Michael Palaiologos Tarchaneiotes ( el, Μιχαήλ Παλαιολόγος Ταρχανειώτης) 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 ...

aristocrat and general, active against the Turks in

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

and against the Angevins in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as 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 throughout the who ...

from 1278 until his death from disease in 1284.

Biography

Michael Tarchaneiotes was the son of Nikephoros Tarchaneiotes, '' megas domestikos'' to John III Vatatzes (r. 1221–1254), and Maria-Martha Palaiologina, the eldest sister 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 ...

(r. 1259–1261)... His family supported the rise of Palaiologos to the throne in 1259, and the new emperor rewarded Michael and his brothers: they came to live in the imperial palace, while eventually Michael and his younger brother

Andronikos Andronicus or Andronikos ( grc-gre, Ἀνδρόνικος) is a classical Greek name. The name has the sense of "male victor, warrior". Its female counterpart is Andronikè (Ἀνδρονίκη). Notable bearers of the name include: People * Andron ...

received the high offices of '' protovestiarios'' and '' megas konostaulos'' respectively, and the third brother, John, became a general. He first appears in the sources taking part in the 1262 campaign against the

Despotate of Epirus The Despotate of Epirus ( gkm, Δεσποτᾶτον τῆς Ἠπείρου) was one of the Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire established in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 by a branch of the Angelos dynasty. It cla ...

under his uncle, John Palaiologos. In 1278, having risen to the post of '' megas domestikos'', Tarchaneiotes accompanied his cousin, the young co-emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos (r. 1282–1328) to an expedition against the Turks in

. The campaign was successful in driving the Turks out of the valley of the Maeander River. Tarchaneiotes, on Andronikos's orders, rebuilt, fortified, and repopulated the city of Tralles, which the young ruler intended to rename as Andronikopolis or Palaiologopolis. A few years later, however, the city, poorly supplied with water and provisions, was besieged and taken by the emir of Menteshe. In spring 1281, Tarchaneiotes led the Byzantine army that was sent to relieve the city of

Berat Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and east of Fier. Berat is located i ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

, which was being besieged by an Angevin army. Tarchaneiotes's troops captured the Angevin commander, Hugh of Sully, in an ambush, whereupon his army panicked and was defeated with great loss by the Byzantines. Tarchaneiotes was received with great pomp in Constantinople, where he paraded the captive Sully in a triumphal procession through the city; but he declined the offer of promotion to the rank of ''

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

'' out of modesty. In 1283/4, Tarchaneiotes was placed by Andronikos II at the head of the campaign against John I Doukas of

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; 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, The ...

. Tarchaneiotes's forces marched to Thessaly, where they were joined by a Byzantine fleet and laid siege to the port city of Demetrias. The city fell, but the outbreak of an

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious d ...

(possibly

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or deat ...

) killed many soldiers, including Tarchaneiotes, and forced the remainder of the army to withdraw.

Family

Tarchaneiotes married Maria, daughter of the '' megas doux'' Alexios Doukas Philanthropenos, sometime before 1262. Together they had three children: an unnamed son who was given the rank of '' protosebastos'', an unnamed daughter who married Alexios Raoul, and the famed general and rebel Alexios Philanthropenos the Younger..

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarchaneiotes, Michael 13th-century births 1284 deaths 13th-century Byzantine people Byzantine generals Palaiologos dynasty Infectious disease deaths in Greece Michael Byzantine people of the Byzantine–Seljuk wars Grand Domestics Protovestiarioi Michael VIII Palaiologos Deaths from malaria