Stephen Gabrielopoulos ( el, Στέφανος Γαβριηλόπουλος, died 1332/1333) was a powerful magnate and semi-independent ruler in western

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 ...

, who pledged allegiance to the

Byzantine Empire 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 ...

and was rewarded with the title of ''

sebastokrator ''Sebastokrator'' ( grc-byz, Σεβαστοκράτωρ, Sevastokrátor, August Ruler, ; bg, севастократор, sevastokrator; sh, sebastokrator), was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers wh ...

''.

Biography

After Thessaly's ruler John II Doukas (r. 1303–1318) died in 1318 without a male heir, the

moved to take advantage of the power vacuum in the region. Byzantine troops under John Kantakouzenos occupied northern Thessaly, while the

Catalans Catalans (Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; es, catalanes, Italian: ''catalani'', sc, cadelanos) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citiz ...

of the Duchy of Athens moved into the southern parts of the region. Central Thessaly became a battleground for the various local magnates, who competed with each other and called upon the two states for aid. One of those who turned to Byzantium for support was Gabrielopoulos, who possessed many estates in western Thessaly as well as in parts of southwestern

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

, his lands reaching from Trikala to

Kastoria Kastoria ( el, Καστοριά, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria (regional unit), Kastoria regional unit, in the Geographic regions of Gree ...

. Sometime between 1318 and 1325, he acknowledged Byzantine

suzerainty Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...

and was given the title of ''

'' in return. He thus became the ''de facto'' governor of much of Thessaly on behalf of the

Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as l ...

, but preserving much local autonomy. His possessions included the towns and fortresses of Trikala, Phanarion, Stagoi, Damasis, and Elasson.. After his death in 1332/3, however, his heirs began quarrelling amongst themselves, leading to an invasion by the

Epirote Epirus (; el, Ήπειρος, translit=Ípiros, ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region in northwestern Greece.Π.Δ. 51/87 “Καθορισμός των Περιφερειών της Χώρας για το σχεδι ...

ruler

John II Orsini John II Orsini, also John Komnenos Doukas or Comnenus Ducas (Greek: Ἰωάννης Κομνηνός Δούκας, ''Iōannēs Komnēnos Doukas'', Italian: Giovanni II Orsini), was count palatine of Cephalonia from 1323 to 1324 and Despot of Epi ...

, while the Byzantines under Andronikos III Palaiologos (r. 1328–1341) moved in and established direct control over the northern and eastern part of the region. With Orsini's death three years later, all of Thessaly came under Byzantine control..

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gabrielopoulos, Stephen 1330s deaths 14th-century Byzantine people Byzantine governors of Thessaly Sebastokrators Year of birth unknown 14th-century rulers in Europe