John II Doukas, also Angelos Doukas ( Latinized as Angelus Ducas) (), was ruler of

Great Vlachia Great Vlachia or Great Wallachia (; ), also simply known as Vlachia (; ), was a province and region in southeastern Thessaly in the late 12th century, and was used to denote the entire region of Thessaly in the 13th and 14th centuries. The name d ...

(

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 1303 to his death in 1318. John II Angelos Doukas was the son of

Constantine Doukas of Thessaly Constantine Doukas (), Latinisation of names, Latinized as Ducas, was ruler of Medieval Thessaly, Thessaly from to his death in 1303. Life Constantine Doukas was the second son of John I Doukas of Medieval Thessaly, Thessaly by his wife, who is ...

by his wife Anna Euagionissa. He succeeded to his father's lands as a child in 1303. The

Thessalian Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia (, ), and appea ...

magnates chose his father's cousin Duke

Guy II de la Roche Guy or GUY may refer to: Personal names * Guy (given name) * Guy (surname) * That Guy (...), the New Zealand street performer Leigh Hart Places * Guy, Alberta, a Canadian hamlet * Guy, Arkansas, US, a city * Guy, Indiana, US, an unin ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

as regent, and the duke promptly established his protectorate over Thessaly, with Anthony le Flamenc as his deputy (''

bailli A bailiff (, ) was the king's administrative representative during the ''ancien régime'' in northern France, where the bailiff was responsible for the application of justice and control of the administration and local finances in his bailiwick ...

''). Guy was the son of Duke

William I de la Roche William I de la Roche (died 1287) succeeded his brother, John I, as Duke of Athens in 1280. He was the son of Guy I de la Roche. William reversed the territorial losses of his brother's reign, extending his control over Lamia and Gardiki. He ...

by Helena Komnene, the daughter of

John I Doukas John I Doukas (), List of Latinised names, 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 Medieval Thessaly, Thessaly from to his own death in 1 ...

of Thessaly. The selection of the duke of Athens as regent proved both timely and fortuitous.

Anna Palaiologina Kantakouzene Anna Palaiologina Kantakouzene () (died after 1313) was the niece of the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, second wife of Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas of Epirus and regent of Epirus upon his death around 1297. Background Anna was the thir ...

, the regent 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 ...

had invaded Thessaly, but was now forced to retreat by Guy's forces. Guy proved less successful, however, in restraining the

Catalan Company The Catalan Company or the Great Catalan Company (; , , , or ) was a company of mercenaries led by Roger de Flor in the early 14th century and hired by Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos to combat the increasing power of the Anatolian b ...

, which burst into Thessaly in 1306 and proceeded to ravage the region for some three years. By the time Guy died in 1308 John had just come of age and resented the attempt of the new duke of Athens, Walter of Brienne, to maintain Athenian protectorate over Thessaly. To overcome John's resistance, Walter hired the Catalan Company himself, and charged it with asserting his authority over Thessaly. The Catalans conquered many fortresses, but insisted on garrisoning them by themselves. Frightened by their disobedience, Walter now turned against them, but the Catalans invaded his duchy in 1310. When the two forces clashed, Walter was defeated and killed in the

Battle of Halmyros The Battle of Halmyros, known by earlier scholars as the Battle of the Cephissus or Battle of Orchomenos, was fought on 15 March 1311, between the forces of the Frankish Greece, Frankish Duchy of Athens and its vassals under Walter V of Brienn ...

or Kephissos in 1311. With the Catalans moving into

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinisation of names, Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia (; modern Greek, modern: ; ancient Greek, ancient: ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Central Greece (adm ...

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

, and the

Gulf of Corinth The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf (, ) is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isthmus of Corinth which includes the shipping-designed Corinth Canal and ...

coast, John II was able to exert more control over Thessaly. Here he encountered the opposition of the local magnates, who had probably become accustomed to central authority that had been even more ineffectual than usually. John attempted to strengthen his position by drawing closer to 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 ...

and marrying Irene Palaiologina, the illegitimate daughter of Emperor

Andronikos II Palaiologos Andronikos II Palaiologos (; 25 March 1259 – 13 February 1332), Latinization of names, Latinized as Andronicus II Palaeologus, reigned as Byzantine emperor from 1282 to 1328. His reign marked the beginning of the recently restored em ...

in 1315. Perhaps at this time John was conferred the title of ''

sebastokratōr ''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 ( ...

''. He was already relying on some Byzantine assistance against the Catalans within his domains, but died in 1318 without heirs. On John II's death in 1318 much of northwestern Thessaly came under the control of the powerful magnate

Stephen Gabrielopoulos Stephen Gabrielopoulos (, died 1332/1333) was a powerful magnate and semi-independent ruler in western Thessaly, who pledged allegiance to the Byzantine Empire and was rewarded with the title of ''sebastokrator''. Biography After Thessaly's ruler J ...

, but the southernmost areas around Neopatras were seized by the Catalans, who set up their own principality there (the

Duchy of Neopatras The Duchy of Neopatras (; ; ; ) was a principality in southern Thessaly, established in 1319. Officially part of the Kingdom of Sicily, itself part of the Crown of Aragon, the duchy was governed in conjunction with the neighbouring Duchy of Athe ...

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:John 02 Doukas 1318 deaths Komnenodoukas dynasty People from Thessaly Monarchs of Thessaly 14th-century Byzantine people Year of birth unknown Sebastokrators 14th-century monarchs in Europe Ypati