Theodore Komnenos Doukas
Encyclopedia
Despotate of Epirus
The Despotate or Principality of Epirus was one of the Byzantine Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire that emerged in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Empire of Nicaea, and the Empire of Trebizond...
from 1215 to 1230 and of Thessalonica from 1224 to 1230.
Life
Born about 1180/85, Theodore was a legitimate son of the sebastokratōrSebastokrator
Sebastokratōr was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers whose states bordered the Empire or were within its sphere of influence. The word is a compound of "sebastos" Sebastokratōr was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used...
John Doukas
John Doukas
John Doukas or Ducas , was the eldest son of Constantine Angelos by Theodora Komnene, the seventh child of the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina, from whose family name John Doukas took his own.-Career:Doukas is first attested in an imperial document in 1166...
and of Zoe Doukaina. He was thus a first cousin of the emperors Isaac II Angelos
Isaac II Angelos
Isaac II Angelos was Byzantine emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204....
and Alexios III Angelos
Alexios III Angelos
Alexios III Angelos was Byzantine Emperor from 1195 to 1203.- Early life:Alexios III Angelos was the second son of Andronikos Angelos and Euphrosyne Kastamonitissa. Andronicus was himself a son of Theodora Komnene, the youngest daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina. Thus...
, and half-brother to the founder of the Epirote principality, Michael I Komnenos Doukas
Michael I Komnenos Doukas
Michael I Komnenos Doukas or Comnenus Ducas , often inaccurately called Michael Angelos , was the founder and first ruler of the principality of Epirus from 1205 until his death in 1215.-Life:...
.
Initially in the service of Theodore I Laskaris
Theodore I Laskaris
Theodoros I Komnenos Laskaris was emperor of Nicaea .-Family:Theodore Laskaris was born to the Laskaris, a noble but not particularly renowned Byzantine family of Constantinople. He was the son of Manuel Laskaris and wife Ioanna Karatzaina . He had four older brothers: Manuel Laskaris Theodoros...
of Nicaea
Empire of Nicaea
The Empire of Nicaea was the largest of the three Byzantine Greek successor states founded by the aristocracy of the Byzantine Empire that fled after Constantinople was occupied by Western European and Venetian forces during the Fourth Crusade...
, Theodore joined his half-brother Michael I in Epirus in c. 1210. When Michael was murdered, Theodore took his place and embarked on a policy of aggressive expansion after allying himself with Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and the Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
n clans. Taking advantage of the temporary weakness of Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
and the Kingdom of Thessalonica
Kingdom of Thessalonica
The Kingdom of Thessalonica was a short-lived Crusader State founded after the Fourth Crusade over the conquered Byzantine lands.- Background :...
, Theodore seized most of Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
(with Ohrid
Ohrid
Ohrid is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia. It has about 42,000 inhabitants, making it the seventh largest city in the country. The city is the seat of Ohrid Municipality. Ohrid is notable for having once had 365 churches, one for each day of the year and has...
) and Thessaly in c. 1216. In 1217, when the new Latin Emperor
Latin Empire
The Latin Empire or Latin Empire of Constantinople is the name given by historians to the feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. It was established after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 and lasted until 1261...
Peter II of Courtenay attempted to cross through Epirus to reach his lands, Theodore defeated and captured him. In 1220 he took Beroia
Veria
Veria is a city built at the foot of Vermion Mountains in Greece. It is a commercial center of Macedonia, the capital of the prefecture of Imathia, the province of Imathia and the seat of a bishop of the Greek Orthodox Church...
, and in 1221 Serres
Serres
Serres is a city in Greece, seat of the Serres prefecture.Serres may also refer to:Places:* Serres, Germany, a part of Wiernsheim in Baden-WürttembergIn France:* Serres, Aude in the Aude département...
and Drama
Drama, Greece
Drama , the ancient Drabescus , is a town and municipality in northeastern Greece. Drama is the capital of the peripheral unit of Drama which is part of the East Macedonia and Thrace periphery. The town is the economic center of the municipality , which in turn comprises 53.5 percent of the...
, tightening the noose around Thessalonica. In 1224 completed his conquest of the Kingdom of Thessalonica by taking its capital.
Elated by his success, Theodore arranged for his coronation as emperor in 1225 or 1227 by the autocephalous archbishop of Ohrid
Ohrid
Ohrid is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia. It has about 42,000 inhabitants, making it the seventh largest city in the country. The city is the seat of Ohrid Municipality. Ohrid is notable for having once had 365 churches, one for each day of the year and has...
, Demetrios Chomatianos. Theodore's forces advanced through the Aegean
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
coast of Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
and in 1225 seized Adrianople and the surrounding portions of Thrace from the Nicaeans. Worried by the alliance of Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria
Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria
-Early rule:He was a son of Ivan Asen I of Bulgaria and Elena . Elena, who survived until after 1235, is sometimes alleged to be a daughter of Stefan Nemanja of Serbia, but this relationship is questionable and would have caused various canonical impediments to marriages between various descendants...
with the Latin Empire of 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:...
, Theodore broke his treaty with Ivan Asen and invaded Bulgaria with a large army reinforced by western mercenaries in 1230. Allegedly affixing the text of the broken treaty to one of his spears as a flag, Ivan Asen II rallied his troops and defeated Theodore in the Battle of Klokotnitsa
Battle of Klokotnitsa
The Battle of Klokotnitsa occurred on 9 March 1230 near the village of Klokotnitsa . As a result, the Second Bulgarian Empire emerged once again as the most powerful state in Eastern Europe and the power of the Despotate of Epirus faded...
on March 9, 1230. Theodore was captured and remained a prisoner in the Bulgarian capital Tărnovo
Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred to as the "City of the Tsars", Veliko Tarnovo is located on the Yantra River and is famous as the historical capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, attracting many tourists...
for seven years. At some point during his captivity he became involved in a conspiracy and was blinded.
Theodore's lands were divided between Ivan Asen II (who took over Thrace, Macedonia, and Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
), Theodore's brothers Manuel
Manuel Komnenos Doukas
Manuel Komnenos Doukas , often inaccurately called Manuel Angelos , was ruler of Thessalonica from 1230 to 1237 and of Thessaly from 1239 until his death in c. 1241.-Life:Manuel was a legitimate son of the sebastokratōr John Doukas...
(who took Thessalonica) and Constantine (who took Acarnania
Acarnania
Acarnania is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today it forms the western part of the prefecture of Aetolia-Acarnania. The capital...
), and Theodore's nephew Michael II
Michael II Komnenos Doukas
Michael II Komnenos Doukas or Comnenus Ducas , often called Michael Angelos in narrative sources, was the ruler of Epirus from 1230 until his death in 1266/68.-Life:...
(who took Epirus).
In 1237 Theodore was released from captivity by Ivan Asen II who married his daughter Irene. Theodore recovered Thessalonica by chasing out his brother Manuel and entrusted the city to his son John Komnenos Doukas
John Komnenos Doukas
John Komnenos Doukas was ruler of Thessalonica from 1237 until his death in 1244....
and retired to Vodena
Edessa, Greece
Edessa , is a city in northern Greece and the capital of the Pella regional unit, in the Central Macedonia region of Greece. It was also the capital of the defunct province of the same name.-Name:...
. From here he attempted to unify the various members of his family against the encroachments 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...
of Nicaea, who was determined to intervene in Thessalonica.
After the death of Ivan Asen II in 1241, Emperor John III invited Theodore to a conference in which he arrested him and in 1242 he marched on Thessalonica with Theodore in tow. Theodore was sent in to negotiate with his son and convince him to accept demotion to the rank of 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...
and to recognize the suzerainty of Nicaea. In 1246 John III overthrew Theodore's younger son Demetrios Angelos Doukas
Demetrios Angelos Doukas
Demetrios Komnenos Doukas or Comnenus Ducas , was ruler of Thessalonica from 1244 until his deposition in 1246. He was born c. 1220.Demetrios was the younger son of Theodore Komnenos Doukas and Maria Petraliphaina. In 1230 his father was captured together with his family in the Battle of...
and annexed Thessalonica. In 1252 he had Theodore arrested and sent him into exile in Nicaea, where he died c. 1253.
Family
By his wife Maria PetraliphainaMaria Petraliphaina
Maria Petraliphaina was the wife of Theodore Komnenos Doukas. She is the earliest consort of the Despotate of Epiros known by name...
(sister of the sebastokratōr John Petraliphas
John Petraliphas
John Petraliphas was a Byzantine noble and governor of Thessaly and Macedonia in the late 12th/early 13th century with the rank of sebastokrator.- Life :John was a member of the Petraliphas family, which was originally of Italian origin...
) he had four children:
- Anna Komnene Doukaina, who married King Stefan Radoslav of Serbia
- John Komnenos DoukasJohn Komnenos DoukasJohn Komnenos Doukas was ruler of Thessalonica from 1237 until his death in 1244....
, who succeeded as ruler of Thessalonica in 1237 - Irene KomneneIrene Komnene of EpirusIrene Komnene Doukaina or Eirene Komnene Doukaina was a Greek princess and the third wife of tsar Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria. She was the mother of tsar Michael Asen I of Bulgaria....
, who married Emperor Ivan Asen II of BulgariaIvan Asen II of Bulgaria-Early rule:He was a son of Ivan Asen I of Bulgaria and Elena . Elena, who survived until after 1235, is sometimes alleged to be a daughter of Stefan Nemanja of Serbia, but this relationship is questionable and would have caused various canonical impediments to marriages between various descendants... - Demetrios Komnenos Doukas, who succeeded as ruler of Thessalonica in 1244
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. - K. Varzos, Ē genealogia tōn Komnēnōn (Thessalonica, 1984) vol. 2 pp. 548–637.