John Spyridonakes ( el, Ἰωάννης Σπυριδωνάκης, ) was 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 ...

governor and rebel in the region of Macedonia during the reign of Emperor Alexios III Angelos (r. 1195–1203). Spyridonakes was born in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

. Originally a low-born handicraftsman, he secured the favour of Emperor Alexios III Angelos and rose to the post of head of the imperial privy purse (the ''oikeiakon

vestiarion The ''vestiarion'' ( el, βεστιάριον, from la, vestiarium, "wardrobe"), sometimes with the adjectives ''basilikon'' ("imperial") or ''mega'' ("great"),. was one of the major fiscal departments of the Byzantine bureaucracy. In English, it ...

''). Subsequently, he was appointed governor of the

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

of Smolena in eastern Macedonia. In 1201, he rebelled against the Byzantine emperor, taking advantage of a series of raids and rebellions – such as those of

Dobromir Chrysos Dobromir, known to the Byzantines as Chrysos ( mk, Добромир Хрс, bg, Добромир Хриз, el, Δοβρομηρός Χρύσος), was a leader of the Vlachs and Bulgarian Slavs in eastern Macedonia during the reign of the Byzan ...

and

Ivanko Ivanko is a Slavic given name and a surname, a diminutive from the given name Ivan, a Slavic variant of the name "John". It may be a transliteration from Иванко or Иванько. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Ivank ...

– then occurring in the Byzantine Empire's Balkan provinces. He was soon defeated by imperial forces under the Emperor's son-in-law Alexios Palaiologos and driven to seek refuge at the court of the

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

emperor

Kalojan Kaloyan or Kalojan, also known as Ioannitsa or Johannitsa ( bg, Калоян, Йоаница; 1170 – October 1207), was emperor or tsar of Bulgaria from 1196 to 1207. He was the younger brother of Theodor and Asen, who led the anti-Byzant ...

(r. 1197–1207)..

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spyridonakes, John 12th-century births 13th-century deaths 12th-century Byzantine people 13th-century Byzantine people Byzantine governors Byzantine rebels 13th-century Cypriot people Medieval Macedonia