Alexios Angelos Philanthropenos ( el, ) was a

Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the Ottoman co ...

nobleman who ruled

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...

from 1373 until c. 1390 (from c. 1382 as a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

vassal) with the title of ''

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...

''.

Biography

The

Angeloi The House of Angelos (; gr, Ἄγγελος), feminine form Angelina (), plural Angeloi (), was a Byzantine Greek noble lineage which rose to prominence through the marriage of its founder, Constantine Angelos, with Theodora Komnene, the youn ...

of Thessaly rose to prominence during the reign of the

Simeon Uroš Simeon Uroš ( sr-cyr, Симеон Урош, gr, Συμεών Ούρεσης; 1326–1370), nicknamed Siniša (Синиша), was a self-proclaimed Emperor of Serbs and Greeks, from 1356 to 1370. He was son of Serbian King Stephen Uroš III a ...

ruler of Epirus and Thessaly (r. 1359–1370), as they were related to his wife. When Simeon died in 1370, he was succeeded by his son

John Uroš Jovan Uroš Nemanjić ( sr, Јован Урош Немањић / ''Jovan Uroš Nemanjić'') or John Ouresis Doukas Palaiologos or Joasaph of Meteora ( gr, Ιωάννης Ούρεσης Δούκας Παλαιολόγος, ''Iōannēs Ouresēs Doú ...

(r. 1370–1373). John cared more for religious pursuits than the governance of the state, and entrusted the affairs of state to Alexios, who held the high Byzantine title of ''

''. Eventually, probably in 1372/73, John retired from public life altogether and entered a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

, leaving Alexios as the ruler of Thessaly.. Alexios was married to Maria Angelina Radoslava (born late 1356 or after, if she is the daughter of Irene Asanina), a daughter of the Serbian general

Radoslav Hlapen Radoslav Hlapen ( sr, Радослав Хлапен; 1350–1383) was a Serbian magnate who served Serbian Emperor Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–1355) and Stefan Uroš V (r. 1355–71) as '' vojvoda'' (military commander). He took part in the conquest ...

, and was supported by the powerful local magnates. Around 1382, Alexios sought the protection of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, recognizing the suzerainty of the prince

Manuel Palaiologos Manuel Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Μανουήλ Παλαιολόγος, translit=Manouēl Palaiologos; 2 January 1455 – before 1513) was the youngest son of Thomas Palaiologos, a brother of Constantine XI Palaiologos, the final Byzantine ...

, who at the time governed

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

as an

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...

. Alexios is lastly recorded in 1388, and must have died by c. 1390, when he was succeeded by his son (or perhaps brother), Manuel. It is recorded that in 1389, the "''Caesar'' of Thessaly" sent aid to the ruler of

Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

Esau de' Buondelmonti Esau de' Buondelmonti ( gr, Ησαύ Μπουοντελμόντ) was the ruler of Ioannina and its surrounding area (central Epirus) from 1385 until his death in 1411, with the Byzantine title of Despot. Life Esau was the son of the Florentine ...

against the

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

tribes of

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...

, and that their joint forces scored a major victory over them, but it is unclear if by that date Alexios was still alive. Either he or, more plausibly, Manuel, was the grandfather of the mid-15th century Serbian ruler

Mihailo Anđelović Mihailo ( sr-cyr, Михаило) or Mihajlo () is a Serbian masculine given name, a variant of the Hebrew name '' Michael''. Common as a given name among Serbs, it is an uncommon surname. It may refer to: * Mihailo Vojislavljević ( fl. 1050� ...

and the Ottoman

Grand Vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...

Mahmud Pasha Angelović Mahmud Pasha Angelović ( sr, Махмуд-паша Анђеловић/Mahmud-paša Anđelović; tr, Veli Mahmud Paşa; 1420–1474) was the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1456 to 1466 and again from 1472 to 1474, who also wrote Persian ...

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Angelos Philanthropenos, Alexios 1380s deaths 14th-century Byzantine people Caesars (Byzantine nobles) Medieval rulers of Thessaly

Alexios Alexius is the Latinized form of the given name Alexios ( el, Αλέξιος, polytonic , "defender", cf. Alexander), especially common in the later Byzantine Empire. The female form is Alexia ( el, Αλεξία) and its variants such as Alessia ...

Year of birth unknown