John Vi Cantacuzino
John VI Cantacuzino, born about 1293 in Constantinople , who died in 1383 at Mistra , Byzantine emperor from May 31 in 1347 to 10 December 1354 , son of a Cantacuzino (1265 1294), governor of Morea and Theodora Paleologos Angel Comnenus (1276 1342). Before 1320 he married Irene of Bulgaria, who died between 1363 and 1379, daughter of Andronikos Asen, Bulgarian prince, and had:
- Mathieu (1325 1391), emperor with his father
- Manual (1326 1380), despot of the Peloponnese (1349-1380)
- Mary (1328 ap.1360) married in 1342 to Nicephorus II, Despot of Epirus (1328 1359)
- Theodora (1330 ap.1381) married in 1346 to Orhan , Sultan Ottoman ( c. 1360)
- Helen (1333 1396) married in 1347 to John V Palaeologus (1332 1391)
- Andronicus (1334 1347)
Summary |
Rise to Power
John Cantacuzino is a cousin of Andronicus III Palaeologus , who created the Grand Domestic, that is to say army chief, which puts him in second place in the Byzantine hierarchy.
23 May 1328 , he participated in the capture of Constantinople by Andronicus III and deposition of Andronicus II Palaeologus. It becomes, in fact, Prime Minister of the new government, resolving all appointments and controlling the affairs of state.
On several occasions he refused the title of co-emperor or regent, preferring to support the rights of the reigning Emperor.
The Civil War (1341-1347)
On the death of Andronicus III, he became de facto regent of the empire, despite the absence of instructions from the deceased Emperor. However it faces opposition from a significant fraction of the population of the Empire and, in particular, the Patriarch John XIV Kaleka.
Pressed by Alexis Apokaukos of proclaiming himself Emperor, Jean Cantacuzino refuses to preserve the rights of the Palaiologos dynasty and moved to withdraw from the business; Empress Anne was persuaded to remain at the head of government and he went soon command an expedition military to restore order in Macedonia and Thrace.
Apokaukos advantage of his absence to persuade the patriarch Kaleka and Empress Cantacuzino that John is a usurper and a danger to peace. Refugee Didymotika , there he proclaimed Emperor by his supporters October 27, 1341. The nobility of Adrianople then announced the election of John Cantacuzino the imperial throne, provoking a popular uprising. The insurgency then won the main cities of the Empire.
From April 1343 , several cities in Macedonia and Thessaly , abandoning the party Apokaukos, John Cantacuzino recognize as Emperor when he had previously agreed with him, King Stephen Dusan of Serbia recalls troops he had available to it, the insulation militarily in Thessaloniki. In 1344 , the son of Apokaukos, Manuel Apokaukos , concurs with Cantacuzino, following the example of John Vatatzes, himself a relative of the patriarch Kaleka.
The rallies became more pronounced after the assassination of Apokaukos, 11 June 1345.
21 May 1346 , John Cantacuzino confirms his proclamation as Emperor by agreeing to receive the imperial crown at Adrianople hands of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, but he refuses to declare his son Matthew as Emperor partner. Finally, 3 February 1347 , he went to Constantinople.
The reign (1347-1354)
Became Emperor, John Cantacuzino takes the title of John VI, showing that he rejects the precedence of rank over the legitimate emperor, John V Palaeologus. This arrangement is however not to the liking of the family Palaeologus, who still does see him as a usurper.
Anxious to restore peace in the Empire, it grants a general amnesty to those who had fought, with the exception of John Kaklas who always refused to be forgiven as to forgive him and upheld the excommunication he had pronounced against him in 1341.
He was crowned in the church of Our Lady of Blachernae by the new Patriarch Isidore , 21 May 1347. Telltale signs of the poverty of the Empire, the coronation could take place at Sainte-Sophie , too dilapidated, the crown jewels (pledged in Venice) were replaced by glass beads and clay dishes were ...!
The hesychasm
Born in the last years of the reign of Andronicus III, the movement of the hesychasm amplified during the reign of John VI threatening the integrity of the Orthodox Church. John VI itself supports hesychasts who, led by Gregory Palamas , had argued against Kaklas and Anne of Savoy.
In 1351 , John VI made a council meeting under his chairmanship, which opens at the Palais des Blachernae May 28, 1351. The council will conclude that the compliance of the hesychasm to orthodoxy. Tomos containing the formal decisions of the council was declared in the Hagia Sophia after August 15, then co-signed by the emperor John V Palaeologus in February 1352.
Civil strife
The reign of John VI is marked by many disturbances, both socially and militarily:
- the Black Death struck the Empire in the first year of the reign, ravaging especially Constantinople, worsening the state of despondency and apathy in which were the Byzantines after two civil wars;
- its former allies and those of Anne of Savoy (Venetian and Turkish) are threatening, including Stephen V. , Tsar of Serbia ;
- He also faces a popular and religious opposition and a revolt of the Zealots in Thessaloniki;
- In August 1348 the Genoese invaded the Golden Horn and burned the Byzantine fleet.
- it must yield to the Genoese Salymbria and Heraclea in 1352 , despite the assistance of the Venetians and is facing a new civil war that pitted him against John V, from 1351.
Reorganization of the Empire
He abandoned the division of the empire into topics and inaugurated the system of appendages. The Empire was then divided into three regions:
- the Thrace with Constantinople
- the Byzantine Morea (where John VI, sent his third son Manuel as despot of Mistra)
- Thessaloniki , which is favorable to Palaiologos.
Abdication and Retirement
The population of Constantinople, however, remains attached to the legitimate dynasty of Palaeologus, and in particular to John V and opposes increasing significantly in John VI. The opposition is reinforced in April 1353 when John VI proclaimed co-emperor, his son Matthew Cantacuzino.
This causes irritation of the coronation Patriarch Kallistos, who abdicated and was replaced by Philotheos , outspoken supporter of John VI.
November 22, 1354 , John V Palaiologos entered Constantinople, where he was cheered by the crowd. On 1 December, he signed an agreement with John VI of government under which the two men have in common the power, while Mathieu Cantacuzino remained independent of Adrianople Emperor until his death.
Finally, December 10, 1354 John VI abdicates and is a monk, taking the name Joaspah Cantacuzino, he entered the convent of Saint-Georges-manganese in Constantinople. He later moved to the monastery of Nea Peribleptos he died at Mistra with his son Manuel.
His wife, Irene, also took the veil under the name of Eugenie and retired to the convent of Kyra Martha.
John Cantacuzino spend the rest of his life to writing his memoirs, which were completed in 1369.
Bibliography
- Brehier: Life and Death of Byzantium.
- D. Nicol: The last centuries of Byzantium, Oxford University Press.
| Preceded by | John VI Cantacuzino | Followed by | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andronicus III Palaeologus |
| John V Palaeologus |
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