Basil of Trebizond
| Basil Megas Komnenos | |
|---|---|
| Emperor and Autocrat of all the East and Perateia | |
Djiadjak Jaqeli |
Basil Megas Komnenos (
Life
Basil was a younger son of Emperor
On the death of Andronikos III, his infant son
Despite Basil's return, the factional strife continued. According to George Finlay, the great officers and principal nobles had become petty sovereigns, reducing the countryside to anarchy. The Scholarioi, the militia of capital, became so insubordinate that Basil had to hire foreign mercenaries to protect his person, but through their arrogance and corruption they rapidly made themselves and their master hated.[2] Such was his unpopularity with the people of the city, that when a solar eclipse took place they took it for a sign of divine wrath and forced the emperor to seek refuge in the citadel and tried to pelt him with stones.[3]
On 17 September 1334, Basil formed a marriage alliance with the
The uneasy situation at the capital was exploited by the
Basil died 6 April 1340, apparently poisoned by his legitimate wife Irene Palaiologina, who promptly seized the throne.[6]
Children
The children of Basil and his second wife, Irene of Trebizond, were:[7]
- Anna, who married Andrei Konstantinovich, Grand Duke of Nizhny Novgorod-Suzdal in 1343.
- Alexios of Trebizond (1327–c. 1349)
- John, later renamed Alexios III (1338–1390)
- Maria, who married Fahreddin Kutlug beg, Emir of Aq Qoyunlu in 1352.[8]
- Theodora, who married Hajji Amir, Emir of Chalybia (Turkish: Hacıemir) in 1358.[9]
From Irene Palaiologina or Irene of Trebizond, Basil probably had a daughter:
- Helena (died 1366), was the first wife of Bagrat V of Georgia.
References
- ^ William Miller, Trebizond: The last Greek Empire of the Byzantine Era: 1204–1461, 1926 (Chicago: Argonaut, 1969), p. 44
- ^ Finlay, The History of Greece and the Empire of Trebizond, (1204–1461) (Edinburgh: William Blackwood, 1851), p. 418
- ^ a b Michael Panaretos, Chronicle, ch. 21. Greek text and English translation in Scott Kennedy, Two Works on Trebizond, Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library 52 (Cambridge: Harvard University, 2019), pp. 11–13
- ^ Miller, Trebizond, p. 45
- ^ Miller, Trebizond, p. 46
- ^ Miller, Trebizond, p. 48
- ^ Miller, Trebizond, p. 60
- ^ Panaretos, Chronicle, ch. 52. Greek text and English translation in Kennedy, Two Works, p. 27
- ^ Panaretos, Chronicle, ch. 69. Greek text and English translation in Kennedy, Two Works, p. 33
External links
- Vougiouklaki Penelope, "Basil Grand Komnenos", Encyclopedia of the Hellenic World: Asia Minor
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