Theodore I Laskaris
Encyclopedia
Theodoros I Komnenos Laskaris (c. 1174/1175–1221/August, 1222) was emperor of Nicaea
(1204–1221 or 1205–1222).
, a noble but not particularly renowned Byzantine
family of Constantinople
. He was the son of Manuel Laskaris (b. c. 1140) and wife Ioanna Karatzaina (b. c. 1148). He had four older brothers: Manuel Laskaris (d. aft. 1256), Michael Laskaris (d. 1261/1271), Georgios Laskaris and Constantine Laskaris
(d. aft. March 19, 1205), Emperor of Byzantium (1204–1205); and two younger brothers: Alexios Laskaris, Latin military leader against the Bulgars
who fought with the French against John III Doukas Vatatzes
and was imprisoned and blinded, and Isaakios Laskaris.
According to "The Latins in the Levant. A History of Frankish Greece (1204–1566)" (1908) by William Miller, the seven brothers may also have had a sister. Miller identified said sister with the wife of Marco I Sanudo and mother of Angelo Sanudo
. He based this theory on his own interpretation of Italian chronicles. The "Dictionnaire historique et Généalogique des grandes familles de Grèce, d'Albanie et de Constantinople" (1983) by Mihail-Dimitri Sturdza rejected the theory based on the silence of Byzantine primary sources.
In 1198/9, Theodore married Anna Angelina
, daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Alexios III Angelos
and Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera
. By this marriage he was brother-in-law of Eudokia Angelina.
Theodore later distinguished himself during the sieges of Constantinople
by the Latins of the Fourth Crusade
(1203–1204). He remained in Constantinople until the Latins actually penetrated into the city, at which point he fled across Bosphorus together with his wife. At about the same time his brother Constantine Laskaris
was unsuccessfully proclaimed emperor by some of the defenders of Constantinople. In Bithynia
Theodore established himself in Nicaea
, which became the chief rallying-point for his countrymen.
At first Theodore did not claim the imperial title, perhaps because his father-in-law and his brother were both still living, perhaps because of the imminent Latin invasion, or perhaps because there was no Patriarch of Constantinople
to crown him emperor. He was proclaimed emperor in 1205 and invited Patriarch John Kamateros
to Nicaea. But John died in 1206 before crowning Theodore. Theodore appointed Michael IV
as the new Patriarch and was crowned by him in March 1208.
In the meantime Theodore had been defeated by the Latins at Adramyttion (Edremit), but soon afterwards the Latins were themselves defeated by Kaloyan of Bulgaria
at the Battle of Adrianople
. This temporarily stalled the Latin advance, but it was renewed by Emperor Henry of Flanders
in 1206. Theodore entered into an alliance with Kaloyan and took the offensive in 1209. The situation was complicated by the invasion of Sultan Kaykhusraw I of Rum at the instigation of the deposed Alexios III in 1211; however, the Nicaeans defeated the Seljuk army at the Battle of Antioch on the Meander where Theodore Laskaris killed the sultan in combat. Although the danger from Rum and Alexios III was thus neutralized, Emperor Henry defeated Theodore in the same year, and established his control over the southern shores of the Sea of Marmara
. In spite of this defeat, Theodore was able to take advantage of the death of David Megaskomnenos, the brother of Emperor Alexios I of Trebizond
in 1212 and to extend his own control over Paphlagonia
.
In 1214 Theodore concluded a peace treaty
with the Latin Empire at Nymphaion, and in 1219 he married a niece of Emperor Henry. In spite of predominantly peaceful relations, Theodore attacked the Latin Empire again in 1220, but peace was restored. Theodore died in November 1221 and was succeeded by his son-in-law John III Doukas Vatatzes
.
At the end of his reign he ruled over a territory roughly coterminous with the old Roman
provinces of Asia and Bithynia
. Though there is no proof of higher qualities of statesmanship in him, by his courage and military skill he enabled the Byzantine nation not merely to survive, but ultimately to beat back the Latin invasion.
(b. c. 1176), married in 1199, Theodore had three daughters and two sons who died young:
After Anna Angelina died in 1212, Theodore married secondly Philippa of Armenia
(1183-aft. 1219), a daughter of King Ruben III of Armenia
. This marriage was annulled a year later for religious reasons and they divorced in 1216, and the son born to them, Konstantinos Laskaris, born in 1214, was disinherited, being created Duke of Thrace afterwards.
Theodore married thirdly in 1219 Marie de Courtenay
(1204-September, 1222), a daughter of Emperor Peter II of Courtenay and Empress Yolanda of Flanders
, but they had no children.
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...
(1204–1221 or 1205–1222).
Family
Theodore Laskaris was born to the LaskarisLaskaris
The Laskaris or Lascaris family was a Byzantine Greek noble family whose members formed the ruling dynasty of the Empire of Nicaea from 1204 to 1261 and remained among the senior nobility up to the dissolution of the Byzantine Empire, whereupon many emigrated to Italy and then to Smyrna...
, a noble but not particularly renowned 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...
family of 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:...
. He was the son of Manuel Laskaris (b. c. 1140) and wife Ioanna Karatzaina (b. c. 1148). He had four older brothers: Manuel Laskaris (d. aft. 1256), Michael Laskaris (d. 1261/1271), Georgios Laskaris and Constantine Laskaris
Constantine Laskaris
Constantine Laskaris was Byzantine emperor for a few months from 1204 to early 1205.-Early years:Constantine Laskaris was born of a noble but not particularly renowned Byzantine family. Virtually nothing is known of him prior to the events of the Fourth Crusade...
(d. aft. March 19, 1205), Emperor of Byzantium (1204–1205); and two younger brothers: Alexios Laskaris, Latin military leader against the Bulgars
Bulgars
The Bulgars were a semi-nomadic who flourished in the Pontic Steppe and the Volga basin in the 7th century.The Bulgars emerge after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire in the 5th century....
who fought with the French against John III Doukas Vatatzes
John III Doukas Vatatzes
John III Doukas Vatatzes, Latinized as Ducas Vatatzes |Nymphaion]]) was emperor of Nicaea 1221–1254.-Life:John Doukas Vatatzes was probably the son of the general Basileios Vatatzes, Duke of Thrace, who died in 1193, and his wife, an unnamed daughter of Isaakios Angelos and cousin of the Emperors...
and was imprisoned and blinded, and Isaakios Laskaris.
According to "The Latins in the Levant. A History of Frankish Greece (1204–1566)" (1908) by William Miller, the seven brothers may also have had a sister. Miller identified said sister with the wife of Marco I Sanudo and mother of Angelo Sanudo
Angelo Sanudo
Angelo Sanudo was the second Duke of the Archipelago from 1227, when his father, Marco I, died, until his own death.-Family:Angelo was a son of Marco I Sanudo. According to "The Latins in the Levant. A History of Frankish Greece " by William Miller, Marco I married ... Laskaraina, a woman of the...
. He based this theory on his own interpretation of Italian chronicles. The "Dictionnaire historique et Généalogique des grandes familles de Grèce, d'Albanie et de Constantinople" (1983) by Mihail-Dimitri Sturdza rejected the theory based on the silence of Byzantine primary sources.
Reign
Anna Angelina
Anna Komnene Angelina or Comnena Angelina was a daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Alexios III Angelos and of Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera....
, daughter of the Byzantine 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...
and Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera
Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera
Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamaterina or better Kamatera was the wife of the Byzantine Emperor Alexios III Angelos.Euphrosyne was the daughter of Andronikos Doukas Kamateros, a high-ranking official who held the titles of megas droungarios and pansebastos . She was related to the Emperor Constantine X...
. By this marriage he was brother-in-law of Eudokia Angelina.
Theodore later distinguished himself during the sieges of 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:...
by the Latins of 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...
(1203–1204). He remained in Constantinople until the Latins actually penetrated into the city, at which point he fled across Bosphorus together with his wife. At about the same time his brother Constantine Laskaris
Constantine Laskaris
Constantine Laskaris was Byzantine emperor for a few months from 1204 to early 1205.-Early years:Constantine Laskaris was born of a noble but not particularly renowned Byzantine family. Virtually nothing is known of him prior to the events of the Fourth Crusade...
was unsuccessfully proclaimed emperor by some of the defenders of Constantinople. In Bithynia
Bithynia
Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...
Theodore established himself in Nicaea
Iznik
İznik is a city in Turkey which is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea, the first and seventh Ecumenical councils in the early history of the Church, the Nicene Creed, and as the capital city of the Empire of Nicaea...
, which became the chief rallying-point for his countrymen.
At first Theodore did not claim the imperial title, perhaps because his father-in-law and his brother were both still living, perhaps because of the imminent Latin invasion, or perhaps because there was no Patriarch of Constantinople
Patriarch of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarch is the Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome – ranking as primus inter pares in the Eastern Orthodox communion, which is seen by followers as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church....
to crown him emperor. He was proclaimed emperor in 1205 and invited Patriarch John Kamateros
John Camaterus
John X Kamateros was the Patriarch of Constantinople from 5 August 1198 to April/May 1206.John was a member of the Kamateros family, to which belonged the Empress Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera, wife of Alexios III Angelos...
to Nicaea. But John died in 1206 before crowning Theodore. Theodore appointed Michael IV
Patriarch Michael IV of Constantinople
Michael IV Autoreianos was the Patriarch of Constantinople from 1208 to his death in 1214.Michael was a well-educated man and a member of the literary circle around Eustathius of Thessalonica. In the ecclesiastic hierarchy, he had reached the post of megas sakellarios at the time of the sack of...
as the new Patriarch and was crowned by him in March 1208.
In the meantime Theodore had been defeated by the Latins at Adramyttion (Edremit), but soon afterwards the Latins were themselves defeated by Kaloyan of Bulgaria
Kaloyan of Bulgaria
Kaloyan the Romanslayer , Ivan II , ruled as emperor of Bulgaria 1197-1207. He is the third and youngest brother of Peter IV and Ivan Asen I who managed to restore the Bulgarian Empire...
at the Battle of Adrianople
Battle of Adrianople (1205)
The Battle of Adrianople occurred on April 14, 1205 between Bulgarians under Tsar Kaloyan of Bulgaria, and Crusaders under Baldwin I. It was won by the Bulgarians after a skillful ambush using the help of their Cuman and Greek allies. Around 300 knights were killed, including Louis of Blois, Duke...
. This temporarily stalled the Latin advance, but it was renewed by Emperor Henry of Flanders
Henry of Flanders
Henry was the second emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople. He was a younger son of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut , and Margaret I of Flanders, sister of Philip of Alsace, count of Flanders....
in 1206. Theodore entered into an alliance with Kaloyan and took the offensive in 1209. The situation was complicated by the invasion of Sultan Kaykhusraw I of Rum at the instigation of the deposed Alexios III in 1211; however, the Nicaeans defeated the Seljuk army at the Battle of Antioch on the Meander where Theodore Laskaris killed the sultan in combat. Although the danger from Rum and Alexios III was thus neutralized, Emperor Henry defeated Theodore in the same year, and established his control over the southern shores of 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...
. In spite of this defeat, Theodore was able to take advantage of the death of David Megaskomnenos, the brother of Emperor Alexios I of Trebizond
Alexios I of Trebizond
Alexios I Megas Komnenos or Alexius I Comnenus was Emperor of Trebizond from 1204 to 1222. He was the eldest son of Manuel Komnenos and of Rusudan, daughter of George III of Georgia. He was thus a grandson of the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos I. Andronikos was dethroned and killed in 1185...
in 1212 and to extend his own control over Paphlagonia
Paphlagonia
Paphlagonia was an ancient area on the Black Sea coast of north central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus to the east, and separated from Phrygia by a prolongation to the east of the Bithynian Olympus...
.
In 1214 Theodore concluded a peace treaty
Treaty of Nymphaeum (1214)
The Treaty of Nymphaeum was a peace treaty signed in December of 1214 between the Nicaean Empire, successor state of the Byzantine Empire, and the Latin Empire, which was established in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade of 1204.-Background:...
with the Latin Empire at Nymphaion, and in 1219 he married a niece of Emperor Henry. In spite of predominantly peaceful relations, Theodore attacked the Latin Empire again in 1220, but peace was restored. Theodore died in November 1221 and was succeeded by his son-in-law John III Doukas Vatatzes
John III Doukas Vatatzes
John III Doukas Vatatzes, Latinized as Ducas Vatatzes |Nymphaion]]) was emperor of Nicaea 1221–1254.-Life:John Doukas Vatatzes was probably the son of the general Basileios Vatatzes, Duke of Thrace, who died in 1193, and his wife, an unnamed daughter of Isaakios Angelos and cousin of the Emperors...
.
At the end of his reign he ruled over a territory roughly coterminous with the old Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
provinces of Asia and Bithynia
Bithynia
Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...
. Though there is no proof of higher qualities of statesmanship in him, by his courage and military skill he enabled the Byzantine nation not merely to survive, but ultimately to beat back the Latin invasion.
Marriages and children
By his first wife Anna Komnena AngelinaAnna Angelina
Anna Komnene Angelina or Comnena Angelina was a daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Alexios III Angelos and of Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera....
(b. c. 1176), married in 1199, Theodore had three daughters and two sons who died young:
- Nikolaos Laskaris (d. c. 1212)
- Iōannēs Laskaris (d. c. 1212)
- Eirene Dukaina Komnene Laskarina, who married first the general Andronikos Palaiologos and then John III Doukas VatatzesJohn III Doukas VatatzesJohn III Doukas Vatatzes, Latinized as Ducas Vatatzes |Nymphaion]]) was emperor of Nicaea 1221–1254.-Life:John Doukas Vatatzes was probably the son of the general Basileios Vatatzes, Duke of Thrace, who died in 1193, and his wife, an unnamed daughter of Isaakios Angelos and cousin of the Emperors...
- Maria LaskarinaMaria LaskarinaMaria Laskarina was a daughter of Theodore I Laskaris and his first wife Anna Angelina.-Life:She was a younger sister of Irene Lascarina, first Empress consort of John III Doukas Vatatzes. Theodore married his eldest daughter to his designated heir in 1212...
, who married King Béla IV of HungaryBéla IV of HungaryBéla IV , King of Hungary and of Croatia , duke of Styria 1254–58. One of the most famous kings of Hungary, he distinguished himself through his policy of strengthening of the royal power following the example of his grandfather Bela III, and by the rebuilding Hungary after the catastrophe of the... - Eudokia Laskarina, engaged to Robert de Courtenay, married bef. 1230 Anseau de Cayeux, Governor of Asia Minor
After Anna Angelina died in 1212, Theodore married secondly Philippa of Armenia
Philippa of Armenia
Philippa of Armenia was a daughter of Ruben III of Armenia and Isabella of Toron. Her maternal grandparents were Humphrey III of Toron and Stephanie of Milly.-Princess of Armenia:...
(1183-aft. 1219), a daughter of King Ruben III of Armenia
Ruben III of Armenia
Ruben III , also Roupen III, Rupen III, or Reuben III, was the ninth lord of Armenian Cilicia or “Lord of the Mountains” .Roupen remained always friendly to the Crusaders in spirit...
. This marriage was annulled a year later for religious reasons and they divorced in 1216, and the son born to them, Konstantinos Laskaris, born in 1214, was disinherited, being created Duke of Thrace afterwards.
Theodore married thirdly in 1219 Marie de Courtenay
Marie de Courtenay
Marie de Courtenay was a daughter of Peter II of Courtenay and Yolanda of Flanders. She married Theodore I of Nicaea. Marie served as regent for her younger brother Baldwin II of Courtenay and styled herself as the Empress of Constantinople.-Family and background:Her parents were successive rulers...
(1204-September, 1222), a daughter of Emperor Peter II of Courtenay and Empress Yolanda of Flanders
Yolanda of Flanders
Yolanda of Flanders ruled the Latin Empire in Constantinople for her husband Peter II of Courtenay from 1217 to 1219.She was the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Hainault, and Countess Margaret I of Flanders. Two of her brothers, Baldwin I and then Henry, were emperors in Constantinople...
, but they had no children.