Alexios Philanthropenos

Alexios Philanthropenos ( _el. Αλέξιος Φιλανθρωπηνός) was a Byzantine nobleman and notable general of the early Byzantine-Ottoman wars, scoring some of the last Byzantine successes against the Turkic emirates in Asia Minor. [Bartousis (1997), p.349]

Early life and family

Alexios was born ca. 1270 as the second son of "prōtovestiarios" and "megas domestikos" Michail Tarchaneiotes. His mother, whose name is unknown, belonged to the noble family of the Philanthropenoi, which rose to prominence in the latter half of the 13th century. She was the daughter of "prōtostratōr" and "megas doux" Alexios Doukas Philanthropenos, after whom Alexios was named. [George Pachymeres, Andronicus Palaeologus, III.9.] On his father's side, Alexios was also related to the imperial family, through his grandmother, Martha Palaiologina, a sister of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos. [Angelov (2007), p. 122] Alexios married Theodora Acropolitissa, daughter of Constantine Acropolites and granddaughter of the historian George Acropolites. They had one child, Michail Philanthropenos. [George Pachymeres, Andronicus Palaeologus, III.9-11.]

First command in Asia and uprising

Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos (1282–1328) took an active interest in the defence of the Anatolian possessions of the Byzantine Empire against the encroaching Turkic emirates in the early 1290s, and appointed Alexios as "doux" of the Theme of the Thrakesians, awarding him the high court title of "pinkernēs".Bartousis (1997), p. 74.] Alexios commanded all of the Byzantine possessions in Asia, except for the Ionian coast. During the next two years, Alexios achieved several victories in the valley of the Maeander river, managing to stop the Turkish raids and advance into the Emirate of Menteshe, recapturing the fortress of Melanoudion.Nicol (1993), p. 124.] Many Turks joined his army, and so many prisoners were made during his campaigns, that the monk and scholar Maximus Planudes, a friend of Alexios, wrote that "a sheep was more expensive to buy than a Muslim prisoner".

At this point, in the autumn of 1295, Alexios rose up against Andronikos. The exact circumstances and reasons for this move remain obscure, but the revolt was fueled by the discontent of the Asian provinces over high taxation and what many perceived as the neglect of the defence of Asia by the Palaiologoi. His rebellion certainly had the support of the people: as George Pachymeres recounts, "in the monasteries [..] , the name of the Emperor was no longer commemorated, but only that of Philanthropenos." Alexios seized Theodore Palaiologos, the Emperor's brother, but then prevaricated, giving time to the Emperor to react. Negotiations began, with Andronikos offering Alexios the title of Caesar to lull him into a false sense of security, while he prepared to get rid of him. Around Christmas, the governor of Neokastra, "prōtovestiarios" Livadarios, who was loyal to Andronikos, persuaded some Cretan soldiers to seize and blind Alexios, the punishment usually meted out to rebels.

Rescue of Philadelphia

Alexios was replaced as commander by Ioannes Tarchaneiotes, and disappeared from the scene for 30 years. His successors proved greatly inferior, and by 1323, Byzantine possessions in Asia had been greatly reduced. At that point, Patriarch Jesaias urged Andronikos to recall the aged general. A desperate Andronikos agreed and pardoned Alexios in 1324. [Nicol (1993), p. 158.] Alexios was tasked with relieving the isolated exclave of Philadelphia, which had been long under siege and was ready to fall. [Nicol (1972), p. 166.] He was given no army, but, according to the Byzantine chroniclers, the mere news of Alexios' approach, and the respect in which the Turks held him, was enough for the siege to be lifted. [Bartousis (1997), p. 88.] Alexios was appointed governor of the city, a position he retained until 1327.

Campaign in Lesbos

In 1335, the strategically important Byzantine island of Lesbos was seized by a Latin army under the Genoese Lord of Phocaea, Domenico Cattaneo. Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos raised a fleet of 83 ships to recover the island, which arrived in June 1336. The fleet disembarked an army, led by Alexios Philanthropenos, which swiftly secured the entire island except for the capital, Mytilene. The siege lasted until November, when Domenico capitulated, returning Lesbos and Phocaea to the Empire. Alexios, exuberantly praised by contemporaries like Nicephorus Gregoras as the "Belisarius of the Palaiologan era" was left by Andronikos III as governor of the island, where he lived until his death, which occurred probably in the 1340s.

References

Sources

* George Pachymeres: "History"
* Angelov, Dimiter: "Imperial Ideology and Political Thought in Byzantium, 1204-1330", Cambridge University Press (2007), ISBN 0521857031
* Bartusis, Mark C.: "The Late Byzantine Army: Arms and Society, 1204-1453", University of Pennsylvania Press (1997), ISBN 0812216202
* Nicol, Donald M.: "The Last Centuries of Byzantium 1261-1453", Cambridge University Press (1993), ISBN 0521439914
* [http://www2.egiklopedia.gr/asiaminor/forms/fLemmaBodyExtended.aspx?lemmaID=3516 Biography, at the "Encyclopedia of Greater Hellenism - Asia Minor"]