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Mouzalon
Mouzalon or Muzalon ( el, Μουζάλων, pl. Μουζάλωνες) was the name of a Byzantine family attested in the 11th through 15th centuries, which produced a number of officials and high dignitaries. The family reached its peak in the 1250s, when it enjoyed the patronage of Emperor Theodore II Laskaris (r. 1254–1258), but was largely purged after his death by the great aristocratic families. The female form of the name is Mouzalonissa (Μουζαλώνισσα). History and members The first known members of the family are attested in 11th-century seals. One of them records Theophano Mouzalonissa, "''archontissa'' of '' Rhousia''". It has been suggested that she was the wife of Oleg Svyatoslavovich, lord of Tmutarakan, but it is also possible that she was simply the wife of the Byzantine ''archon'' of the port city and base of ''Rhosia'', which was located near Tmutarakan. In the late 11th century, Nicholas Mouzalon, became Archbishop of Cyprus and later, in 1147–1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Mouzalon
George Mouzalon ( el, Γεώργιος Μουζάλων, Geōrgios Mouzalōn; – 25 August 1258) was a high official of the Empire of Nicaea under Theodore II Laskaris (). Of humble origin, he became Theodore's companion in childhood and was raised to high state office upon the latter's assumption of power. This caused great resentment from the aristocracy, which had monopolized high offices and opposed Theodore's policies. Shortly before Theodore's death in 1258, he was appointed regent of Theodore's under-age son John IV Laskaris (). He was assassinated only a few days later by soldiers, as the result of a conspiracy led by the nobles under the soon-to-be emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos (). Biography Early life and service under Theodore II The Mouzalon family is first attested in the 11th century, but produced few notable members until the mid-13th century, with exception of Nicholas IV Mouzalon, Patriarch of Constantinople in 1147–1151.. George Mouzalon was bor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theodore II Laskaris
Theodore II Doukas Laskaris or Ducas Lascaris ( gr, Θεόδωρος Δούκας Λάσκαρις, Theodōros Doukas Laskaris; 1221/1222 – 16 August 1258) was Emperor of Nicaea from 1254 to 1258. He was the only child of Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes and Empress Irene Laskarina. His mother was the eldest daughter of Theodore I Laskaris who had established the Empire of Nicaea as a successor state to the Byzantine Empire in Asia Minor, after the crusaders captured the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Theodore received an excellent education from two renowned scholars, Nikephoros Blemmydes and George Akropolites. He made friends with young intellectuals, especially with a page of low birth, George Mouzalon. Theodore began to write treatises on theological, historical and philosophical themes in his youth. Emperor John III arranged for Theodore to marry Elena of Bulgaria in 1235, to forge an alliance with her father, Ivan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megas Domestikos
The title of grand domestic ( grc-gre, μέγας δομέστικος, ''mégas doméstikos'') was given in the 11th–15th centuries to the commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army, directly below the Byzantine Emperor. It evolved from the earlier office of the domestic of the Schools, and came to rank as one of the senior dignities in the Byzantine state during the last centuries of its existence. From Byzantium, it was also adopted by the breakaway Empire of Trebizond, as well as by the 14th-century Serbian Empire. History and evolution The title of the grand domestic is first mentioned in the 9th century, and most likely derives from the older office of ''domestikos tōn scholōn'' ("Domestic of the Schools"), with the epithet ''megas'' added to connote the supreme authority of its holder, following contemporary practice evident in other offices as well. Both titles appear to have co-existed for a time, with the grand domestic being a more exalted variant of the plain tit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Bapheus
The Battle of Bapheus occurred on 27 July 1302, between a Ottoman army under Osman I and a Byzantine army under George Mouzalon. The battle ended in a crucial Ottoman victory, cementing the Ottoman state and heralding the final capture of Byzantine Bithynia by the Ottomans. Strategic context Osman I had succeeded in the leadership of his clan in c. 1281, and over the next . two decades launched a series of ever-deeper raids into the Byzantine borderlands of Bithynia. By 1301, the Ottomans were besieging Nicaea, the former imperial capital, and harassing Prusa. The Turkish raids also threatened the port city of Nicomedia with famine, as they roamed the countryside and prohibited the collection of the harvest (see Akinji). In the spring of 1302, Emperor Michael IX (r. 1294–1320) launched a campaign which reached south to Magnesia. The Turks, awed by his large army, avoided battle. Michael sought to confront them, but was dissuaded by his generals. The Turks, encouraged, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John IV Laskaris
John IV Doukas Laskaris (or Ducas Lascaris) ( el, Ἰωάννης Δούκας Λάσκαρις, ''Iōannēs Doukas Laskaris'') (December 25, 1250 – c. 1305) was emperor of Nicaea from August 16, 1258, to December 25, 1261. This empire was one of the Greek states formed from the remaining fragments of the Byzantine Empire, after the capture of Constantinople by Roman Catholics during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Biography John was a son of Theodore II Doukas Laskaris, Emperor of Nicaea, and Elena of Bulgaria. His maternal grandparents were Emperor Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria and his second wife Anna Maria of Hungary. Anna was originally named Mária and was the eldest daughter of Andrew II of Hungary and Gertrude of Merania. John IV was only seven years old when he inherited the throne on the death of his father. The young monarch was the last member of the Laskarid dynasty, which had done much to restore the Byzantine Empire. His regent was originally the bureaucrat George Mouza ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oleg I Of Chernigov
Oleg Svyatoslavich (russian: Олег Святославич; 1052 – August 1115) was a Rurikid prince whose equivocal adventures ignited political unrest in Kievan Rus' at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries. Oleg was a younger son of Sviatoslav Iaroslavich, Prince of Chernigov and his first wife, Killikiya. He might have been either the second or the fourth among the four sons of Sviatoslav Iaroslavich by Killikiya, because their order of seniority is uncertain. According to historian Martin Dimnik, Oleg was born around 1050. Oleg was named after his grand uncle. His baptismal name was Michael. Dimnik writes that "it is highly probable" that Oleg succeeded his brother, Gleb in Tmutarakan after their father appointed the latter Prince of Novgorod in about 1068. Oleg's father and uncle, Vsevolod Iaroslavich made an alliance against their elder brother, Iziaslav Iaroslavich, Grand Prince of Kiev and dethroned him on 22 March 1073. According to Dimnik, Oleg received ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicholas IV Of Constantinople
Nicholas IV Mouzalon ( el, ), (c. 1070 – 1152) was the Patriarch of Constantinople from December 1147 to March/April 1151. Nicholas was born in c. 1070, and probably began his career teaching the gospels. Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118) appointed him as archbishop of Cyprus, but Nicholas abdicated the see in c. 1110. He spent the next 37 years in the Monastery of Saints Cosmas and Damian in the Kosmidion suburb of Constantinople. He was elected to the patriarchal throne in 1147, replacing Cosmas II, who was accused of Bogomilism. His election however caused considerable controversy: its canonical validity was called in question, since he had voluntarily resigned from his previous see. Eventually, Nicholas was forced to resign as patriarch, and died in 1152. He wrote a number of theological works, amongst them a treatise refuting the ''Filioque ( ; ) is a Latin term ("and from the Son") added to the original Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (commonly know ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protokynegos
The ''prōtokynēgos'' ( el, πρωτοκυνηγός, "first huntsman") was a Byzantine court office and honorific title in the 13th–15th centuries, who was the chief huntsman of the Byzantine emperors. History and functions The office first appears in the 13th-century Empire of Nicaea, although it clearly had earlier antecedents; possibly the ''komēs tou kynēgiou'' (κόμης τοῡ κυνηγίου. "Count of the Hunt") attested in an undated seal. In the ''Book of Offices'' written by pseudo-Kodinos in the middle of the 14th century, the post occupies the 41st place in the imperial hierarchy, between the '' megas logariastēs'' and the '' skouterios''. Rodolphe Guilland suggested that it was closely associated with the '' prōtoierakarios'' ("first falconer"), who was in the 48th place, and that holders of the latter office were promoted to the former. Hunting was a particular passion of Byzantine emperors; in the 14th century, Andronikos III Palaiologos () is said to h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megas Droungarios Tou Ploimou
The ''droungarios'' of the Fleet ( el, δρουγγάριος τοῦ πλοΐμου/τῶν πλοΐμων, ''droungarios tou ploïmou/tōn ploïmōn''; after the 11th century δρουγγάριος τοῦ στόλου, ''droungarios tou stolou''), sometimes anglicized as Drungary of the Fleet, was the commander of the Imperial Fleet (βασιλικὸς στόλος, ''basilikos stolos'', or βασιλικὸν πλόϊμον, ''basilikon ploïmon''), the central division of the Byzantine navy stationed at the capital of Constantinople, as opposed to the provincial ( thematic) fleets. From the late 11th century, when the Byzantine fleets were amalgamated into a single force under the '' megas doux'', the post, now known as the Grand ''droungarios'' of the Fleet (μέγας δρουγγάριος τοῦ στόλου, ''megas droungarios tou stolou''), became the second-in-command of the ''megas doux'' and continued in this role until the end of the Byzantine Empire. Backgroun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Μιχαὴλ Δούκας Ἄγγελος Κομνηνὸς Παλαιολόγος, Mikhaēl Doukas Angelos Komnēnos Palaiologos; 1224 – 11 December 1282) reigned as the co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea from 1259 to 1261, and as Byzantine emperor from 1261 until his death in 1282. Michael VIII was the founder of the Palaiologan dynasty that would rule the Byzantine Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. He recovered Constantinople from the Latin Empire in 1261 and transformed the Empire of Nicaea into a restored Byzantine Empire. His reign saw considerable recovery of Byzantine power, including the enlargement of the Byzantine army and navy. It would also include the reconstruction of the city of Constantinople, and the increase of its population. Additionally, he re-established the University of Constantinople, which led to what is regarded as the Palaiologan Renaissance between the 13th and 15th centuries. It was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protovestiarios
''Protovestiarios'' ( el, πρωτοβεστιάριος, "first ''vestiarios''") was a high Byzantine Empire, Byzantine Byzantine aristocracy and bureaucracy, court position, originally reserved for Eunuch (court official), eunuchs. In the late Byzantine period (12th–15th centuries), it denoted the Empire's senior-most financial official, and was also adopted by the medieval Serbian state as protovestiyar (прото-вестијар). History and functions The title is first attested in 412, as the ''comes sacrae vestis'', an official in charge of the Byzantine emperor's "sacred wardrobe" ( la, sacra vestis), coming under the ''praepositus sacri cubiculi''. In Greek language, Greek, the term used was ''oikeiakon vestiarion'' (, "private wardrobe"), and by this name it remained known from the 7th century onward. As such, the office was distinct from the public or imperial wardrobe, the ''basilikon vestiarion'', which was entrusted to a state official, the ''chartoularios tou ves ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constantine Palaiologos (son Of Andronikos II)
Constantine Doukas Komnenos Palaiologos ( gr, Κωνσταντῖνος Δούκας Κομνηνός Παλαιολόγος; 1278/81–1334/35) was a Byzantine prince of the Palaiologos dynasty, who received the supreme title of Despot and served as provincial governor. Constantine was the second son of Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos (r. 1282–1328) and his first wife, Empress Anna of Hungary. He was born sometime between 1278 and 1281. As his father was already a reigning co-emperor alongside Michael VIII Palaiologos, he was styled a ''porphyrogennetos'' ("purple-born"), as attested on his seals. In 1294 he was named Despot, the highest court rank in the Byzantine Empire, on the occasion of his first marriage to Eudokia, the daughter of Theodore Mouzalon. In 1305, he fought in the disastrous Battle of Apros against the Catalan Company. In 1317, he intercepted his half-sister Simonida, the queen-consort of Serbia, who wished to retire to a monastery after the death of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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