Άλλα Ονόματα Andronikos Doukas Angelos Komnenos, monk Antonios, new Constantine. Τόπος και Χρόνος Γέννησης 1258

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1 Περίληψη : Andronikos II Palaiologos ( ) was the second son of Michael VIII and Theodora Palaiologina. During his reign he carried out military and administrative reforms, while he repudiated the union of the Orthodox Church with the Papacy, carried out by his father Michael VIII. He proceeded to a judicial reform and greatly contributed to the flourishing in art and the letters which came to be known as "Palaiologan Renaissance". In the civil war against his grandson, Andronikos III, he was forced to abdicate his throne (in 1328) and become a monk, adopting the name Antonios until his death. Άλλα Ονόματα Andronikos Doukas Angelos Komnenos, monk Antonios, new Constantine Τόπος και Χρόνος Γέννησης 1258 Τόπος και Χρόνος Θανάτου 12/13 February 1332, Constantinople Κύρια Ιδιότητα Emperor 1. Biography Andronikos was the second-born son of Michael VIII and Theodora (their first-born was Manuel, who died at childhood) 1 and was born in By 1265 he had already been proclaimed co-emperor of his father and in 1272 he was crowned co-emperor receiving wide jurisdiction, wider than any former co-emperor. He was married twice. With his first spouse, the princess Anna of Hungary (they married in 1272), daughter of Stephen V, he had two sons, Michael IX and Constantine. From his second marriage to Eirene-Yolanda of Montferrat (1285) he had five sons John, Theodore, Demetrios, Isaac and Bartholomaios and two daughters, Simonis and Theodora. Three of his children, Theodora, Isaac and Bartholomew, died very early in life. He also had two illegitimate daughters, Maria and Eirene. 2. Evaluation of Andronikos II's reign Andronikos II s reign was one of the longest in Byzantine history, but at this point Byzantium was but a small state staggering under the weight of its glorious past; this significantly reduced the purview of Andronikos' political action. Andronikos II was not particularly popular in his empire. He was rather wary of the people of the capital, for he had come to realize the strength and importance of the Constantinopolitan public opinion. He was no warrior or a man of action. He preferred to stay in Constantinople keeping company with a close circle of scholars, avoiding participation in military campaigns. However, many of his views, whether on external or internal policy, imply that he was an exceptionaly prudent ruler. Notwithstanding his many errors, he managed to adopt important and substantial measures. The effectiveness of these measures, though, was curtailed by the severity of the conditions in which he was forced to rule. For this reason, his reign is often considered a period of rude awakenings. 3. Politics 3.1. Ecclesiastical policy Δημιουργήθηκε στις 10/1/2017 Σελίδα 1/8

2 Andronikos II s ecclesiastical policy was radically different from that of his father: Andronikos was a zealous Orthodox, being under the sway of the patriarch Athanasios I ( , ). Upon ascending to the throne he repudiated the Union of the Churches that had been decided at Lyons in 1274; at any rate, this union was not in effect, at least since the time of the Sicilian Vespers. He also managed to put an end to the dispute between the Church and the party of the arseniatai in During the reign of Andronikos II the importance and influence of the Church increased, especially the influence of monasticism. Monasteries, particularly those of Mt Athos, experience a golden age during this period. Furthermore, in November 1312 through a chrysobull Andronikos places the monasteries of Athos under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople (until then they were under the jurisdiction of the emperor) Domestic policy Andronikos II s first priority was to counter the severe financial crisis, manifest in the depreciation of the Byzantine golden coinage, which now contained other metals of lesser value. In the early 14th century, when the Empire was facing new and serious difficulties, the hyperpyron lost half of its original value. 2 Under these dire financial conditions, Andronikos II introduced fiscal reforms which raised state income to one million hyperpyra. At the same time, he increased levies in kind: in 1304 a new tax was imposed, the socalled sitokrithon, a forced contribution in wheat and barley. Nonetheless, the empire s financial state remained deplorable. Defending the idea of a united empire, Andronikos II decisively rejected the plans of his second wife Eirene of Montferrat for the dismemberment of Byzantium, which caused the breaking up of the couple, for Eirene relocated permanently to Thessalonica. Andronikos II realized an important judicial reform, establishing in 1296 the institution of the universal judges of the Romans. In this institution twelve high-ranking ecclesiastical leaders and lay officials, accompliced juridists, assumed the responsibility, after swearing an oath, of passing legal judgements in an impartial and without accepting bribes, even if the case under consideration involved the emperor himself. 3 This idea did not yield the expected results, thus the emperor s grandson, Andronikos III, introduced a new reform of the supreme Byzantine judiciary body in Andronikos II was a ruler of exceptional education and was particularly interested in science and literature. Fine scholars, like Nikephoros Choumnos, Τheodoros Metochites and Nikephoros Gregoras, served as his close associates and advisors. For this reason his contribution to the cultural flowering of the empire, known as Palaiologan Renaissance, is considered immense. Notwithstanding the political decline, Constantinople remained an international intellectual centre. 4. Foreign political difficulties The drastic austerity measures implemented by Andronikos II in order to curtail the huge public spending and to improve the empire s ruined economy had dire consequences for the army and especially the navy; the emperor dismantled the latter altogether with an edict in Nikephoros Gregoras mentions that the Latins would not have been so audacious vis-à-vis the Byzantines, and the Ottomans would have never set eyes on sea sand had the Byzantine fleet dominated the seas as in earlier times. 4 Andronikos reduced the number of the infantry to such an extent that, in the words of the same author, it caused mirth and was considered nonexistant. 5 The military decline of Byzantium contributed to the empire s degradation to the status of a lesser power, unable to resist the much stronger forces of the Ottomans and the Serbs. Furthermore, a series of internal crises precluded the possibility of maintaining a consistent policy vis-à-vis the state s numerous external enemies. The dereliction of the eastern border, already visible since the time of the Empire s restoration in 1261, had unforeseen consequences. Andronikos II did not overlook the danger threatening Asia Minor. For this reason, from 1290 to 1293 the emperor had settled in this region, wishing through his presence and by strengthening the existing fortifications to encourage the Byzantines, who were so deeply dejected by the continuous Ottoman raids that they gradually abandoned the region of Asia Minor seeking refuge in the empire s European provinces. 6 With this move, however, he did not achieve much. By c.1300 the whole of Asia Minor, with the exception of some large cities, was under Ottoman rule. His attempt to alleviate conditions in the region by recruiting the help Δημιουργήθηκε στις 10/1/2017 Σελίδα 2/8

3 of the Alans was also unsuccessful. The help of the Catalan Company was also enlisted; despite some initial successes, it soon turned against Byzantium and as a result the empire endured hardships in the period of , when the Catalans pillaged and ravaged the provinces of Thrace and Macedonia. On the other side, the Ottomans, especially after 1318, began launching piratical attacks, targeting Venetian as well as Byzantine possessions in the Aegean. In 1326 they also captured the most important city of Bithynia, Prusa (Bursa), seizing Lopadion in Byzantine presence in Asia Minor was now only symbolic. The Byzantine Empire also faced difficulties in its relations with the Italian naval republics. While Michael VIII had tried to prevent either the Genovese or the Venetians from acquiring great influence, Andronikos II sided unilaterally and unreservedly with Genoa. With the increase of Genoa s power its old antagonism with Venice was intensified. Byzantium became enmeshed in the war that broke out between them in 1294, where the Empire only suffered great loses and was humiliated. The Genovese Benedetto Zaccaria, ruler of Phocaea and in control of its rich mines, captured in 1304 the Byzantine island of Chios. During Andronikos reign, the Serbian advance towards the south and the annexation of Byzantine lands enters a decisive phase. The Serbs, after capturing Skopje in 1282 and parts of Macedonia, began causing border skirmishes, with the borders gradually moving to the south. The failure of the Byzantine counter-offensive of 1297 forced the emperor to begin negotiations; these were concluded in 1299 with the signing of a peace treaty and the marriage of the Serbian king Stefan Uroš II Milutin to the emperor s young daughter Simonis. The Serbs received the populated areas above the line Ohrid-Prilep-Štip as dowry. In the cultural sphere, however, there followed a period during which Serbia was Byzanticised. The autonomous Greek states of Epirus and Thessaly deteriorated faster than Byzantium, and as a result Andronikos II was able to achieve some successes in this region. His troops managed to capture Durrës early in 1296 and thus the empire acquired once more a port on the shores of the Adriatic, if only for a short period, for the Serbs soon managed to wrest it from Byzantium. The emperor also sought to secure Epirus following the death of the despotes Nikephoros I (1296) and the predominance of the pro-byzantine party, supported by Princess Anna, who assumed the regency of Epirus. 5. Civil war ( ) The civil war between Andronikos II and his grandson Andronikos III broke out largely for personal reasons; it was a conflict between the old and the new generation and marked the beginning of an era of internecine strife which marred the 14th century in Byzantium. The conflict broke out after Easter 1321 and ended with the capitulation of the emperor and the ceding of the Thracian territory from Christopolis to the shores close to Constantinople, which Andronikos III was to rule as emperor. Andronikos II retained the capital and the area west of Christopolis, together with the Aegean islands and maintained the right to pursue his own external policy. In 1322, however, a new conflict erupted when Syrgiannis, Andronikos III s general, sided with Andronikos II. A few peaceful years followed, a period during which the elderly emperor turned to external policy, cultivating especially his relations with the West. In the third and decisive phase of the civil war ( ), in which the southern Slavic states were involved, with the Serbs siding with the elderly emperor and the Bulgarians with the younger emperor, Andronikos III emerged victorious. His grandfather abdicated in May He was already at an advanced age and had problems with his eyesight. When the young emperor fell ill in January 1330, his associates forced Andronikos II to become a monk and proclaim his relinquishment of the throne in writing. 7 Not long after, Andronikos II, now named monk Antonios, died during the night between the 12th and the 13th of February He was buried in the Lips monastery (Fenari Isa Camii) at Constantinople. 1. Georges Pachymérès relations historiques, ed. Failler, A., I (Paris 1984), p Georges Pachymérès relations historiques, ed. Failler, A., IΙΙ (Paris 1999), pp Δημιουργήθηκε στις 10/1/2017 Σελίδα 3/8

4 3. Georges Pachymérès relations historiques, ed. Failler, A., IΙΙ (Paris 1999), p Nicephori Gregorae Byzantina Historia, ed. Schopen, L., I (Bonnae 1829), p Nicephori Gregorae Byzantina Historia, ed. Schopen, L., I (Bonnae 1829), pp. 233, Laiou A., Constantinople and the Latins. The Foreign Policy of Andronicus II, (Cambridge, Mass. 1972), pp Voordeckers, E., A propos de la renonciation au thrône ďandronic III Paléologue en 1330, Revue des études byzantines 26 (1968), pp Βιβλιογραφία : Βρυώνης Σ., Η παρακμή του μεσαιωνικού Ελληνισμού της Μικράς Ασίας και η διαδικασία του εξισλαμισμού, Αθήνα 2000, Γαλαταριώτου, Κ. (μτφρ.) Γαβράς Μιχαήλ, Επιστολαί, Fatouros, G. (ed.), Die Briefe des Michael Gabras (ca nach 1350), Wien 1973 Setton K.M., The Papacy and the Levant ( ), 1: The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries, Philadelphia 1976 Γεώργιος Παχυμέρης, Συγγραφικαί Ιστορίαι, Failler, A. (ed.), Georges Pachymérès. Relations historiques 1-2, Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae 24/1-2, Paris 1984 Papadopulos A., Versuch einer Genealogie der Palaiologen, , München 1938 Nicol D.M., Οι τελευταίοι αιώνες του Βυζαντίου, , Αθήνα 1996, Κομνηνός, Σ. (μτφρ.) Failler A., "Chronologie et composition dans l Histoire de Georges Pachymérès", Revue des études byzantines, 38, 1980, Failler A., "Chronologie et composition dans l Histoire de Georges Pachymérès", Revue des études byzantines, 39, 1981, Νικηφόρος Γρηγοράς, Ρωμαϊκή ιστορία, Bekker, I. Schopen, L. (eds.), Nicephori Gregorae historiae Byzantinae, I-ΙΙΙ, Corpus scriptorum historiae Byzantinae, Bonn I: 1829, II: 1830, III: 1855 Γουναρίδης Π., Το κίνημα των Αρσενιατών ( ). Ιδεολογικές διαμάχες την εποχή των πρώτων Παλαιολόγων, Αθήνα 1999 Ahrweiler H., Byzance et la mer. La marine de guerre, la politique et les institutions maritimes de Byzance au VIIe-XVe siècles, Paris 1966 Bartusis M.C., The Late Byzantine Army. Arms and Society , Philadelphia 1992 Ιωάννης Καντακουζηνός, Ιστορίαι, Schopen, L. (ed.), Ioannis Cantacuzeni eximperatoris Historiarum libri IV, Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae, Bonn Maksimović L., The Byzantine Provincial Administration under the Palaiologοi, Amsterdam 1988 Δημιουργήθηκε στις 10/1/2017 Σελίδα 4/8

5 Laiou A.E., Constantinople and the Latins. The Foreign Policy of Andronicus II, , Cambridge Mass. 1972, Harvard Historical Studies 88 Gill J., Byzantium and Papacy , New Brunswick New Jersey 1979 Μαυρομμάτης Λ., Οι πρώτοι Παλαιολόγοι. Προβλήματα πολιτικής πρακτικής και ιδεολογίας, Αθήνα 1983 Nicol D.M., Byzantium and Venice. A study in diplomatic and cultural relations, Cambridge 1988 Bosch U., Kaiser Andronikos III. Palaiologos. Versuch einer Darstellung der byzantinischen Geschichte in den Jahren , Amsterdam 1965 Sokolov I., Vselenskie sud i v Vizantii, Kazan 1915 Zakythinos D., Crise monétaire et crise économique à Byzance du XIIIe au XVe siècle, Athènes 1948 Γεωργιάδης-Αρνάκης Γ., Οι πρώτοι Οθωμανοί. Συμβολή εις το πρόβλημα της πτώσεως του ελληνισμού της Μικράς Ασίας ( ), Αθήνα 1947 Κύρρης Κ., Το Βυζάντιο κατά τον 14 αι., Α, Η πρώτη φάσις του εμφυλίου πολέμου και η πρώτη συνδιαλλαγή των δύο Ανδρονίκων. Εσωτερικά και εξωτερικά προβλήματα, Λευκωσία 1982 Voordeckers E., "A propos de la reconciation au thrône d Andronic III Paléologue en 1330", Revue des études byzantines, 26, 1968, "Παλαιολόγος, Ανδρόνικος ΙΙ λήμμα no ", E. Trapp (ed.), Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit, IX, Wien 1989, Talbot A.M., "Andronikos II Palaiologos", Kazhdan A. (ed.), The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, 1, New York Oxford 1991, Μάξιμος Πλανούδης, Επιστολαί, Treu, M. (ed.), Maximi monachi Planudis epistulae, Breslau 1890, ανατύπωση Amstelodamum 1960 Αθανάσιος Α' Πατριάρχης Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, Αθανασίου Πατριάρχου Επιστολαί, A.-M. Talbot (επιμ.), The Correspondence of Athanasius I Patriarch of Constantinople, Washington D.C Anecdota graeca, Boissonade, Α. (ed.), Anecdota graeca, I-V, Paris (επαν. Hildesheim 1962) Fenster E., "Die Auslandsbrief Kaiser Andronikos II. an den Dogen Gradenigo vom August 1296", Byzantinoslavica, 56.1, 1995, Μανουήλ Φιλής, Στίχοι διάφοροι του σοφωτάτου και λογιοτάτου Φιλή, E. Miller (επιμ.), Manuelis Philae Carmina, I-II, Paris Ι: 1855, ΙΙ: 1857 Ramon Muntaner, Crònica, I, E. Bagué (ed.), Ramon Muntaner, Crònica I, Collecció Popular Barcino 19, Barcelona 1927 Ramon Muntaner, Crònica, II-IX, Ramon Muntaner, Crònica II-IX, rev. M. Coll I Alentorn (=Collecció Popular Barcino ), Barcelona Δημιουργήθηκε στις 10/1/2017 Σελίδα 5/8

6 Δικτυογραφία : Dumbarton Oaks, Typika: Typikon of Andronikos II Palaiologos for the Monastery of St. Demetrios (Constantinople) Γλωσσάριo : Alans A Sarmato-Iranian people who appeared during the Early Byzantine period. The settled in SE Europe and were quickly assimilated by the Visigoths. During the reign of Andronikos II Palaiologos they offered, in return for permission to settle in imperial territory, to fight against the Ottomans, who were spreading across the Byzantine provinces of Asia Minor. After their defeat, they retreated and turned to looting. arsenitai Followers and supporters of patriarch Arsenios Autoreianos, who had excommunicated Michael VIII Palaiologos. Michael managed to get rid of Arsenios in 1265; from that time, Arsenios followers were at odds with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, refusing to recognize Arsenios successors to the patriarchal throne. Politically they supported the Lascarid dynasty and opposed the dynasty of the Palaiologoi. The dispute was resolved in Catalan Company, the (almugavares, compagnia) A group of fully-armed and highly-trained Catalans mercenary warriors, who numbered a few thousand. In 1303 they came to the assistance of Byzantium against the Turks, but soon they turned against the Empire and took to large-scale looting. They conquered the Burgundian duchy of Athens, after the battle of Orchomenos in Copais, in chrysobull (gold seal) Imperial document of the Byzantine state which was so named because it bore the gold seal of the emperor. hyperpyron The Byzantine gold coin, 4.3 gr. and 20 ½ carats, introduced by Alexios I Komnenos in It was preserved until the end of the Byzantine Empire with big changes in his cold content. Sicilian Vespers A revolution that broke out in Palermo in March 1282 and put a bloody end to the rule of Charles d' Anzou in Sicily. The revolt had been fostered by Pedro of Aragon, who wanted to rule Sicily, and the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, who was threatened by Charles' policy. The overthrow of Charles meant that the recently reconstituted Byzantine Empire was rid of both a dangerous enemy and an anti-byzantine coalition of which Charles was the soul. sitokrithon A tax in kind instituted by Andronikos II Palaiologos; according to Georgios Pachymeris, every villager was required to pay six modii of wheat and four of barley. Πηγές Failler, A. (ed.), Georges Pachymérès relations historiques, I IV. Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae, Series Pariensis (Paris ). Bekker, I. Schopen, L. (ed.), Nicephori Gregorae historiae Byzantinae, I. Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae (Bonn 1829). Schopen, L. (ed.), Ioannis Cantacuzeni, Eximperatoris historiarum, I IV. Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae (Bonnae 1828). Talbot, A. M. (ed.), The Correspondence of Athanasius I Patriarch of Constantinople (Washington 1975). Boissonade, A. (ed.), Anecdota graeca, I V (Paris , repr. Hildesheim 1962). Fatouros, G. (ed.), Die Briefe des Michael Gabras (ca nach 1350), II (Wien 1973). Fenster, E., Die Auslandsbrief Kaiser Andronikos II. an den Dogen Gradenigo vom August 1296, στο Byzantinoslavica 56.1 (1995), pp. Δημιουργήθηκε στις 10/1/2017 Σελίδα 6/8

7 Leone, P.A.M. (ed.), Maximi monachi Planoudis epistulae (Amsterdam 1991). Miller, E. (ed.), Manuelis Philae Carmina, I II (Paris ). Schreiner, P. (ed.) Die byzantinische Kleinchroniken, I. Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae, Series Vindobonensis 12.1 (Wien 1975). Ramon Muntaner, Crònica, I, ed. Bagué, Ε. (Collecció Popular Barcino 19, Barcelona 1927). Ramon Muntaner, Crònica, II IX, ed. Bagué, Ε. (Collecció Popular Barcino , Barcelona ). Παραθέματα Emperor's wife Eirene wants the division of the Empire according to the western model Ἡ δὲ τοῦ βασιλέως σύζυγος Ἀνδρονίκου Εἰρήνη φύσει φιλότιμος οὖσα ἠβούλετο κατὰ διαδοχὴν παῖδας καὶ ἀπογόνους αὐτῆς ἐς ἀπείρους ἡλίους κληροῦσθαι τὴν τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἀρχὴν καὶ τὸ βασίλειον τουτὶ κράτος καὶ ἀθάνατον διασώζεσθαι τὴν μνήμην αὐτῆς ἐν τοῖς τῶν ἀπογόνων ὀνόμασι τὸ δὲ καινότερον, ὅτι οὐ μοναρχίας τρόπῳ κατὰ τὴν ἐπικρατήσασαν Ῥωμαίοις ἀρχῆθεν συνήθειαν, ἀλλὰ τρόπον Λατινικὸν διανειμαμένους τὰς Ῥωμαίων πόλεις καὶ χώρας ἄρχειν κατὰ μέρη τῶν υἱέων ἕκαστον, ὡς οἰκείου κλήρου καὶ κτήματος τοῦ λάχοντος... Λατίνων γὰρ οὖσα γέννημα καὶ παρ ἐκείνων εἰληφυῖα τουτὶ τὸ ναώτερον ἔθος Ῥωμαίοις ἐπάγειν ἐβούλετο. Bekker, I. Schopen, L. (ed.), Nicephori Gregorae historiae Byzantinae, I (Bonn 1829), p Andronikos II signs his abdication of the throne... ἀκούων τὸν δῆμον ὁ πρωτοστάτωρ διαψιθυρίζοντα... πανταχῆ περὶ τοῦ γηραιοῦ βασιλέως, ὡς ἄδικα ἐπεπόνθει καὶ βασιλεὺς ἦν καὶ ἔσται τελευτήσαντος τοῦ ἐγγόνου καὶ οὐχ ἕτερος τῶ ἀπάντων... δεινὰ ἐπὶ δεινοῖς ἐμελέτησεν αὖθις καὶ πέμψας ὅρκον ἀπῄτησεν ἔγγραφον ἐξ αὐτοῦ διαβεβαιούμενον, μηδέποτε μήτε ζητῆσαι βασίλειον κράτος, μήτε μὴν διδόμενον δέξασθαι... ὁ δ αὖθις δείσας περὶ τῇ ζωῇ ἄκων καὶ τοῦτ ἐπεπράχει καὶ ἐπεὶ τυφλὸν εἶναι τοῦτον εἰρήκειμεν, ὑφ ἑτέρου λοιπὸν τὴν χεῖρα χειραγωγούμενος ἄνω μὲν ἐρυθρὸν προὔθηκε τὸν τοῦ θείου σταυροῦ τύπον, κάτω δὲ μέλανα. Bekker, I. Schopen, L. (ed.), Nicephori Gregorae historiae Byzantinae, I (Bonn 1829), p Χρονολόγιο 1258: Birth of Andronikos : Andronikos is made co emperor 1272: Andronikos marries Anna, princess of Hungary 1285: Second marriage with Eirene de Montferrat 1296: Judiciary reform 1299: Peace treaty signed with the Serbs : The Byzantine Empire faces problems with the Catalan Company : Civil war breaks out between Andronikos II and his grandson Andronikos III Δημιουργήθηκε στις 10/1/2017 Σελίδα 7/8

8 1328: Andronikos II abdicates : Andronikos becomes a monk, adopting the name Antonios 1332: Andronikos dies in Constantinople Δημιουργήθηκε στις 10/1/2017 Σελίδα 8/8