147:(keeper of the imperial inkstand), he quickly succeeded in placing Isaac entirely under his influence. According to Choniates he exercised power greater than that even of his predecessor, while historian Charles Brand credits him with "combining craft and guile with real ability in the management of affairs". During this period, Mesopotamites was also the recipient of a eulogy by
238:. The Patriarch quickly also brought accusations against him before a synod—manifestly unjust, feeble, and unsubstantial, according to Choniates—and he was also dismissed from his ecclesiastical offices. Thessalonica was taken over by John Chrysanthos, but Mesopotamites was soon reinstated in his see, where he remained until ousted by the
196:
unpopular with the populace, and her relatives and supporters, Mesopotamites foremost, secured her pardon after six months, in March 1197. She quickly restored her influence over her husband, and alongside her
Mesopotamites now stood at the summit of his power. According to Choniates, Mesopotamites now considered the title of
281:, sometime in April–August 1227. Mesopotamites must have abandoned his see by then. The see appears to have remained vacant for some time thereafter, until sometime after 1230, when a Bulgarian bishop, possibly called Michael Pratanos, was installed as a result of the Bulgarian hegemony over the rump
154:
Mesopotamites' hold over the administration was secured by effectively isolating the emperor from public affairs, including ending Isaac's predilection for personally leading campaigns. Like
Kastamonites, he was particularly successful in excluding the court and the nobility from power. As a result,
216:
Mesopotamites' position was now supreme. As
Choniates writes, he endeavoured to hold "the church in his left hand and the palace with his right". His new ecclesiastic duties requiring him to leave the emperor's presence, he tried to secure his place by installing his two brothers in the palace to
195:
Unable to attack him directly, in summer 1196 Kamateros and
Kontostephanos accused the empress of infidelity with a certain Vatatzes, an adopted son of Alexios III. The emperor ordered Vatatzes executed, and two months later the empress was banished to a monastery at Nematarea. Her exile proved
212:
himself performing the ceremony. In addition, Mesopotamites was granted precedence among all other deacons, and a special dispensation was given for
Mesopotamites to continue serving in the civil administration, as this was not normally allowed to ecclesiastics.
192:, lost power, while Mesopotamites became in Alexios' eyes "the horn of plenty, the mixing-bowl of virtues". Choniates' account suggests that he was indeed successful in improving administration during his renewed ascendancy.
185:
230:, Mesopotamites' main rival due to his rampant corruption and embezzlement of public funds, they persuaded Alexios to dismiss him from all civil offices. His brothers were dismissed as well, and his post of
175:
Among the first acts of the new emperor was the dismissal of
Mesopotamites, but as the new regime quickly degenerated into a wholesale plundering of the state coffers and the open sale of offices, Empress
217:
keep his rivals away from
Alexios. However, as Choniates points out, he had now risen so high that he could only fall. Shortly after his elevation to the deaconate, he was promoted further to
296:, it appears that they had a close relationship, and that Mesopotamites was one of Choniates' sources for his historical work. Indeed, Mesopotamites was the owner of Choniates'
221:. Mesopotamites left Constantinople for Thessalonica only long enough for his consecration there, but his enemies at court seized the chance offered by his absence. Led by the
1252:
992:
1373:
1338:
1070:
184:, Mesopotamites soon enjoyed as dominant a position under Alexios as he had under Isaac: the aristocratic courtiers, including the emperor's son-in-law
827:
292:
Mesopotamites also maintained a correspondence with
Choniates after 1204. From their letters as well as the mentions of Mesopotamites in Choniates'
1368:
114:
in order to ratify the treaty, however, it was discovered that he had overstepped his brief, leading to a temporary collapse in negotiations.
155:
he was greatly hated by the aristocracy, who plotted against Isaac. In the event, this resentment found an outlet in Isaac's elder brother,
1363:
269:
in 1224. When
Theodore requested to be crowned emperor, however, Mesopotamites refused, out of loyalty to the exiled Patriarchate in the
159:(r. 1195–1203), who in April 1195 with the support of the aristocracy seized the throne while Isaac was hunting. Isaac was captured and
1343:
160:
1333:
820:
796:
775:
730:
126:
refers to him derisively as a "small boy less than a year after he had put down pen and ink "—he was chosen by
Emperor
1348:
754:
663:
1183:
813:
304:, which explains why he is rarely mentioned by name, and why the harsh criticism of the later versions is missing.
1238:
1200:
180:
intervened with her husband and secured his reinstatement, probably in late 1195. Returning to his old office of
79:
as emperor, and departed his see again in self-exile. He was also a colleague and correspondent of the historian
99:) or some place called Mesopotamia. One of his early assignments in the public service was as ambassador to the
1263:
745:
709:
1279:
1358:
1353:
177:
1163:
1140:
1090:
1038:
836:
218:
110:, to negotiate a treaty. When Mesopotamites returned with his Genoese counterpart, Simone Bufferio, to
91:
Constantine's family, the Mesopotamitai, appeared in the late 11th century, and originated either from
47:
1065:
262:
1271:
910:
266:
76:
148:
65:
1132:
282:
189:
969:
964:
286:
138:
318:
316:
959:
278:
8:
313:
274:
258:
156:
43:
1116:
235:
143:
792:
771:
750:
740:
726:
705:
688:
680:
659:
227:
209:
123:
100:
80:
1111:
1018:
270:
127:
39:
1106:
1098:
786:
765:
720:
653:
1124:
239:
111:
72:
23:
1327:
692:
141:, when the latter suffered a stroke and died soon after. Holding the rank of
69:
805:
273:, and left his see in self-exile. Theodore was eventually crowned by the
164:
92:
674:
200:
insufficient, and sought to be elevated from the ecclesiastical rank of
223:
875:
31:
250:
During his exile, he was captured by pirates before finding refuge (
606:
265:. He was restored to his see after Thessalonica was recovered by
96:
684:
205:
201:
122:
In 1193, despite his extreme youth—his colleague and historian
722:
Byzantine Empresses: Women and Power in Byzantium AD 527–1204
655:
Church and Society in Byzantium under the Comneni, 1081-1261
630:
543:
531:
490:
64:, but was in exile between 1204 and 1224, when the city was
584:
582:
400:
376:
466:
618:
444:
442:
594:
579:
519:
478:
454:
328:
83:, and may have commissioned some of the latter's works.
509:
507:
505:
429:
427:
412:
388:
340:
300:
and the apparent recipient of the early version of his
679:. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
555:
439:
567:
352:
46:
from 1193 until his fall in summer 1197. He was also
502:
424:
137:) to succeed his maternal uncle and chief minister,
364:
163:, being confined thereafter in a palace near the
1325:
767:O City of Byzantium: Annals of Niketas Choniatēs
749:. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.
702:The Byzantine Empire of Thessaloniki (1224–1242)
285:following Theodore's defeat and capture at the
821:
704:. Thessaloniki: Thessaloniki History Center.
788:Niketas Choniates: A Historiographical Study
1374:13th-century Byzantine government officials
1339:12th-century Byzantine government officials
835:
170:
75:. Restored to his see, he refused to crown
828:
814:
699:
624:
612:
770:. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
763:
658:. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
549:
537:
525:
496:
382:
346:
325:, "Mesopotamites" (A. Kazhdan), p. 1349.
117:
784:
718:
676:Byzantium Confronts the West, 1180–1204
636:
600:
588:
561:
472:
448:
1326:
651:
573:
1369:13th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops
809:
672:
513:
484:
460:
433:
418:
406:
394:
370:
358:
334:
16:Byzantine official from 1193 to 1197
1364:People from the Despotate of Epirus
208:. This was granted, with Patriarch
13:
746:The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium
38:chief minister under the emperors
14:
1385:
1344:Byzantine bishops of Thessalonica
764:Magoulias, Harry J., ed. (1984).
739:
322:
132:
1:
1334:12th-century Byzantine people
1052:Constantine III Mesopotamites
1044:Constantine III Mesopotamites
700:Bredenkamp, François (1996).
307:
251:
245:
104:
58:
51:
178:Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera
7:
791:. Oxford University Press.
10:
1390:
1253:Joseph III the Hieromartyr
1039:Eustathius of Thessalonica
673:Brand, Charles M. (1968).
645:
219:archbishop of Thessalonica
48:archbishop of Thessalonica
28:Κωνσταντῖνος Μεσοποταμίτης
843:
263:Michael I Komnenos Doukas
261:that had been founded by
188:and the empress' brother
186:Andronikos Kontostephanos
27:
20:Constantine Mesopotamites
1349:Eastern Orthodox deacons
911:Eusebius of Thessalonica
785:Simpson, Alicia (2013).
652:Angold, Michael (2000).
615:, pp. 160, 290–291.
267:Theodore Komnenos Doukas
171:Career under Alexios III
77:Theodore Komnenos Doukas
1171:Joasaph II Argyropoulos
993:Basil III the Confessor
837:Bishops of Thessalonica
719:Garland, Linda (1999).
409:, pp. 99, 110–111.
149:Nikephoros Chrysoberges
86:
1133:Symeon of Thessalonica
989:John IV the Thessalian
283:Empire of Thessalonica
970:Anthony the Confessor
639:, pp. 33–34, 75.
287:Battle of Klokotnitsa
139:Theodore Kastamonites
118:Career under Isaac II
1062:Michael II Palatanos
960:Joseph the Confessor
935:Under Constantinople
337:, pp. 100, 209.
279:Demetrios Chomatenos
1359:13th-century deaths
1354:12th-century births
1107:Gregory III Palamas
965:Leo the Philosopher
552:, pp. 270–271.
540:, pp. 269–270.
499:, pp. 268–269.
487:, pp. 145–146.
475:, pp. 215–216.
463:, pp. 144–145.
421:, pp. 111–113.
397:, pp. 99, 114.
385:, pp. 241–242.
275:Archbishop of Ohrid
157:Alexios III Angelos
44:Alexios III Angelos
1117:Nicholas Kabasilas
1071:Joannicius Kydones
741:Kazhdan, Alexander
236:Theodore Eirenikos
232:epi tou kanikleiou
198:epi tou kanikleiou
182:epi tou kanikleiou
144:epi tou kanikleiou
1321:
1320:
1035:Basil IV of Ohrid
798:978-0-19-967071-0
777:978-0-8143-1764-8
732:978-0-415-14688-3
603:, pp. 33–34.
591:, pp. 32–33.
361:, pp. 98–99.
228:Michael Stryphnos
210:George Xiphilinos
124:Niketas Choniates
101:Republic of Genoa
81:Niketas Choniates
1381:
1112:Neilos Kabasilas
830:
823:
816:
807:
806:
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696:
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298:Dogmatic Panoply
271:Empire of Nicaea
256:
253:
136:
135: 1185–1195
134:
128:Isaac II Angelos
109:
106:
63:
60:
56:
53:
40:Isaac II Angelos
29:
1389:
1388:
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1317:
839:
834:
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648:
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631:
625:Bredenkamp 1996
623:
619:
613:Bredenkamp 1996
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259:state of Epirus
254:
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190:Basil Kamateros
173:
131:
120:
107:
89:
61:
54:
30:) was a senior
17:
12:
11:
5:
1387:
1377:
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1361:
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1351:
1346:
1341:
1336:
1319:
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1316:
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1312:
1311:Panteleimon II
1309:
1306:
1303:
1300:
1297:
1294:
1291:
1288:
1285:
1284:Callinicus III
1282:
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1054:
1049:
1046:
1041:
1036:
1033:
1030:
1027:
1026:Constantine II
1024:
1021:
1016:
1015:Constantine II
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1010:
1007:
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984:
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743:, ed. (1991).
737:
731:
716:
710:
697:
670:
664:
647:
644:
642:
641:
629:
627:, p. 202.
617:
605:
593:
578:
576:, p. 196.
566:
564:, p. 217.
554:
550:Magoulias 1984
542:
538:Magoulias 1984
530:
528:, p. 269.
526:Magoulias 1984
518:
516:, p. 146.
501:
497:Magoulias 1984
489:
477:
465:
453:
451:, p. 215.
438:
436:, p. 144.
423:
411:
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387:
383:Magoulias 1984
375:
363:
351:
349:, p. 241.
347:Magoulias 1984
339:
327:
311:
309:
306:
247:
244:
240:Fourth Crusade
172:
169:
119:
116:
112:Constantinople
88:
85:
34:official, and
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1386:
1375:
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1345:
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1340:
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1329:
1313:
1310:
1307:
1305:Panteleimon I
1304:
1301:
1298:
1295:
1293:Athanasius II
1292:
1290:Sophronius II
1289:
1286:
1283:
1281:
1278:
1275:
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1272:Callinicus II
1270:
1267:
1265:
1262:
1259:
1256:
1254:
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1248:
1245:
1243:Damascenus II
1242:
1240:
1239:Theodosius II
1237:
1234:
1231:
1228:
1225:
1222:
1219:
1216:
1213:
1210:
1207:
1205:Anastasius II
1204:
1202:
1199:
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1193:
1190:
1187:
1185:
1182:
1179:
1176:
1173:
1170:
1167:
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1162:
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1154:Gregory-David
1153:
1151:Theophanes II
1150:
1147:
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1128:
1126:
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1120:
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949:
946:
943:
941:Constantine I
940:
939:
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926:
923:
920:
917:
914:
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756:0-19-504652-8
752:
748:
747:
742:
738:
734:
728:
725:. Routledge.
724:
723:
717:
713:
707:
703:
698:
694:
690:
686:
682:
678:
677:
671:
667:
665:0-521-26986-5
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396:
391:
384:
379:
373:, p. 99.
372:
367:
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348:
343:
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84:
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49:
45:
41:
37:
33:
25:
21:
1296:Alexander II
1276:Neophytus II
1260:Macarius III
1191:Callinicus I
1188:Damascenus I
1184:Athanasius I
1174:Sophronius I
1121:Dorotheus II
1051:
1043:
1006:Theophanes I
934:
933:
907:Theodosius I
886:Anastasius I
845:
787:
766:
744:
721:
701:
675:
654:
637:Simpson 2013
632:
620:
608:
601:Simpson 2013
596:
589:Simpson 2013
569:
562:Garland 1999
557:
545:
533:
521:
492:
480:
473:Garland 1999
468:
456:
449:Garland 1999
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249:
231:
222:
215:
197:
194:
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174:
153:
142:
121:
90:
35:
19:
18:
1280:Joachim III
1264:Meletius II
1235:Neophytus I
1229:Gabriel III
1220:Ignatius II
1214:Ignatius II
1160:Metrophanes
1145:Macarius II
1137:Gregory III
1099:Ignatius II
1087:Euphemianus
1056:Nicetas III
1048:Chrysanthus
895:Dorotheus I
860:Alexander I
574:Angold 2000
165:Golden Horn
108: 1189
95:(in modern
93:Mesopotamos
62: 1227
55: 1197
1328:Categories
1299:Joachim IV
1287:Gregory IV
1257:Matthew II
1226:Joachim II
1208:Meletius I
1194:Theocletus
1180:Parthenius
1164:Gabriel II
1125:Isidore II
1103:Macarius I
1095:Gregory II
1078:Ignatius I
1023:Nicetas II
1009:Prometheus
953:Theophilus
947:Anastasius
854:Nicholas I
846:Under Rome
711:9608433177
514:Brand 1968
485:Brand 1968
461:Brand 1968
434:Brand 1968
419:Brand 1968
407:Brand 1968
395:Brand 1968
371:Brand 1968
359:Brand 1968
335:Brand 1968
308:References
246:Later life
224:megas doux
1302:Gennadius
1268:Ieronymus
1249:Gerasimus
1246:James III
1211:Methodius
1201:Dionysius
1197:Joachim I
1168:Matthew I
1157:Joasaph I
1129:Gabriel I
1075:Demetrius
1059:Joseph II
1019:Michael I
1012:Theodulus
1003:Nicetas I
1000:Isidore I
997:Anatolius
986:Methodius
983:Gregory I
904:Thalaleus
898:Aristides
889:Auxitheus
876:Ascholius
693:795121713
257:) in the
242:in 1204.
73:Crusaders
32:Byzantine
1314:Anthimos
1308:Leonidas
1232:Spyridon
1217:James II
977:Theodore
974:Basil II
927:John III
918:Plotinus
872:Paulinus
857:Artemius
685:67-20872
234:went to
66:occupied
36:de facto
1223:Ananias
1177:Zosimas
1148:Theonas
1141:Nephon
1032:Romanus
980:Paul II
950:Basil I
930:Sergius
921:John II
915:John II
880:Anysius
869:Irenius
646:Sources
302:History
294:History
161:blinded
97:Albania
1091:John V
1084:Jeremy
1066:Manuel
956:Thomas
924:Paul I
892:Andrew
866:Aetius
863:John I
795:
774:
753:
729:
708:
691:
683:
662:
206:deacon
202:lector
57:until
1081:James
944:Peter
901:Elias
883:Rufus
851:Gaius
70:Latin
50:from
24:Greek
793:ISBN
772:ISBN
751:ISBN
727:ISBN
706:ISBN
689:OCLC
681:LCCN
660:ISBN
87:Life
42:and
1029:Leo
323:ODB
204:to
103:in
68:by
1330::
937::
848::
687:.
581:^
504:^
441:^
426:^
315:^
289:.
277:,
252:c.
167:.
151:.
133:r.
105:c.
59:c.
52:c.
26::
829:e
822:t
815:v
801:.
780:.
759:.
735:.
714:.
695:.
668:.
130:(
22:(
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