John Drimys ( gr, Ἰωάννης Δριμὺς) 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 ...

priest who led a failed conspiracy against Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos in 1305. He came from the "west" (most likely

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

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, The ...

) 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 ( ...

. Claiming that he was a descendant of the

Laskaris The Laskaris or Lascaris ( el, Λάσκαρις, later Λάσκαρης) family was a Byzantine Greek noble family whose members formed the ruling dynasty of the Empire of Nicaea from 1204 to 1261 and remained among the senior nobility up to the d ...

family, which had ruled the Empire of Nicaea until it had been usurped by the

Palaiologoi The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; grc-gre, Παλαιολόγος, pl. , female version Palaiologina; grc-gre, Παλαιολογίνα), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greek f ...

, he headed a conspiracy against Andronikos II Palaiologos. The monastery of Mosele served as their headquarters. The plot was discovered in the winter of 1305, and he was tried, condemned and defrocked by

Patriarch Athanasius I of Constantinople Athanasius I (1230 – 28 October 1310) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for two terms, from 1289 to 1293 and 1303 to 1309. He was born in Adrianople and died in Constantinople. Chosen by the emperor Andronicus II Palaeologus , ...

. As

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 ...

comments, Drimys' plot was the last pro-Laskarid restoration attempt: the fall of Byzantine Asia Minor, a stronghold of pro-Laskarid sentiment, to the advancing

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 ...

, as well as the resolution of the

Arsenite Schism Arsenios Autoreianos (Latinized as Arsenius Autorianus) ( el, Ἀρσένιος Ἀυτωρειανός), ( 30 September 1273), List of Constantinople patriarchs, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, lived about the middle of the 13th century. ...

, which was also tied to the Palaiologan usurpation, deprived the cause of centres of support.

References

Sources

* * 13th-century births 14th-century deaths 14th-century Byzantine people Prisoners and detainees of the Byzantine Empire {{Byzantine-bio-stub