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Despota, patria e famiglia. Strutture di potere nell'Epiro tardomedievale
No full textThe history of the so-called 'Despotate of Epirus', one of the many territorial principalities which emerged on the former provinces of the Byzantine Empire after the fourth Crusade, covers a wide time span that goes from its foundation by Michael I Doukas (1205) to the flight into Italy of the last despot, Leonard III Tocco, as a result of the Ottoman advance (1479). Nevertheless, the ideology and the power system on which it was based during its centuries-old existence remained pretty stable over time. The despot, or rather the ruling dynasty of the Doukas Komnenoi, represented the core of local politics, towards whom the population had a nearly religious veneration. Secondly, a widespread and deep-rooted separatist feeling permeated the entire society and led the Epirote elites, albeit they were Rhomaic and Orthodox just as the Byzantine aristocracy, to refuse any kind of authority, even the basileus', except for a local prince's, regardless of his ethnicity. Those very elites, which derived their wealth from large landed estates and formed the backbone of the urban ruling class in the most important Epirote cities, enjoyed extensive fiscal privileges and had taken possession of the centers of political and economic power, both lay and ecclesiastic, to the point that they were almost the sole architects of the domestic policy of the Despotate and, under certain circumstances, even of the foreign one
The Byzantine Aristocracy. Outlines of a Historiographical Debate
No full textThe issue of aristocracy is one of the most discussed and controversial in Byzantine history because of the scantiness and of the intrinsic ambiguity of most contemporary and later sources: this is probably the main reason why scholars still have not reached a definitive settlement on many of the major topics and questions which concern it. After a short introduction that contains a summary of the historical evolution and of the primary features of Byzantine élites, the essay tries to reconstruct the historiographical debate around the the problem of the lay aristocracy inside the Eastern Roman Empire from the 9th to the middle 15th century. Although we can trace the origins of byzantinology as an independent scholarly discipline at least from the late 16th/early 17th century, a properly ‘scientific’ debate on the questions concerning the aristocracy started only in the second half of the 19th century in the Russian Empire. The aim of the article is to draw a picture of the most prominent historiographic theories and scholars who tackled the issues related to the Byzantine ruling classes from that period onwards. Its core is the analysis of how the historians and their thought influenced or fought each other during one and a half century of academic confrontation and how this rich tradition of scholarly studies led to modern ideas about the Byzantine aristocracy among contemporary byzantinists
Un marchesato bizantino nell'Italia del Trecento. Riflessioni su alcuni aspetti poco conosciuti dell'ambasceria guidata da Stefano Siropulo nel 1318-1320
No full textL'articolo tratta dell'ambasceria guidata in Italia da Stefano Siropulo tra il 1318 e il 1320 per conto dell'imperatore bizantino Andronico II Paleologo, durante la quale ebbe anche modo di passare per il Monferrato, il cui marchese era Teodoro I Paleologo, figlio del basileus. L'analisi si concentra soprattutto sulle parole del Siropulo nel corso del parlamento monferrino e sul loro significato sia per quanto concerne i rapporti tra Bisanzio e il Monferrato sia in merito all'evoluzione istituzionale in corso nella basileia
Eusebius of Caesarea vs Enrico Dandolo. When Byzantine Political Theory Met with the Fourth Crusade
No full text«Τραβῴδ’, Γαβρᾶ, τραβῴδ’, Γαβρᾶ, νὲ Γαβροκωσταντῖνε». Some Remarks about the Gabras Family in the Pontic Folk Tradition
No full textThe Gabrades probably descended from an Armenian family of
akritai, the Christian border warlords who fought against the Muslims on
behalf of the Empire, and were among the most powerful and influential
lineages of Byzantium’s military aristocracy since the second half of the 10th
century, despite the rebellious attitude of many of its members. The family
estates were located on the north-eastern edge of Anatolia, between the
themata of Chaldia and Koloneia, thus the Gabrades were among the first to
face the Turks after the battle of Mantzikert (1071), but while some of them
came to terms with the newcomers, others decided to fight against the invaders.
Theodore (fl. 1067-1100 ca.) was the most famous member of the latter group,
since he reconquered Trebizond from the Turks with his own forces, ruled the
city almost as an independent ruler – albeit formally as an imperial official –
and was later martyred. His alleged nephew Constantine was appointed duke
of Trebizond as well (1119 ca.) and behaved just like his predecessor, acting as
a sovereign prince until he was ousted during the early 1140s. Although the
fortunes of the lineage gradually declined from the second half of the 12th
century, Theodore and Constantine Gabras were considered as the ‘founding
fathers’ of Pontic autonomy and the forerunners of the Empire of Trebizond
by the local population. Their deeds soon became the subject of the Pontic
popular culture, for they were sang in poems and praised in hagiographical
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texts from the Middle Ages until the beginning of the 20th century. This paper
examines how they were remembered in popular tradition in comparison to
what is known about them from medieval sources, thus trying to understand
which ‘parts of them’, either invented, reworked or historical, became part of
the Pontic heritage
Down with the Emperor, Hail to the Despot. Epirote Particularism at the Dusk of Stephen Dušan's Empire
No full textGiovanni II Paleologo di Monferrato e l'Oriente: una proiezione sulla carta
No full textMarquis John II Palaiologos of Montferrat (1338-1372), son of Theodore I and grandson of the Byzantine emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos, never moved from Italy, however he often showed to be interested in the issues regarding the Aegean world and the East in general. Although he never had the opportunity to participate in any action in Greece or in Anatolia, he was constantly involved – whether by his own initiative or by papal intervention – in the affairs of Byzantium and the Levant from the late Forties of the 14th century until the last days of his life. This article analyses the reasons and the consequences of this involvement, which nevertheless always remained 'on paper'
Dentro il sistema e contro l'Impero: l'ascesa politica di Teodoro Gabras e la costruzione dell'autonomia pontica dopo la battaglia di Manzicerta
No full textScion of an illustrious Anatolian military lineage of probable Armenian descent whose access in the Byzantine aristocracy is datable to the second half of the 10th century, Theodore Gabras was known for being a soldier with formidable abilities. Around 1075, he was able to reconquer Trebizond, the Pontic city which was the capital of Chaldia. At the beginning of the Eighties of the 11th century, he was nominated duke of Chaldia by Alexios I Komnenos, but, as Anna Komnene states, he immediately behaved as the government given to him was his own personal appanage and he handled it as it was his own private property.
His career testifies a historical phase, the second half of the 11th century, in which the Byzantine institutions and political and social textures experienced deep changes. In the disruption of the eastern defensive system after the defeat of Mantzikert (1071), the territorial rooting of the Anatolian houses let some of them earn room for political autonomy, also thanks to the consensus they enjoyed among the local Church and populations. Theodore knew how to use his political and economic influence in Chaldia in order to integrate himself in the new system of government, but that same influence allowed him to build a sort of personal lordship, which the Gabrades held with mixed fortunes until the first half of the 12th century
I vassalli e le comunità renitenti agli obblighi militari nei documenti del marchese Teodoro I Paleologo di Monferrato
No full textL'articolo propone l'edizione delle sentenze emesse dal marchese di Monferrato Teodoro I Paleologo (1306-1338) contro le comunità e i vassalli renitenti al servizio militare da lui richiesto con una premessa storica sul funzionamento e il reclutamento dell'esercito monferrino durante gli anni del suo governo
Il marchese Teodoro I Paleologo di Monferrato (1306-1338) nelle coeve fonti greche e arabe
No full textL'articolo discute l'immagine del marchese di Monferrato Teodoro I Paleologo (1306-1338), figlio del basileus Andronico II Paleologo (1282-1328) nelle fonti greche e arabe che ne affrontano le vicende
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