DIPLOMATIC COMMUNICATION BETWEEN BYZANTIUM AND THE WEST UNDER THE LATE PALAIOLOGOI (1354-1453) by STAVROULA ANDRIOPOULOU A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity College of Arts and Law The University of Birmingham March 2010 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT This dissertation studies the diplomatic communication between the Byzantine Empire and the West during the last century of the empire’s life from 1354 to 1453. The first chapter deals with ambassadorial travel to the West, studying land and sea routes, the season of travel, its speed and duration and the choice of vessel for the transportation of ambassadors to western destinations. The second chapter analyses diplomatic missions to the West, examining both the embassies themselves and the people involved in them, in an effort to create the profile of the late Byzantine imperial ambassador to the West. The third chapter examines specific diplomatic practices focusing both on the different characteristics of each emperor’s reign, and on the late Palaiologan period as a whole. These three chapters are accompanied three Appendices comprised of three main databases that list the embassies of the period, the journeys of the ambassadors and the ambassadors themselves, and a series of tables and charts that further facilitate reading and comprehending the results of this study. Through my research into these aspects of late Palaiologan diplomatic practice, I aim to demonstrate that the late Palaiologoi combined traditional diplomacy and innovative methods, such as their personal involvement in embassies to the West, which reflect the dynamism of the late empire. To my family for their unwavering love and support. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Writing a PhD dissertation can be an overwhelming experience, both frightening and exciting. I am therefore extremely grateful for being surrounded by wonderful people, family, teachers and friends, who were constantly supporting me, during this long process. My sincere thanks and gratitude go to my supervisors, Dr Ruth Macrides and Dr Dimiter Angelov, for their support and advice. Thank you, for your patience, for showing faith in me and guiding me in the right direction. A warm thank you also to all the members of staff at the Centre of Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies at the University of Birmingham for always being ready to offer advice and help, and for welcoming us postgraduate students to a wonderful academic community. I feel extremely lucky for having around me an extremely supportive group of friends. A special thank you goes to Dr Fotini Kondyli for her understanding and constant support, and for always being available to talk about Byzantium until late into the night. To Dr Jonathan Shea and Rowenna Baldwin for being goods friends and for opening their home to me in the very difficult last months of my PhD. To Tanya and Sotiri for the long phone-calls from Greece and for listening patiently all those years. Finally, to all my fellow students at the University of Birmingham for their encouragement, which helped me survive the final months. This PhD would never have been completed without the support of my partner, Dionysis. His contribution to this work extends far beyond the help he offered on the tables and charts of the Appendices. Thank you for sharing Birmingham with me, this experience would not have been the same without you. Finally, this thesis owes its existence to my parents, Niko and Pepi. There are no words sufficient enough to express my gratitude to you for everything you have given me. Thank you for being my inspiration. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………… 1 CHAPTER I: TRAVEL AND LOGISTICS …………………………………... 27 1. The ambassadors’ journeys………………………………………………… 31 1.1 Routes and itineraries……………………………………………………... 31 1.2 Vessels………………………………………………………………………. 46 1.3 Season of travels…………………………………………………………… 55 1.4 Speed and duration of travel……………………………………………... 61 2. Exceptional journeys……………………………………………………….. 64 2.1 Routes and itineraries…………………………………………………….. 66 2.2 Vessels……………………………………………………………………… 75 2.3 Season of travels…………………………………………………………… 81 2.4 Speed and duration of travel……………………………………………... 84 CHAPTER II: THE PROFILE OF DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS. EMBASSIES AND AMBASSADORS………………………………………… 97 1. Embassies……………………………………………………………………. 99 2. Ambassadors………………………………………………………………… 114 2.1 Terminology………………………………………………………………... 114 2.2 The criteria for the selection of ambassadors…………………………… 121 2.3 The Byzantine ambassadors to the West: 1354-1453…………………… 166 CHAPTER III: DIPLOMATIC PRACTICES AND FOREIGN POLICY: TRADITION AND INNOVATION…………………………………………. 180 1. Diplomacy of the emperors………………………………………………... 180 1.1 John V Palaiologos………………………………………………………… 180 1.2 Manuel II Palaiologos……………………………………………………... 195 1.3 John VIII Palaiologos……………………………………………………… 211 1.4 Constantine XI Palaiologos………………………………………………. 220 2. Diplomatic practices………………………………………………………... 225 CONCLUSIONS……………………………………………………………….. 251 APPENDIX A: EMBASSIES…………………………………………………... 259 APPENDIX B: JOURNEYS…………………………………………………… 322 APPENDIX C: AMBASSADORS…………………………………………….. 358 BIBLIOGRAPHY LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Venice. Season of travel, 1354-1453. .......................................................... 59 Figure 2: Embassies to Venice per year during the reign of John V. .................. 183 Figure 3: Embassies to the papacy per year during the reign of John V. ........... 190 Figure 4: Embassies to Venice per year during the reign of Manuel II. ............. 203 Figure 5: Embassies to the papacy per year during the reign of John VIII. ....... 217 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AFP: Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum Annales Estenses: de Delayto, I. Annales Estenses. Milan, 1731 Archivo de la Corona d’Aragó: Cerone, F., La politica orientale d’Alfonso I d’Aragona. Archivio storico per le province napoletane XXVII. Naples, 1902 ASI: Archivio Storico Italiano Atiya, Nicopolis: Atiya, A.S. The Crusade of Nicopolis. London, 1934 B: Byzantion BF: Byzantinische Forschungen BMGS: Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies BS: Byzantine Studies/Etudes Byzantines BSl: Byzantinoslavica BZ: Byzantinische Zeitschrift Cecconi, Concilio di Firenze: Cecconi, E. Studi storici sul concilio di Firenze. Florence, 1869. Chalkokondyles: Chalkokondyles, Laonikos, Historiarum Demonstrationes, ed. I. Bekker. Bonn, 1843 Chronicon Siculum: de Blasiis, J. (ed), Chronicon Siculum incerti authoris ab a. 340 ad a. 1396 in forma diary ex inedito codice Ottoboniano Vaticano. Naples, 1887 Concilium Basiliense: Haller, J. et. al., Concilium Basiliense. Studien und Dokumente. 8 vols. Basle, 1896-1936 Dennis, Manuel II: Dennis, G.T. The reign of Manuel II Paleologus in Thessalonica, 1382-1387. Rome, 1960 ΔΙΕΕ: Δελτίον τῆς ἱστορικῆς καὶ ἐθνολογικῆς ἑταιρείας τῆς Ἑλλάδος Diplomatari de l’Orient Català: Rubió i Lluch, A. Diplomatari de l’Orient Català (1301-1454). Barcelona, 1947 Diplomatarium Veneto-Levantinum: Thomas, G.M. and Predelli, R. Diplomatarium Veneto-Levantinum sive acta et diplomata res Venetas, Graecas atque Levantis illustrantia. a. 1300-1454, 2 vols. Venice, 1880-99; repr. New York, 1964 Documenti sulle relazioni della città toscane: Müller, J. Documenti sulle relazioni della città toscane coll’Oriente cristiano e con Turchi fino all’anno 1531. Florence, 1879; repr. Rome, 1966 DOP: Dumbarton Oaks Papers Doukas: Doukas, Historia Turco-Byzantina, ed. I. Bekker. Bonn, 1834. ΕΕΒΣ: Ἐπετηρίς ἑταιρείας βυζαντινῶν σπουδῶν EHB: Laiou, A. (ed) The economic history of Byzantium: from the seventh through the fifteenth centuries, 3 vols. Washington D.C., 2002 EO: Échos d’Orient Epistolae pontificiae: Hofmann, G. Epistolae pontificiae ad Concilium Florentinum spectantes. Rome, 1940-46 Foedera: Rymer, T. Foedera, Convectiones Literae et cuiuscunque generic Acta Publica VIII. 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