Konostaulos
''Konostaulos'' or ''konostablos'' ("constable", in Greek variously ), later corrupted to ''kontostaulos''/''kontostablos'' (κοντόσταυλος), was a late Byzantine title, adopted from the Normans. The derivative dignity of ''megas konostaulos'' (μέγας κονόσταυλος, "Grand Constable") became one of the highest court posts in the Palaiologan period (1261–1453) and was awarded to high-ranking generals. History It was adopted in the 11th century, under influence from the Normans of Sicily, from the French ''connétable'' (cf. English "constable"), which in turn derived from the Latin ''comes stabuli'' ("count of the stable").. In the 11th–12th centuries, the ''konostaulos'' appears to have been a purely honorary title, although it may also have replaced the middle Byzantine ''komēs tou staulou'', the direct descendant of the late Roman ''comes stabuli'', in his functions. In the last years of the reign of the Nicaean emperor John III Vatatzes (), the pos ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Licario
Licario, called Ikarios () by the Greek chroniclers, was a Byzantine admiral of Italian origin in the 13th century. At odds with the Latin barons (the "triarchs") of his native Euboea, he entered the service of the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos (r. 1259–1282), and reconquered many of the Aegean islands for him in the 1270s. For his exploits, he was rewarded with Euboea as a fief and rose to the rank of '' megas konostaulos'' and '' megas doux'', the first foreigner to do so. Biography Origins and early life Licario was born in Karystos in Latin-held Euboea ( Negroponte), from a Vicentian father and a local woman. He was of humble origin, but able and ambitious. Serving as a knight under the Latin triarch Giberto II da Verona, he managed to win the heart of Felisa, sister of Giberto and widow of another triarch, Narzotto dalle Carceri. The match was met with disapproval by Felisa's family. They secretly married, but the marriage was cancelled by her relatives. F ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Michael Kantakouzenos (died 1264)
Michael Kantakouzenos (died 1264) was '' megas konostaulos'' of the Byzantine Empire under Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos. According to Pachymeres, this Michael Kantakouzenos was amongst the officers under the command of John Palaiologos the Emperor Michael sent in 1263 to campaign against Michael II, Despot of Epirus. After this campaign, Michael Kantakouzenos was created ''megas konostaulos'' or "Grand Constable". The '' Chronicle of the Morea'' mentions a Kantakouzenos, of unknown first name, who was '' kephale'' or governor of the Byzantine province in the Peloponnese in 1262. This Kantakouzenos relayed reports of the aggression of William II of Villehardouin, which led to Michael VIII sending an army to the Peloponnese against William. He was renowned as a soldier, and his death at the beginning of the Battle of Makryplagi had a demoralizing effect on the Byzantine side, which led to their defeat. Donald Nicol notes that "it is tempting to identify this unnamed Kantakou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Leonardo II Tocco
Leonardo II Tocco (1375/76 – 1418/19) was a scion of the Tocco family and lord of Zakynthos, who played an important role as a military leader for his brother, Carlo I Tocco, in early 15th-century western Greece. Biography Leonardo was the second son and youngest child of Leonardo I Tocco, the Count palatine of the islands of Cephalonia and Zakynthos and lord of Ithaca and Leucas, and his wife, Maddalena dei Buondelmonti. His older siblings were Carlo I Tocco and Petronila, wife of Nicola Venier, the Venetian bailli of Negroponte.PLP 29008Talbot (1991), pp. 2090–2091 Leonardo's father died while he was still an infant, and for the next few years, his mother acted as regent for both her sons. His brother Carlo I gave the island of Zakynthos to him as an appanage in 1399, and Leonardo also received lands in the Principality of Achaea by Prince Pedro de San Superano. Little is known of him otherwise until ca. 1404–1406, when he took part in Carlo's attacks on the Epirote ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kantakouzenos
The House of Kantakouzenos ( Kantakouzenoi; , pl. Καντακουζηνοί; feminine form Kantakouzene; ), also found in English-language literature as Cantacuzenus or Cantacuzene, was a Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek Nobility, noble family that rose to prominence in the middle and late Byzantine Empire. The family became one of the empire's wealthiest landowners and provided several prominent governors and generals, as well as two list of Byzantine emperors, Byzantine emperors between 1347–1357. In the mid-14th century, the Kantakouzenoi challenged the rule of the Palaiologos, Palaiologos dynasty and nearly established themselves as the new imperial family. After the death of Andronikos III Palaiologos, his underage son, John V Palaiologos, John V, inherited the throne. The Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347, first civil war broke out between 1341–1347 with the Anna of Savoy, Empress, the John XIV of Constantinople, Patriarch, and Alexios Apokaukos, Apokaukos on one sid ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus (; 1224 – 11 December 1282) reigned as Byzantine emperor from 1261 until his death in 1282, and previously as the co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea from 1259 to 1261. Michael VIII was the founder of the Palaiologos, Palaiologan dynasty that would rule the Byzantine Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. He Reconquest of Constantinople, recovered Constantinople from the Latin Empire in 1261 and transformed the Empire of Nicaea into a Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty, restored Byzantine Empire. His reign saw considerable recovery of Byzantine power, including the enlargement of the Byzantine army and Byzantine navy, navy. It also included the reconstruction of the city of Constantinople, and the increase of its population. His re-establishment of the University of Constantinople contributed to the Palaeologan Renaissance, a cultural flowering between the 13th and 15th centuries. It was also at this time that the fo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Palaiologan Dynasty
The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; , ; female version Palaiologina; ), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greek noble family that rose to power and produced the last and longest-ruling dynasty in the history of the Roman Empire. Their rule as Byzantine emperors lasted almost two hundred years, from 1259 to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The origins of the family are unclear. Their own medieval origin stories ascribed them an ancient and prestigious origin in ancient Roman Italy, descended from some of the Romans that had accompanied Constantine the Great to Constantinople upon its foundation in 330. It is more likely that they originated significantly later in Anatolia since the earliest known member of the family, possibly its founder, Nikephoros Palaiologos, served as a commander there in the second half of the 11th century. Over the course of the 12th century, the Palaiologoi were mostly part of the military aris ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Battle Of Makryplagi
The Battle of Makryplagi or Makry Plagi was fought between the forces of the Byzantine Empire, and the Latin Principality of Achaea. The Byzantines had been weakened and demoralized by the defection of their numerous Turkish mercenaries to the Achaeans. At Makryplagi, the Byzantines suffered a heavy defeat, which together with their defeat at the Battle of Prinitza the previous year ended their attempted reconquest of the Morea. Background After the Battle of Pelagonia (1259), the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos (r. 1259–1282) acquired a number of fortresses in the southeastern Peloponnese (Morea), ceded by the captured Prince of Achaea William II of Villehardouin (r. 1246–1278) in exchange for his release. William also pledged to become Michael's vassal, but as soon as he returned to the Morea he renounced this oath, and began negotiating with the Pope and other Latin powers for a joint effort against the Byzantines. War broke out in late 1262 or 1263, when Mi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other people may be granted powers of a constable without holding this title. Etymology Etymologically, the word ''constable'' is a loan from Old French ''conestable'' (Modern French ''connétable''),p. 93b-283a, T. F. Hoad, ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology'' (Oxford University Press, 1993) itself from Late Latin ''comes stabuli'' ( attendant to the stables, literally 'count of the stable'), and originated from the Roman Empire; originally, the constable was the officer responsible for keeping the horses of a lord or monarch.p103, Bruce, Alistair, ''Keepers of the Kingdom'' (Cassell, 2002), [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John I Doukas Of Thessaly
John I Doukas (), Latinized as Ducas, was an illegitimate son of Michael II Komnenos Doukas, Despot of Epirus in –1268. After his father's death, he became ruler of Thessaly from to his own death in 1289. From his father's family he is also inaccurately known as John Angelos. Married to a Thessalian Vlach woman, John first appears leading Vlach troops alongside his father in the lead-up to the Battle of Pelagonia in 1259. His defection to the camp of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos was crucial in the battle, which ended with the crushing defeat of the Epirotes' Latin allies and opened the way for the recovery of Constantinople and the re-establishment of the Byzantine Empire under Palaiologos in 1261. John quickly returned to the side of his father and brother, Nikephoros, and assisted them in recovering Epirus and Thessaly. After Michael II died, John Doukas became ruler of Thessaly with his seat at Neopatras, whence Western chroniclers often erroneously called him "Duke ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Michael Kaballarios
Michael Kaballarios () was a Byzantine aristocrat and military leader. In ca. 1277 he was ''megas konostaulos'' (commander of the Latin mercenaries). Along with the ''megas stratopedarches'' John Synadenos, he led a Byzantine army against John I Doukas of Thessaly, but was defeated in the Battle of Pharsalus and died shortly afterwards of his wounds. Sources * * 1277 deaths 13th-century Byzantine military personnel Byzantine generals Byzantines killed in battle Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ... Year of birth unknown Michael VIII Palaiologos Megaloi konostauloi {{Byzantine-bio-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Battle Of Pharsalus (1277)
The Battle of Pharsalus was fought in late 1277 at the plain of Pharsalus in Thessaly between an invading Byzantine army led by the ''megas stratopedarches'' John Synadenos and ''megas konostaulos'' Michael Kaballarios, and the forces of John I Doukas, ruler of Thessaly. This was the first major Byzantine campaign against Thessaly after the failure of the previous expedition at the Battle of Neopatras (dated variously to 1273–1275). The battle resulted in a crushing victory for John Doukas: Synadenos was captured, while Kaballarios died shortly afterwards of his wounds. Sources * 13th century in Greece Pharsalus Pharsalus may refer to: * ''Pharsalus'' (planthopper), a genus of insects in the family Ricaniidae * Farsala Farsala (), known in Antiquity as Pharsalos (, ), is a town in southern Thessaly, in Greece. Farsala is located in the southern part ... Medieval Thessaly Pharsalus 1277 1277 in Europe 1270s in the Byzantine Empire Michael VIII Palaiologos [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kabbadion
The ''kabbadion'' () was a caftan-like garment of oriental origin which became a standard part of court costume in the last centuries of the Byzantine Empire. The first known reference to the ''kabbadion'' occurs in the ''Kletorologion'' of 899, where it is mentioned as the dress of the barbarian (''ethnikoi'') members of the Emperor's bodyguard, the ''Hetaireia''. It re-appears in the mid-14th century in the ''Book of Offices'' of pseudo-Kodinos as the standard ceremonial dress for almost all court members. Kodinos describes it as an "Persians Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They ..." clearly indicating a provenance from the Islamic world. It is therefore usually equated with the long, caftan-like and full-sleeved tunic worn by various Byzantine officials in depictions of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |