Demetrios I Kantakouzenos ( el, Δημήτριος Καντακουζηνός; 1343 – 1384) was a governor of the

Morea The Morea ( el, Μορέας or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used for the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the Ottoman ...

and the grandson of Emperor

John VI Kantakouzenos John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzene ( el, , ''Iōánnēs Ángelos Palaiológos Kantakouzēnós''; la, Johannes Cantacuzenus; – 15 June 1383) was a Byzantine Greek nobleman, statesman, and general. He served as grand domestic under An ...

. Demetrios was the son of

Matthew Kantakouzenos Matthew Asen Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzenus (Greek: Ματθαῖος Ἀσάνης Καντακουζηνός, ''Matthaios Asanēs Kantakouzēnos'', c. 1325 – 1383 or 1391) was Byzantine Emperor from 1353 to 1357 and later Despot of the Morea fr ...

, governor of Morea, and Irene Palaiologina. Demetrios was given the title of ''

sebastokrator ''Sebastokrator'' ( grc-byz, Σεβαστοκράτωρ, Sevastokrátor, August Ruler, ; bg, севастократор, sevastokrator; sh, sebastokrator), was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers wh ...

'' by Emperor

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 E ...

in December 1357 and went to the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...

with his father and grandfather in 1361. One of at least two sons of Matthew Kantakouzenos, he disputed the succession to the Despotate of the Morea with

Theodore I Palaiologos Theodore I Palaiologos (or Palaeologus) ( el, Θεόδωρος Α΄ Παλαιολόγος, translit=Theodōros I Palaiologos) (c. 1355 – 24 June 1407) was despot (''despotēs'') in the Morea from 1383 until his death on 24 June 1407. A son of Em ...

, the son of John V between 1380 and 1384. Our only information for this event is a cryptic reference in the Emperor

Manuel II Palaiologos Manuel II Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( gr, Μανουὴλ Παλαιολόγος, Manouēl Palaiológos; 27 June 1350 – 21 July 1425) was Byzantine emperor from 1391 to 1425. Shortly before his death he was tonsured a monk and received the na ...

' funeral oration for his brother Theodore, who remarks on the insubordination of the "son" of Matthew Kantakouzenos, who had usurped the government on the death of

Manuel Kantakouzenos Manuel Kantakouzenos (or Cantacuzenus) (Greek: Μανουήλ Καντακουζηνός, ''Manouēl Kantakouzēnos''), (c. 1326 – Mistra, Peloponnese, 10 April 1380). ''Despotēs'' in the Despotate of Morea or the Peloponnese from 25 Octobe ...

in 1380. The traditional view is that this son was

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, not Demetrios; however, D.A. Zakythenos, a historian of the Despotate of the Peloponnese, was inclined to believe that the son was Demetrios. According to the Byzantinist

Donald Nicol Donald MacGillivray Nicol, (4 February 1923 – 25 September 2003) was an English Byzantinist. Life Nicol was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, to a Church of Scotland minister, and received a classical education at King Edward VII School in ...

, "This problem can hardly be satisfactory solved on the basis of the documentary evidence available". He may have been the father of

Theodore Kantakouzenos Theodore Palaiologos Kantakouzenos ( el, Θεόδωρος Παλαιολόγος Καντακουζηνός, Theodoros Palaiologos Kantakouzenos; after 1361 – 1410) was a Byzantine Empire, Byzantine nobleman and probable close relation to the Empe ...

, the Byzantine ambassador to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

.Donald M. Nicol, ''The Byzantine Family of Kantakouzenos: Some Addenda and Corrigenda, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 27'' (1973), p. 312-3

References

Sources

* * 14th-century Byzantine people 14th-century Despots of the Morea Byzantine governors Palaiologos dynasty

Demetrios Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning “Demetris” - "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumit ...

Demetrios 1 Sebastokrators Year of birth uncertain 1384 deaths {{Byzantine-bio-stub