Nikephoros Choumnos ( el, , 1250/55 – 1327) 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 ...
scholar and official of the early
Palaiologan period
The Byzantine Empire was ruled by the Palaiologos dynasty in the period between 1261 and 1453, from the restoration of Byzantine rule to Constantinople by the usurper Michael VIII Palaiologos following its recapture from the Latin Empire, founde ...
, one of the most important figures in the flowering of arts and letters of the so-called "
Palaiologan Renaissance
The Palaeologan Renaissance or Palaiologan Renaissance is the final period in the development of Byzantine art. It coincided with the reign of the Palaiologoi, the last dynasty to rule the Byzantine Empire (1261–1453), and essentially preceded ...
". He is notable for his eleven-year tenure as chief minister of emperor
Andronikos II Palaiologos, his intense intellectual rivalry with fellow scholar and official
Theodore Metochites
Theodore Metochites ( el, Θεόδωρος Μετοχίτης; 1270–1332) was a Byzantine Greek statesman, author, gentleman philosopher, and patron of the arts. From c. 1305 to 1328 he held the position of personal adviser ('' mesazōn'') to e ...
, and for building the monastery of the
Theotokos Gorgoepēkoos (Θεοτόκος Γοργοεπήκοος) 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 ( ...
.
Life
Choumnos was born between 1250 and 1255. He came from an already distinguished family, which since the 11th century had provided several high-ranking officials.
[Kazhdan (1991), p. 433] Nikephoros studied rhetoric and philosophy under the future
Patriarch of Constantinople Gregory of Cyprus, and upon conclusion of his studies entered the imperial bureaucracy. He makes his first appearance in history in ca. 1275, with the lowly rank of ''
quaestor'', as head of an
embassy
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...
to the Mongol
Ilkhanid
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, ...
ruler of Persia,
Abaqa Khan
Abaqa Khan (27 February 1234 – 4 April 1282, mn, Абаха/Абага хан (Khalkha Cyrillic), ( Traditional script), "paternal uncle", also transliterated Abaġa), was the second Mongol ruler (''Ilkhan'') of the Ilkhanate. The son of Hul ...
.
Although under
Michael VIII
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 ...
Choumnos too had embraced the
Union of the Churches, under his successor, the staunchly Orthodox and pious
Andronikos II Palaiologos, he recanted. In ca. 1285, he composed a
panegyric in honour of the emperor, duly emphasizing not only his virtues and martial accomplishments, but also his opposition to the Union. Henceforth, his rise in the hierarchy was rapid: in early 1294, following the death of
Theodore Mouzalon, Andronikos II named him ''
mystikos'' (privy councillor) and ''
mesazōn'' (in effect, chief minister), while in 1295 he also received the office of ''
epi tou kanikleiou'', becoming head of the imperial chancellery.
As
George Pachymeres
George Pachymeres ( el, Γεώργιος Παχυμέρης, Geórgios Pachyméris; 1242 – 1310) was a Byzantine Greek historian, philosopher, music theorist and miscellaneous writer.
Biography
Pachymeres was born at Nicaea, in Bithynia, wher ...
reports, the emperor increasingly took absence from his administrative duties in order to devote himself to prayer and fasting, leaving Choumnos to effectively handle the governance of the state. Choumnos' growing influence also led to a clash with the deposed
patriarch
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...
Athanasios I, in whose dismissal in 1293 he may have had a role. Their enmity, which was likely founded on Choumnos' centralizing tendencies and on his
classicizing and humanist education, ran deep and was marked by the exchange of mutual accusations of corruption.
In 1303, after a planned marriage of his daughter Eirene to
Alexios II of Trebizond
Alexios II Megas Komnenos ( el, Αλέξιος Μέγας Κομνηνός , translit=Alexios Megas Komnēnos; Sept./Dec. 1282 – 3 May 1330), was Emperor of Trebizond from 1297 to 1330. He was the elder son of John II and Eudokia Palaiologina.
...
failed, and despite the opposition of Empress
Irene, he secured his ties to the ruling dynasty by marrying her to the emperor's third son, the ''
despotēs''
John Palaiologos (c. 1286–1308). Nevertheless, two years later, he was dismissed and replaced as ''mesazōn'' by Metochites.
During his tenure, he amassed a great fortune, especially estates in
Macedonia,
[Kazhdan (1991), p. 434] through bribes, the selling of offices and tax farming. These practices were quite common among the Palaiologan bureaucracy, whose corrupt administration was especially burdensome on the Empire's subjects. Part of this fortune was used in the establishment and endowment of the monastery of the
Theotokos Gorgoepekoos 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 ( ...
.
In 1309–1310 Choumnos served as governor of the Empire's second-largest 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 ...
, but thereafter withdrew from public office. During the 1320s, he engaged in a protracted exchange of polemics with his chief intellectual and political rival, Theodore Metochites. While Choumnos derided his opponent's lack of clarity, Metochites attacked Choumnos' disinterest in physics and his ignorance of astronomy, which he held as the "highest form of science". In ca. 1326, Choumnos retired as a monk, under the
monastic name
A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for a religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts.
Christianity
Catholic Church Baptismal name
In baptism, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should not be "foreign ...
Nathanael, to the
monastery of Christ Philanthropos
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
in Constantinople, which had been founded by his daughter Eirene. There he died on 16 January 1327.
Writings
Choumnos was a prolific writer, greatly influenced by the Classics, which he had studied as a young pupil.
[Nicol (1993), p. 164] His works, several of which remain unpublished, include rhetorical pieces, such as the eulogy to Andronikos II, as well as treatises on philosophy, especially on elemental theory, meteorology, cosmology and theology. Several of these treatises often appear to have been composed on the occasion of literary gatherings within the court, sometimes with the emperor presiding. From his extensive correspondence, 172 letters survive.
[Ierodiakonou & Bydén (2008)]
In his philosophical works, Choumnos proves himself an "ardent and skillful" defender of
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...
.
[Vasiliev (1958), pp. 700–701] Nevertheless, he does not embrace
Aristotelianism
Aristotelianism ( ) is a philosophical tradition inspired by the work of Aristotle, usually characterized by deductive logic and an analytic inductive method in the study of natural philosophy and metaphysics. It covers the treatment of the so ...
, but is rather interested to provide a rigidly rational philosophical justification for the doctrines held by Christian theology.
In his attacks on the
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
nic theories of
substance and
forms
Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens.
Form also refers to:
*Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter data
* ...
or in his refutation of
Plotinus
Plotinus (; grc-gre, Πλωτῖνος, ''Plōtînos''; – 270 CE) was a philosopher in the Hellenistic tradition, born and raised in Roman Egypt. Plotinus is regarded by modern scholarship as the founder of Neoplatonism. His teacher wa ...
' theories on the soul, Choumnos tries to prove Christian theological teaching.
According to the French
Byzantinist
Byzantine studies is an interdisciplinary branch of the humanities that addresses the history, culture, demography, dress, religion/theology, art, literature/epigraphy, music, science, economy, coinage and politics of the Eastern Roman ...
Rodolphe Guilland Rodolphe Joseph Guilland (Lons-le-Saunier, 1888 – Saint-Marcellin, Isère, 5 October 1981) was a French Byzantinist.
Life
Born in 1888, he completed his thesis on Nikephoros Gregoras (a biography in 1926, and his edited correspondence in 1927), ...
, "by his love of antiquity, passionate, although a little servile, and by the variety of his knowledge Choumnos heralds Italian
humanism
Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and Agency (philosophy), agency of Human, human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical in ...
and the western
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
."
Family
Nikephoros' brother Theodore was also a court official.
From his marriage to an unknown wife, Choumnos had several children:
*
John Choumnos, (chamberlain) and general.
*
George Choumnos, (head of the imperial table) and (grand master of the camp).
*
Irene Palaiologina Choumnaina, married the
John Palaiologos. Following his death in 1308, and having no children, she became a nun by the name of Eulogia, and founded the monastery of Christ Philanthrōpos in Constantinople. Despite her retreat into the convent, she remained very active in the intellectual life of the capital, maintaining a large library, commissioning copies of manuscripts, as well as conversing and corresponding with scholars.
[Cavallo (1997), p. 137]
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Choumnos, Nikephoros
1250s births
1327 deaths
13th-century Byzantine people
Byzantine officials
Byzantine philosophers
Byzantine theologians
13th-century Byzantine writers
Eastern Orthodox monks
Nikephoros
Byzantine letter writers
14th-century Byzantine people
14th-century Byzantine writers
13th-century Greek writers
13th-century Greek educators
14th-century Greek writers
14th-century Greek educators