Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas

Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas

Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas, Latinized as Nicephorus I Comnenus Ducas (Greek: Νικηφόρος Α΄ Κομνηνός Δούκας, Nikēphoros I Komnēnos Doukas), (c. 1240 – c. 1297) was ruler of Epirus from 1267/8 to c. 1297.

Life

Nikephoros was the eldest son of Michael II Komnenos Doukas and Theodora Petraliphaina. In 1249 Nikephoros was betrothed to Maria, the granddaughter of Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes of Nicaea, who conferred on him the dignity of despotes. The marriage took place in Thessalonica in 1256, but Maria died in 1258.

In the following years Nikephoros was engaged in his father's struggle against Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos and together with his father retreated before the Battle of Pelagonia. After the Nicaeans overran most of Epirus in 1259, Nikephoros left for the Italian Peninsula, where he received reinforcements from his brother-in-law King Manfred of Sicily. With this support Nikephoros helped his father reconquer Epirus, but in 1264 they suffered another defeat, and were forced to come to terms with Michael VIII. As part of the peace agreement, Nikephoros was married to Anna Kantakouzene, a niece of Michael VIII.

In 1267/8 Nikephoros I succeeded his father as ruler of Epirus and had to deal with Charles I of Sicily, who had eliminated Manfred and followed in his footsteps by capturing Dyrrhachium in 1272. When the Byzantine infringed on Nikephoros' interests in their retaliatory campaign against Charles in 1274, Nikephoros opened negotiations with Charles and concluded an alliance with him in 1276. The coalition of Charles of Anjou, Nikephoros, and the latter's half-brother John I Doukas of Thessaly gained several cities, including Butrinto in 1278. Ironically, while being allied with a Catholic monarch, Nikephoros and John acted as supporters of the anti-Unionist faction in Byzantium, whom they sheltered from Michael VIII's persecutions. In 1279 Nikephoros acknowledged himself Charles' vassal and surrendered Butrinto to his overlord. With Charles' defeat soon after, Nikephoros lost his holdings in Albania to the Byzantines. The coalition received a major blow with outbreak of the Sicilian Vespers in 1282, which were partly fomented by Michael VIII's diplomacy and distracted Charles I in the West, where he lost Sicily and retained only the Kingdom of Naples.

After the restoration of Orthodoxy under Andronikos II Palaiologos in 1282, Nikephoros renewed the alliance with the Byzantine Empire through his wife Anna, who traveled to Constantinople to arrange the treaty. In fact Nikephoros became a willing tool in the hands of his wife Anna, who served the interests of the Byzantine court. In 1284 they lured Michael, the son of John Doukas of Thessaly, to Epirus with the promise of a dynastic alliance, and had him arrested and sent off to Constantinople. This drew Nikephoros into a war against his half-brother, who ravaged the environs of Arta in retaliation in 1285. Anna embarked on an ambitious project of uniting the houses of Epirus and Constantinople by marrying her daughter Thamar to Michael IX Palaiologos, Andronikos II's son and co-emperor. Although this project failed, in 1290 her young son Thomas was conferred the dignity of despotes by the emperor.

The anti-Byzantine aristocracy now persuaded Nikephoros to open negotiations with King Charles II of Naples in 1291, which provoked a Byzantine invasion. This sealed the alliance with Naples, and Charles II's intervention through his vassals Count Riccardo Orsini of Cephalonia and Prince Florent of Achaea helped contain the Byzantine advance. Nikephoros now married his daughter Maria to the heir to Cephalonia and his other daughter Thamar to Charles II's son Philip I of Taranto. Thamar was given the right to inherit Epirus instead of her brother, and Charles II promised that she would be allowed to remain in the Orthodox faith. The wedding took place in 1294 and involved the transfer of several coastal fortresses to Philip as Thamar's dowry. Philip simultaneously received his father's rights and claims in Greece.

The inevitable tension between local Greek landlords and their Angevin overlord created an opportunity for the Nikephoros' nephew, the ruler of Thessaly, to intervene and to seize mostly the fortresses that had been turned over to Philip. Eventually most of these were recovered by the Angevins and peace was restored in 1296. Nikephoros died shortly after the conclusion of the peace, between September 1296 and July 1298. His widow Anna ensured the succession of their underage son Thomas.

Family

By his first wife Maria, the daughter of Emperor Theodore II Doukas Laskaris, Nikephoros I had one daughter:

By his second wife Anna Kantakouzene, the niece of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, Nikephoros I had two children:

References

Preceded by
Michael II
Ruler of Epirus
1268–1297
Succeeded by
Thomas I

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Nikephoros I. Komnenos Dukas Angelos — Nikephoros I. Komnenos Dukas oder Nikephoros I. Angelos (griechisch: Νικηφόρος Α΄ Κομνηνός Δούκας, Nikēphoros I Komnēnos Doukas), (um 1240 – um 1297) war Despot von Epirus ab 1267/68. Biografie Nikephoros war der älteste Sohn von Michael II.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Michael II Komnenos Doukas — Despot of Epirus Reign 1230–1266/1268 Died …   Wikipedia

  • Michael I Komnenos Doukas — or Comnenus Ducas (Greek: Μιχαήλ Κομνηνός Δούκας, Mikhaēl Komnēnos Doukas), often inaccurately called Michael Angelos (a name he never used), was the founder and first ruler of the principality of Epirus from 1205 until his death in 1215. Life… …   Wikipedia

  • Thomas I Komnenos Doukas — or Comnenus Ducas (Greek: Θωμάς Α΄ Κομνηνός Δούκας, Thōmas I Komnēnos Doukas ), (c. 1285 ndash;1318) ruler of Epirus from c. 1297 until his death in 1318.Thomas was the son of Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas and Anna Kantakouzene, a niece of Emperor …   Wikipedia

  • Nikephoros II Orsini — Doukas (Greek: Νικηφόρος Β΄ Δούκας, Nikēphoros II Doukas), was the ruler of Epirus from 1335 to 1338 and from 1356 until his death in 1359. Contents 1 Life 2 Family 3 Ancestry 4 …   Wikipedia

  • Komnenos — Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos Komnenós or Comnenus (Greek Κομνηνός, plural Κομνηνοί, pronounced /komniní/) was the name of a ruling family of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire), who halted the political decline of the Empire from… …   Wikipedia

  • Nikephoros III Botaneiates — Nikephoros III Botaneiates Emperor of the Byzantine Empire Emperor Nikephoros III Botaneiates …   Wikipedia

  • Nikephoros Diogenes — Co emperor of the Byzantine Empire[1] Reign 1070–1071 Born 1070 Died unknown …   Wikipedia

  • Nikephoros Basilakes — Usurper of the Byzantine Empire Follis struck by Basilakes during his brief usurpation Reign …   Wikipedia

  • Nikephoros Bryennios the Elder — Nikephoros Bryennios Usurper of the Byzantine Empire Reign 1077–1078 Predecessor Michael VII Successor Nikephoros III Father …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”