Ruler of Epirus (1335?1338, 1356?1359)
Nikephoros II Orsini
Doukas
(
Greek
: Νικηφ?ρο? Β? Δο?κα?,
Nik?phoros II Doukas
), was the
ruler
of
Epirus
from 1335 to 1338 and from 1356 until his death in 1359.
Life
[
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Nikephoros was the son of
John Orsini
of Epirus and
Anna Palaiologina
. When his mother allegedly poisoned his father in 1335, Nikephoros II succeeded as a 7-year-old child. His mother Anna assumed the regency for her young son but failed to allay the enmity of the Byzantine Emperor
Andronikos III Palaiologos
, who invaded and annexed the Epirote part of
Thessaly
in 1336 and advanced on
Ioannina
. The
Albanians
took advantage of conflict to the south to raid the Byzantine possessions in the north, but were defeated by the emperor in 1337.
Andronikos summoned Anna to negotiate in 1338 but refused to accept her son as Byzantine vassal and installed his governors in Epirus. Keeping Anna as hostage, Andronikos arranged for the marriage between Nikephoros and Maria Kantakouzene, the daughter of his right-hand man
John Kantakouzenos
. However, the anti-Byzantine faction of the nobility smuggled Nikephoros out of the country and sent him to the court of
Catherine II
of Valois, the titular
Empress of Constantinople
, at
Taranto
, hoping to effect his restoration with Angevin help.
In 1338 Catherine crossed to the
Peloponnese
to attend to her interests there, bringing Nikephoros with her. At Catherine's instigation the Epirotes rebelled in
Arta
on behalf of Nikephoros in late 1338: the rebels seized Arta and the Byzantine governor,
Theodore Synadenos
, and Nikephoros was crossed over into Epirus. However, Andronikos III and John Kantakouzenos swiftly subdued the rebellion and besieged Nikephoros in
Thomokastron
. Assuring his personal safety, John Kantakouzenos persuaded the garrison to surrender. Nikephoros was duly married to Maria Kantakouzene and was honored with the title of
panhypersebastos
. Taken to
Constantinople
, Nikephoros remained attached to the household of Kantakouzenos during the
Byzantine civil war of 1341?1347
. When his father-in-law succeeded in asserting himself as Emperor John VI in 1347, Nikephoros was given the higher rank of
despotes
. From 1351 he was entrusted with governing
Ainos
and the cities along the Hellespont.
In late 1355, taking advantage of the
renewal of the Byzantine civil war
and the death of Emperor (
tsar
)
Stefan Uro? IV Du?an
of
Serbia
, who had conquered Epirus in the late 1340s, Nikephoros returned to
Greece
and rallied support. Taking advantage of the anarchy caused by the death of the Serbian governor of Thessaly, Nikephoros took over the region in Spring 1356, and advanced on Epirus. He chased out Du?an's brother
Simeon Uro?
(who had married Nikephoros' sister
Thomais
) from Arta and asserted his control over the cities of the region.
The countryside, however, had been overrun by the Albanian clans and was effectively impossible to control. To strengthen his position and avert a Serbian reaction, Nikephoros set aside his wife Maria Kantakouzene and prepared to marry Theodora of Bulgaria, the sister of Du?an's widow Helena, who governed Serbia for her son. However, Maria was popular and her husband was forced to recall her by the Epirote nobility. Nikephoros also entered into negotiations with his brother-in-law Simeon Uro?. Soon after recalling his wife, Nikephoros was killed in 1359 while fighting against the Albanians in the
Battle of Achelous
in
Aetolia
.
Family
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From his marriage to Maria Kantakouzene, Nikephoros II may have had at least one son:
- Manuel, who may be identical to Antony Kantakouzenos, a monk at
Meteora
in 1404.
References
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]