IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ Συγγραφή : Βουγιουκλάκη Πηνελόπη Μετάφραση : Κούτρας Νικόλαος Για παραπομπή : Βουγιουκλάκη Πηνελόπη , "Theodore I Laskaris", Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Μ. Ασία URL:

Περίληψη : Founder of the Empire of Nicaea and its first emperor. In 1204 Laskaris sought refuge with his family to the Byzantine lands of Asia Minor, where he undertook to create a new state entity which would be a continuation of the Byzantine Empire. He established his control over the region of western Asia Minor and in 1206 he was declared Emperor of the Romans. He remained on the throne of Nicaea until his death in 1222. Άλλα Ονόματα Τόπος και Χρόνος Γέννησης c. 1175 Τόπος και Χρόνος Θανάτου August 1222, Nicaea Κύρια Ιδιότητα Emperor

1. Biography

Theodore I Laskaris was born c.1175 into a large aristocratic family. He had six brothers, Alexios, Isaakios, Georgios, Michael and Konstantine. In around 1200 he became a relative of the emperor Alexios III Angelos, as he was married to his daughter Anna, with which he had three daughters, Eirene, Maria and Eudokia, and two sons, who died at an early age. Subsequently Laskaris was married two more times: in 1214 he was wed to the princess of Lesser Armenia Philippa, who gave him a son, Konstantine; in 1216 he married Maria de Courtenay, sister of Robert de Courtenay, the heir to the Constantinople throne. During the years of Alexios III Angelos’reign (1195-1203), Lascaris was in the service of the Byzantine emperor, while soon after his marriage to the emperor’s daughter he received the important title of despotes. In the same year he was sent against the Bulgarian defector Alexios Ivanko, while in July 1203 he distinguished himself during the skirmishes with the Latin Crusaders that besieged Constantinople. Following the expulsion of his father-in-law Alexios III, Isaakios II’s return to the throne of Constantinople (1185-1195,1203-1204) and the proclamation of his son, Alexios IV, as co-emperor, Laskaris with his family left the city and fled to the region of Asia Minor shortly before the capture of Constantinople by the Latins on April 12, 1204. His aim was to create a new state entity which would be a continuation of the Byzantine Empire. Although at first the local population was hostile towards him because of his kinship with the house of the Angeli, who had imposed strigent economic measures on the inhabitants of Asia Minor, he managed to establish his authority over western Asia Minor and proceeded to organize a new Byzantine state with Nicaea as its capital. In 1206 he was proclaimed Emperor of the Romans but his coronation took place later, in March of 1208, following the election of the new patriarch Michael IV Autoreianos.1 During his reign, Laskaris sought to expand the borders of his state, clashing on various occasions with the Latins and the Seljuk Turks of Rum, while he also laid the foundations of his emergent state’s internal governance. He died in August of 1222 and was buried in the monastery of Hyakinthos.

2. Foundation of the Empire of Nicaea – Theodore I Laskaris' coronation

When Laskaris sought refuge with his family in Asia Minor,2 and in Nicaea in particular, its inhabitants did not allow him into the city, although they accepted his family. Laskaris then started a tour of the cities of Bithynia and northwest Asia Minor in an effort to convince the lords of the region of the necessity to create a centre of power able to resist Latin expansionism, while he also aspired to become recognized as the lawful heir in place of his father-in-law Alexios III Angelos. In spite of the original hostility and suspicion with which he was received by the locals, he finally managed to become recognised by the local population as a despotes. Nonetheless he had to contend with a number of issues and difficulties. The old organizational structure of the state had collapsed,

Δημιουργήθηκε στις 9/10/2021 Σελίδα 1/6 IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ Συγγραφή : Βουγιουκλάκη Πηνελόπη Μετάφραση : Κούτρας Νικόλαος Για παραπομπή : Βουγιουκλάκη Πηνελόπη , "Theodore I Laskaris", Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Μ. Ασία URL: while all over Asia Minor small autonomous states were emerging. Theodore Mangaphas had managed to impose himself as an independent ruler in Philadelphia; the same was true of Manuel Maurozomes in the Maeander valley and of Savvas Asidenos in Samsun (ancient Priene); David Komnenos, brother of the Emperor of Trebizond, Alexios I Grand Komnenos (1204-1222) was advancing from the east along the coast of the Black Sea. During the same period he had to face the forces of the Latins, who, after the victory they had achieved over the forces of Laskaris in December of 1204 at Poimanenon, had entrenched their rule in Bithynia up to Nicaea and up to Adramyttion in the southwest. The defeat the Latins suffered, however, by the Bulgarian and Cuman troops of Kalogiannes (1197-1207) on April 14th 1205 at Adrianople forced the Latin troops in Asia Minor to withdraw and offered Laskaris an opportunity to strengthen his rule over the region by placing all the independent lords under his control, with the exception of Manuel Maurozomes. After his confrontation with the rebel, he was forced to recognize him as the lawful ruler of the areas of Laodicea and Chonai, following a treaty he signed with the Seljuk sultan of Rum and Manuel’s relative Kaykhusraw I in February/March of 1206.3 During the same period Laskaris, having earned the recognition of the locals, was proclaimed Emperor of the Romans and succeeded the Byzantine emperors of Constantinople. Due to the inability, however, of assembling a council to elect a new patriarch, he was crowned later, in the Easter of 1208, by the new patriarch Michael IV Autoreianos. The election of the patriarch in 1208 was a milestone in the history of Nicaea, as it established the city’s aspirations to becoming the seat of the Byzantine State and the Byzantine Church. At first it seemed that Laskaris faced no contenders to the throne of Nicaea. In 1210, however, his father-in-law, Alexios III, came again to the fore. Alexios III had not abandoned his plans of recapturing the throne; he enlisted the support of his cousin Michael I Doukas, despotes of Epiros,4 as well as that of the Seljuk sultan of Rum, at whose court the had found refuge. On the pretext of this supposedly lawful claim, the sultan asked Laskaris to cede the throne of Nicaea to his father-in- law Alexios. To face this contention, Laskaris assembled his army and confronted the Seljuk troops in Antioch on the Maeander in the Spring of 1211. The Byzantine troops were defeated in the battle that ensued, but the sultan himself was killed by Laskaris in a duel and the Seljuks took to flight. Alexios III was captured during this engagement; he was later put on trial for treason and was sentenced to blinding, while by Laskaris’order he remained locked up until the end of his life in the monastery of Yakinthos.

3. Domestic policy

During his reign Theodore I Laskaris reorganized the structure of the emergent empire from scratch, placing the foundations of the central and provincial administration. The reconstitution of the Holy Synod, the election of a patriarch at Nicaea, as well as the legitimation of the imperial rule, represent the first steps towards the reorganization the apparatus of the state. The issue that was to absorb Laskaris subsequently, as well as his heirs, was the formation of a standing army and navy. The needs of the military dictated the form of provincial administration, as well as of the fiscal policy of the new state. The armed forces were manned by the native agrarian class and, principally, by members of the Constantinople aristocracy who had found refuge in Nicaea and were granted significant estates through the institution of the pronoiai. Due to the need to wage expansionary campaigns, a mercenary army was gradually created.5 We also have a return to the institution of the military theme in provincial administration, which had fallen into disuse during the 11th and 12th centuries. The organization of the central administration, the public servants’hierarchy and the imperial court were also organized in accordance to the old Byzantine rules, and many palatial, administrative and honorific titles and offices were reinstated. The high office of the mesazon was one of the first to be reconstituted in the apparatus of central administration; it was awarded by Laskaris to Demetrios Tornikes, who took on the functions of a prime minister and the emperor’s personal advisor. After Tornikes’death, however, the new emperor John III Vatatzes did not replace him, and the office was abolished, part of its functions being relegated to the office of the megas logothetes.

4. Foreign policy

4.1. Relations with the Latins of Constantinople

The Nicaean emperor’s aspirations to recapture Constantinople and reconstitute the Empire, and the expansionary designs of the Latins of Constantinople against the realm of Asia Minor caused Laskaris to clash with the forces of Latin Constantinople on several occasions. In 1204 the two sides first joined battle closed to Poimanenon. Laskaris was defeated there and forced to sign a cease- fire, with which the rule of the Latins over a large part of Bithynia was consolidated. However, the Latin troops did not remain for long there; the forces of the Emperor of Constantinople, Baldwin I of Flanders, were defeated at Adrianople and he was captured

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4.2. Relations with the Empire of Trebizond

The common goal of the recapture of Constantinople and the reconstitution of the Byzantine Empire often caused friction between the Empire of Nicaea and that of Trebizond. The threat posed by the Empire of Trebizond diminished because of the truce signed between Laskaris and the emperor of Constantinople Henry of Flanders in 1207. David Komnenos, the brother of the emperor of Trebizond Alexios I Grand Komnenos, who was almost constantly fighting against Nicaea, lost in 1207 the support of the Latins of Constantinople (he had become their vassal), thus he was in no position to fight against the emperor of Nicaea. By 1214, Laskaris had gradually annexed David’s realm in its entirety: these possessions lay west of Sinope and included the cities of Herakleia and Amastris; thus Laskaris secured a strong presence on the south sores of the Pontus.

1. Gounarides argues that the election of the new patriarch Michael IV Autoreianos, as well as Laskaris ’s I coronation took place on the 25th of March and the 18th of April respectively. See Γουναρίδης, Π., “Η χρονολογία της αναγόρευσης και της στέψης του Θεόδωρου Αʹ Λασκάρεως”, Σύμμεικτα 6 (1985), p. 70.

2. Following the removal of Alexios V Doukas Mourtzouphlos, son‑in‑law of Alexios III, from the throne of Constantinople, the historians Niketas Choniates and Konstantinos Akropolites note the election of an emperor in Constantinople. Choniates mentions two candidates: one “Laskaris” and one “Doukas”, while Akropolites calls both of them “Theodore”. Gardner argues there are two possibilities: either Theodore I or his brother Konstantinos was elected. At any rate, she notes that it is immaterial to establish who the elected monarch was, for he refused to accept the crown. See Gardner, Α., The Laskaris of Nicaea: The story of an empire in exile (London 1912), pp. 55‑56.

3. Theodore I Laskaris was forced, although he had managed to intercept the forces of the rebel, to come to a settlement with the sultan of Rum; his wanted to avoid an eventual attack by the sultanate at the time when he had to face Latins invaders, thus he ceded to Maurozomes, a relative of the sultan, the areas of Laodicea and Chonai. See Σαββίδης, Α., Βυζαντινά στασιαστικά και αυτονομιστικά κινήματα στα Δωδεκάνησα και τη Μικρά Ασία, 1189‑1240 μΧ.: Συμβολή στη μελέτη της υστεροβυζαντινής προσωπογραφίας και τοπογραφίας την εποχή των Αγγέλων, των Αασκαρίδων της Νίκαιας και των Μεγαλοκομνηνών του Πόντου (Αθήνα 1987), p. 235.

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4. Michael I Doukas sent Alexios III Angelos to the sultan of Rum, with whom he was on friendly terms, and also reinforced him with warships. With these he dispatched his brother Konstantinos Angelos. See Nicol, D.M., The Despotate of Epiros (Oxford 1957), p. 15.

5. By 1214, Theodore I had come to rely heavily on his mercenary troops (they included Germans, Turks, Armenians and Constantinople Latins) to wage campaigns; cf. Angold, Μ., A Byzantine government in exile: Government and society under Lascarids of Nicaea (1204‑1261) (Oxford 1975), p. 183.

6. The patriarch argued that this marriage was unlawful for the Church, as Theodore I had been married to the brother of Robert, Maria. See Nicol, D., “Από την άλωση έως την ανάκτηση της Κωνσταντινουπόλεως (1204‑1261)”, ΙΕΕ Θ΄ (Αθήνα 1980), p. 83.

Βιβλιογραφία : Hendy M.F., Studies in the Βyzantine Μonetary Εconomy c. 300-1450, Cambridge Mass. 1985

Angold M., A Byzantine Government in Exile. Government and Society under the Lascarids of Nicaea (1204-1261), Oxford 1975

Gardner A., The Lascarids of Nicaea. The Story of an Empire in Exile, London 1912

Γουναρίδης Π., "Η χρονολογία της αναγόρευσης και της στέψης του Θεοδώρου Α΄ Λασκάρεως", Σύμμεικτα, 6, 1985, 59-71

Cahen C., Pre-ottoman Turkey. A general survey of the material and spiritual culture and history c. 1071-1330, London 1968

Dölger F., Regesten der Kaiserurkunden des Oströmischen Reiches, von 565-1453, 3, München 1979

Cheynet J.-C., Pouvoir et contestations à Byzance (963-1210), Paris 1990, Byzantina Sorbonensia 9

Grierson P., Byzantine Coins, London – Berkeley – Los Angeles 1982

Langdon J.S., Byzantium's last imperial offensive in Asia Minor. The Documentary Evidence for and Hagiographical Lore about John III Ducas Vatatzes' Crusade against the Turks, 1222 or 1225 to 1231, New York 1992, Number Hellenism: Ancient, Mediaeval, Modern, 7

Nicol D.M., The Despotate of Epiros, Oxford 1957

Hendy M., Coinage and Money in the Byzantine Empire, 1081-1261, Washington D.C. 1969

Van Dieten J.-L., Niketas Choniates. Erläuterungen zu den Reden und Briefen nebst einer Biographie, Berlin – New York 1971, Supplementa Byzantina 2

Zacos G., Verglery A., Byzantine lead seals 1/1, Basel 1972

Ahrweiler-Glykatzi H., "La politique agraire des empereurs de Nicée", Byzantion, 28, 1959, 51-66

Γλωσσάριo : despotes

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Title introduced in the 12th century. In administrative hierarchy, the office of despotes was under the emperor and the co ‑ emperor. From the 14th century onwards, the title was given to the governors of the Byzantine Peloponnese. megas logothetes The head of the civil Byzantine administration. Megas logothetes was a title used at the end of the 12th century during the reign of Isaac II Angelos (1185-1195), replacing the “logothetes ton sekreton”, an office which was created during the reign of Alexios I Komnenos (1081-1118) to bring the entire civil administration under the control of a single individual. mesazon The mesazon was the "mediator" between the emperor and his subjects. In the 11th-12th C. the term became a semiofficial designation. After the time of the Empire of Nicaea it designated the supreme post in the imperial administration and its holder assisted the emperor, as his confidant, in the administration of the state. pronoia ("care", "forethought") An institution that goes back to the 11th century. It refers to estates granted to a prominent military official or to the Church; it also designates in general the right of an individual of areligious foundation to receive directly from citizens of farmers whatever dues they would normally be obliged to pay to the state. The holder of a pronoia was called pronoiarios. The pronoiai could not be inherited by the family of military officials after their death, while when a donation was made to the Church, the pronoia was considered full and permanent.

Πηγές Georgii Acropolitae, Opera 1‑2, ed. A. Heisenberg (1903), διορθ. P. Wirth (BSGRT, Stutgardiae 1978).

Nicephori Blemmydae, Curriculum Vitae et Carmina , ed. A. Heisenberg (Lipsiae 1896), pp. 4, 55, 60.

Nicetae Choniatae, Historia, ed. I.A. Van Dieten (CFHB, Berlin 1975).

Nicetae Choniatae, Orationes et Epistulae , ed. I.A. Van Dieten (CFHB, Berlin 1972).

Wilson, N. ‑ Darrouzès, J., “Reste du cartulaire de Hiéra Xerochoraphion ”, REB 26 (1968), pp. 5‑47.

Βρανούση, E., Βυζαντινά έγγραφα της μονής Πάτμου . A. Αυτοκρατορικά (Αθήναι 1980).

Σάθας, Κ.Ν., «Ανωνύμου Σύνοψις Χρονική», in Μεσαιωνική Βιβλιοθήκη 7 (Paris 1894), pp. 1‑556.

Χρονολόγιο c. 1175: Birth of Theodore I Laskaris. c. 1200: Laskaris marries Anna, the daughter of Emperor Alexios III Angelos. Theodore receives the title of despotes.

1200: Theodore Laskaris is sent against the Bulgarian rebel Alexios Ivanko.

July 1203: Theodore participates in the defence of Constantinople against the Latin crusaders that besieged the city. before April of 1204: Laskaris flees Constantinople with his family and seeks refuge in Nicaea. Efforts to create a new state, a continuation of the Byzantine Empire.

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December 1204: Laskaris is defeated by the Latin forces in Poimanenon of Asia Minor. A truce is signed. Latin rule in Bithynia becomes entrenched.

1205-1206: The lords Theodore Magkaphas and Sabbas Asidenos come under the suzerainty of Laskaris 1206: Attack against David Komnenos. Siege of Herakleia. late 1206: A treaty is signed between Laskaris and the Seljuk Turks of Rum; in accordance with its terms Laodicea and Chonai are ceded to Manuel Maurozomes. Laskaris is proclaimed Emperor.

1207: A treaty is signed between Laskaris and the Bulgarian tsar Kaloyan. spring/summer of 1207: Laskaris launches an attack against the Latins in the area of Nicomedia.

May-June 1207: A truce is signed between Laskaris and Henry of Flanders.

March 1208: Laskaris is crowned by the new patriarch Michael IV Autoreianos. spring of 1211: The Byzantine troops are defeated by the forces of the Seljuk Turks of Rum in a battle fought at Antioch on the Maeander. The sultan Kaykhusraw I is killed. Alexios III Angelos is captured.

15 October 1211: Laskaris’ troops are defeated by the forces of the Latins at Prusa, close to the Ryndakos river.

1214: A peace treaty is signed between Laskaris and Henry of Flanders Laskaris marries the Armenian princess Phillipa. Nicaea enters into an alliance with Lesser Armenia.

1215: The alliance between Nicaea and Lesser Armenia is cancelled and the marriage between Laskaris and princess Phillipa is annulled.

1216: Laskaris marries Maria de Courtenay, daughter of Yolanda, empress of Constantinople.

1219: Laskaris cedes free trading privileges to the Venetians of Constantinople.

August 1222: Death of Theodore I Laskaris.

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