Theodore Philes ( el, ) 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 ...

nobleman and 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 ...

in the mid-13th century. Theodore is the first notable member of the Philes family.Trapp (1991), p. 1650 He was appointed governor of

by the

Nicaean emperor 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. Woodhouse ...

John III Vatatzes sometime between 1248 and 1252, when the previous governor, Andronikos Palaiologos, died. This post, apparently designated with the title of "''

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...

''", entailed a very wide remit, encompassing military, fiscal and judicial authority over the lands and cities of Macedonia that were in Nicaean hands. During his governorship, Philes slighted the Nicaean heir-apparent,

Theodore II Laskaris Theodore II Doukas Laskaris or Ducas Lascaris ( gr, Θεόδωρος Δούκας Λάσκαρις, Theodōros Doukas Laskaris; 1221/1222 – 16 August 1258) was Emperor of Nicaea from 1254 to 1258. He was the only child of Emperor John II ...

, who now became his avowed enemy. When Theodore II succeeded to the throne in 1254, Philes and another leading noble, Constantine Strategopoulos, were blinded at the emperor's orders for ''

lèse-majesté Lèse-majesté () or lese-majesty () is an offence against the dignity of a ruling head of state (traditionally a monarch but now more often a president) or the state itself. The English name for this crime is a borrowing from the French, w ...

''. He was succeeded as ''praetor'' in Thessalonica by the historian

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, t ...

. Consequently Philes and his family became supporters of the aristocratic opposition around Michael Palaiologos, and after Theodore II's death in 1258 supported him in his bid for control of the empire against the regent,

George Mouzalon George Mouzalon ( el, Γεώργιος Μουζάλων, Geōrgios Mouzalōn; – 25 August 1258) was a high official of the Empire of Nicaea under Theodore II Laskaris (). Of humble origin, he became Theodore's companion in childhood and was ...

.PLP 29812 In 1259, Michael Palaiologos, now emperor, sent Philes on a diplomatic mission to the

Epirote Epirus (; el, Ήπειρος, translit=Ípiros, ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region in northwestern Greece.Π.Δ. 51/87 “Καθορισμός των � ...

court of

Michael II Komnenos Doukas Michael II Komnenos Doukas, Latinized as Comnenus Ducas ( el, Μιχαήλ Β΄ Κομνηνός Δούκας, ''Mikhaēl II Komnēnos Doukas''), often called Michael Angelos in narrative sources, was from 1230 until his death in 1266/68 the rule ...

, but achieved no success, reportedly due to Michael's arrogance.Macrides (2007), pp. 354ff. Theodore Philes had one son, Alexios Philes, later ''

megas domestikos The title of grand domestic ( grc-gre, μέγας δομέστικος, ''mégas doméstikos'') was given in the 11th–15th centuries to the commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army, directly below the Byzantine Emperor. It evolved from the earl ...

''.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Philes, Theodore 13th-century Byzantine people Byzantine governors of Thessalonica

Theodore 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 Sask ...

Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Byzantine diplomats People of the Empire of Nicaea 13th-century diplomats