Alexios Angelos Philanthropenos () was a

Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic; Greek: ) 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 F ...

nobleman who ruled

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

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

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

vassal) with the title of ''

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a 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 a civil war. He ...

''.

Biography

The

Angeloi The House of Angelos (; pl. Angeloi; , pl. ) was a Byzantine Greek noble family that produced several Emperors and other prominent nobles during the middle and late Byzantine Empire. The family rose to prominence through the marriage of its foun ...

of Thessaly rose to prominence during the reign of the

Simeon Uroš Simeon Uroš ( sr-Cyrl, Симеон Урош, ; 1326–1370), nicknamed Siniša (), was a self-proclaimed Emperor of Serbs and Greeks, from 1356 to 1370. He was son of Serbian King Stephen Uroš III and Byzantine Princess Maria Palaiologina. ...

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-Cyrl, Јован Урош Немањић) or John Ouresis Doukas Palaiologos or Joasaph of Meteora (), was the ruler of Thessaly from c. 1370 to c. 1373, retiring as a monk for the next half century thereafter. He died i ...

(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 Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

, leaving Alexios as the ruler of

.. 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 (; 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 of Byzantine lands, and was ...

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

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

, recognizing the suzerainty of the prince

Manuel Palaiologos Manuel Palaiologos (; 2 January 1455 – before 1513) was the youngest son of Thomas Palaiologos, a brother of Constantine XI Palaiologos, the final Byzantine emperor. Thomas took Manuel and the rest of his family to Corfu after the Fall of Cons ...

, who at the time governed

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

as an

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...

. Alexios is lastly recorded in 1388, and must have died by c. 1390, when he was succeeded by his son (or perhaps brother),

Manuel Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name), a given name and surname * Manuel (''Fawlty Towers''), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manuel I of Portugal, king of Po ...

. It is recorded that in 1389, the "''Caesar'' of Thessaly" sent aid to the ruler of

Ioannina Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...

Esau de' Buondelmonti Esau de' Buondelmonti () 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 nobleman Manente and Lapa Acciaiuoli, ...

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 Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

, 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) is a South Slavic masculine given name. It is a variant of the Hebrew name ''Michael'', and its cognates include Mihajlo and Mijailo. Common as a given name among Serbs, it is an uncommon surname. Notable peopl ...

and the Ottoman

Grand Vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

Mahmud Pasha Angelović Mahmud Pasha Angelović (; ; 1420–1474) was a major military leader and the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1456 to 1466 and from 1472 to 1474. He also wrote Persian and Turkish poems under the pseudonym ''Adni'' (the "Eden-like"). B ...

References

Sources

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

Alexios Alexius is the Latinization (literature), Latinized form of the given name Alexios (, polytonic , "defender", cf. Alexander), especially common in the Byzantine Empire. The female form is Alexia (given name), Alexia () and its variants such as Ales ...

Year of birth unknown