John Apokaukos ( el, Ἱωάννης Ἀπόκαυκος; died 1345) was the eldest son of the

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 ...

'' megas doux''—and one of the chief instigators of the

Byzantine civil war of 1341–47 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 ...

—

Alexios Apokaukos Alexios Apokaukos ( el, ; died 11 June 1345), also Latinized as Alexius Apocaucus, was a leading Byzantine statesman and high-ranking military officer ('' megas doux'') during the reigns of emperors Andronikos III Palaiologos (r. 1328–1341) ...

, from his first marriage. In 1343, after the citizens of the Empire's second city,

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 ...

, had risen up against Alexios Apokaukos' rival,

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 ...

, John was named ''

megas primikerios The Latin term ''primicerius'', hellenized as ''primikērios'' ( el, πριμικήριος), was a title applied in the later Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire to the heads of administrative departments, and also used by the Church to denote th ...

'' and appointed governor of the city, but actual power lay rather with the radical Zealot faction who had staged the anti-Kantakouzenist uprising. In June 1345, the elder Apokaukos was lynched by political prisoners in

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 (" ...

. John immediately declared for Kantakouzenos and tried to seize control of the city, but the Zealots prevailed and restored their rule before Kantakouzenos' forces could react and aid Apokaukos and his supporters, who were captured and executed.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Apokaukos, John 1345 deaths 14th-century Byzantine people Byzantine governors of Thessalonica Executed Byzantine people Year of birth unknown

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 ...