Manuel Tagaris (, ) was a distinguished

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 ...

general of the early 14th century, who rose to the rank of ''

megas stratopedarches Magnús Þór Jónsson (born 7 April 1945), better known by the stage name Megas, is an Icelandic vocalist, songwriter, and writer. Childhood and interest in music (1945-1970) Being an admirer of Elvis Presley, Megas welcomed the arrival of ro ...

''.

Life

Manuel Tagaris was of lowly origins—the

Tagaris family Tagaris () was a Byzantine Empire, Byzantine family name. The family flourished in the 14th century. The family was of humble origins, but managed to raise its status through military service and advantageous marriages. Although originally Greek Or ...

is first attested in the early years of the 14th century and comprised a handful of members. He served as governor of

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 ...

, from , in which capacity he repelled a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

attack on the city in 1310/11. His valour and ability in the wars against the Turks in

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

won him the esteem 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 ...

(), who appointed him to the ranks of the aristocracy (he is archaically called a "'' synkletikos''") and even gave him the hand of his niece, Theodora Palaiologina Asanina, a daughter of Tsar

Ivan Asen III of Bulgaria Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the ...

, as his second wife. During his long governorship of Philadelphia, he clashed with the local bishops of Philadelphia and

Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...

, Theoleptus and Manuel Gabalas, respectively. By April 1321, he had risen to the high post of ''

'' at the court in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, when

Andronikos III Palaiologos Andronikos III Palaiologos (; 25 March 1297 – 15 June 1341), commonly Latinized as Andronicus III Palaeologus, was the Byzantine emperor from 1328 to 1341. He was the son of Michael IX Palaiologos and Rita of Armenia. He was proclaimed c ...

, the grandson of Andronikos II, fled the capital, marking the beginning of the

Byzantine civil war of 1321–28 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 ...

. When Andronikos II ordered him to pursue the prince and arrest him, Tagaris refused, claiming the order to be unenforceable, a view in which he was supported by the Emperor's other advisers. Andronikos II then sent Tagaris back to Philadelphia, which he again defended against a Turkish siege until 1324, when the siege was lifted by

Alexios Philanthropenos Alexios Doukas Philanthropenos () was a Byzantine nobleman and notable general. A relative of the ruling Palaiologos dynasty, he was appointed commander-in-chief in Asia Minor in 1293 and for a time re-established the Byzantine position there, ...

. In 1329, he was sent to take the field against

Orhan Orhan Ghazi (; , also spelled Orkhan; died 1362) was the second sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1323/4 to 1362. He was born in Söğüt, as the son of Osman I. In the early stages of his reign, Orhan focused his energies on conquering mos ...

, the ruler of the rising

Ottoman beylik The rise of the Ottoman Empire is a period of history that started with the emergence of the Ottoman principality ( Turkish: ''Osmanlı Beyliği'') in , and ended . This period witnessed the foundation of a political entity ruled by the Ottoman ...

. He probably died sometime before 1342.

Family

Manuel married twice, first to a lady of unknown first name, but descended from the Monomachos and

Doukas The House of Doukas ( pl. Doukai; , pl. , feminine form Doukaina; ), Latinized as Ducas, was a Byzantine Greek noble family, whose branches provided several notable generals and rulers to the Byzantine Empire in the 9th–11th centuries. A mat ...

families, and then to Theodora Asenina Palaiologina, daughter of

Ivan Asen III Ivan Asen III (, also Йоан Асен III, ''Ioan Asen III'', and in English ''John Asen III''), ruled as tsar of Bulgaria 1279–1280. Ivan Asen III was the son of Mitso Asen of Bulgaria and Maria of Bulgaria, a daughter of Ivan Asen II of B ...

of Bulgaria. He had a daughter from the first marriage, and a son, George Tagaris, who also rose to become ''megas stratopedarches''. The future

Latin Patriarch of Constantinople The Latin Patriarchate of Constantinople was an office established as a result of the Fourth Crusade and its conquest of Constantinople in 1204. It was a Roman Catholic replacement for the Eastern Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantino ...

Paul Palaiologos Tagaris Paul Palaiologos Tagaris (, – after 1394) was a Byzantine Greek monk and impostor. A scion of the Tagaris family, Paul also claimed a somewhat dubious connection with the Palaiologos dynasty that ruled the Byzantine Empire at the time. He fle ...

was also possibly his son, or otherwise a relative.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tagaris, Manuel 13th-century births 14th-century deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 14th-century Byzantine military personnel Byzantine generals Byzantine governors History of Manisa Province Byzantine people of the Byzantine–Ottoman wars Megaloi stratopedarchai Tagaris family