Byzantine emperor from 1376 to 1379
Andronikos IV Palaiologos
or
Andronicus IV Palaeologus
(
Greek
:
?νδρ?νικο? Κομνην?? Παλαιολ?γο?
;
11 April 1348 ? 25/28 June 1385
[2]
) was the eldest son of Byzantine Emperor
John V Palaiologos
.
[3]
Appointed co-emperor from 1352, he had a troubled relationship with his father: he launched a failed rebellion in 1373, usurped the throne in 1376?1379, and remained engaged in a bitter struggle with John V until his death in 1385.
[2]
This civil war depleted Byzantium's scarce resources and greatly facilitated the
Ottoman conquest of the Balkans
, most notably through the cession of
Gallipoli
by Andronikos. He was also the father of John VII.
[4]
Life
[
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]
Born on 11 April 1348, Andronikos IV Palaiologos was the eldest son of Emperor
John V Palaiologos
by his wife
Helena Kantakouzene
.
In 1352 he was already associated as co-emperor with his father,
and when John V left for Italy in 1369 to affirm his submission to the
Pope
, John left Andronikos behind in
Constantinople
as
regent
, while his younger son
Manuel II Palaiologos
was sent to govern
Thessalonica
.
During his stay in Italy, John attempted to settle his accounts with the
Republic of Venice
; this included not only John's own loans, but also the loan of 30,000
ducats
(and the associated interest) that his mother,
Anna
, had taken during the
Byzantine civil war of 1341?1347
, with the Byzantine crown jewels as
collateral
. John went in person to Venice, but he lacked the funds to pay off the loans, or even to secure a ship for his voyage home. As a result, he proposed to cede to the Venetians the island of
Tenedos
, strategically located at the entrance of the
Dardanelles
, in exchange for further funds and six warships. The Venetians accepted, but when news reached Constantinople, Andronikos IV, likely urged by the
Genoese
, Venice's commercial rivals, refused to honour his father's agreement. This left John stranded in Venice, effectively as a captive debtor of the Republic; when he suggested that funds be raised to secure his release by selling precious objects from the churches, Andronikos again refused, claiming that this was impious. In the end, it was only the intervention of Manuel, who went from Thessalonica to Venice in person, that secured John's release. It was not until October 1371 that the emperor returned to Constantinople.
Andronikos IV rebelled when the
Ottoman
sultan
Murad I
forced John V into
vassalage
in 1373. On 6 May, Andronikos IV fled Constantinople and allied with Murad's son
Savcı Bey
, who was rebelling against his own father. Both rebellions failed and Andronikos was imprisoned
and blinded
on 30 May, albeit only in one eye. His brother Manuel replaced him as heir.
[7]
Reign
[
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]
In July 1376, the
Genoese
helped Andronikos to escape from prison, whence he went straight to Sultan
Murad I
, and agreed to return
Gallipoli
in return for his support. Gallipoli had been retaken by the Byzantines ten years before, with the assistance of
Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy
; this strategically important bridgehead greatly improved the sultan's ability to attack Europe.
The sultan duly provided a mixed force of cavalry and infantry and with these, Andronikos was able to take control of
Constantinople
. Here he was able to capture and imprison both John V and his son
Manuel
.
However, he made the mistake of favouring the Genoese too highly by awarding them Tenedos. The governor there refused to hand it over, and passed it on to Venice. In the same year, 18 October 1377, he was crowned emperor and also crowned his young son
John VII
as co-emperor.
However, in 1379 John and Manuel escaped to Sultan Murad, and with the assistance of the
Venetians
, overthrew Andronikos later in the year. The Venetians restored John V to the throne, and Manuel II. Andronikos fled to
Galata
, staying there until May 1381, when he was once again made co-emperor and heir to the throne despite his earlier treachery. Andronikos IV was also given the approaches to Constantinople with the city of Selymbria (
Silivri
) as his personal domain.
In 1385, he rebelled again, but died soon after, on 25 or 28 June, at Selymbria.
[7]
He was buried in the
Pantokrator Monastery
in Constantinople.
Family
[
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]
In 1356, Andronikos IV married
Keratsa of Bulgaria
, a daughter of Emperor
Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria
. The couple had one son,
John VII Palaiologos
.
Ancestry
[
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]
Ancestors of Andronikos IV Palaiologos
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References
[
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]
Sources
[
edit
]
- Harris, Jonathan,
The End of Byzantium
. Yale University Press, 2010.
ISBN
978-0-300-11786-8
- Kazhdan, Alexander
, ed. (1991).
The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium
. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.
ISBN
0-19-504652-8
.
- Necipo?lu, Nevra
(2009).
Byzantium between the Ottomans and the Latins: Politics and Society in the Late Empire
. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ISBN
978-1-107-40388-8
.
- Nicol, Donald M.
(1993) [1972].
The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261-1453
. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ISBN
9780521439916
.
- Norwich, J.J.
(1995).
Byzantium: The Decline and Fall
. London: Viking.
ISBN
978-0-670-82377-2
.
- Trapp, Erich; Beyer, Hans-Veit; Walther, Rainer; Sturm-Schnabl, Katja; Kislinger, Ewald; Leontiadis, Ioannis; Kaplaneres, Sokrates (1976?1996).
Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit
(in German). Vienna: Verlag der Osterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
ISBN
3-7001-3003-1
.
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