John I Doukas

John I Doukas or Ducas (Greek: Ιωάννης Α' Δούκας, "Iōannēs I Doukas"), (c. 1240 – 1289), was ruler of Thessaly from c. 1268 to his death in 1289.

John Doukas was the illegitimate son of Michael II Komnenos Doukas of the Despotate of Epirus by his mistress Gangrene. He was probably older than his father's other children, and he participated as a military commander in the events that led up to the Battle of Pelagonia in 1259. Married to the daughter of the Thessalian Vlach Taronas, John relied on a force composed largely of Vlachs. John's desertion from the coalition composed by his father, Prince William II Villehardouin of Achaea, and King Manfred of Sicily, contributed to the defeat of the allies by John Palaiologos, the brother of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos. Soon afterwards, however, John Doukas repented of his actions and rejoined his father.

When his father died in c. 1268, John succeeded to his possessions in Thessaly and Central Greece, reigning from Neopatras. A new attempt at alliance with the Byzantine Empire followed, and John received the title of "sebastokratōr" from Michael VIII when the latter married his nephew to John's daughter in 1272. Nevertheless, John remained opposed to the Byzantines and defeated armies sent to subdue him in 1273 and 1275, the second time with the support of the Duke of Athens. By this time he had joined the coalition of powers (including Epirus, Serbia, and Bulgaria) that supported the plans of Charles of Anjou, the King of Naples and Sicily, for the restoration of the Latin Empire. When Michael VIII tried to counter the alliance by attempting a Union of the Churches at the Council of Lyons, John convoked a synod in Thessaly attended by anti-Unionists exiled from Byzantium, which excommunicated the Byzantine Emperor and Patriarch John XI Bekkos in 1277.

A new Byzantine invasion of Thessaly occurred in 1277, but was repelled at Pharsalos by John. The Byzantines' Mongol allies belonging to the horde of Nogai Khan met with some more success, plundering Thessaly shortly afterwards. Michael VIII died in 1282 while preparing to invade Thessaly again. The triumph of the anti-Unionists with the accession of Andronikos II Palaiologos created the potential for improving relations, but this possibility was ruined by John's half-brother, Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas of Epirus. In 1283 or 1284 Nikephoros and his wife Anna Kantakouzene (the niece of Michael VIII) invited John's son Michael to Epirus to marry their daughter and become the heir to their state. When Michael took the bait, he was arrested and shipped off to Constantinople, where he died in prison in 1307. John took his revenge by invading Epirus and seizing several coastal fortresses. He died in or shortly before 1289.

Family

By his wife, whose monastic name was Hypomone ("Patience"), John I Doukas had several children, including:
* Michael Komnenos, who died as prisoner in Constantinople in 1307.
* Constantine Doukas, who succeeded as ruler of Thessaly.
* Theodore Angelos, who assisted Constantine in governing Thessaly.
* Helena Komnene, who married (1) Duke William I de la Roche of Athens, and (2) Hugh of Brienne, count of Lecce.
* unnamed daughter, who married Andronikos Tarchaneiotes, a nephew of Emperor Michael VIII.
* Helena Doukaina, who married King Stefan Uroš II Milutin of Serbia.
* unnamed daughter, betrothed to the future Emperor Theodore Svetoslav of Bulgaria.

References

*John V.A. Fine Jr., "The Late Medieval Balkans", Ann Arbor, 1987.
*Nicholas Cheetham, "Mediaeval Greece", Yale University Press, 1981.
*D.I. Polemis, "The Doukai", London, 1968.