Manuel Boutoumites
Encyclopedia
Manuel Boutoumites or Butumites ' onMouseout='HidePop("19293")' href="/topics/Floruit">fl.
1086–1112) was a leading Byzantine
general and diplomat during the reign of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos
(r. 1081–1118), and one of that emperor's most trusted aides. He was instrumental in the Byzantine recovery of Nicaea from the Turks, in the reconquest of Cilicia
, and acted as the emperor's envoy in several missions to Crusader
princes.
Boutoumites appears in Anna Komnene
's Alexiad
in 1086, when he was appointed as the doux
of the Byzantine fleet by Alexios, and sent against Abu'l Qasim
, the semi-independent Seljuk Turkish governor of Nicaea. Abu'l Qasim was preparing to launch a fleet into the Sea of Marmara
to challenge the Byzantine navy
. Alexios, determined to prevent this, sent against him Boutoumites with the fleet, while Tatikios would move against his base by land. The two generals successfully destroyed the Seljuk fleet and forced Abu'l Qasim to withdraw to Nicaea, whence he concluded a truce with Byzantium.
Later, in 1092, after Alexios' megas doux
, John Doukas
, defeated the emir Tzachas of Smyrna
, Boutoumites, along with Alexander Euphorbenos, were given as hostages to the emir to guarantee his peaceful evacuation of the island of Lesbos. Soon after, Doukas and Boutoumites were sent against the rebellions of Karykes at Crete
and Rhapsomates at Cyprus
. After subduing Karykes' revolt, they headed to Cyprus, where Kyrenia
fell quickly. Rhapsomates came out to meet them and occupied the heights above the city, but Boutoumites enticed many of his men to desert, and the rebel had to flee the battle. Boutoumites pursued and caught up with him at the church of the Holy Cross, where the rebel had sought refuge. Promising to spare his life, he captured him and brought him back to Doukas. According to tradition, while in Cyprus, he founded the Kykkos Monastery
there.
: in 1096, Boutoumites was sent to escort the ship-wrecked Hugh of Vermandois
from Dyrrhachium to Constantinople
, and in 1097, he was dispatched, at the head of a small detachment, to accompany the Crusader army as it marched against the Turks in Anatolia
.
The first great obstacle on the Crusaders' path was Nicaea, the Seljuk capital, which they proceeded to besiege
. Boutoumites had been instructed by Alexios to secure the surrender of the city to imperial forces, and not to the Crusaders. Already from the outset of the siege, Boutoumites, through numerous letters, tried to entice the Seljuks to surrender to him, whether through promises of amnesty or threats of a wholesale massacre should the Crusaders capture the city by force. The Turks had entered negotiations, allowing Boutoumites to enter the city. Two days later however, at the news of the approach of a relief force under Sultan Kilij Arslan I
, they forced him to leave. After the relief force was defeated by the Crusaders however, and as an imperial squadron under Boutoumites gained control of the city's open supply route through the Ascanian lake and 2,000 Byzantines under Tatikios joined the Crusaders in the siege, the city's inhabitants determined to accept Alexios' terms: Boutoumites entered Nicaea and showed them the emperor's chrysobull, offering generous terms and honours for the Sultan's wife and sister, who were in the city. Boutoumites however kept the deal a secret, and arranged with Tatikios for a renewed assault by the Crusaders and Tatikios' men, in which the city would ostensibly be captured by the Byzantines. The ruse worked: the day of the final assault was set for June 19, but when the assault began at dawn, the Byzantines, allowed in through the lake-ward gates, raised their standards on the battlements, leaving the Crusaders outside.
Although by and large the Crusaders accepted the outcome, the event soured relations. The Crusader leaders felt cheated at having been left out of the loop after the casualties they suffered in defeating the Turkish relief force, but the resentment was greater among the Crusader rank and file, who were deprived of the prospect of plunder and outraged at the Byzantines' respectful treatment of the Muslim captives. In the aftermath of the city's fall, Boutoumites was named by Alexios as doux
of Nicaea. He was successful both in keeping the Crusader rank and file, still eager for pillage, in check – they were not allowed into the city except in groups of ten – and in soothing their leaders through gifts and securing their pledge of allegiance to Alexios. He also persuaded some of the Crusaders to enrol in the Byzantine army. They were then employed in garrisoning Nicaea and repairing its walls.
against Bohemund. After taking Attaleia, the Byzantines took Maraş
and its surrounding region. Boutoumites left behind a large force under Monastras to garrison the province, and returned to Constantinople.
In 1111/1112, he was sent as an envoy to the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem
to secure aid against Tancred
, Bohemund's regent at Antioch, who refused to comply with the Treaty of Devol
of 1108, which turned Antioch into a Byzantine vassal state. From Cyprus, Boutoumites first sailed to Tripoli
. According to the Alexiad, the local count, Bertrand of Toulouse, readily assented to assist the imperial forces against Tancred, and even to come and pay homage to Alexios when he would arrive to besiege Antioch. Next the Byzantine envoys set out to meet with the King of Jerusalem, Baldwin I
, who was besieging Tyre. Boutoumites tried to persuade Baldwin by offering a substantial reward in gold, and making various exaggerated statements, including that Alexios was supposedly already on his way and had reached Seleucia. Baldwin however, advised of the untruth of Boutoumites' claims, lost confidence in him. He feigned willingness to attack Tancred however, provided that he received the promised subsidies beforehand. Boutoumites however perceived the king's intentions, and refused to do so. Thus the mission ended in failure, and Boutoumites left Jerusalem, returning to Constantinople via Tripoli.
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
1086–1112) was a leading Byzantine
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...
general and diplomat during the reign of Emperor 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,...
(r. 1081–1118), and one of that emperor's most trusted aides. He was instrumental in the Byzantine recovery of Nicaea from the Turks, in the reconquest of Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
, and acted as the emperor's envoy in several missions to Crusader
First Crusade
The First Crusade was a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem...
princes.
Early campaigns against the Seljuks
Anna Komnene
Anna Komnene, Latinized as Comnena was a Greek princess and scholar and the daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos of Byzantium and Irene Doukaina...
's Alexiad
Alexiad
The Alexiad is a medieval biographical text written around the year 1148 by the Byzantine historian Anna Comnena, daughter of Emperor Alexius I....
in 1086, when he was appointed as the doux
Dux
Dux is Latin for leader and later for Duke and its variant forms ....
of the Byzantine fleet by Alexios, and sent against Abu'l Qasim
Abu'l Qasim
Abu'l Qasim was the Seljuk governor of Nicaea, the Seljuk capital, from 1084 to his death in 1092. He was appointed to the post by Suleiman ibn Qutulmish, and after the latter's death in 1086, declared himself sultan...
, the semi-independent Seljuk Turkish governor of Nicaea. Abu'l Qasim was preparing to launch a fleet into the Sea of Marmara
Sea of Marmara
The Sea of Marmara , also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, and in the context of classical antiquity as the Propontis , is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Black...
to challenge the Byzantine navy
Byzantine navy
The Byzantine navy was the naval force of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Like the empire it served, it was a direct continuation from its imperial Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defense and survival of the state then its earlier iterations...
. Alexios, determined to prevent this, sent against him Boutoumites with the fleet, while Tatikios would move against his base by land. The two generals successfully destroyed the Seljuk fleet and forced Abu'l Qasim to withdraw to Nicaea, whence he concluded a truce with Byzantium.
Later, in 1092, after Alexios' megas doux
Megas 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...
, John Doukas
John Doukas (megas doux)
John Doukas was a member of the Doukas family, a relative of the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and a senior military figure of his reign. As governor of Dyrrhachium he secured the imperial possessions in the western Balkans against the Serbs...
, defeated the emir Tzachas of Smyrna
Smyrna
Smyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...
, Boutoumites, along with Alexander Euphorbenos, were given as hostages to the emir to guarantee his peaceful evacuation of the island of Lesbos. Soon after, Doukas and Boutoumites were sent against the rebellions of Karykes at Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
and Rhapsomates at Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. After subduing Karykes' revolt, they headed to Cyprus, where Kyrenia
Kyrenia
Kyrenia is a town on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. Internationally recognised as part of the Republic of Cyprus, Kyrenia has been under Turkish control since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974...
fell quickly. Rhapsomates came out to meet them and occupied the heights above the city, but Boutoumites enticed many of his men to desert, and the rebel had to flee the battle. Boutoumites pursued and caught up with him at the church of the Holy Cross, where the rebel had sought refuge. Promising to spare his life, he captured him and brought him back to Doukas. According to tradition, while in Cyprus, he founded the Kykkos Monastery
Kykkos Monastery
The Holy, Royal and Stavropegic Monastery of Kykkos , which lies 20 km west of Pedoulas, is one of the wealthiest and best-known monasteries in Cyprus....
there.
First Crusade – The Siege of Nicaea
Boutoumites was highly regarded and trusted by Alexios; Anna Komnene calls him "Alexios' sole confidant". Hence he played an important role in the delicate dealings with the First CrusadeFirst Crusade
The First Crusade was a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem...
: in 1096, Boutoumites was sent to escort the ship-wrecked Hugh of Vermandois
Hugh of Vermandois
Hugh I , called Magnus or the Great, was a younger son of Henry I of France and Anne of Kiev and younger brother of Philip I. He was in his own right Count of Vermandois, but an ineffectual leader and soldier, great only in his boasting...
from Dyrrhachium to 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:...
, and in 1097, he was dispatched, at the head of a small detachment, to accompany the Crusader army as it marched against the Turks in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
.
The first great obstacle on the Crusaders' path was Nicaea, the Seljuk capital, which they proceeded to besiege
Siege of Nicaea
The Siege of Nicaea took place from May 14 to June 19, 1097, during the First Crusade.-Background:Nicaea , located on the eastern shore of Lake İznik, had been captured from the Byzantine Empire by the Seljuk Turks in 1081, and formed the capital of the Sultanate of Rüm...
. Boutoumites had been instructed by Alexios to secure the surrender of the city to imperial forces, and not to the Crusaders. Already from the outset of the siege, Boutoumites, through numerous letters, tried to entice the Seljuks to surrender to him, whether through promises of amnesty or threats of a wholesale massacre should the Crusaders capture the city by force. The Turks had entered negotiations, allowing Boutoumites to enter the city. Two days later however, at the news of the approach of a relief force under Sultan Kilij Arslan I
Kilij Arslan I
Kilij Arslan was the Seljuq Sultan of Rûm from 1092 until his death in 1107. He ruled the Sultanate during the time of the First Crusade and thus faced the brunt of the entire attack...
, they forced him to leave. After the relief force was defeated by the Crusaders however, and as an imperial squadron under Boutoumites gained control of the city's open supply route through the Ascanian lake and 2,000 Byzantines under Tatikios joined the Crusaders in the siege, the city's inhabitants determined to accept Alexios' terms: Boutoumites entered Nicaea and showed them the emperor's chrysobull, offering generous terms and honours for the Sultan's wife and sister, who were in the city. Boutoumites however kept the deal a secret, and arranged with Tatikios for a renewed assault by the Crusaders and Tatikios' men, in which the city would ostensibly be captured by the Byzantines. The ruse worked: the day of the final assault was set for June 19, but when the assault began at dawn, the Byzantines, allowed in through the lake-ward gates, raised their standards on the battlements, leaving the Crusaders outside.
Although by and large the Crusaders accepted the outcome, the event soured relations. The Crusader leaders felt cheated at having been left out of the loop after the casualties they suffered in defeating the Turkish relief force, but the resentment was greater among the Crusader rank and file, who were deprived of the prospect of plunder and outraged at the Byzantines' respectful treatment of the Muslim captives. In the aftermath of the city's fall, Boutoumites was named by Alexios as doux
Dux
Dux is Latin for leader and later for Duke and its variant forms ....
of Nicaea. He was successful both in keeping the Crusader rank and file, still eager for pillage, in check – they were not allowed into the city except in groups of ten – and in soothing their leaders through gifts and securing their pledge of allegiance to Alexios. He also persuaded some of the Crusaders to enrol in the Byzantine army. They were then employed in garrisoning Nicaea and repairing its walls.
Envoy and general against Bohemund and Tancred
In 1099, he was sent by the Byzantine commanders at Cyprus as a peace envoy to Bohemond I of Antioch, but he was detained by him for a fortnight before being released, and no negotiations were begun. A few years later (in ca. 1103), Boutoumites was placed at the head of a large army sent to secure CiliciaCilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
against Bohemund. After taking Attaleia, the Byzantines took Maraş
Maras
In ancient Latvia, Māras or Māras diena was a festival, celebrated on August 15, held in honor of Māra, the Latvian goddess. It marked the midpoint between Jāņi and Miķeļi...
and its surrounding region. Boutoumites left behind a large force under Monastras to garrison the province, and returned to Constantinople.
In 1111/1112, he was sent as an envoy to the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
to secure aid against Tancred
Tancred, Prince of Galilee
Tancred was a Norman leader of the First Crusade who later became Prince of Galilee and regent of the Principality of Antioch...
, Bohemund's regent at Antioch, who refused to comply with the Treaty of Devol
Treaty of Devol
The Treaty of Devol was an agreement made in 1108 between Bohemond I of Antioch and Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, in the wake of the First Crusade. It is named after the Byzantine fortress of Devol in Macedonia...
of 1108, which turned Antioch into a Byzantine vassal state. From Cyprus, Boutoumites first sailed to Tripoli
Tripoli, Lebanon
Tripoli is the largest city in northern Lebanon and the second-largest city in Lebanon. Situated 85 km north of the capital Beirut, Tripoli is the capital of the North Governorate and the Tripoli District. Geographically located on the east of the Mediterranean, the city's history dates back...
. According to the Alexiad, the local count, Bertrand of Toulouse, readily assented to assist the imperial forces against Tancred, and even to come and pay homage to Alexios when he would arrive to besiege Antioch. Next the Byzantine envoys set out to meet with the King of Jerusalem, Baldwin I
Baldwin I of Jerusalem
Baldwin I of Jerusalem, formerly Baldwin I of Edessa, born Baldwin of Boulogne , 1058? – 2 April 1118, was one of the leaders of the First Crusade, who became the first Count of Edessa and then the second ruler and first titled King of Jerusalem...
, who was besieging Tyre. Boutoumites tried to persuade Baldwin by offering a substantial reward in gold, and making various exaggerated statements, including that Alexios was supposedly already on his way and had reached Seleucia. Baldwin however, advised of the untruth of Boutoumites' claims, lost confidence in him. He feigned willingness to attack Tancred however, provided that he received the promised subsidies beforehand. Boutoumites however perceived the king's intentions, and refused to do so. Thus the mission ended in failure, and Boutoumites left Jerusalem, returning to Constantinople via Tripoli.