John VI Kantakouzenos
Encyclopedia
John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzenus (c. 1292 – 15 June 1383) was the Byzantine emperor from 1347 to 1354.

Early life

Born in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

, John Kantakouzenos was the son of a Michael Kantakouzenos
Michael Kantakouzenos
Michael Kantakouzenos was the first epitropos of the Byzantine province of the Morea, a position he held from 1308 till his death in 1316.-Despot:...

, governor of the Morea
Morea
The Morea was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. It also referred to a Byzantine province in the region, known as the Despotate of Morea.-Origins of the name:...

. Through his mother Theodora Palaiologina Angelina, he was a descendant of the reigning house of Palaiologos
Palaiologos
Palaiologos , often latinized as Palaeologus, was a Byzantine Greek noble family, which produced the last ruling dynasty of the Byzantine Empire. After the Fourth Crusade, members of the family fled to the neighboring Empire of Nicaea, where Michael VIII Palaiologos became co-emperor in 1259,...

. He was also related to the imperial dynasty through his wife Eirene Asanina, a second cousin of Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos
Andronikos III Palaiologos
Andronikos III Palaiologos, Latinized as Andronicus III Palaeologus was Byzantine emperor from 1328 to 1341, after being rival emperor since 1321. Andronikos III was the son of Michael IX Palaiologos and Rita of Armenia...

. Kantakouzenos became a close friend to Andronikos III and was one of his principal supporters in Andronikos' struggle
Byzantine civil war of 1321–1328
The Byzantine civil war of 1321–1328 was a series of conflicts fought in the 1320s between the Byzantine emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos and his grandson Andronikos III Palaiologos over control of the Byzantine Empire.-Prelude to the civil war:...

 against his grandfather, Andronikos II Palaiologos
Andronikos II Palaiologos
Andronikos II Palaiologos , Latinized as Andronicus II Palaeologus, was Byzantine emperor from 1282 to 1328. He was the eldest surviving son of Michael VIII Palaiologos and Theodora Doukaina Vatatzina, grandniece of John III Doukas Vatatzes...

. On the accession of Andronikos III in 1328, he was entrusted with the supreme administration of affairs. On the death of the emperor in 1341, John Kantakouzenos was left as the designated regent, and guardian of his son John V Palaiologos
John V Palaiologos
John V Palaiologos was a Byzantine emperor, who succeeded his father in 1341, at age nine.-Biography:...

, who was nine years old.

John had no imperial ambitions of his own, and refused to be crowned co-emperor despite being offered the opportunity by Andronikos III Palaiologos several times during the reign of latter. After the death of the emperor, John again refused to take the throne, and insisted that the rightful heir was John V, and that he would assume administrative control of the Empire until he was of age. Despite his stalwart devotion to the young emperor and his mother the empress Anna of Savoy
Anna of Savoy
Anna of Savoy, born Giovanna, was a Byzantine Empress consort, as the second wife of Andronikos III Palaiologos.-Family:She was a daughter of Amadeus V, Count of Savoy and his second wife Maria of Brabant. Her maternal grandparents were John I, Duke of Brabant and Margaret of Flanders...

, his friendship with the late emperor had aroused both the jealousy of the Patriarch of Constantinople and his former protege Alexios Apokaukos
Alexios Apokaukos
Alexios Apokaukos was a leading Byzantine statesman and high-ranking military officer during the reigns of emperors Andronikos III Palaiologos and John V Palaiologos...

, and the paranoia of the empress who suspected him to be an usurper. When John Kantakouzenos left Constantinople for Morea, his enemies seized the opportunity to declare John V emperor and order the disbandment of Kantakouzenos's army. When news reached the army at Didymoteichon in Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...

, they declared Kantakouzenos emperor, and this marked the start of the civil war between John Kantakouzenos and the regency in Constantinople headed by Anna of Savoy, Apokaukos and the Patriarch.

The civil war
Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347
The Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347 was a conflict between supporters of designated regent John VI Kantakouzenos and guardians acting for John V Palaiologos, Emperor Andronikos III's nine-year-old son, in the persons of the Empress-dowager Anna of Savoy, the Patriarch of Constantinople John XIV...

 which ensued lasted six years, during which the rival parties called in the aid of the Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

ns, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

ns, and the Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...

, and engaged mercenaries
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...

 of every description. It was only by the aid of the Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...

, with whom he made a bargain, that John VI Kantakouzenos brought the war to an end favourable to himself.

Reign

In 1347, he entered Constantinople in triumph with an army of 1,000 men, and forced his opponents to an arrangement by which he became joint emperor with John V Palaiologos and sole administrator during the minority of his colleague. His triumph in the six-year civil war is the subject of the poem "John Kantakouzenos Triumphs" by the modern Greek poet Constantine Cavafy.

He made his own son Matthew Kantakouzenos
Matthew Kantakouzenos
Matthew Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzenus was Byzantine Emperor from 1353 to 1357.-Life:...

 a co-emperor in 1353.

During this period, the empire, already broken up and reduced to narrow limits, was assailed on every side. There was an unsuccessful war
Byzantine–Genoese War (1348–1349)
The Byzantine–Genoese War of 1348–1349 was fought over control over custom dues through the Bosphorus. The Byzantines attempted to break Byzantium's dependence for food and maritime commerce on the Genoese merchants of Galata, and also to rebuild their own naval power...

 with the Genoese
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

, and in particular their colony at Galata
Galata
Galata or Galatae is a neighbourhood in the Beyoğlu district on the European side of Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey. Galata is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn, the inlet which separates it from the historic peninsula of old Constantinople. The Golden Horn is crossed by...

, across from Constantinople itself. His later involvement in the Venetian–Genoese War of 1350–1355 also brought no concrete results, and was terminated by a treaty with Genoa in May 1352. War also erupted against the Serbians, who were at that time establishing an extensive empire on the north-western frontiers; and there was a hazardous alliance with the Ottoman Turks, who made their first permanent settlement in Europe, at Gallipoli
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...

 in Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...

, towards the end of his reign. In 1349, he sent a newly-built fleet of 9 fair-sized ships and about 100 smaller ones against the Genoese, but it was captured in its entirety. Then in 1351, he sent 12 ships to help Venice against Genoa, but the fleet was defeated.

Kantakouzenos was far too ready to invoke the aid of foreigners in his European quarrels; and as he had no money to pay them, this gave them a ready pretext for seizing upon a European town. The financial burdens imposed by him had long been displeasing to his subjects, and a strong party had always favoured John V Palaiologos. Hence, when the latter entered Constantinople at the end of 1354, his success was easy.

Retirement as a monk

Kantakouzenos retired to a monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

 (where he assumed the name of Joasaph Christodoulos) and occupied himself in literary labours.

He died in the Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...

 and was buried by his sons at Mistra in Laconia
Laconia
Laconia , also known as Lacedaemonia, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti...

.

In 1367 Joasaph (as he was now known) was appointed the representative of the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...

 to negotiate with Paul of Smyrna then the Latin Patriarch of Constantinople
Latin Patriarch of Constantinople
The Latin Patriarch of Constantinople was an office established as a result of Crusader activity in the Near East. The title should not be confused with that of the Patriarch of Constantinople, an office which existed before and after....

 to attempt a reconciliation of the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. They agreed to call a grand ecumenical council to be attended by the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

, all the Patriarchs and bishops and archbishops of both the eastern and western churches. This plan was subsequently refused by Pope Urban V and so nothing came of it.

Writings

His History in four books deals with the years 1320–1356. An apologia for his own actions, it needs to be read with caution; fortunately it can be supplemented and corrected by the work of a contemporary, Nikephoros Gregoras
Nicephorus Gregoras
Nikephoros Gregoras, latinized as Nicephorus Gregoras , Byzantine astronomer, historian, man of learning and religious controversialist, was born at Heraclea Pontica....

. It possesses the merit of being well arranged and homogenous, the incidents being grouped round the chief actor in the person of the author, but the information is defective on matters with which he is not directly concerned. Kantakouzenos also wrote a defence of Hesychasm
Hesychasm
Hesychasm is an eremitic tradition of prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and some of the Eastern Catholic Churches, such as the Byzantine Rite, practised by the Hesychast Hesychasm is an eremitic tradition of prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and some of the Eastern Catholic Churches,...

, a Greek mystical doctrine.

Family

By his wife Irene Asanina
Irene Asanina
Irene Asanina was the Empress consort of John VI Kantakouzenos of the Byzantine Empire.-Family:Asanina was a daughter of Andronikos Asen and his wife Tarchanaiotissa.Her paternal grandparents were Ivan Asen III of Bulgaria and Irene Palaiologina...

, a daughter of Andronikos Asan (son of Emperor Ivan Asen III of Bulgaria
Ivan Asen III of Bulgaria
Ivan Asen III , ruled as emperor of Bulgaria 1279–1280. Ivan Asen III was the son of Mitso Asen of Bulgaria and Maria of Bulgaria, a daughter of Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria and Irene of Thessalonica...

 by Eirene Palaiologina, herself daughter of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus reigned as Byzantine Emperor 1259–1282. Michael VIII was the founder of the Palaiologan dynasty that would rule the Byzantine Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453...

), John VI Kantakouzenos had several children, including:
  1. Matthew Kantakouzenos
    Matthew Kantakouzenos
    Matthew Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzenus was Byzantine Emperor from 1353 to 1357.-Life:...

    , co-emperor 1353–1357, later despotēs in Morea
  2. Manuel Kantakouzenos
    Manuel Kantakouzenos
    Manuel Kantakouzenos , . Despotēs in the Despotate of Morea or the Peloponnese from October 25, 1349 to his death and a contender to the Principality of Achaia.Kantakouzenos was the second son of Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos and Irene Asanina...

    , despotēs in Morea
  3. Andronikos Kantakouzenos
  4. Maria Kantakouzene, who married Nikephoros II Orsini
    Nikephoros II Orsini
    Nikephoros II Orsini - Doukas , was the ruler of Epirus from 1335 to 1338 and from 1356 until his death in 1359.-Life:...

     of Epirus
  5. Theodora Kantakouzene, who married Sultan Orhan
    Orhan
    Orhan is a Turkish given name for males. People named Orhan include:* Orhan I, Turkish Ottoman sultan* Orhan Ademi, Swiss footballer* Asım Orhan Barut, Turkish-American theoretical physicist* Orhan Boran, Turkish radio and TV host...

     of the Ottoman Empire
    Ottoman Empire
    The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

  6. Helena Kantakouzene
    Helena Kantakouzene
    Helena Kantakouzene was the Empress consort of John V Palaiologos in the Byzantine Empire.-Family:She was a daughter of John VI Kantakouzenos and Irene Asanina.She was a sister of Matthew Kantakouzenos and Manuel Kantakouzenos...

    , who married Emperor John V Palaiologos
    John V Palaiologos
    John V Palaiologos was a Byzantine emperor, who succeeded his father in 1341, at age nine.-Biography:...


Sources

  • Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium
    Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium
    The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium is a three volume historical dictionary published by the English Oxford University Press. It contains comprehensive information in English on topics relating to the Byzantine Empire. It was edited by the late Dr. Alexander Kazhdan, and was first published in 1991...

    , Oxford University Press, 1991.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK