Alexios Palaiologos (despot)
Encyclopedia
Alexios Palaiologos was a Byzantine
nobleman, son-in-law of Emperor Alexios III Angelos
(r. 1195–1203) and his heir-apparent from 1199 to his death. Throughout this time, he was actively involved in the suppression of several revolts and riots against the emperor. Through his daughter, he became one of the progenitors of the imperial line of the Palaiologos
dynasty.
emperors. Alexios's father was probably the sebastos
and megas hetaireiarches George Palaiologos, the son or grandson of Alexios I Komnenos
's staunchest supporter George Palaiologos. Through his grandmother, Alexios shared in the blood of the Komnenian house. In ca. 1198, Alexios was chosen by emperor Alexios III, who was without male offspring, to wed his eldest daughter, Irene. She was a widow of Andronikos Kontostephanos, and Alexios Palaiologos was forced to divorce his own beautiful first wife (whose name is unknown) to marry her. The wedding took place in spring 1199 and was accompanied by lavish celebrations. Alexios thus became the imperial heir-apparent, and was elevated to the rank of despot. At the same time, the emperor's second daughter Anna, also a widow, was wed to Theodore Laskaris
, the future founder of the Empire of Nicaea
.
Shortly afterwards both imperial sons-in-law were sent alongside general Manuel Kamytzes against the rebel Ivanko
in Thrace
. During this campaign, in the siege of Kritzimos
, Alexios's father George was killed. The campaign failed when the Byzantine force was trapped in an ambush and Kamytzes captured. This success emboldened Ivanko, who now claimed the imperial title. In spring 1200, Alexios III pretended to be willing to begin negotiations, and sent Alexios Palaiologos to meet the rebel. Alexios gave solemn promises of safety, but when Ivanko appeared in the imperial camp, he was arrested and executed. In February of the same year, Alexios had been called upon to help with the riots that broke out in Constantinople
in protest against the embezzlement of charitable donations by the prison warden John Lagos. A large mob had taken control of the capital's prisons and opened them, and battled the guards of the emperor, who was away at Chrysopolis. Alexios Palaiologos led troops into the city and suppressed the revolt after inflicting heavy casualties on the populace.
In July 1201, Alexios was instrumental in the suppression of the attempted coup by John Komnenos the Fat
. After the rebels had seized control of most of the Great Palace
, Alexios was sent by the emperor with troops and boats from the Blachernae
to the eastern shore of the city. There they met up with the Great Palace's guard, and cleared the palace and the Hippodrome
of the supporters of the usurper, who was caught and beheaded. In February 1201 or 1202, Alexios was injured when the imperial tent collapsed during an earthquake, but in the same summer he led the campaign that subdued the rebellion of governor John Spyridonakes
in eastern Macedonia
, forcing the latter to flee to Bulgaria
.
Alexios died at a relatively early age in 1203, of natural causes according to Theodore Skoutariotes
. His death occurred before the deposition and flight of Alexios III in the face of the siege
of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade
.
Alexios Palaiologos (from a different branch of the Palaiologos line) and of Irene Komnene. They had numerous children the most prominent of whom was Michael VIII Palaiologos
, who became emperor of Nicaea in 1259 and restored the Byzantine Empire in 1261.
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
nobleman, son-in-law of Emperor Alexios III Angelos
Alexios III Angelos
Alexios III Angelos was Byzantine Emperor from 1195 to 1203.- Early life:Alexios III Angelos was the second son of Andronikos Angelos and Euphrosyne Kastamonitissa. Andronicus was himself a son of Theodora Komnene, the youngest daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina. Thus...
(r. 1195–1203) and his heir-apparent from 1199 to his death. Throughout this time, he was actively involved in the suppression of several revolts and riots against the emperor. Through his daughter, he became one of the progenitors of the imperial line of the Palaiologos
Palaiologos
Palaiologos , often latinized as Palaeologus, was a Byzantine Greek noble family, which produced the last ruling dynasty of the Byzantine Empire. After the Fourth Crusade, members of the family fled to the neighboring Empire of Nicaea, where Michael VIII Palaiologos became co-emperor in 1259,...
dynasty.
Life
Alexios's origins are obscure. His family was wealthy and mostly known as civil and military officials under the KomnenianKomnenos
Komnenós or Comnenus was the name of a ruling family of the Eastern Roman Empire , who halted the political decline of the Empire from c.1081 to c.1185.-Origins:...
emperors. Alexios's father was probably the sebastos
Sebastos
Sebastos was an honorific used by the ancient Greeks to render the Roman imperial title of Augustus. From the late 11th century on, during the Komnenian period, it and variants derived from it formed the basis of a new system of court titles for the Byzantine Empire. The female form of the title...
and megas hetaireiarches George Palaiologos, the son or grandson of Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus , was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118, and although he was not the founder of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power. The title 'Nobilissimus' was given to senior army commanders,...
's staunchest supporter George Palaiologos. Through his grandmother, Alexios shared in the blood of the Komnenian house. In ca. 1198, Alexios was chosen by emperor Alexios III, who was without male offspring, to wed his eldest daughter, Irene. She was a widow of Andronikos Kontostephanos, and Alexios Palaiologos was forced to divorce his own beautiful first wife (whose name is unknown) to marry her. The wedding took place in spring 1199 and was accompanied by lavish celebrations. Alexios thus became the imperial heir-apparent, and was elevated to the rank of despot. At the same time, the emperor's second daughter Anna, also a widow, was wed to Theodore Laskaris
Theodore I Laskaris
Theodoros I Komnenos Laskaris was emperor of Nicaea .-Family:Theodore Laskaris was born to the Laskaris, a noble but not particularly renowned Byzantine family of Constantinople. He was the son of Manuel Laskaris and wife Ioanna Karatzaina . He had four older brothers: Manuel Laskaris Theodoros...
, the future founder of the Empire of Nicaea
Empire of Nicaea
The Empire of Nicaea was the largest of the three Byzantine Greek successor states founded by the aristocracy of the Byzantine Empire that fled after Constantinople was occupied by Western European and Venetian forces during the Fourth Crusade...
.
Shortly afterwards both imperial sons-in-law were sent alongside general Manuel Kamytzes against the rebel Ivanko
Ivanko of Bulgaria
Ivanko killed Ivan Asen I, ruler of the renascent Second Bulgarian Empire, in 1196. The murder occurred when Asen angrily summoned Ivanko to discipline him for having an affair with his wife's sister....
in Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
. During this campaign, in the siege of Kritzimos
Krichim
Krichim is a town in southern Bulgaria, located in the southwestern part of Plovdiv Province close to Perushtitsa. It lies at the foot of the Rhodopes' northern slopes in the plains of Thrace, 20 km southwest of Plovdiv. The river Vacha, an important tributary of the Maritsa, runs through the...
, Alexios's father George was killed. The campaign failed when the Byzantine force was trapped in an ambush and Kamytzes captured. This success emboldened Ivanko, who now claimed the imperial title. In spring 1200, Alexios III pretended to be willing to begin negotiations, and sent Alexios Palaiologos to meet the rebel. Alexios gave solemn promises of safety, but when Ivanko appeared in the imperial camp, he was arrested and executed. In February of the same year, Alexios had been called upon to help with the riots that broke out in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
in protest against the embezzlement of charitable donations by the prison warden John Lagos. A large mob had taken control of the capital's prisons and opened them, and battled the guards of the emperor, who was away at Chrysopolis. Alexios Palaiologos led troops into the city and suppressed the revolt after inflicting heavy casualties on the populace.
In July 1201, Alexios was instrumental in the suppression of the attempted coup by John Komnenos the Fat
John Komnenos the Fat
John Komnenos , nicknamed "the Fat" , was a Byzantine noble who on 31 July 1201 attempted to usurp the imperial throne from Alexios III Angelos in a short-lived coup in Constantinople...
. After the rebels had seized control of most of the Great Palace
Great Palace of Constantinople
The Great Palace of Constantinople — also known as the Sacred Palace — was the large Imperial Byzantine palace complex located in the south-eastern end of the peninsula now known as "Old Istanbul", modern Turkey...
, Alexios was sent by the emperor with troops and boats from the Blachernae
Blachernae
Blachernae was a suburb in the northwestern section of Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire. It was the site of a spring and a number of prominent churches were built there, most notably the great Church of St. Mary of Blachernae , built by Empress Pulcheria in circa 450,...
to the eastern shore of the city. There they met up with the Great Palace's guard, and cleared the palace and the Hippodrome
Hippodrome of Constantinople
The Hippodrome of Constantinople was a circus that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today it is a square named Sultanahmet Meydanı in the Turkish city of Istanbul, with only a few fragments of the original structure surviving...
of the supporters of the usurper, who was caught and beheaded. In February 1201 or 1202, Alexios was injured when the imperial tent collapsed during an earthquake, but in the same summer he led the campaign that subdued the rebellion of governor John Spyridonakes
John Spyridonakes
John Spyridonakes was a Byzantine governor and rebel in the region of Macedonia during the reign of Emperor Alexios III Angelos ....
in eastern Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
, forcing the latter to flee to Bulgaria
Second Bulgarian Empire
The Second Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state which existed between 1185 and 1396 . A successor of the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II before gradually being conquered by the Ottomans in the late 14th-early 15th century...
.
Alexios died at a relatively early age in 1203, of natural causes according to Theodore Skoutariotes
Theodore Skoutariotes
Theodore Skoutariotes was a Byzantine cleric and official during the reign of Michael VIII Palaiologos .Skoutariotes was born ca. 1230. As a deacon, he served as epi ton deeseon and was named as dikaiophylax in 1270...
. His death occurred before the deposition and flight of Alexios III in the face of the siege
Siege of Constantinople (1203)
The Siege of Constantinople in 1203 was a Crusader siege of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, in support of the deposed emperor Isaac II Angelos and his son Alexios IV Angelos.- The siege :...
of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire...
.
Family
Aside from his father George, Alexios had an unnamed aunt, who married John Bryennios, and an uncle, the sebastos Constantine. The name of his mother is not known, nor does it appear that he had siblings. From his marriage with Irene Angelina, he had one daughter, Theodora, who married the megas domestikos Andronikos Palaiologos, the son of the megas douxMegas Doux
The megas doux was one of the highest positions in the hierarchy of the later Byzantine Empire, denoting the commander-in-chief of the Byzantine navy. It is sometimes also given by the half-Latinizations megaduke or megadux...
Alexios Palaiologos (from a different branch of the Palaiologos line) and of Irene Komnene. They had numerous children the most prominent of whom was Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus reigned as Byzantine Emperor 1259–1282. Michael VIII was the founder of the Palaiologan dynasty that would rule the Byzantine Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453...
, who became emperor of Nicaea in 1259 and restored the Byzantine Empire in 1261.