John Tarchaneiotes

John Tarchaneiotes (Greek: Ἰωάννης Ταρχανειώτης, fl. 1259–1304) was a

John Tarchaneiotes
Byzantine aristocrat and general under Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos(r. 1282–
1328). Although related by blood to the Palaiologos dynasty, he became notable as Born before 1259
one of the main leaders of the "Arsenites", the supporters of the deposed Patriarch of Died after 1304
Constantinople Arsenios Autoreianos, who challenged the dynasty's legitimacy. A Allegiance Byzantine
capable soldier, he was released from prison in 1298 to take command against the Empire
Turks in Asia Minor. His administrative reforms and integrity shored up the
Years of 1260s, 1298–1300
Byzantine position, but aroused the ire of the local magnates, who forced him to
service
abandon the province.
Battles/wars Wars against the
Anatolian beyliks
Biography
John Tarchaneiotes hailed from a distinguished family: his father, Nikephoros
Tarchaneiotes, had served as megas domestikos (commander-in-chief of the army) under
the Nicaean emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes (r. 1221–1254) and had married Maria-
Martha, the sister of Andronikos II's father, Michael VIII Palaiologos (r. 1259–1282),
whom he had supported in his rise to the throne.[1][2] Following the coronation of
Michael VIII, John and his brothers had lived in the imperial palace.[2] Tarchaneiotes
distinguished himself early on as a soldier, fighting under his uncle, the despotes John
Palaiologos, in the 1262 campaign againstMichael II Komnenos Doukasof Epirus.[2]

Nevertheless, Tarchaneiotes soon came to oppose the Palaiologoi, and by 1266 he had
emerged one of the leaders of the Arsenites,[2] the supporters of the former Patriarch of
Constantinople Arsenios Autoreianos, who had excommunicated Michael VIII for
usurping the rights and the blinding of his predecessor, John IV Laskaris (r. 1258–1261). Miniature portrait of Andronikos II
The Arsenites refused to recognize the Patriarch's subsequent deposition by the Palaiologos
Emperor, and were savagely persecuted. They ipso facto refused to recognize the
validity of Andronikos' claim to the throne as well, whom they regarded as "the son of
the excommunicated usurper" (Nicol), and who had been crowned by an "illegitimate" patriarch, the anti-Arsenite Joseph I
Galesiotes.[3][4] After the failure of Andronikos' attempt at reconciliation with the Arsenites in the synod of Adramyttion in 1284,
John Tarchaneiotes became the leader of the radical faction, while the moderates followed a monk, Hyakinthos.[2] Consequently,
Tarchaneiotes spent long periods in exile or in prison. He was banished to Chele in 1289, then placed under house arrest in
[2]
Constantinople. Released ca. 1296, he was arrested again in 1297 and thrown in the palace prison.

Nevertheless, in 1298, Andronikos was in need of his cousin's military talent in Asia Minor, where the Turks of Menteshe were
encroaching once more on Byzantine territory after having been beaten back in 1293–1295 by Alexios Philanthropenos.
Philanthropenos had ended up rising in revolt, supported by the local populace which still largely cherished the memory of the
Laskarids of Nicaea and resented the Palaiologoi; to prevent Tarchaneiotes, an avowed Arsenite, from following the same path as his
predecessor, Andronikos first extracted from him a personal oath of loyalty and then appointed him commander in the southern and
most endangered sector of the front, along the Maeander River.[4][5] There Tarchaneiotes achieved swift success, not only in the
field, but most importantly in reorganizing the local administration and ending corruption which had allowed the alienation of the
pronoia estates, originally intended for the upkeep of the army, from their rightful holders. Tarchaneiotes seems to have engaged in a
reassessment and redistribution of these lands, which was so successful that it resulted not only in an increase in the numbers of his
[4][6]
army, but also in the equipment of a small squadron of ships.

Map of Asia Minor ca. 1300, showing the
Turkish encroachment on Byzantine
territory at the time of Tarchneiotes'
governorship
especially as the numerous mercenaries deserted it for want of pay, opening the path for the complete collapse of Byzantine authority
in Asia Minor over the next decade.[7][8]
Despite his success, Tarchaneiotes was resented by the local magnates, who
had mostly profited from the previous situation and were most affected from
his reforms and his honest administration, as well as by the anti-Arsenite
establishment of the Church. In the end, some of the pronoia holders, who
were deprived of land through John's reforms, approached the anti-Arsenite
bishop of Philadelphia, Theoleptos, and accused Tarchaneiotes of plotting a
revolt. Facing the hostility of the local aristocracy, Tarchaneiotes was forced to
flee—probably in mid-1300—to Thessalonica, where the emperor
resided.[4][6] Apparently Tarchaneiotes was imprisoned again, for he is last
recorded as being released again from prison in 1304.[2] Following his flight,
the situation in Asia Minor deteriorated rapidly as his reforms were abandoned
and reversed, and the army's pay was diverted into the pockets of the local
elites. Consequently, within a short time the Byzantine army disintegrated,

References
1. Kazhdan 1991, p. 2012.
2. PLP 27487
3. Nicol 1993, pp. 96, 124–125.
4. Bartusis 1997, p. 75.
5. Nicol 1993, pp. 124–125.
6. Nicol 1993, p. 125.
7. Nicol 1993, pp. 125ff.
8. Bartusis 1997, pp. 76ff.

Sources
Bartusis, Mark C. (1997).The Late Byzantine Army: Arms and Society 1204–1453 . Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
University of Pennsylvania Press.ISBN 0-8122-1620-2.
Kazhdan, Alexander P. (1991). Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press.
ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6.
Nicol, Donald MacGillivray(1993). The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261–1453. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press. ISBN 0-521-43991-4.
Trapp, Erich; Beyer, Hans-Veit; Kaplaneres, Sokrates; Leontiadis, Ioannis (1991). "27487.Ταρχανειώτης ᾿Ιωάννης".
Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit(in German). 11. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie
der Wissenschaften.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_T

archaneiotes&oldid=838776848"

This page was last edited on 29 April 2018, at 07:19(UTC).

Text is available under theCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of theWikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.