John III Doukas Vatatzes,
Latinized as Ducas Vatatzes ( el, Ιωάννης Δούκας Βατάτζης, ''Iōannēs Doukas Vatatzēs'', c. 1192 – 3 November 1254), was
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...
of
Nicaea
Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and s ...
from 1221 to 1254. He was succeeded by his son, known as
Theodore II Laskaris.
Life
John Doukas Vatatzes, born in about 1192 in
Didymoteicho, was probably the son of the general
Basil Vatatzes
Basil Vatatzes ( gr, Βασίλειος Βατάτζης, Vasileios Vatatzēs, ) was a Byzantine military commander, and likely the father of the Nicaean emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes.
Biography Origin and early life
Vatatzes was of low birth, ...
, who was killed in battle in 1194, and his wife, a cousin of the Emperors
Isaac II Angelos and
Alexios III Angelos
Alexios III Angelos ( gkm, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός Ἄγγελος, Alexios Komnēnos Angelos; 1211), Latinized as Alexius III Angelus, was Byzantine Emperor from March 1195 to 17/18 July 1203. He reigned under the name Alexios Komnen ...
. John Doukas Vatatzes had two older brothers. The eldest was
Isaac Doukas Vatatzes (1188-1261), while his younger brother died young. Through his marriage to Eudokia Angelina he fathered
Theodora Doukaina Vatatzaina, who later married
Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Μιχαὴλ Δούκας Ἄγγελος Κομνηνὸς Παλαιολόγος, Mikhaēl Doukas Angelos Komnēnos Palaiologos; 1224 – 11 December 1282) reigned as the co-emperor of the Empire ...
. The middle brother's name is unknown, but his daughter married the ''
protovestiarios''
Alexios Raoul Alexios Raoul ( el, ; died c. 1258) was a Byzantine aristocrat and general of the Empire of Nicaea. He attained the rank of '' protovestiarios'' during the reign of Emperor John III Vatatzes (r. 1221–1254).
Biography
Alexios Raoul was the scion ...
.
A successful soldier from a military family, John was chosen in about 1216 by Emperor
Theodore I Laskaris as the second husband for his daughter
Irene Laskarina and as heir to the throne, following the death of her first husband,
Andronikos Palaiologos. This arrangement excluded members of the Laskarid family from the succession, and when John III became emperor in December 1221, following Theodore I's death in November, he had to suppress opposition to his rule. The struggle ended with the
Battle of Poimanenon in 1224, in which his opponents were defeated in spite of support from the
Latin Empire
The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byza ...
of
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 III's victory led to territorial concessions by the Latin Empire in 1225, followed by John's incursion into Europe, where he seized
Adrianople
Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis ( Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian border ...
.
John III's possession of Adrianople was terminated by
Theodore Komnenos Doukas
Theodore Komnenos Doukas ( el, Θεόδωρος Κομνηνὸς Δούκας, ''Theodōros Komnēnos Doukas'', Latinized as Theodore Comnenus Ducas, died 1253) was ruler of Epirus and Thessaly from 1215 to 1230 and of Thessalonica and most ...
of
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 ...
and
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 ...
, who drove the Nicaean garrison out of Adrianople and annexed much of
Thrace
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...
in 1227. The elimination of Theodore by
Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria in 1230 put an end to the danger posed by Thessalonica, and John III made an alliance with
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
against the Latin Empire.
In 1235 this alliance resulted in the restoration of the Bulgarian
patriarchate
Patriarchate ( grc, πατριαρχεῖον, ''patriarcheîon'') is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, designating the office and jurisdiction of an ecclesiastical patriarch.
According to Christian tradition three patriarchates were est ...
and the marriage between
Elena of Bulgaria and Theodore II, respectively Ivan Asen II's daughter and John III's son. In that same year, the Bulgarians and Nicaeans campaigned against the Latin Empire, and in 1236 they attempted a
siege of Constantinople. Subsequently, Ivan Asen II adopted an ambivalent policy, effectively becoming neutral, and leaving John III to his own devices.
John III Vatatzes was greatly interested in the collection and copying of manuscripts, and
William of Rubruck reports that he owned a copy of the missing books from
Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...
's ''
Fasti''. Rubruck was critical of the Hellenic traditions he encountered in the
Empire of Nicaea
The Empire of Nicaea or the Nicene Empire is the conventional historiographic name for the largest of the three Byzantine Greek''A Short history of Greece from early times to 1964'' by W. A. Heurtley, H. C. Darby, C. W. Crawley, C. M. Woodhous ...
, specifically the feast day for
Saint Felicity favored by John Vatatzes, which Friedrich Risch suggests would have been the ''Felicitanalia'', practiced by Sulla to venerate
Felicitas
In ancient Roman culture, ''felicitas'' (from the Latin adjective ''felix'', "fruitful, blessed, happy, lucky") is a condition of divinely inspired productivity, blessedness, or happiness. ''Felicitas'' could encompass both a woman's fertility a ...
in the 1st century with an emphasis on inverting social norms, extolling truth and beauty, reciting profane and satirical verse and wearing ornamented "cenatoria", or dinner robes during the day.
In spite of some reverses against the Latin Empire in 1240, John III was able to take advantage of Ivan Asen II's death in 1241 to impose his own suzerainty over Thessalonica (in 1242), and later to annex this city, as well as much of Bulgarian Thrace in 1246. Immediately afterwards, John III was able to establish an effective stranglehold on Constantinople in 1247. In the last years of his reign Nicaean authority extended far to the west, where John III attempted to contain the expansion of
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 ...
. Michael's allies
Golem of Kruja and
Theodore Petraliphas
Theodore may refer to:
Places
* Theodore, Alabama, United States
* Theodore, Australian Capital Territory
* Theodore, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Banana, Australia
* Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada
* Theodore Reservoir, a lake in Saskatche ...
defected to John III in 1252.
John III died in
Nymphaion in 1254, and was buried in the monastery of Sosandra, which he had founded, in the region of Magnesia.
[Michael Borgolte, Bernd Schneidmüller]
''Hybride Kulturen im mittelalterlichen Europa/Hybride Cultures in Medieval Europe''
Oldenbourg Verlag, 1 okt. 2010 p 73
Family
John III Doukas Vatatzes married first
Irene Lascarina, the daughter of his predecessor Theodore I Laskaris in 1212.
They had one son, the future Theodore II Doukas Laskaris. Irene fell from a horse and was so badly injured that she was unable to have any more children.
Irene retired to a convent, taking the monastic name Eugenia, and died there in summer of 1240. John III married as his second wife
Constance II of Hohenstaufen,
an illegitimate daughter of Emperor
Frederick II by his mistress
Bianca Lancia. They had no children.
Legacy
John III Doukas Vatatzes was a successful ruler who laid the groundwork for Nicaea's recovery of Constantinople. He was successful in maintaining generally peaceful relations with his most powerful neighbors, Bulgaria and the
Sultanate of Rum
fa, سلجوقیان روم ()
, status =
, government_type = Hereditary monarchyTriarchy (1249–1254) Diarchy (1257–1262)
, year_start = 1077
, year_end = 1308
, p1 = B ...
, and his network of diplomatic relations extended to the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...
and the
Papacy
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
, while his armed forces included
Frankish ,
Cumans
The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian exonym ), were a Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation. After the Mongol invasion (1237), many so ...
,
Uzes ,
Pechenegs
The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პა� ...
mercenaries
A mercenary, sometimes Pseudonym, also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a memb ...
.
John III effected Nicaean expansion into Europe, where by the end of his reign he had annexed his former rival Thessalonica and had expanded at the expense of Bulgaria and Epirus. He also expanded Nicaean control over much of the
Aegean and annexed the important island of
Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...
, while he supported initiatives to free
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
from Venetian occupation aiming toward its re-unification with the Byzantine empire of Nicaea.
Moreover, John III is credited with carefully developing the internal prosperity and economy of his realm, encouraging justice and charity. In spite of his
epilepsy
Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrica ...
, John III had provided active leadership in both peace and war, claimed to be the true inheritor of the Roman Empire, and was known for bountiful harvest festivals which reportedly drew on traditions from the Felicitas feast days described in the missing 11th book of
Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...
's Book of Days.
A half-century after his death, John III was canonized as a saint, under the name John the Merciful, and is commemorated annually on
November 4
Events Pre-1600
*1429 – Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War: Joan of Arc liberates Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier.
*1493 – Christopher Columbus reaches Leeward Island and Puerto Rico.
*1501 – Catherine of Aragon (later Henry VIII ...
.
George Akropolites George Akropolites ( Latinized as Acropolites or Acropolita; el, , ''Georgios Akropolites''; 1217 or 1220 – 1282) was a Byzantine Greek historian and statesman born at Constantinople.
Life
In his sixteenth year he was sent by his father, th ...
mentions that the people saw to the construction of a temple in his honour in
Nymphaeum
A ''nymphaeum'' or ''nymphaion'' ( grc, νυμφαῖον), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs.
These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habit ...
, and that his cult as a saint quickly spread to the people of western Asia Minor. On the same day, since 2010, the ''Vatatzeia'' festival is organized at
Didymoteicho by the local
metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis.
Originally, the term referred to the ...
. Alice Gardiner remarked on the persistence of John's cult among the Ionian Greeks as late as the early 20th century, and on the contrast she witnessed where "the clergy and people of
Magnesia and the neighbourhood revere his memory every fourth of November. But those who ramble and play about his ruined palace seldom connect it even with his name."
His feast day is formally an Eastern Orthodox holiday, although it is not commemorated with any special liturgy; there are two known historical ''
akolouthia Acolouthia ( el, ἀκολουθία, "a following"; cu, последование, posledovanie) in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches, signifies the arrangement of the Divine Services (Canonical Hours or Divine Office), perhaps bec ...
i'' for him, including an 1874 copy of an older Magnesian ''
menaion
The Menaion ( el, Μηναῖον; Slavonic: Минїѧ, ''Miniya'', "of the month") is the liturgical book used by the Eastern Orthodox Churchand those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite containing the propers for fixed ...
'' for the month of November, which shows that in the 15th and 16th century, he was venerated as "the holy glorious equal of the Apostles and emperor John Vatatzes, the new almsgiver in Magnesia." The relevant hymns are preserved in only one known manuscript in the library of the Leimonos monastery on Lesbos, Greece, and include references to the feast day for the almsgiver John Vatatzes. John III Vatatzes' feast day has largely fallen out of favor other than in the church dedicated to him in his birth city of
Didymoteicho.
The generations after John Vatatzes looked back upon him as "the Father of the Greeks."
[ A. A. Vasiliev. ''History of the Byzantine Empire''. Vol. 2. University of Wisconsin Press, 1971. pp. 531–534.]
Legend of the Reposed King
According to the legend, his incorrupt
relic
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
s were transferred to Constantinople, which had been
liberated from the Franks, where the legend of the reposed King became associated with him. At the time of the
fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city fell on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 53-day siege which had begun o ...
to the Ottoman Turks, his relics were hidden in a catacomb, and were guarded by a family of
Crypto-Christians
Crypto-Christianity is the secret practice of Christianity, usually while attempting to camouflage it as another faith or observing the rituals of another religion publicly. In places and time periods where Christians were persecuted or Christiani ...
, which kept them secret from generation to generation. The legend states that since that time, he has been awaiting the liberation of Constantinople.
[ Ιωάννα Κατσούλα. ]
ΑΓΙΟΣ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΣ Ο ΒΑΤΑΤΖΗΣ: Ο μαρμαρωμένος ελεήμων βασιλιάς και η βασιλεύουσα
'' ΜΗΝΙΑΙΑ ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΗ ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑΣΤΙΚΗ ΕΦΗΜΕΡΙΔΑ – «Στύλος Ορθοδοξίας». ΝΟΕΜΒΡΙΟΣ 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
See also
*
List of Byzantine emperors
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
*
* Jonathan Harris, ''Byzantium and the Crusades'', London: Bloomsbury, 2nd ed., 2014.
* John S. Langdon. ''Byzantium’s Last Imperial Offensive in Asia Minor: The Documentary Evidence for and Hagiographical Lore About John III Ducas Vatatzes' Crusade Against the Turks, 1222 or 1225 to 1231''. New Rochelle, N.Y.: A.D. Caratzas, 1992.
*
*
George Ostrogorsky. ''History of the Byzantine State''. New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press, 1969.
*
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vatatzes, John 03 Doukas
1192 births
1254 deaths
13th-century Byzantine emperors
13th-century Greek people
13th-century Christian saints
Byzantine saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church
John 03
John 03
Eastern Orthodox monarchs
Saints from Anatolia
People from Didymoteicho
John 03
People with epilepsy
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