is unknown.-Family:Bagrationi was a daughter of Alexander I of Georgia and his second wife Tamar...
, a daughter of King Alexander I
Alexander I of Georgia
Alexander I, “the Great” , of the Bagrationi house, was king of Georgia from 1412 to 1442. Despite his efforts to restore the country from the ruins left by the Turco-Mongol warlord Timur Leng’s invasions, Georgia never recovered and faced the inevitable fragmentation that was followed by a long...
but could not obtain sufficient support to establish himself in Trebizond. In 1427 he sailed off to the Genoese
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....
colony of Caffa in the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
. Here he managed to charter a large galley and its crew, with which he returned to Trebizond in 1429. Although his father Alexios IV marched out against him, John managed to win the support of some of the nobility, who allowed John's agents to murder his father while he was sleeping in his tent. John's brother Alexander, who had succeeded him as despotes
Despotes
Despot , was a senior Byzantine court title that was bestowed on the sons or sons-in-law of reigning emperors, and initially denoted the heir-apparent...
proved no match for the invader and fled, and by late October 1429 John IV was recognized as emperor in Trebizond some time before October 28, 1429.
John IV began his reign by punishing the physical murderers of his father and burying him in state in the Metropolitan church. His reign was dominated by ongoing attempts to defend Trebizond from its 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,...
neighbors and the increasingly aggressive Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
to the west. The first challenge was posed by the ruler of Ardabil, Junayd, who defeated the emperor and briefly besieged Trebizond before giving up and raising the siege.
In 1442 the Ottoman Sultan Murad II
Murad II
Murad II Kodja was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1421 to 1451 ....
sent out a fleet to plunder the shores and to attempt to capture the city. This expedition did not seriously impact Trebizond itself, but attacked Trebizond's dependencies in the Crimea and was partly destroyed by a storm on its return journey. The Ottomans did not make another attack on the Empire of Trebizond until the reign of the next Sultan, Mehmed II
Mehmed II
Mehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from...
.
In 1451 the Byzantine
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...
diplomat Sphrantzes arrived in Trebizond to arrange a marriage alliance between Emperor Constantine XI
Constantine XI
Constantine XI Palaiologos, latinized as Palaeologus , Kōnstantinos XI Dragasēs Palaiologos; February 8, 1404 – May 29, 1453) was the last reigning Byzantine Emperor from 1449 to his death as member of the Palaiologos dynasty...
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,...
and a princess from either John IV's family or that of the kings of Georgia. This incident is notable in Sphrantzes's Chronicle for the color it paints of the emperor, since Sphrantzes arrived in Trebizond having not heard yet of the death of the Ottoman sultan Murad II, which John gleefully related. He told Sphrantzes how great it was that now his empire could last longer and be blessed because of the youth of Mehmed II. Sphrantzes, however, was taken aback and explained to him that Mehmed's youth and seeming friendship to the new emperor Constantine XI
Constantine XI
Constantine XI Palaiologos, latinized as Palaeologus , Kōnstantinos XI Dragasēs Palaiologos; February 8, 1404 – May 29, 1453) was the last reigning Byzantine Emperor from 1449 to his death as member of the Palaiologos dynasty...
were only ploys, and that under John's brother-in-law John VIII the empire had been deeply in debt, but now his new emperor was trying to change that. The incident as described should well have served to John IV the new peril which had come forth. In 1453, after the Fall of Constantinople
Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which occurred after a siege by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, against the defending army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI...
to Mehmed II, Trebizond and the Morea
Despotate of Morea
The Despotate of the Morea or Despotate of Mystras was a province of the Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centuries. Its territory varied in size during its 100 years of existence but eventually grew to take in almost all the southern Greek peninsula, the...
were left as the last remnants of the Byzantine imperial tradition. Mehmed II immediately summoned John to pay tribute 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:...
and imposed heavy tolls on Trapezuntine and Venetian
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
shipping through the straits. John apparently failed to cooperate, and in 1456 the Sultan dispatched his governor of Amasya
Amasya
- History :Its location in this steep valley makes the city a mountain stronghold, easy to defend, and thus Amasya has had a long and prominent history.-Antiquity:...
to attack Trebizond by both land and sea.
The fall of his capital seeming imminent, John at long last made his submission and agreed to pay an annual tribute of 2,000 gold pieces. He sent his brother David
David of Trebizond
David Megas Komnenos was the last Emperor of Trebizond from 1459 to 1461. He was the third son of Emperor Alexios IV of Trebizond and Theodora Kantakouzene....
to ratify the treaty before Mehmed II himself, which he did in 1458, but the tribute was raised to 3,000 gold pieces. Aware of the Ottoman advance against the remaining Byzantine possessions in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, John attempted to bolster his position by resorting to marital alliances with neighboring princes. So he married off one of his daughters to Uzun Hasan of the Ak Koyunlu
Ak Koyunlu
The Aq Qoyunlu or Ak Koyunlu, also called the White Sheep Turkomans , was an Sunni Oghuz Turkic tribal federation that ruled parts of present-day Eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, northern Iraq, and Iran from 1378 to 1508.-History:According to chronicles from the Byzantine Empire, the Aq Qoyunlu...
, and another daughter (or perhaps sister) to the Italian lord of Syros
Syros
Syros , or Siros or Syra is a Greek island in the Cyclades, in the Aegean Sea. It is located south-east of Athens. The area of the island is . The largest towns are Ermoupoli, Ano Syros, and Vari. Ermoupoli is the capital of the island and the Cyclades...
, Niccolò Crispo.
In the increasingly desperate situation of Trebizond, John IV came to favor the idea of obtaining Western support by effecting a union with the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. As early as 1434 he responded to the letters of Pope Eugenius IV (in marked contrast to earlier emperors of Trebizond, who had ignored papal missives). In the late 1430s the Metropolitan of Trebizond joined the Byzantine clergy at the Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence.
However, these approaches to the Papacy were not marked by harmonious relations with the most important Western power concerned with Trebizond, the Republic of Genoa. Although John owed his throne to a Genoese crew, he repeatedly failed to reimburse the Genoese for debts owed to them in 1431, and in 1441 refused to provide reparations for having ordered the seizure and pillage of a Genoese ship in 1435. Further diplomatic initiatives by Genoa failed in 1443, and in 1447 the Genoese of Caffa advanced on Trebizond with their fleet, threatening to set up an embargo. The disputes were never fully settled and seriously injured commerce 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...
.
John's hostile attitude towards Genoa is credited to his fear of a potential Byzantino-Genoese alliance against him that could place his brother Alexander on the throne of Trebizond. Alexander had fled Trebizond for the Byzantine court in 1429 and had eventually married Maria Gattilusio, the daughter of the Genoese lord of Lesbos. The apprehensiveness towards Genoa was contrasted by friendlier relations with Venice, although the Venetians never recovered their former influence in the Black Sea.
John died some time before April 22, 1459, when his brother David is first attested as emperor of Trebizond.
John IV was married twice, first to an unnamed daughter of King Alexander I of Georgia, and then to a unnamed daughter of Dawlat Berdi
Dawlat Berdi
Dawlat Berdi , also known as Devlet Berdi, was a Khan of the Golden Horde who reigned from 1419 to 1421, and again from 1428 to his death in 1432. He was the son of Jabbar Berdi and a descendant of Berke Khan....
. Probably by his first marriage he had a son and at least one, or possibly two daughters:
- Alexios (1455–1463), beheaded at Constantinople
- Theodora, who married Uzun Hasan of Ak KoyunluAk KoyunluThe Aq Qoyunlu or Ak Koyunlu, also called the White Sheep Turkomans , was an Sunni Oghuz Turkic tribal federation that ruled parts of present-day Eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, northern Iraq, and Iran from 1378 to 1508.-History:According to chronicles from the Byzantine Empire, the Aq Qoyunlu...
- Eudokia (Valenza), who married Niccolò Crispo, lord of SyrosSyrosSyros , or Siros or Syra is a Greek island in the Cyclades, in the Aegean Sea. It is located south-east of Athens. The area of the island is . The largest towns are Ermoupoli, Ano Syros, and Vari. Ermoupoli is the capital of the island and the Cyclades...
; but she may have been a sister of John IV.
Sources
- The Oxford Dictionary of ByzantiumOxford Dictionary of ByzantiumThe Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium is a three volume historical dictionary published by the English Oxford University Press. It contains comprehensive information in English on topics relating to the Byzantine Empire. It was edited by the late Dr. Alexander Kazhdan, and was first published in 1991...
, Oxford University Press, 1991. - W. Miller, Trebizond: The Last Greek Empire of the Byzantine Era, Chicago, 1926.