Basil Vatatzes (, ) was 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 ...

military commander, and likely the father of the

Nicaean emperor The Empire of Nicaea (), also known as the Nicene Empire, was the largest of the three Byzantine Greek''A Short history of Greece from early times to 1964'' by W. A. Heurtley, H. C. Darby, C. W. Crawley, C. M. Woodhouse (1967), p. 55: "There in ...

John III Doukas Vatatzes John III Doukas Vatatzes, Latinized as Ducas Vatatzes (; 1192 – 3 November 1254), was Emperor of Nicaea from 1221 to 1254. He was succeeded by his son, known as Theodore II Doukas Laskaris. Life John Doukas Vatatzes, born in about 1192 i ...

Biography

Origin and early life

Vatatzes was of low birth, hailing from the region around

Adrianople Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

and Didymoteichon. He likely entered military service under Emperor

Manuel I Komnenos Manuel I Komnenos (; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized as Comnenus, also called Porphyrogenitus (; " born in the purple"), was a Byzantine emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history o ...

(), but details of his early life are otherwise unknown. He apparently reached sufficient prominence to be married, around 1187, to an unnamed daughter of Isaac Angelos Doukas, uncle to the emperor

Isaac II Angelos Isaac II Angelos or Angelus (; September 1156 – 28 January 1204) was Byzantine Emperor from 1185 to 1195, and co-Emperor with his son Alexios IV Angelos from 1203 to 1204. In a 1185 revolt against the Emperor Andronikos Komnenos, Isaac ...

(). Married to a cousin of the emperor, Vatatzes suddenly became a member of the senior aristocracy: he was awarded the rank of ''

sebastos ( , ) was an honorific used by the ancient Greeks to render the Roman imperial title of . The female form of the title was (). It was revived as an honorific in the 11th century Byzantine Empire and came to form the basis of a new system of co ...

'', and the path to senior military commands opened to him.

Ousting of Theodore Mankaphas

His first office after the marriage was likely as military governor ('' doux'') of the small province of

Mylasa and Melanoudion The Theme of Mylasa and Melanoudion () was a Byzantine province ('' thema'') in southwestern Asia Minor (modern Turkey) in the 12th and 13th centuries. It is first attested in 1127/1128, and was probably created sometime after 1110, either by Alex ...

, which he is known to have held in August 1189. From there he was promoted to " Grand Domestic of the East" and governor of the extensive

Thracesian Theme The Thracesian Theme (, ''Thrakēsion thema''), more properly known as the Theme of the Thracesians (, ''thema Thrakēsiōn'', often simply , ''Thrakēsioi''), was a Byzantine theme (a military-civilian province) in western Asia Minor (modern Tu ...

. In this capacity he had to deal with the usurper Theodore Mankaphas. Mankaphas had launched a rebellion , when he proclaimed himself as emperor in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. The revolt was short-lived, as Isaac II besieged the city and forced Mankaphas to submit, but the latter was pardoned and allowed to continue as governor of the city.. In , however, Basil Vatatzes was sent against Theodore Mankaphas, who had rebelled once more. This time Vataztes effectively ended the rebellion and forced the usurper to flee to the court of the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turks, Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate society, Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persi ...

Iconium Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...

Bulgarian rebellion

Soon after he was appointed Domestic of the West (as with his contemporary and co-commander,

Alexios Gidos Alexios Gidos (; ) was a senior Byzantine general of the late 12th century. He is the first attested member of the Gidos family, which rose to some prominence in the Byzantine Empire at the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th centuries. ...

, it is unclear if he was a real

Grand Domestic The title of Grand domestic () was given in the 11th–15th centuries to the commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army, directly below the Byzantine Emperor. It evolved from the earlier office of the domestic of the Schools, and came to rank as on ...

or simply Domestic), based at

. His primary task was to confront the ongoing Bulgarian rebellion in the northern

Balkans 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 throug ...

. In 1193 he refused any military support to the rebellion of his brother-in-law Constantine Angelos Doukas, a cousin to the emperor and commander of the Byzantine armies in Philippopolis. Doukas proclaimed himself emperor and marched his troops onto Adrianople, but he was betrayed by his followers and surrendered to Isaac II Angelos for a pardon in return. In 1194 Isaac II ordered Vatatzes and Gidos to campaign against the Bulgarians. The Byzantines were defeated, and Vatatzes was killed at the Battle of Arcadiopolis.

Family

He married a daughter of Isaakios Angelos and was likely the father of

, the future

Emperor of Nicaea The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised sovereign authority are i ...

, as well as of John's two older brothers, the ''

sebastokrator ''Sebastokrator'' (, ; ; ), was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers whose states bordered the Empire or were within its sphere of influence (Bulgarian Empire, Serbian Empire). The word is a compound ...

Isaac Doukas Vatatzes Isaac Doukas Vatatzes (; c. 1188–1261) was the brother of the Nicaean emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes (). Life His exact origin is obscure: probably born , he was the oldest of three brothers, alongside John III (the youngest) and an anonymou ...

, and anonymous middle son, whose daughter married the ''

protovestiarios ''Protovestiarios'' (, ) 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 financial official, and was also adopted by the medieval Ser ...

Alexios Raoul Alexios Raoul (; died c. 1258) was a Byzantine aristocrat and general of the Empire of Nicaea. He attained the rank of ''protovestiarios'' during the reign of Emperor John III Vatatzes (r. 1221–1254). Biography Alexios Raoul was the scion of a ...

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vatatzes, Basil 12th-century births 1194 deaths 12th-century Byzantine military personnel Byzantine generals Byzantines killed in battle Byzantine people of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars

Basil Basil (, ; , ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' (, )), also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a hardiness (plants), tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" r ...

Domestics of the Schools Governors of the Thracesian Theme