Alexios Doukas Philanthropenos ( gr, Ἀλέξιος Δούκας Φιλανθρωπηνός, died ) 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 Constantin ...

nobleman and distinguished admiral, with the rank of ''

protostrator ''Prōtostratōr'' ( el, πρωτοστράτωρ) was a Byzantine court office, originating as the imperial stable master. Its proximity to the imperial person led to a highly visible role in imperial ceremonies, and served as a springboard for ...

'' and later '' megas doux'', during the reign of

Michael VIII Palaiologos Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Μιχαὴλ Δούκας Ἄγγελος Κομνηνὸς Παλαιολόγος, Mikhaēl Doukas Angelos Komnēnos Palaiologos; 1224 – 11 December 1282) reigned as the co-emperor of the Empire ...

().

Biography

Alexios is the first important member of the Philanthropenos family mentioned in the sources. He first appears in

George Akropolites George Akropolites ( Latinized as Acropolites or Acropolita; el, , ''Georgios Akropolites''; 1217 or 1220 – 1282) was a Byzantine Greek historian and statesman born at Constantinople. Life In his sixteenth year he was sent by his father, the ...

's history in autumn 1255 as a military commander in the region of

Ohrid Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inh ...

— perhaps as governor ('' doux'') of the local '' thema'' — during the wars of

Theodore II Laskaris Theodore II Doukas Laskaris or Ducas Lascaris ( gr, Θεόδωρος Δούκας Λάσκαρις, Theodōros Doukas Laskaris; 1221/1222 – 16 August 1258) was Emperor of Nicaea from 1254 to 1258. He was the only child of Emperor John I ...

() against the

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not complete ...

... Throughout the 1260s, Philanthropenos carried the title of ''

''. Theoretically, he was subordinate to the '' megas doux'' Michael Laskaris, but the latter was old and infirm, and Philanthropenos exercised the ''de facto'' command of the

Byzantine navy The Byzantine navy was the naval force of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Like the empire it served, it was a direct continuation from its Imperial Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defence and survival of the state th ...

.. In 1262 or 1263, soon after the recapture 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 ( ...

from the

Latins The Latins were originally an Italic tribe in ancient central Italy from Latium. As Roman power and colonization spread Latin culture during the Roman Republic. Latins culturally "Romanized" or "Latinized" the rest of Italy, and the word Latin ...

, Emperor

sent him to raid the Latin possessions of the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans an ...

. This was the first major expedition undertaken by Palaiologos's recently expanded and reorganized navy, and Philanthropenos's ships were manned by the new corps of the '' Gasmouloi'' and the ''Prosalentai''. The Byzantines raided and sacked the islands of

Paros Paros (; el, Πάρος; Venetian: ''Paro'') is a Greek island in the central Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about wide. It lies approximately south-east of ...

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ...

, and

Keos Kea ( el, Κέα), also known as Tzia ( el, Τζια) and in antiquity Keos ( el, Κέως, la, Ceos), is a Greek island in the Cyclades archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Kea is part of the Kea-Kythnos regional unit. Geography It is the island o ...

, as well as the towns of

Karystos Karystos ( el, Κάρυστος) or Carystus is a small coastal town on the Greek island of Euboea. It has about 5,000 inhabitants (12,000 in the municipality). It lies 129 km south of Chalkis. From Athens it is accessible by ferry via Mar ...

and

Oreoi Oreoi ( el, Ωρεοί) is a village and a former municipality in Euboea, Greece. It was named after the ancient town Oreus. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Istiaia-Aidipsos, of which it is a municipal unit. T ...

on Negroponte (

Euboea Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest ...

), before sailing south to support the operations of an expeditionary force that landed at

Monemvasia Monemvasia ( el, Μονεμβασιά, Μονεμβασία, or ) is a town and municipality in Laconia, Greece. The town is located on a small island off the east coast of the Peloponnese, surrounded by the Myrtoan Sea. The island is connected ...

against the

Principality of Achaea 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 Kingdo ...

. In 1270, he was possibly the general who commanded the army that landed at Monemvasia, and for the next years operated in the

Morea The Morea ( el, Μορέας or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used for the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the Ottom ...

against the Achaeans. Both sides in this conflict avoided a potentially disastrous direct confrontation, instead focusing on raids in order to plunder and devastate their opponent's territory. During the early 1270s, Philanthropenos led his fleet several times against the Latins, supporting

Licario Licario, called Ikarios ( gr, Ἰκάριος) 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 e ...

, an imperial vassal, in Negroponte, and participating in the great Byzantine naval victory at the

Battle of Demetrias The Battle of Demetrias was a sea engagement fought at Volos in Greece in the early 1270s between a Byzantine fleet and the assembled forces of the Latin barons of Euboea (Negroponte) and Crete. The battle was fierce, and initially in favour of ...

, during which he was heavily wounded. For this success, he was raised to the rank of ''megas doux'', now vacant after Michael Laskaris's death. Philanthropenos died around 1275, and was succeeded as ''megas doux'' soon after by Licario..

Family

Alexios had one daughter, Maria, who married the ''

protovestiarios ''Protovestiarios'' ( el, πρωτοβεστιάριος, "first ''vestiarios''") was a high Byzantine court position, originally reserved for eunuchs. In the late Byzantine period (12th–15th centuries), it denoted the Empire's senior-most fina ...

Michael Tarchaneiotes Michael Palaiologos Tarchaneiotes ( el, Μιχαήλ Παλαιολόγος Ταρχανειώτης) was a Byzantine aristocrat and general, active against the Turks in Asia Minor and against the Angevins in the Balkans from 1278 until his deat ...

. Their second son was the ''

pinkernes ''Pinkernes'' ( grc, πιγκέρνης, pinkernēs), sometimes also ''epinkernes'' (, ''epinkernēs''), was a high Byzantine court position. The term derives from the Greek verb (''epikeránnymi'', "to mix ine), and was used to denote the cup- ...

'' Alexios Philanthropenos the Younger, a prominent general who scored several successes against the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

, and who led an unsuccessful rebellion against Andronikos II Palaiologos () in 1295.

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Philanthropenos, Alexios Doukas 13th-century births 1270s deaths Megaloi doukes 13th-century Byzantine people Alexios 01 Protostratores