Demetrios Angelos Doukas Palaiologos ( el, Δημήτριος Ἄγγελος Δούκας Παλαιολόγος; ca. 1297 – after 1343) was a son of the
Byzantine Emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
Andronikos II Palaiologos (
reign
A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Andorra), of a people (e.g., the Franks, the Zulus) or of a spiritual community (e.g., Catholicism, Tibetan Buddhism, N ...
ed 1282–1328) and his second wife,
Irene of Montferrat
Yolande of Montferrat ( – 1317 in Constantinople) (also known as Violante, then Empress Irene) was the second wife of Andronikos II Palaiologos and thus Empress of the Byzantine Empire. She was the heir of the Margraviate of Montferrat.
Born i ...
.
Born ca. 1297, Demetrios was the youngest of Andronikos II's sons. In ca. 1304, he was sent to the court of the
Serbian ruler
Stephen Uroš II Milutin, intended to become his successor; his stay there was short, however, and he soon returned to
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
. In 1306 he was named to the highest court rank, that of
Despot. In the
Byzantine civil war of 1321–1328, Demetrios sided with his father against his nephew,
Andronikos III Palaiologos
, image = Andronikos_III_Palaiologos.jpg
, caption = 14th-century miniature. Stuttgart, Württembergische Landesbibliothek.
, succession = Byzantine emperor
, reign = 24 May 1328 – 15 June 1341
, coronation = ...
. In 1327–1328, during the last stage of the civil war, he served as governor of
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 ...
. Eventually he was forced to flee to Serbia, while Andronikos III managed to take his wife and children captive, but Demetrios returned to Constantinople after Andronikos III's final victory. Demetrios was accused of conspiring against his nephew in 1336/37, but Andronikos III dropped the charges. Nothing more is known of him after 1343.
Demetrios was also an accomplished theologian and
miniature
A miniature is a small-scale reproduction, or a small version. It may refer to:
* Portrait miniature, a miniature portrait painting
* Miniature art, miniature painting, engraving and sculpture
* Miniature (chess), a masterful chess game or probl ...
painter. The identity of his wife is not established, but she was possibly Theodora Komnene. By her he had a daughter, the future empress
Irene
Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace".
Irene, and related names, may refer to:
* Irene (given name)
Places
* Irene, Gauteng, South Africa
* Irene, South Dakota, United States
* Irene, Texas, United Stat ...
, and at least one other, unnamed, child.
Sources
*
1290s births
14th-century deaths
14th-century Byzantine people
Byzantine governors of Thessalonica
Despots (court title)
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 ...
Sons of Byzantine emperors
{{Byzantine-bio-stub