Chandrenos ( el, Χανδρηνός; ) was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

general who distinguished himself in his successful expeditions against the

Catalan Company The Catalan Company or the Great Catalan Company (Spanish: ''Compañía Catalana'', Catalan: ''Gran Companyia Catalana'', Latin: ''Exercitus francorum'', ''Societas exercitus catalanorum'', ''Societas cathalanorum'', ''Magna Societas Catalanorum' ...

. Very little is known about Chandrenos, as his life and deeds are recorded only in an oration to Emperor

Andronikos II Palaiologos , image = Andronikos II Palaiologos2.jpg , caption = Miniature from the manuscript of George Pachymeres' ''Historia'' , succession = Byzantine emperor , reign = 11 December 1282 –24 May 1328 , coronation = 8 Novembe ...

of his possible relative Thomas Magistros, composed to defend him from accusations of treason sometime in the 1310s. Born to a landowning family in

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

, he fought against the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...

with some success, so that, according to Thomas, even they came to esteem his prowess. Nevertheless, he was unable to stem the tide of the Turkish conquest, and abandoned Asia Minor after his ancestral lands fell. Subsequently, he participated as one of the commanders of the imperial army in the

Battle of Apros The Battle of Apros occurred between the forces of the Byzantine Empire, under co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos, and the forces of the Catalan Company, at Apros on July 1305. The Catalan Company had been hired by the Byzantines as mercenaries a ...

on 10 July 1305, against the

. Chandrenos fought with valour and distinction, but the Byzantines were routed by the Catalans. In 1308–09, he was sent to Macedonia, where the Catalans had now moved to, under the overall command of the ''

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 ...

'' Angelos Palaiologos. Here Chandrenos was credited with helping repel the Catalans' attack on

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

, the Byzantine Empire's second-largest city, probably by raiding their siege lines. After the Catalans abandoned the siege of the city in early 1309, his expeditions confined them to their base in

Kassandreia Kassandreia (, ''Kassándreia''; before 1955: Valta (Βάλτα, ''Válta'', meaning "town in the swamps")) is a town and a community in Chalkidiki, northern Greece. It is the seat of the municipality of Kassandra, in the center of the peninsula ...

, cutting their supplies and putting an end to their devastating raids in the surrounding countryside, which had even threatened the monasteries of

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

. As a result, in spring 1309 the hard-pressed Catalans abandoned Kassandreia and invaded

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, Thes ...

, ruled by the weak

John II Doukas John II Doukas, also Angelos Doukas ( Latinized as Angelus Ducas) ( gr, Ἰωάννης Ἄγγελος Δούκας, Iōannēs Angelos Doukas), was ruler of Thessaly from 1303 to his death in 1318. John II Angelos Doukas was the son of Constanti ...

. The Catalans plundered the region, forcing John II to appeal to the Byzantines for aid. Chandrenos marched south from Thessalonica, and was joined by local volunteers, motivated by appeals and promises of reward by the Byzantine emperor. The Catalans were defeated in minor engagements and driven south out of Thessaly. There they were taken into the employ of the

Duchy of Athens The Duchy of Athens (Greek: Δουκᾶτον Ἀθηνῶν, ''Doukaton Athinon''; Catalan: ''Ducat d'Atenes'') was one of the Crusader states set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the Fourth Crusade as part of the ...

, and turning back north conquered much of Thessaly, forcing John II to sue for peace. After the Duke of Athens, Walter of Brienne, tried to dismiss them, however, they attacked the duchy and took it over following their crushing victory over Walter's army in the

Battle of Halmyros The Battle of Halmyros, known by earlier scholars as the Battle of the Cephissus or Battle of Orchomenos, was fought on 15 March 1311, between the forces of the Frankish Duchy of Athens and its vassals under Walter of Brienne against the merc ...

in 1311. In the meantime, in 1309 Chandrenos had defeated and driven off a Serbian invasion of Macedonia, assisted by 1,500 Turks who under their leader Malik had deserted the Catalan Company and sought refuge in Serbia. Sometime in the 1310s (probably ca. 1310/11) Chandrenos was in Constantinople, where he was accused by members of the imperial court of treason—probably as a result of jealousy over his military successes—and was defended before the emperor by Thomas Magistros. Nothing further is known of him.

References

Sources

* * * {{Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit , volume=12 , ref = {{harvid, PLP 13th-century births 14th-century deaths 14th-century Byzantine people Byzantine generals Medieval Macedonia Byzantine Anatolians