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Philanthropenos Family
The House of Philanthropenos ( el, Φιλανθρωπηνός), feminine form Philanthropene (Φιλανθρωπηνή), was the name of a noble Byzantine Greek family which appeared in the mid-13th century and produced a number of high-ranking generals and officials until the end of the Byzantine Empire. Their name derives from the monastery of Christ Philanthropos ("Christ Friend of Man") in Constantinople.. Some members of the family use the composite surname Doukas Philanthropenos, and may, according to Demetrios I. Polemis, constitute a distinct branch of the family. History The first known member of the family is Alexios Doukas Philanthropenos, first attested circa 1255 as a commander at Ohrid. He is usually equated with the distinguished admiral of the same name, who rose to the rank of ''protostrator'' and eventually '' megas doux''. He died circa 1275. His daughter, Maria, married Michael Tarchaneiotes. Their second son was the ''pinkernes'' Alexios Philanthropenos, a genera ...
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Byzantine Greeks
The Byzantine Greeks were the Greek-speaking Eastern Romans of Orthodox Christianity throughout Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. They were the main inhabitants of the lands of the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire), of Constantinople and Asia Minor (modern Turkey), the Greek islands, Cyprus, and portions of the southern Balkans, and formed large minorities, or pluralities, in the coastal urban centres of the Levant and northern Egypt. Throughout their history, the Byzantine Greeks self-identified as ''Romans'' ( gr, Ῥωμαῖοι, Rhōmaîoi), but are referred to as "Byzantine Greeks" in modern historiography. Latin speakers identified them simply as Greeks or with the term Romei. The social structure of the Byzantine Greeks was primarily supported by a rural, agrarian base that consisted of the peasantry, and a small fraction of the poor. These peasants lived within three kinds of settlements: the ''chorion'' or village, the ''agridion'' or hamlet, and the ''proast ...
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George Akropolites
George Akropolites ( Latinized as Acropolites or Acropolita; el, , ''Georgios Akropolites''; 1217 or 1220 – 1282) was a Byzantine Greek historian and statesman born at Constantinople. Life In his sixteenth year he was sent by his father, the logothete Constantine Akropolites the elder, to the court of John III Doukas Vatatzes, emperor of Nicaea, where Akropolites continued his studies under Theodore Hexapterygos and Nicephorus Blemmydes. The emperor afterwards entrusted George with important state missions, as did his successors (Theodore II Laskaris and Michael VIII Palaiologos). The office of Grand Logothete, or chancellor, was bestowed upon him in 1244. As commander in the field in 1257 against Michael II, despot of Epirus, he showed little military ability. George was captured and kept for two years in prison, from which he was released by Michael Palaiologos. Meanwhile, Michael Palaiologos was proclaimed emperor of Nicaea, afterwards expelling the Latins from Constan ...
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John VIII Palaiologos
John VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( gr, Ἰωάννης Παλαιολόγος, Iōánnēs Palaiológos; 18 December 1392 – 31 October 1448) was the penultimate Byzantine emperor, ruling from 1425 to 1448. Biography John VIII was the eldest son of Manuel II Palaiologos and Helena Dragaš, the daughter of the Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...n prince Constantine Dragaš. He was associated as co-emperor with his father before 1416 and became sole emperor on 1 July 1425, although he had already assumed full power on 19 January 1421. In June 1422, John VIII Palaiologos supervised the defense of Constantinople during a siege by Murad II, but had to accept the Siege of Thessalonica (1422–30), loss of Thessaloniki, Thessalonica, which his brother ...
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Mesazon
The ( gr, μεσάζων, mesazōn, intermediary) was a high dignitary and official during the last centuries of the Byzantine Empire, who acted as the chief minister and principal aide of the Byzantine emperor. History and functions The term's origins lie in the 10th century, when senior ministers were sometimes referred to as the (), i.e. 'mediators' between the emperor and his subjects (cf. ). The title first became official in the mid-11th century, when it was conferred to Constantine Leichoudes, the future Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.. In the Komnenian period, it was awarded to senior government officials who functioned as ''de facto'' prime ministers, such as the and the , but had not yet acquired a permanent and specific function, nor the power that would characterize it in later years. Rather, it was a title bestowed on the principal imperial secretary of the moment, who acted precisely as an "intermediary" between the emperor and other officials. This refle ...
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George Doukas Philanthropenos
George Doukas Philanthropenos ( el, Γεώργιος Δούκας Φιλανθρωπηνός; died before 1452) was a close confidant of Byzantine Emperor John VIII Palaiologos (r. 1425–1448) and served briefly as ''mesazon'' (chief minister) of the Byzantine Empire in 1438–1439. He first appears in 1429. John VIII entrusted him with the symbolically important diplomatic missions of conferring the insignia of Despot to the Serbian rulers Đurađ Branković (in 1429 or 1435) and Lazar Branković (in 1446). In 1438–1439 he accompanied John VIII to the Council of Ferrara, and was appointed joint ''mesazon'' along with Manuel Iagaris Palaiologos. In this capacity he played an important role, putting pressure on the Byzantine delegation to accept the Union of the Churches. He was a relative of the Patriarch of Constantinople Joseph II, who died in 1439 during the Council. George left an endowment to the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) ...
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Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) // CITED: p. 36 (PDF p. 38/338) also known as the Turkish Empire, was an empire that controlled much of Southeast Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa between the 14th and early 20th centuries. It was founded at the end of the 13th century in northwestern Anatolia in the town of Söğüt (modern-day Bilecik Province) by the Turkoman tribal leader Osman I. After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe and, with the conquest of the Balkans, the Ottoman beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 by Mehmed the Conqueror. Under the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire marked the peak of its power and prosperity, as well a ...
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Caesar (title)
Caesar ( English  Caesars; Latin  ''Caesares''; in Greek: ''Kaîsar'') is a title of imperial character. It derives from the ''cognomen'' of Julius Caesar, a Roman dictator. The change from being a familial name to a title adopted by the Roman emperors can be traced to AD 68, following the fall of the Julio–Claudian dynasty. Origins The first known individual to bear the ''cognomen'' of "Caesar" was Sextus Julius Caesar, who is likewise believed to be the common ancestor of all subsequent Julii Caesares. Sextus' great-grandson was the dictator Gaius Julius Caesar. After he seized control of the Roman Republic following his war against the Senate, he adopted the title of ''dictator perpetuo'' ("dictator in perpetuity"), a title he only held for about a month before he was assassinated in 44 BC. Julius Caesar's death did not lead to the restoration of the Republic, and instead led to the rise of the Second Triumvirate, composed by three dictators including Ju ...
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Manuel Angelos Philanthropenos
Manuel Angelos Philanthropenos ( el, ) was a Byzantine Greek nobleman who ruled Thessaly from c. 1390 until it was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1393, as a Byzantine vassal with the title of ''Caesar''. Biography Manuel was either the son or the brother of the ''Caesar'' Alexios Angelos Philanthropenos, who had ruled Thessaly since the early 1370s, succeeding him upon his death c. 1389/1390. Like Alexios, he recognized the suzerainty of the Byzantine emperor, and was given the title of ''Caesar'' in return.. In 1389, he (or Alexios, if he was still living) sent aid to the ruler of Ioannina, Esau de' Buondelmonti against the Albanian tribes of Epirus, and their joint forces scored a major victory over them. In 1393, however, the Ottomans sent a large army which occupied Thessaly. Manuel was thus the last Christian ruler of the entire region until 1878, when it became part of the Kingdom of Greece. Either he or (less likely) Alexios was the grandfather of the Serbian ruler Mihail ...
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Alexios Angelos Philanthropenos
Alexios Angelos Philanthropenos ( el, ) was a Byzantine Greek nobleman who ruled Thessaly from 1373 until c. 1390 (from c. 1382 as a Byzantine vassal) with the title of ''Caesar''. Biography The Angeloi of Thessaly rose to prominence during the reign of the Simeon Uroš ruler of Epirus and Thessaly (r. 1359–1370), as they were related to his wife. When Simeon died in 1370, he was succeeded by his son John Uroš (r. 1370–1373). John cared more for religious pursuits than the governance of the state, and entrusted the affairs of state to Alexios, who held the high Byzantine title of ''Caesar''. Eventually, probably in 1372/73, John retired from public life altogether and entered a monastery, leaving Alexios as the ruler of Thessaly.. Alexios was married to Maria Angelina Radoslava (born late 1356 or after, if she is the daughter of Irene Asanina), a daughter of the Serbian general Radoslav Hlapen, and was supported by the powerful local magnates. Around 1382, Alexios sought the ...
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Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia (, ), and appears thus in Homer's ''Odyssey''. Thessaly became part of the modern Greek state in 1881, after four and a half centuries of Ottoman rule. Since 1987 it has formed one of the country's 13 regions and is further (since the Kallikratis reform of 2011) sub-divided into five regional units and 25 municipalities. The capital of the region is Larissa. Thessaly lies in northern Greece and borders the regions of Macedonia on the north, Epirus on the west, Central Greece on the south, and the Aegean Sea on the east. The Thessaly region also includes the Sporades islands. Name and etymology Thessaly is named after the ''Thessaloi'', an ancient Greek tribe. The meaning of the name of this tribe is unknow ...
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John V Palaiologos
John V Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Ἰωάννης Παλαιολόγος, ''Iōánnēs Palaiológos''; 18 June 1332 – 16 February 1391) was Byzantine emperor from 1341 to 1391, with interruptions. Biography John V was the son of Emperor Andronikos III and his wife Anna, the daughter of Count Amadeus V of Savoy by his wife Maria of Brabant. His long reign was marked by the gradual dissolution of imperial power amid numerous civil wars and the continuing ascendancy of the Ottoman Turks. Early rule and first civil war John V came to the throne at age eight. His reign began with an immediate civil war between his designated regent, his father's friend John VI Kantakouzenos, and a self-proclaimed council of regency composed of his mother Anna, the patriarch John XIV Kalekas, and the '' megas doux'' Alexios Apokaukos. During this civil war in 1343 Anna pawned the Byzantine crown jewels for 30,000 Venetian ducats. From 1346 to 1349, the Black Death devastated Constan ...
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Megas Stratopedarches
Magnús Þór Jónsson (born 7 April 1945), better known by the stage name Megas, is a vocalist, songwriter, and writer who is well known in his native Iceland. Interest in music Being an admirer of Elvis Presley, Megas welcomed the arrival of rock & roll to Iceland by 1956, although his interest in music had to be postponed while he attended grammar school in 1960. While he was young, he studied piano and showed skill at painting. He wrote outrageous short stories for the school papers and in 1968 he also published the sheet music and lyrics to 14 songs, many of which would be released on his first records. As a young bohemian writer, he was inspired by Bob Dylan and Ray Davies, and embarked into songwriting, but his works were not copies of the American or British idols, but in fact, his songs were very original... First release and controversy At the beginning of the seventies, his music works were not accessible as Megas only performed them to his friends of the left-wing c ...
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