Manuel Kantakouzenos
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Manuel Kantakouzenos (or Cantacuzenus) (
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: Μανουήλ Καντακουζηνός, ''Manouēl Kantakouzēnos''), (c. 1326 –
Mistra Mystras or Mistras ( el, Μυστρᾶς/Μιστρᾶς), also known in the ''Chronicle of the Morea'' as Myzithras (Μυζηθρᾶς), is a fortified town and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Situated on Mt. Taygetus, nea ...
,
Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...
, 10 April 1380). ''Despotēs'' in the
Despotate of Morea The Despotate of the Morea ( el, Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μορέως) or Despotate of Mystras ( el, Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μυστρᾶ) was a province of the Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centu ...
or the
Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...
from 25 October 1349 to his death and a contender to the
Principality of Achaia The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire, which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom o ...
.


Life

Manuel Kantakouzenos was the second son of Emperor
John VI Kantakouzenos John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzene ( el, , ''Iōánnēs Ángelos Palaiológos Kantakouzēnós''; la, Johannes Cantacuzenus;  – 15 June 1383) was a Byzantine Greek nobleman, statesman, and general. He served as grand domestic under An ...
and
Irene Asanina Irene Asanina ( el, ) (died after 1354), was the Empress consort of John VI Kantakouzenos of the Byzantine Empire. She is known to have participated in military issues in a degree uncommon for a Byzantine empress. She commanded the garrison of Di ...
. Donald Nicol believes he was born around 1326 or slightly later. Manuel is first mentioned in March 1342 when he and his brother
Matthew Kantakouzenos Matthew Asen Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzenus (Greek: Ματθαῖος Ἀσάνης Καντακουζηνός, ''Matthaios Asanēs Kantakouzēnos'', c. 1325 – 1383 or 1391) was Byzantine Emperor from 1353 to 1357 and later Despot of the Morea fr ...
accompanied his father from Didymoteichos for
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 officers. In April of the next year, Emperor John entered
Veria Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of I ...
with the help of Stephen Dushan and appointed Manuel as governor of the city. In June 1345 supporters of his father seized control of Thessalonica and sent an appeal of help to Manuel, but the army he sent arrived too late to save the situation. In 1347 Stephan Dushan seized Veria from Manuel, forcing the former to seek refuge with his uncle John Angelos in Thessaly. After his father took control of
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
in May 1347, he sent for Manuel to come to the city, and the following year he entrusted Manuel with its government. As Prefect of the City, Manuel led its defense against the Genoese in the war of 1348–1349. At the conclusion of the war with Genoa, Manuel was named governor of Morea by his father, and arrived in his province on 25 October 1349. Manuel was the first of a series of long-ruling governors of the province who bore the title of ''despotēs'' and were closely related to the emperors at Constantinople. Manuel established order in his province by crushing the opposition of local notables (''
Archon ''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...
tes''). His success was such that when John VI Kantakouzenos was forced to abdicate by his son-in-law
John V Palaiologos John V Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Ἰωάννης Παλαιολόγος, ''Iōánnēs Palaiológos''; 18 June 1332 – 16 February 1391) was Byzantine emperor from 1341 to 1391, with interruptions. Biography John V was the son of E ...
, Manuel was able to resist the attempt to replace him as governor by the emperor's appointees. Eventually Manuel was recognized as governor of Morea by the new regime. Following the abdication of his father John Kantakouzenos, who was now the monk Josaph, the rest of his family joined Manuel in the Morea. Some of Manuel's enemies circulated a rumor that his older brother, the former Emperor Matthew Kantakouzenos, plotted to replace him as governor, but when he was persuaded the rumor was false, the two worked together in the administration of the province, although Nicol observes "Matthew played no more than a secondary role." For the larger portion of his reign, Manuel maintained peaceful relations with his Latin neighbors and secured a long period of prosperity for the area. Greco-Latin cooperation included an alliance to contain the raids of
Murad I Murad I ( ota, مراد اول; tr, I. Murad, Murad-ı Hüdavendigâr (nicknamed ''Hüdavendigâr'', from fa, خداوندگار, translit=Khodāvandgār, lit=the devotee of God – meaning "sovereign" in this context); 29 June 1326 – 15 Jun ...
into Morea in the 1360s. The Aragonese version of the ''
Chronicle of the Morea The ''Chronicle of the Morea'' ( el, Τὸ χρονικὸν τοῦ Μορέως) is a long 14th-century history text, of which four versions are extant: in French, Greek (in verse), Italian and Aragonese. More than 9,000 lines long, the ''Ch ...
'' states that, in alliance with Gautier de Lor, the Venetians, and the Hospitallers, he scored a naval victory over a Turkish fleet off
Megara Megara (; el, Μέγαρα, ) is a historic town and a municipality in West Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis Island, Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, befo ...
, setting fire to 35 of the enemy ships; the survivors then fled to Roger of Lluria at Thebes. On the other hand, in the mid-1370s he was drawn into a conflict between
Francesco Sansverino Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name " Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), sev ...
,
Bailli A bailiff (french: bailli, ) was the king's administrative representative during the ''ancien régime'' in northern France, where the bailiff was responsible for the application of justice and control of the administration and local finances in h ...
of Achaea, and the town of Gardiki (modern
Anavryto Anavryto ( el, Αναβρυτό, before 1927: Γαρδίκι - ''Gardiki'') is a mountain village and a community in the municipal unit Falaisia, Arcadia, Greece. The community consists of the villages Anavryto and Kato Anavryto, 1 km south of Ana ...
). He set off with an army consisting of 1000 knights and 2000 infantry, which was crushed by Sansverino; Manuel managed to escape with the survivors of his army. Eventually the Frankish knights tired of besieging Gardiki and abandoned the enterprise. Moreover, Manuel encouraged the immigration of
Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...
to settle in the depopulated province as a source of economic and military manpower. On his death in 1380, Manuel was succeeded as governor by his older brother, Matthew. Nicol believes Manuel was buried in
Mystras Mystras or Mistras ( el, Μυστρᾶς/Μιστρᾶς), also known in the '' Chronicle of the Morea'' as Myzithras (Μυζηθρᾶς), is a fortified town and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Situated on Mt. Taygetus, ne ...
.


Family

Manuel was betrothed to Isabelle (or Zampea-Maria) de Lusignan (ca or after 1333 – 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 geo ...
, 1382–1387), a daughter of Guy of Lusignan (King Constantine II or IV of the
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (Middle Armenian: , '), also known as Cilician Armenia ( hy, Կիլիկեան Հայաստան, '), Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia ( hy, ...
) some time before 1341, while Emperor
Andronikos III Palaiologos , image = Andronikos_III_Palaiologos.jpg , caption = 14th-century miniature. Stuttgart, Württembergische Landesbibliothek. , succession = Byzantine emperor , reign = 24 May 1328 – 15 June 1341 , coronation = ...
was still alive. However, after Andronikos' death Guy had fallen out with John Kantakouzenos over the succession and the engagement was broken and Manuel was engaged instead to the daughter of
Jovan Oliver Jovan Oliver Grčinić ( sr, Јован Оливер Грчинић; ca. 1310-1356) was a magnate of the Serbian Emperor Dušan the Mighty (r. 1331-1355), holding the titles of ''sebastokrator'' and ''despotes'', and the rank of "great voivode", s ...
,
Voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...
of
Ovče Pole Ovče Pole ( mk, Овче Поле, literally 'sheep plain') is a plain near Sveti Nikole's River, which is a tributary of the Bregalnica River in east-central North Macedonia. History The Battle of Ovche Pole occurred during the First World Wa ...
. After John achieved victory in the subsequent civil war, Manuel took pains to point out no vows had been made in this second engagement, so his marriage to Isabelle would not be irregular. She followed him to Morea in 1349, living with him there until his death; Nicol speculates that, although there is some evidence she administered the Despotate following his death, she moved to Cyprus where she had family. They had no children.


References


Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kantakouzenos, Manuel 1320s births 1380 deaths 14th-century Byzantine people Manuel 14th-century Despots of the Morea Manuel Sons of Byzantine emperors