Thamar
Encyclopedia
Thamar Angelina Komnene was a member of the ruling house of the Despotate of Epirus
and later Princess of Taranto
as wife of Prince Philip I
.
of the Despotate of Epirus
and his second wife Anna Kantakouzene, niece of the Byzantine
Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos
. She was the second of three siblings. Her older half-sister was Maria and her younger brother was Thomas I Komnenos Doukas
, who would go on to become despotes
himself.
. The idea was rejected by Andronikos and it was viewed as uncanonical
by the Church because the two were cousins.
With the failure of Anna’s plan, Thamar's father Nikephoros attempted to strengthen his independence from Constantinople by allying himself with the Angevin
dynasty of Naples
. King Charles II of Naples
had already proposed a marital union between their two houses, and after lengthy negotiations Nikephorus came to an agreement by which Thamar would marry Charles’ fourth son Philip I of Taranto
.
The conditions for the marriage alliance were that her dowry would give Philip the same position in Epirus that King Manfred of Sicily
, had gained through his marriage to Thamar’s aunt Helena Doukaina 35 years before. It was also promised that Thamar would bring to her husband an annual sum of 100,000 hyperpyra and four castles located in the south of Epirus. Philip and Thamar were also to inherit Epirus on Nikephoros' death. Due to the involvement of her mother in the agreement, Thamar was promised to be allowed to keep her Orthodox
faith.
The wedding took place at L'Aquila
in Abuzzi in August 1294.
. She pawned her coronet, and also begged money from her family in Epirus to pay the ransom for his release. She did not see him again until 1302. In Taranto
she came under pressure to assimilate into Latin ways. Despite the promises made at the time of her marriage she was forced to become a Catholic under the name Catherine (Caterina). The relationship between the spouses soured further when difficulties arose between the Angevins and Epirus, which had been inherited by Thamar's young brother Thomas.
. She was forced into confessing that she had slept with at least forty of the lords of his court, and that she had formed a particular relationship with Bartolomeo Siginulfo, the Grand Chamberlain of Taranto. Once the marriage had been dissolved Philip went onto to take a new wife, Catherine II of Valois
, the titular Empress of Constantinople. Thamar became an outcast, either becoming a nun
or being imprisoned by her ex-husband. In either case she died not long afterwards in 1311.
Despotate of Epirus
The Despotate or Principality of Epirus was one of the Byzantine Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire that emerged in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Empire of Nicaea, and the Empire of Trebizond...
and later Princess of Taranto
Taranto
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
as wife of Prince Philip I
Philip I of Taranto
Philip I of Taranto : of the Angevin house, was titular Emperor of Constantinople , despot of Epirus, King of Albania, Prince of Achaea and Taranto, and Lord of Durazzo....
.
Family
Thamar was the daughter of Nikephoros I Komnenos DoukasNikephoros I Komnenos Doukas
Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas, Latinized as Nicephorus I Comnenus Ducas , was ruler of Epirus from 1267/8 to c. 1297.-Life:Nikephoros was the eldest son of Michael II Komnenos Doukas and Theodora Petraliphaina...
of the Despotate of Epirus
Despotate of Epirus
The Despotate or Principality of Epirus was one of the Byzantine Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire that emerged in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Empire of Nicaea, and the Empire of Trebizond...
and his second wife Anna Kantakouzene, niece of the Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
Emperor 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...
. She was the second of three siblings. Her older half-sister was Maria and her younger brother was Thomas I Komnenos Doukas
Thomas I Komnenos Doukas
Thomas I Komnenos Doukas ruler of Epirus from c. 1297 until his death in 1318.Thomas was the son of Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas and Anna Kantakouzene, a niece of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos. In 1290 he was conferred the court dignity of despotes by his mother's cousin, Emperor Andronikos...
, who would go on to become despotes
Despotes
Despot , was a senior Byzantine court title that was bestowed on the sons or sons-in-law of reigning emperors, and initially denoted the heir-apparent...
himself.
Plans for her Marriage
Thamar’s mother wished for a healing of the breach between the Epirus and the Byzantine Empire. To reunite Epirus with the Empire, Anna wanted to marry Thamar to Michael, the son and co-emperor of Andronikos II PalaiologosAndronikos II Palaiologos
Andronikos II Palaiologos , Latinized as Andronicus II Palaeologus, was Byzantine emperor from 1282 to 1328. He was the eldest surviving son of Michael VIII Palaiologos and Theodora Doukaina Vatatzina, grandniece of John III Doukas Vatatzes...
. The idea was rejected by Andronikos and it was viewed as uncanonical
Canonical
Canonical is an adjective derived from canon. Canon comes from the greek word κανών kanon, "rule" or "measuring stick" , and is used in various meanings....
by the Church because the two were cousins.
With the failure of Anna’s plan, Thamar's father Nikephoros attempted to strengthen his independence from Constantinople by allying himself with the Angevin
Capetian House of Anjou
The Capetian House of Anjou, also known as the House of Anjou-Sicily and House of Anjou-Naples, was a royal house and cadet branch of the direct House of Capet. Founded by Charles I of Sicily, a son of Louis VIII of France, the Capetian king first ruled the Kingdom of Sicily during the 13th century...
dynasty of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
. King Charles II of Naples
Charles II of Naples
Charles II, known as "the Lame" was King of Naples, King of Albania, Prince of Salerno, Prince of Achaea and Count of Anjou.-Biography:...
had already proposed a marital union between their two houses, and after lengthy negotiations Nikephorus came to an agreement by which Thamar would marry Charles’ fourth son Philip I of Taranto
Philip I of Taranto
Philip I of Taranto : of the Angevin house, was titular Emperor of Constantinople , despot of Epirus, King of Albania, Prince of Achaea and Taranto, and Lord of Durazzo....
.
The conditions for the marriage alliance were that her dowry would give Philip the same position in Epirus that King Manfred of Sicily
Manfred of Sicily
Manfred was the King of Sicily from 1258 to 1266. He was a natural son of the emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen but his mother, Bianca Lancia , is reported by Matthew of Paris to have been married to the emperor while on her deathbed.-Background:Manfred was born in Venosa...
, had gained through his marriage to Thamar’s aunt Helena Doukaina 35 years before. It was also promised that Thamar would bring to her husband an annual sum of 100,000 hyperpyra and four castles located in the south of Epirus. Philip and Thamar were also to inherit Epirus on Nikephoros' death. Due to the involvement of her mother in the agreement, Thamar was promised to be allowed to keep her Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
faith.
The wedding took place at L'Aquila
L'Aquila
L'Aquila is a city and comune in central Italy, both the capital city of the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 73,150 inhabitants, but has a daily presence in the territory of 100,000 people for study, tertiary activities, jobs and tourism...
in Abuzzi in August 1294.
As Princess of Taranto
Thamar's marriage did not turn out to be a happy one. Five years after their wedding her husband was captured and imprisoned by the AragoneseKingdom of Aragon
The Kingdom of Aragon was a medieval and early modern kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain...
. She pawned her coronet, and also begged money from her family in Epirus to pay the ransom for his release. She did not see him again until 1302. In Taranto
Taranto
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
she came under pressure to assimilate into Latin ways. Despite the promises made at the time of her marriage she was forced to become a Catholic under the name Catherine (Caterina). The relationship between the spouses soured further when difficulties arose between the Angevins and Epirus, which had been inherited by Thamar's young brother Thomas.
Disgrace and Death
Philip suspected his wife of acting in her family's interests over his during the two-year conflict that raged between the Angevins and Epirus, despite the fact that she had pawned the remainder of her jewellery to help him pay for the military effort. Distrustful of Thamar, Philip decided to divorce her and in 1309 accused her of having committed adulteryAdultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
. She was forced into confessing that she had slept with at least forty of the lords of his court, and that she had formed a particular relationship with Bartolomeo Siginulfo, the Grand Chamberlain of Taranto. Once the marriage had been dissolved Philip went onto to take a new wife, Catherine II of Valois
Catherine II of Valois, Princess of Achaea
Catherine of Valois was titular Empress of Constantinople from 1308 to her death as Catherine II, Princess consort of Achaea from 1332 to 1341, and Governor of Cephalonia from 1341 to her death.-Life:...
, the titular Empress of Constantinople. Thamar became an outcast, either becoming a nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
or being imprisoned by her ex-husband. In either case she died not long afterwards in 1311.
Children
By her marriage to Philip I of Taranto, Thamar had five children:- Charles (1296–1315), prince of Achaea, Vicar of Romania, killed at the Battle of Monte Catino
- Philip (1297–1330), Despot of Romania
- JeanneJeanne of AnjouJoan of Anjou was a daughter of Philip I, Prince of Taranto and his first wife Thamar Angelina Komnene. She was Queen consort of Armenia by her first marriage...
(1297–1317), married to Oshin of ArmeniaOshin of ArmeniaOshin was king of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, ruling from 1307 to 1320. He was a member of the Hetoumid-family, the son of Leo II, King of Armenia and Queen Keran....
and then Oshin of KorikosOshin of KorikosOshin of Korikos served as regent of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia from 1320 to 1329. He was the son of the historian Hayton of Korikos. He became regent for Leo IV on the death of King Oshin in 1320, whom he was rumoured to have poisoned... - Margaret (1298–1340), married to Walter VI of BrienneWalter VI of BrienneWalter VI of Brienne was Count of Brienne, Conversano, and Lecce, and titular Duke of Athens. Walter was the son of Walter V, Duke of Athens, and Jeanne de Châtillon , the daughter of the Count of Porcien, a constable to King Philip IV of France.As grandson of Hugh of Brienne Walter VI of Brienne...
, titular Duke of Athens - Bianca (1309–1337), married to Ramon Berenguer of Aragon
Sources
- Donald M. Nicol – The Byzantine Lady
- idem – The Last Centuries of Byzantium 1261-1453
- John Julius NorwichJohn Julius NorwichJohn Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich CVO — known as John Julius Norwich — is an English historian, travel writer and television personality.-Early life:...
– Byzantium: The Decline and Fall