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John Komnenos (Domestic Of The Schools)
John Komnenos (, ''Iōannēs Komnēnos''; – 12 July 1067) was a Byzantine aristocrat and military leader. The younger brother of Emperor Isaac I Komnenos, he served as Domestic of the Schools during Isaac's brief reign (1057–59). When Isaac I abdicated, Constantine X Doukas became emperor and John withdrew from public life until his death in 1067. Through his son Alexios I Komnenos, who became emperor in 1081, he was the progenitor of the Komnenian dynasty that ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 until 1185, and the Empire of Trebizond from 1204 until 1461. Life John Komnenos was born as the younger son of the ''patrikios'' Manuel Erotikos Komnenos, a senior military commander in the late reign of Basil II (). He is first mentioned in 1057, the year his elder brother Isaac I Komnenos, at the head of a group of generals, rebelled against Michael VI () and forced him off the throne. At the time of the revolt, John held the post of '' doux'', but after his brother's victor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kouropalates
''Kouropalatēs'', Latinized as ''curopalates'' or ''curopalata'' (, from " he one incharge of the palace"). and anglicized as curopalate, was a Byzantine court title, one of the highest from the time of Emperor Justinian I to the Komnenian period in the 12th century.. The female variant, held by the spouses of the ''kouropalatai'', was ''kouropalatissa''. History and nature of the title The title is first attested (as ''curapalati'') in the early 5th century, as an official of '' vir spectabilis'' rank under the ''castrensis palatii'', charged with the maintenance of the imperial palace (cf. Western European " majordomo"). When Emperor Justinian I () made his nephew and heir Justin II ''curopalates'' in 552, however, the office took on new significance, and became one of the most exalted dignities, ranking next to '' Caesar'' and '' nobilissimus'' and, like them, reserved initially for members of the imperial family. Unlike them, however, it later came to be granted to impo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basil II
Basil II Porphyrogenitus (; 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer (, ), was the senior Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025. He and his brother Constantine VIII were crowned before their father Romanos II died in 963, but they were too young to rule. The throne thus went to two generals, Nikephoros Phokas (963–969) and John Tzimiskes (r. 969–976) before Basil became senior emperor, though his influential great-uncle Basil Lekapenos remained as the '' de facto'' ruler until 985. His reign of 49 years and 11 months was the longest of any Roman emperor. The early years of Basil's reign were dominated by civil wars against two powerful generals from the Byzantine Anatolian aristocracy: first Bardas Skleros and later Bardas Phokas, which ended shortly after Phokas' death and Skleros' submission in 989. Basil then oversaw the stabilization and expansion of the eastern frontier of the Byzantine Empire and the complete subjugation of the First Bulgarian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doukas
The House of Doukas ( pl. Doukai; , pl. , feminine form Doukaina; ), Latinized as Ducas, was a Byzantine Greek noble family, whose branches provided several notable generals and rulers to the Byzantine Empire in the 9th–11th centuries. A maternally-descended line, the Komnenodoukai, founded the Despotate of Epirus in the 13th century, with another branch ruling over Thessaly. The continuity of descent amongst the various branches of the original, middle Byzantine family is not clear, and historians generally recognize several distinct groups of Doukai based on their occurrence in the contemporary sources. Polemis, who compiled the only overview work on the bearers of the Doukas name, in view of this lack of genealogical continuity "it would be a mistake to view the groups of people designated by the ''cognomen'' of Doukas as forming one large family". History Origins Nothing is known for certain about the family's origin. Later tradition, mentioned by the historian Nikepho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matriarch
Matriarchy is a social system in which positions of power and privilege are held by women. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege, and control of property. While those definitions apply in general English, definitions specific to anthropology and feminism differ in some respects. Matriarchies may also be confused with matrilineal, matrilocal, and matrifocal societies. While some may consider any non-patriarchal system to be matriarchal, most academics exclude those systems from matriarchies as strictly defined. Many societies have had matriarchal elements, but unlike the patriarchal, a complete exclusion of men in authority has not been recorded in history. Definitions, connotations, and etymology According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED''), matriarchy is a "form of social organization in which the mother or oldest female is the head of the family, and descent and relationship are reckoned through the female line; governme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexios Charon
Alexios Charon (, ) was a Byzantine official in southern Italy and the maternal grandfather of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (reigned 1081–1118), the founder of the Komnenian dynasty. Biography Very little is known about his life. The only references to him come from the history of Nikephoros Bryennios the Younger, who married his great-granddaughter Anna Komnene. Bryennios reports that "Charon" was a sobriquet given to him for his bravery, referring to the ferryman of the underworld in Greek mythology, but the name is attested as an actual surname as well. On Alexios' career, Bryennios only reports that he "handled the emperor's affairs" in the Byzantine provinces of southern Italy (the Catepanate of Italy) some time in the first half of the 11th century. The exact office that Alexios held is unknown; it has been suggested that he may have been the governor ( catepan) of Italy, but his name appears in no other source. The historian of Byzantine Italy Vera von Falkenhausen sugg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irene Doukaina
Irene Doukaina or Ducaena (, ''Eirēnē Doúkaina''; – 19 February 1138) was a Byzantine empress by marriage to the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos. She was the mother of Emperor John II Komnenos and the historian Anna Komnene. She was initially heavily overshadowed and humiliated in influence and power by her mother-in-law Anna Dalassene, but after her retirement and death, Irene was able to exert increasing influence over her husband Alexios I Komnenos, and became powerful towards the end of his reign. But even so, she could not arrange his successor according to her wishes, which favoured her daughter Anna Komnene over her son John II Komnenos. Life Irene was born in 1066 to Andronikos Doukas (cousin of Michael VII), Andronikos Doukas and Maria of Bulgaria, granddaughter of Ivan Vladislav of Bulgaria. Andronikos was a nephew of Emperor Constantine X Doukas and a cousin of Michael VII. Succession of Alexios Irene married Alexios in 1078, when she was still eleven y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monastery Of Christ Philanthropos
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 may be a chapel, church, or temple, and may also serve as an oratory, or in the case of communities anything from a single building housing only one senior and two or three junior monks or nuns, to vast complexes and estates housing tens or hundreds. A monastery complex typically comprises a number of buildings which include a church, dormitory, cloister, refectory, library, balneary and infirmary and outlying granges. Depending on the location, the monastic order and the occupation of its inhabitants, the complex may also include a wide range of buildings that facilitate self-sufficiency and service to the community. These may include a hospice, a school, and a range of agricultural and manufacturing buildings such as a barn, a forge, or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Typikon
A typikon (or ''typicon'', ''typica''; , "that of the prescribed form"; Church Slavonic: ') is a liturgical book which contains instructions about the order of the Byzantine Rite office and variable hymns of the Divine Liturgy. Historical development Cathedral Typikon The ancient and medieval cathedral rite of Constantinople, called the "asmatikē akolouthia" ("sung services"), is not well preserved and the earliest surviving manuscript dates from the middle of the eighth century.As quoted in Taft, "Mount Athos...", Description in A. Strittmatter, "The 'Barberinum S. Marci'of Jacques Goar," EphL 47 (1933), 329-67 This rite reached its climax in the Typikon of the Great Church (Hagia Sophia) which was used in only two places, its eponymous cathedral and in the Basilica of Saint Demetrios in Thessalonica; in the latter it survived until the Ottoman conquest and most of what is known of it comes from descriptions in the writings of Saint Symeon of Thessalonica. Monastic Typ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stoudios Monastery
The Monastery of Stoudios, more fully Monastery of Saint John the Forerunner "at Stoudios" (), often shortened to ''Stoudios'', Studion or ''Stoudion'' (), was a Greek Orthodox monastery in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), the capital of the Byzantine Empire. The residents of the monastery were referred to as Stoudites or Studites. Although the monastery has been derelict for half a millennium, the laws and customs of the Stoudion were taken as models by the monks of Mount Athos and of many other monasteries of the Orthodox world; even today they have influence. The ruins of the monastery are situated not far from the Propontis (Sea of Marmara) in the section of Istanbul called Psamathia, today's Koca Mustafa Paşa. It was founded in 462 by the consul Flavius Studius, a Roman patrician who had settled in Constantinople, and was consecrated to Saint John the Baptist. Its first monks came from the monastery of the Acoemetae. Today it is converted into the Imrahor Mosque (o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Keroularios
Michael I of Constantinople (''Cerularius'' or ''Keroularios''; ; 1000 – 21 January 1059) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1043 to 1059. His disputes with Pope Leo IX over church practices in the 11th century played a role in the events that led to the Great Schism in 1054. Background Michael Cerularius was born in Constantinople around 1000 and joined the Church at a young age. Schism Michael I quarreled with Pope Leo IX over church practices in which the Roman Church differed from Constantinople, particularly the use of unleavened bread in the Eucharist. Dissenting opinions were also exchanged over other theological and cultural issues, ranging from the issue of papal supremacy in the Church to the ''Filioque'' clause and other disagreements between the patriarchates. In 1054, Pope Leo IX sent a letter to Michael I, citing a large portion of the '' Donation of Constantine'' believing it genuine: :"The first pope who used it he Donationin an off ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patriarch Of Constantinople
The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox Church. The ecumenical patriarch is regarded as the representative and spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide. The term ''ecumenical'' in the title is a historical reference to the Ecumene, a Greek designation for the civilised world, i.e. the Roman Empire, and it stems from Canon 28 of the Council of Chalcedon. The patriarch's see, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, is one of the most enduring institutions in the world and has had a prominent part in world history. The ecumenical patriarchs in ancient times helped in the spread of Christianity and the resolution of various doctrinal disputes. In the Middle Ages, they played a major role in the affairs of the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as in the politics of the Orthodox world, and in spreadi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balkan
The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the whole of Bulgaria. The Balkan Peninsula is bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the northwest, the Ionian Sea in the southwest, the Aegean Sea in the south, the Turkish straits in the east, and the Black Sea in the northeast. The northern border of the peninsula is variously defined. The highest point of the Balkans is Musala, , in the Rila mountain range, Bulgaria. The concept of the Balkan Peninsula was created by the German geographer August Zeune in 1808, who mistakenly considered the Balkan Mountains the dominant mountain system of southeastern Europe spanning from the Adriatic Sea to the Black Sea. In the 19th century the term ''Balkan Peninsula'' was a synonym for Rumelia, the parts of Europe that were provinces of the Ottoman E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
