Manuel Kantakouzenos () was a Greek rebel leader who started a

revolt Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

against the

Palaiologos The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; , ; female version Palaiologina; ), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek Nobility, noble family that rose to power and produced th ...

family in the

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 ...

Despotate of the Morea The Despotate of the Morea () or Despotate of Mystras () was a province of the Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centuries. Its territory varied in size during its existence but eventually grew to include almost a ...

Life

He was the grandson of

Demetrios I Kantakouzenos Demetrios I Kantakouzenos (; 1343 – 1384) was a governor of the Morea and the grandson of Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos. Demetrios was the son of Matthew Kantakouzenos, governor of Morea, and Irene Palaiologina. Demetrios was given the title ...

, the last

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 t ...

governor of the Morea.Miller, pp. 426-427 Shortly after the

fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-da ...

and the death of the last Byzantine Emperor,

Constantine XI Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos or Dragaš Palaeologus (; 8 February 140429 May 1453) was the last reigning Byzantine emperor from 23 January 1449 until his death in battle at the fall of Constantinople on 29 May 1453. Constantine's death ...

, Manuel with the local Greek population joined 30,000 Albanians in a revolt against the two brothers,

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

and

Demetrios Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumitru, Demitri, Dhim ...

, rulers of the Byzantine Morea. It was public knowledge that the two brothers hated one another, and using this situation to his advantage, Manuel headed this revolt in 1453. He was soon proclaimed by the Albanians as a Despot and in order to please them, he took the Albanian name "

Gjin Gjin is an Albanian male given name, clan, surname and onomastic element. As a name, it is usually held by Albanian Christians, as it is derived from the name of a saint, although the identity of this saint is unclear, as both theologists and lingui ...

" and also called his wife "Cuchia". His situation was favorable in the beginning, but that quickly changed. The Palaiologos brothers soon realized that they needed outside help to succeed and appealed to the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

and

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

to receive it. The Ottoman overlord of the Morea decided that the province would stay in the hands of Thomas and Demetrios and assisted the two brothers. With minimal Ottoman support, the brothers joined together and crushed the revolt the following year, in 1454.

References

Sources

* People from the Despotate of the Morea 15th-century Byzantine people 15th-century Greek people Byzantine rebels

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 ...

15th-century rebels {{Byzantine-bio-stub