FINLAY'S HISTORY OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE

BOOK THIRD FOURTH.CHAPTER I

SECTION II

REIGN OF JOHN III. (DUKAS VATATZES), 1222-1254.

Theodore I left no son. It was, therefore, necessary to elect a new emperor; for though the feeling in favour of hereditary succession was gaining ground among the Greeks, still the constitution of the empire recognized no rule of succession which would create a positive title to the crown without some form of election. The eminent qualities of John Dukas Vatatzes, who married Irene, the eldest daughter of Theodore I, after her first husband, Andronicus Paleologos, had been put to death by the Emperor Henry, united the suffrages of the civil and military authorities as well as the clergy in his favour; and though the late emperor left four brothers who had served with distinction in the army, John III was saluted emperor without any opposition. But his coronation excited the jealousy of Alexis and Isaac Lascaris to such a degree that they not only retired from Nicaea, but even attempted to carry off their niece Eudocia, who had been promised to the Latin emperor Robert. Failing in this attempt, they deserted to the Latins, and distinguished themselves at the court of Constantinople by their eagerness to commence hostilities against their countrymen.

The military power of the Latin empire was constantly declining. The army which effected its conquest was soon dispersed over its surface with the feudal chiefs among whom it had been partitioned, or its warriors proceeded to Palestine to complete their vows, in order to return to their hereditary possessions in their native lands. No Latin army of equal strength could ever again be assembled under the walls of Constantinople. Nevertheless, for a short time, the reports which spread through western Europe of the immense plunder and rich fiefs which the conquerors of the Byzantine empire had acquired, attracted an ample supply of fresh recruits to the East. But in a few years, defeats and misfortunes on one side, and the improving condition of European society on the other, arrested emigration. The prudence and valour of the Emperor Henry could with difficulty efface the impression produced by the terrible and romantic tales that were circulated concerning the murder of Baldwin by the King of Bulgaria; and before the melancholy end of the first Belgian emperor was forgotten, men were appalled by the news that his brother-in-law, Peter of Courtenay, the third emperor, had perished by a similar untimely end. In attempting to march from Dyrrachium to Constantinople, Peter of Courtenay was defeated and taken prisoner by Theodore, the despot of Epirus, and for some time his fate was shrouded in the same mystery as that of Baldwin. The world was long unwilling to believe that both the imperial brothers-in-law had perished in prison. Yolande, the wife of Peter, who had administered the government of Constantinople as regent with great prudence, did not long survive her husband; and Robert, the second son of Peter, who succeeded to the throne of the Latin empire, was a weak and incapable prince. The kingdom of Saloniki was governed by an Italian regency, acting in the name of Demetrius, the second son of the king, Marquess Boniface of Montferrat. It was soon evident that neither the empire nor the kingdom could resist the attacks of the Greeks, Epirots, and Bulgarians, without assistance from western Europe. The solicitations for aid were generally addressed to the popes, who possessed the power of rendering the contest a holy war, by granting indulgences to every Catholic who attacked the Greek heretics. The popes consequently became the arbiters of the Latin empire, and supported its cause with fervour. As a matter of course, they regarded the Greeks as more dangerous enemies of papal influence than the Mohammedans. Pope Honorius III was so eager to establish the predominance of the Latins in the East (as it appeared to him the only means of placing the supremacy of the popes on a firm foundation), that he invited the princes of Europe to undertake a crusade, for the purpose of delivering Peter of Courtenay from captivity. The threat of a crusade was then no idle menace, and Theodore, the despot of Epirus, employed every art to pacify Honorius, and turn aside the storm. He released the papal legate, who had fallen into his hands with the Emperor Peter, with the most solemn assurances that he was willing to acknowledge the supremacy of the Pope, and to labour to convert his subjects. The legate, who informed the Pope that Peter of Courtenay was really dead, appears to have convinced the Court of Rome that there was little chance of compelling the Greeks and Albanians to change their religion by force. The wily despot persuaded both the legate and the Pope of his sincere desire to join the Catholic Church; and Honorius, hoping to gain a new and powerful vassal, began to forbid the crusade he had lately preached. He prohibited the Venetians from attacking the territories of Theodore under pain of excommunication. The fate of Peter of Courtenay, who died of grief and ill-usage in the prisons of the despot, was no longer mentioned. The republic of Venice concluded a truce for five years with Theodore. Goffrey, prince of Achaia, and Otho, sovereign of Athens, quarrelled with the Pope, and incurred excommunication by appropriating to their own use a portion of the estates of the Greek church which were claimed by the papal clergy, and the confederacy against the Greeks was completely broken up.

This change in the affairs of the Latins rendered it unnecessary for Theodore to persevere in his hypocritical negotiations. He invaded the kingdom of Saloniki, and soon conquered it, for the officers of the young King Demetrius possessed no army capable of resisting his attack. The Pope, enraged at finding he had been used as a political tool by the cunning Greek, fulminated his excommunications against Theodore; but as Honorius had himself dissolved the confederation of the Latin powers, the despot laughed at the thunders of the Vatican. The success of Theodore now opened to him a more extensive field of ambition. He aspired at the honour of restoring the Greek empire in Europe, and declared himself the rival of the Emperor of Nicaea by assuming the imperial crown at Thessalonica, which was placed on his head by the Patriarch of Bulgaria, who, as he possessed an independent ecclesiastical jurisdiction, had the power of anointing sovereigns, (a.C. 1222.)

Fortunately for the Greeks, the temporal policy of the Court of Rome often placed the popes in direct opposition to the interests of the Latin princes, nobles, and proprietors, who had settled in the Eastern Empire, and thus all its endeavours to gain the same degree of power in the East which it enjoyed in the West proved vain. At this time, however, the hope of compelling the Greeks to acknowledge the papal supremacy by force of arms was strong; and Honorius III exerted himself with so much vigour to furnish the emperor, Robert of Courtenay, with troops and money, that a considerable army accompanied the young emperor to Constantinople. Theodore I was still emperor of Nicaea when Robert arrived in the East; but, as has been already mentioned, the Latin and Greek emperors concluded a treaty of peace, which enabled Robert to employ all his forces against Theodore of Epirus, whose rapid progress alarmed the Latins. The armies of Constantinople and Epirus met before the walls of Serres. The Latins were defeated in their attempt to take the city; their generals, Valincourt, and Mainvaut, the marshal of Romania, were both taken prisoners during their retreat; and the Emperor of Thessalonica was enabled to pursue his conquests and organize his new dominions without opposition.

Such was the state of affairs at the commencement of the reign of John III. The warlike Latins soon reassembled a force which they considered sufficient to protect the immediate domain of the Emperor of Constantinople from any encroachment on the part of Theodore of Thessalonica; and as they were eager to increase their territories and gain new fiefs, the Emperor of Nicaea felt that his dominions offered too many assailable points for the peace concluded by his predecessor to be of long duration. John III, therefore, devoted his attention to preparing for war without imposing any additional burdens on his subjects. All the Greeks felt that, unless the Latins were expelled from Constantinople, there could be no permanent peace; and it was now evident that if any other orthodox prince gained possession of the imperial city, the Emperor of Nicaea would be unable to maintain his position as the political head of the Greek nation. While John III increased the numbers and improved the discipline of his army, he attached his subjects to his government by the economy he introduced into the financial administration, and by his strict attention to the administration of justice.

The Emperor Robert at last declared war; and the Latins invaded the territory of Nicaea, where they found John III prepared to receive them. Their army debarked at Lampsacus. It was commanded by St Menehould, who was assisted by the two Lascaris. A decisive battle was fought near Poimanenos, in which the victory was well contested. St Menehould was one of the first conquerors of Constantinople, and the Latin knights had hitherto proved victorious wherever they could manfully assert the prowess of the lance. But the Greek emperor was a skillful general as well as a valiant soldier; and when his cavalry yielded to the shock of the Frank chivalry, he rallied them, and renewed the combat by a series of well-combined attacks, which at length broke the line of his enemies. The cavalry, once broken, was in destroying the rest of the army. St Menehould, and many noble knights, perished on the field; the two Lascaris were taken prisoners, and lost their sight as a punishment for their treason. John III followed up his victory with indefatigable energy. During the winter of 1224 he captured Poimanenos, Lentianes, Charioros, Veerveniakon, and every other fortress the Latins possessed on the Asiatic side of the Hellespont, except Peges. He sent a part of his army into Europe to lay waste the country round Madytos and Callipolis, while his fleet expelled the Latins from the island of Lesbos.

These successes roused the Greeks of Adrianople to attempt delivering themselves from the Latin domination. They solicited aid from John III; and as soon as a body of Greek troops approached their neighbourhood they flew to arms and expelled the Frank garrison. But Theodore, emperor of Thessalonica, advancing shortly after to Didymoteichos, placed himself between Adrianople and the empire of Nicaea, and effectually cut off the troops of John III from receiving any reinforcements. Theodore was eager to gain possession of Adrianople, as an important step to the conquest of Constantinople, and to securing his ultimate supremacy as orthodox Emperor of the East. By means of bribes and promises he persuaded the leading men in Adrianople to espouse his cause, for he really seemed better able to defend them against the Bulgarians on one side, and the Latins on the other, than the Emperor of Nicaea, whose resources were far distant. The general of John III, unable to resist the army of Theodore and the wishes of the inhabitants, agreed to evacuate the place on being allowed to march out with the honours of war. The Emperor of Thessalonica attempted to take advantage of the retreat of the troops of Nicaea to arrogate a superiority to which he was not entitled. He ordered the garrison, in marching out of Adrianople, to defile before him, and placed himself, with the imperial ensigns, to receive their salute. But John Kamytzes, the Nicaean general, was a man of sense and firmness, and when he rode past the rival of his sovereign he affected to watch the proceedings of his own troops, and never turned his head to regard Theodore. The Epirot emperor was furious at the slight, and lost all command of his temper. At first he was with difficulty withheld from arresting, and even from striking Kamytzes, but he afterwards allowed him to continue his march. The Emperor John rewarded the cool intrepidity of his general by appointing Kamytzes Grand Heteriarch. Though the possession of Adrianople enabled Theodore to lay waste the Latin territory as far as Bizya, he was unable to make any attempt on Constantinople. In the year 1230 his restless ambition involved him in war with John Asan, king of Bulgaria, by whom he was defeated and taken prisoner. Engaging in a conspiracy, he was punished by his conqueror with the loss of sight. In the meantime, the King of Bulgaria had conquered a considerable number of the cities which Theodore had governed. He gained possession of Didymoteichos, Boleros, Serres, Pelagonia, and Prilapos, and extended his conquests as far as Albanopolis to the west, and to the frontier of Great Vlachia to the south.

The Franks, finding that their possessions in the vicinity of Constantinople were ravaged by the troops of Theodore, became anxious to conclude peace with the Emperor of Nicaea, in order to concentrate all their forces for their defence; and John III, displeased at the insolent and hostile disposition which the Emperor 1of Thessalonica had displayed in the affair of Adrianople, was willing that the Latins and Theodore should exhaust their strength, while he remained a calm spectator of their contest. The terms of peace were soon arranged; the Latins withdrew their garrison from Peges, which they surrendered to the Greek emperor, and they retained possession of no spot on the Asiatic coast, except the peninsula opposite Constantinople as far as Nicomedia, (a.C. 1225). This peace was observed by both parties for several years—1225 to 1233.

The aristocratic element of Greek society was as little inclined to respect political order and established law, while living in exile in the petty empire of Nicaea, as the proud Byzantine nobles, who boasted a Roman or Armenian origin, had ever been to weigh the interests of the people against their own schemes of personal ambition during the period of their greatest power and splendour at Constantinople. The throne of John III, and all his schemes for the improvement of the Greek empire, were at this time placed in considerable danger by a conspiracy of his own cousin, Andronicus Nestongos, who engaged many men of rank in a plot to place the crown on his own head. The conspiracy was fortunately discovered, and the traitors were punished. Nestongos escaped from confinement, and passed the remainder of his life among the Seljouk Turks. The emperor, having established order and insured submission at court, pursued his plans for improving the condition of his subjects and augmenting the efficiency of his military establishments with steady perseverance for several years. In his civil government, and especially in strengthening the moral influence of the imperial authority over every rank of society, he was assisted by the great talents and singular prudence of his wife, the Empress Irene, whose authority was the greater in consequence of her never laying aside her modest domestic manner of life, or appearing eager to exert political influence.

In the year 1233, John III was engaged in hostilities with a rebellious subject, in order to secure his dominion over Rhodes. The government of that rich island was held by Leo Gavalas, whom John III had honoured with the rank of Caesar. Gavalas raised the standard of revolt, and a number of the emperor’s bravest troops were slain in civil war before the rebel could be compelled even to acknowledge the imperial supremacy; and peace was not re-established until John consented to confirm Gavalas in the government of the island, a command he retained until his death. The authority of the central administration of the Greek empire being no longer systematically exerted to protect and advance the material interests of the population at a distance from the capital, a general tendency towards local independence began to be formed in the outlying provincial communities in the empires of Nicaea, Thessalonica, and Trebizond, which was in some degree strengthened by the principles of feudal society, which the great vassals of the Latin empire of Romania introduced among their Greek subjects. The decline in the numbers, wealth, and intelligence of the middle classes, which followed the ruin of intercommunications and the decay of commerce, enabled the aristocracy to turn this tendency of society to their own exclusive profit. Examples of aristocratic rapacity become gradually more and more prominent as one of the evils that demoralized Greek society. The history of Rhodes illustrates these observations. The brother of Gavalas succeeded to his power as if it had been a family inheritance; and though he only pretended to act as the emperor's representative, John was compelled to confirm him in his vice-royalty to avoid recommencing a civil war.

RELATIONS WITH THE LATINS, A.D. 1229-1233. 

The Emperor Robert of Courtenay died in the Peloponnesus in the year 1228, as he was returning from Rome, which he had visited to solicit succours from the Pope. His brother, Baldwin II, who was only eleven years of age, was recognized as his successor; but the exigencies of the administration required a chief capable of directing the counsels and leading the armies of the empire. John de Brienne, titular king of Jerusalem, and commander-in-chief of the papal army, was supposed by all having an interest in the prosperity of the Latin empire to be a man capable of restoring its glory and re-establishing its power. He was elected the guardian and colleague of Baldwin II, and crowned emperor for life. A treaty was concluded between John de Brienne and the ambassadors of Romania, in which it was stipulated that the young emperor, Baldwin II, was to marry Agnes, the daughter of his guardian; and that, on his attaining the age of twenty, he was to be invested with the sovereignty of Nicaea, and the Latin possessions in Asia beyond Nicomedia as an independent kingdom. After the death of John de Brienne, the empire reverted to Baldwin as his hereditary dominion. This treaty was confirmed by the Pope, Gregory IX, at Perugia in 1229; but John de Brienne was detained in Italy for two years before he could collect a sufficient force to visit his empire. During this time the regency was directed by Narjot de Toucy.

The treaty of Perugia, which disposed of the empire Nicaea as a Latin possession, was an insult which policy induced the Emperor John III to overlook; but he feared that a vigorous attack on the Latin empire might enable Theodore, emperor of Thessalonica, or John Asan, king of Bulgaria, to gain possession of Constantinople before he could prevent them. The war which broke out between these two princes in the following year, 1230, delivered him from this danger, yet he was still willing to gain time; and when John de Brienne arrived at Constantinople in 1231, he entered into negotiations for a union of the Greek and Latin Churches, which was conducted with wisdom and moderation on the part of the Greek Patriarch, Germanos Nauplios, but was rendered abortive by the servile submission required by the Papal Court. In the month of April 1233 the Emperor of Nicaea assembled a council of the Greek church at Nymphaeum, in which, as usual, nothing could be determined. The negotiations were broken off, and the Latin emperor invaded the Greek territory, expecting to profit by the rebellion of Gavalas in Rhodes. A powerful army landed at Lampsacus; and the Greek emperor, having formed a fortified camp at Sigrenes, watched the operations of his enemy, and circumscribed his movements. John de Brienne was now upwards of eighty years of age, his military reputation stood high, and his force was superior to that of his opponent; but age rendered him inactive. All his plans of conquest were foiled by the superior tactics of the Greek emperor; and a four months’ campaign was terminated by the Latins gaining possession of Keramidi, a fort near Cyzicus, and by their recovering Peges.

Alarm at the number of the recruits who about this time arrived at Constantinople from western Europe, induced the Emperor of Nicaea and the King of Bulgaria to form a close alliance. Theodore, the son of John III, who was only eleven years of age, was betrothed to Helen, the daughter of John Asan, who was in her ninth year; and the young princess was committed to the charge of the Empress Irene to be educated. The two sovereigns prosecuted the war in concert. The emperor took Lampsacus, crossed the Hellespont, and captured Gallipolis, and all the cities of the Thracian Chersonesus. He then extended his conquests to the westward as far as the Hebrus, and to the north as far as Tzurulos, which he secured by a strong garrison. The king pushed his incursions almost to the very walls of Constantinople, and ravaged the possessions of the Latin seigneurs. The united armies even approached the imperial city; and if we believe the Latin writers, they suffered severely from a well-arranged sortie led by John de Brienne in person. About the same time the Greeks sustained a defeat at sea, a.C. 1235. In the following year, Constantinople was relieved from all danger by the succours it received from the Venetians and from Goffrey, prince of Achaia. But the death of John de Brienne in 1237, and the absence of the young Emperor Baldwin II, who was wandering about to solicit aid from the Catholic princes, placed Constantinople suddenly in such danger of falling into the hands of the Emperor of Nicaea, that the King of Bulgaria resolved to prolong the existence of an empire from which he had now nothing to fear. He suddenly concluded a separate peace, and formed an alliance with the Latins. Sound policy certainly required John Asan at this moment to keep all his forces ready for action on his northern frontier. The conquests of Genghis Khan and his sons alarmed all the princes of the East with reasonable apprehension of calamity, though the ignorance of the Latins prevented the nations of western Europe from perceiving the greatness of the danger which then threatened the whole civilized world. From the shores of the Atlantic to the Chinese seas, every country seemed on the eve of being reduced to serve as pasture-grounds for tribes of nomads, and hunting-fields for Mogul princes.

About the time John Asan abandoned the Greek alliance, the Romans were driven over the Danube by the Moguls who had invaded Russia. The King of Bulgaria allowed these fugitives to pass through his dominions in order to enter the service of the Latin empire, and joined them in attacking the Greek possessions in Thrace. John III had now to defend his recent conquests against an overwhelming force composed of the heavy cavalry of the Franks, the light horse of the Romans, and the organized infantry of the Bulgarians. The united army besieged Tzurulos, which was bravely defended by Nicephorus Tarchaniotes. It was saved by John Asan receiving the news of the sudden death of his wife and son. This double misfortune presented itself to his mind as a judgment of Heaven for violating his faith with the Greek emperor. He withdrew his army, hastened back to Bulgaria, a. d. broke off his alliance with the Latins, and renewed his treaty with John III.

AFFAIRS OF THESSALONICA.

The death of Asan’s wife produced important changes in the government of the Greeks in Macedonia. John Asan married Irene, the daughter of his prisoner Theodore, emperor of Thessalonica, whom he had deprived of sight for his plots. He now released her father. Theodore repaired secretly to Thessalonica, from which he soon contrived to expel his brother Manuel, who had usurped the imperial title; and he then caused his own son John to be elected emperor, for the loss of his sight rendered it impossible for him to direct the details of the administration. Manuel escaped to Attalia, and visited the court of Nicaea. The Emperor John III furnished him with a naval force of six galleys, and money to enrol troops; for he feared the restless ambition of Theodore, and was anxious to find employment for him at home. Manuel landed at Demetrias, and rendered himself master of the country from Pharsalus and Larissa to Platamona. A third brother, named Constantine, had already gained possession of that part of Thessaly called Great Vlachia. The blind Theodore, who guided the counsels of his son John, the Emperor of Thessalonica, immediately entered into communications with his brothers, and convinced them of the necessity of forming a close family alliance, in order to preserve their independence. Manuel abandoned the cause of John III, and the three brothers, with the Emperor of Thessalonica, concluded a treaty for mutual defence and offence with the Latin princes of Athens, Euboea, and Achaia. John III was too much occupied with other affairs to bestow particular attention on these hostile demonstrations at the time, (a.C. 1238).

The wealth, resources, and population of the Latin empire of Constantinople were now rapidly declining. No taxes could be levied, for the Greeks, who had cultivated the fields and acted as traders in the towns, finding their pursuits interrupted by hostile invasions, had emigrated into the empire of Nicaea, which enjoyed uninterrupted internal tranquillity. The Latin government was reduced to such financial difficulties that it was obliged to strip the copper roofs from the public buildings, and melt down every ornament of bronze that remained in Constantinople, in order to coin money. The precious metals were borrowed from the churches, and the relics of the saints were pledged or sold. Still the supplies of warriors, whom the influence of the Pope diverted from the legitimate object of the Crusades, which was to recover possession of the Holy Sepulchre, in order to war against the Greek heretics, often rendered the armies of the Latins for a time superior to any force the Emperor of Nicaea could bring into the field. The zeal of Pope Gregory IX, and the pecuniary assistance furnished by Louis IX of France, enabled Baldwin II to return to Constantinople in the year 1239 at the head of a considerable army, which the Greeks magnified to sixty thousand men. This force he increased by engaging in his service the whole military population of the Roman tribes who had settled within the limits of the Latin territory.

Baldwin II opened the campaign of 1240 by besieging Tzurulos, which was compelled to surrender at discretion. The governor Petraliphas and the garrison were carried to Constantinople, in order to raise money by the ransom of those who had wealth or wealthy friends. The Greek emperor, unable to relieve Tzurulos, attacked the Latin possessions between Nicomedia and the Bosphorus, and took Charax and Dakibyza; so that nothing was left them in Asia except Chalcedon, Skutarion, the shores of the Bosphorus, and Daskyllium. After the end of this campaign the Latin auxiliaries, being left without regular pay, soon retired from Constantinople; and John Asan, king of Bulgaria, dying in the following year (1241), the Emperor of Nicaea considered it most advantageous for his political interests to establish his supremacy over Thessalonica.

John, emperor of Thessalonica, was a pious and just prince, not destitute of ability, but submitting entirely to the guidance of his father, the unquiet and ambitious Theodore. Manuel was already dead, and his dominions were occupied by Michael, son of Michael, the elder brother of Theodore, and founder of the despotat of Epirus. The Emperor of Nicaea felt that his title to the sovereignty of the Eastern Empire would not be recognized by the European Greeks until he gained possession of Thessalonica, and he knew that this would prove a difficult task as long as the various princes of the house of Angelos Comnenos maintained a strict alliance. His first step, in preparing for war, was to gain over the Roman light cavalry, as, by commanding a considerable extent of country round his army, they secured him from surprise, and enabled him to conceal his movements. He found the Roman cavalry so useful in Europe that he transported colonies of this people into Asia Minor, where he settled them in Phrygia, and in the valley of the Meander; but the similarity of their nomadic habits and of their language probably induced them very soon to form connections with the Seljouk Turks. To insure still further the success of his plans, John III committed one of those acts of the basest treachery which Byzantine political morality considered as a venial display of diplomatic ability. He invited the blind Theodore to visit his court for the purpose of consulting him on a common plan of action among the Greek princes against the Franks and Bulgarians; but when Theodore visited the imperial camp, he was detained as a prisoner, and the Emperor of Nicaea marched forward with his army from the shores of the Hellespont to form the siege of Thessalonica. His treachery was apparently useless, for while he was pressing the siege with every prospect of a speedy surrender, a courier arrived from his son, Theodore Lascaris, informing him that the Moguls had gained a great victory over Gaiaseddin, sultan of Iconium, and were overrunning all Asia Minor. The immediate return of the emperor with the whole army was therefore necessary to protect the Greek dominions. John III had treated his prisoner Theodore with all the honour due to his high rank, and had carefully sought to gain his goodwill. He now proposed to him the office of mediating a treaty of peace with his son. John III engaged to restore Theodore to liberty, and to raise the siege of Thessalonica, on condition that John, the son of Theodore, should lay aside the title of Emperor, but that he should retain the sovereignty of Thessalonica, with the title of Despot, on acknowledging the imperial supremacy of the throne of Nicaea as the true representative of the empire of Constantinople. These terms were accepted; for old Theodore had seen that the power of the Emperor of Nicaea was based on a well-filled treasury, a prosperous country, and a well-disciplined army, so that resistance was hopeless; while his own power was likely to remain equally great, whether his son was styled despot or emperor. As soon as the treaty was concluded, John III hastened back to Asia, where he found all the Greeks in the greatest alarm. The Moguls seemed on the eve of completing the conquest of the world. One division of their mighty army had subdued Russia and laid waste Poland and Hungary; another had now destroyed the Seljouk empire in Asia. As soon as the emperor returned to Nymphaeum, he sent to the Sultan of Iconium, who had collected some troops from the relics of his army, and the terms of an offensive and defensive alliance were arranged between the Greek and Turkish empires. John III then devoted all his energies to make the preparations necessary for resisting the overwhelming armies of the Moguls; but, fortunately for the Christians, the attention of these conquerors was at this time diverted to other enterprises.

When no further danger was to be apprehended in Asia, the Emperor of Nicaea again recommenced his conquests in Europe. The young Caloman, king of Bulgaria, died or was poisoned in the year 1245, leaving an infant brother, Michael, as his successor. John III availed himself of the opportunity to reconquer the ancient dominions of the Byzantine emperors in Thrace. Serres soon fell into his hands; the fortress of Melenikon was betrayed to him by the Greek inhabitants, and he then subdued in succession Skupes, Prosakon, and Pelagonia. About this time an opportunity presented itself of gaining possession of Thessalonica. The Despot John died in 1244, and was succeeded by his brother Demetrius, a debauched youth. His own folly, and the treachery of his counsellors, involved him in war with the emperor, who, in the year 1246, took possession of Thessalonica, and sent Demetrius a prisoner to Lentianes. In the same year while Baldwin II, the Latin emperor of Constantinople, was begging aid from the courts of France and England to enable him to attack the Greeks, John III weakened the resources of the Franks by capturing their frontier fortresses of Tzurulos and Bizya.

This career of success was interrupted by the danger of losing the valuable island of Rhodes. While John Gavalas was absent from the city on some temporary business, a Genoese fleet which happened to be cruising in the Archipelago treacherously surprised the place, though the republic of Genoa was then an ally of the Emperor of Nicaea, and enjoyed some commercial privileges in his dominions. Soon after the Genoese gained possession of Rhodes, it was visited by William, prince of Achaia, and the Duke of Burgundy, who were on their way to join the crusade of St Louis in Cyprus. These princes left one hundred knights with their followers to assist in defending the place against the Greek emperor, on condition that they were to share in the profits to be obtained by the piracy of the Genoese. The Emperor John III invested Rhodes without delay; and three hundred Asiatic cavalry having defeated the Frank knights before the walls of the city, the Genoese were compelled to surrender the place on being allowed to quit the island. The dissatisfaction of the Genoese, which led to this act of hostility, was caused by some regulations of the Emperor John III, which circumscribed the privileges conceded to the Genoese merchants by Theodore I. Though the existence of these privileges was found to be injurious to the trade of his Greek subjects, the emperor was compelled to cancel his new regulations in order to avoid the danger of being involved at the same time in war with both Genoa and Venice.

WAR WITH MICHAEL II OF EPIRUS, A.D. 1251. 

The active career of John III was drawing to a close. His last military expedition was against Michael II, despot of Epirus. This prince had concluded a treaty with the empire, and his eldest son, Nicephorus, was engaged to marry Maria, the emperor's grand-daughter. The intrigues of Michael's uncle, the blind Theodore, disturbed this arrangement. After the death of his son John, the emperor of Thessalonica, Theodore resided at Vodhena, which he had made the capital of a small semi-independent principality. He now induced Michael to break off his connection with John III, and attack the possessions of the Greek emperor in Macedonia. The emperor hastened to Thessalonica, and Theodore flying at his approach, the imperial army occupied Vodhena, and advanced to the lake of Astrovos. The army was put into winter-quarters in the plain of Sarighioli. Its supplies were drawn in great part from Berroea, and long trains of mules and camels were incessantly employed to fill the magazines formed to facilitate its future movements. In the meantime, Petraliphas, who commanded the troops of Epirus at Kastoria, deserted to the emperor, and placed him in possession of the upper valley of the Haliacmon, now called Anaselitzas, by which he was able to render himself master of the passes over Mount Pindus at Deabolis, and secure an entry into Epirus by the valley of the Apsus. The Despot Michael, seeing the heart of his dominions laid open to invasion, purchased peace by ceding to the emperor the fortress of Prilapos, which he still held, as well as Velesos and Albanopolis (Croia), with all the country he possessed north of the road between Dyrrachium and Thessalonica. Nicephorus, the despot’s eldest son, was also delivered up as a hostage, but was honoured with the title of Despot. The blind Theodore, whose restless intrigues had caused the ruin of his family and relations, was confined to a monastery for the rest of his life.

A man destined to occupy an important place in the history 0f the decline of the Greek race now makes his first appearance in the annals of the empire. The Emperor John, after passing the winter at Vodhena, spent the following summer moving about in order to establish regularity in the administration of his new conquests. While in the camp at Astrovos, Michael Paleologos, a young and distinguished officer, high in the emperor’s favour, and connected with several of the great Byzantine families, was accused of treason by Nikolas Manglabites, a noble of Melenikon. The emperor remitted the investigation of the affair until he reached Philippi. A court of inquiry, composed of the ablest judges in the senate and the courts of law, was then formed to examine the evidence produced by the accuser. Two officers of the imperial army were examined as witnesses : one declared that the other had made treasonable overtures to him on the part of Paleologos; the other admitted that he had held some conversation on the subject with the first witness, but declared that he had never communicated with Paleologos. As no further evidence could be procured, a duel was ordered. The first witness was victorious, but the vanquished persisted in denying all communication with Paleologos, even at the block where he was decapitated. The court now called on Paleologos to prove his innocence by the ordeal, and receive in his hands a red-hot globe of iron. To this proposal he replied that he was willing to meet his accuser in battle, but as he could not expect Heaven to work a miracle for a sinner like himself, he had no doubt hot iron would burn his hands. The Bishop of Philadelphia reproved his levity, and preached confidence in faith and innocence. Paleologos listened with great deference to his sermon, and meekly observed, at its conclusion, “Holy father, as you know so well the power of faith and innocence in a holy trial, I pray you to take the glowing iron from the furnace, and will receive it in my hands with faith and submission”. This judicious rebuke produced a favourable impression both on the judges and the emperor. Paleologos was restored to favour, and John endeavoured to attach him sincerely to the throne by marrying him in the following year to his niece Theodora. Michael Paleologos may have been innocent on this occasion, but when we consider that he was already twenty-seven years old, and that unbounded ambition and profound hypocrisy were the prominent features of his character, it is enough to praise his ability when accused, while the honourable conduct of the emperor excites a feeling of respect.

The personal character of John Vatatzes is so intimately connected with the prosperity of his reign that every trait of his private life has a historical interest. He had a noble simplicity of mind, and a degree of candour rarely found in union with great talents among the Byzantine Greeks. He was attentive to every branch of the public administration, and viewed with deep regret the neglected state of agriculture throughout his dominions. He felt that to increase the productions of the earth was the surest basis of national prosperity; and though his attainments in political science were too limited to enable him to see that increased production can only be sustained by increased facilities of transport and more extended markets, he nevertheless did much to encourage agriculture. Instead of wasting the public money on theoretical lectures and model farms, he devoted his private revenues to the improvement of his estates, and thus set an example to the large landed proprietors in the empire. He fought bravely as a soldier in the field of battle; but in times of peace, instead of amusing himself with tournaments and festivities, he overlooked his farms, examined his flocks and herds, improved the cultivation of his fields and the dwellings of his farmers. His example soon brought agriculture into fashion, for it was seen that it was not only a way to gain the emperor's approbation, but also to augment the value of property. The economy of John III was entirely free from avarice, for when he was able to restrict the expenditure of the imperial household to the sum yielded by his private property, he relieved the public treasure from the burden, without in any degree diminishing the splendour of his establishments. His liberality was further attested by the foundation of hospitals and alms-houses, and his piety by the endowment of monasteries and the decoration of churches.

A popular story, current during his lifetime, deserves to be recorded. He ordered the money collected exclusively by the sale of eggs on his property to be employed in purchasing a coronet, ornamented with jewels, which he presented to the empress, as a testimony of the effects produced by prudent economy in trifling matters. The general attention which the Greeks paid to agriculture in consequence of the emperor's exhortations and example proved extremely profitable, from the extensive demand for cattle and provisions which prevailed for several years in the territories of the Seljouk Turks—the empire of Nicaea being almost the only portion of Asia Minor that escaped all injury from the invasions of the Moguls.

Some of the emperor’s commercial laws, though at variance with the true principles of political science, may have been of temporary advantage when all commercial intercourse was misdirected by restrictions, protections, and monopolies. A government which cannot venture to force its nobles to abandon a life of idleness and luxury may nevertheless turn a considerable portion of their expenditure into the public treasury, when it is possible, from the aristocratic constitution of society, to tax those articles of luxury which are only consumed by the wealthy. But when the luxuries of the rich are consumed even in a small quantity by the poorer classes, then both financial science and political prudence command nations to make the truths of economical science the guide of their commercial legislation, and to adopt free trade as far as it is practicable. From these considerations it is possible that the sumptuary laws of John III were productive of more good in restraining the extravagance of the nobility, and in filling the treasury, than they produced evil by diminishing trade. He promulgated a law prohibiting his subjects from wearing Persian, Syrian, and Italian silks and brocades, compelling them to use only the produce of Greek industry, under the pain of being dismissed from all honourable employments, excluded from court, and deprived of every social distinction. It must be observed that various treaties regulated the import duties on foreign silk, which the emperor could not increase, while taxation fell heavy on the mulberry trees and on the raw silk of the Greek manufacturers. The anxiety of John to banish extravagance from his court is attested by a severe rebuke which he gave his son Theodore, forgoing out hunting in a magnificent dress. He told him that the expenditure of a prince was too closely connected with the blood of his subjects to allow him to waste his wealth in idle pomp.

The popularity of John III was greatly increased by the amiable character, domestic virtues, and great talents of the Empress Irene. John Asan, king of Bulgaria, sent his daughter Helena, who was betrothed to her son Theodore, to be educated under her care; but when he determined to break off his alliance with the empire, he sent for his daughter. The king’s object was evident, but the emperor scorned to retain his son's bride as a hostage; and the Princess Helena, who was only ten years old, was sent back to her father. As soon as all the Greeks who escorted her to her father's camp departed, and she understood that she was not to return to her dear mother, the empress, she was inconsolable. Her tears, lamentations, and praises at last excited her father's displeasure. As the court was crossing Mount Haemus on horseback, the king lost his usual good temper, and, taking his daughter in his arms, seated her on his riding-cloak in front of his saddle, and threatened her with punishment if she did not cease to weep and praise her Greek mother. But the love of Irene was stronger than the fear of punishment; the little Helena continued her lamentations, and it was remarked with amaze that her affectionate father became so angry as to give the child a slap on the cheek.

The Empress Irene died in 1241, and, two years after her death, the emperor married Anna, the natural daughter of the Emperor Frederic II of Germany. Anna was extremely young; and an Italian lady, called Marchesina, accompanied her as directress of her court and mistress of the robes, according to our English phraseology. The Emperor John fell passionately in love with this lady, who soon received the honours conferred in courts on the mistress of the sovereign, and was allowed to wear the dress reserved for members of the imperial family. The emperor was severely blamed for his conduct; and the force of public opinion supporting the religious authority of the Greek clergy, enabled Nicephorus Blemmidas to give Marchesina a severe rebuke. Blemmidas had decorated the church of the monastery of which he was abbot so richly that it was generally visited by the courtiers. One day, while the abbot was performing divine service, the imperial mistress passed with her attendants and resolved to view the church; but Blemmidas, informed of her approach, ordered the doors to be closed, declaring that with his permission an adulteress should never enter the church. Marchesina, enraged at so severe a rebuke, inflicted so publicly, hastened to the palace, threw herself at her lover’s feet, and begged him to avenge the insult. John’s love had not obscured his reason, and he felt the reproof was deserved : his only reply was, “The abbot would have respected me had I respected myself”. Blemmidas was the tutor of Theodore, the emperor’s son; and to the unfortunate connection with Marchesina we may perhaps attribute the circumstance that Theodore, contrary to the usual custom in the Eastern Empire, did not receive the imperial title during his father's life.

The character of John, and his political administration, deserve much praise; but his public administration was marked with some defects as well as his conduct. The gold coinage of the Byzantine empire, as we have had occasion to observe, presents the longest series of coins, possessing the same weight and purity, which the world has yet beheld; and the degradation of the political institutions of the empire, the corruption of society, and adulteration of the coinage, are contemporary events. John III, had fallen on a debased age, in which the faith due by the sovereign to the public was neither understood nor appreciated He found the standard of the imperial mint already debased, and he carried the adulteration of the coin still further, issuing money of which only two parts were of pure gold, and the remaining third of alloy. His son persevered in the same standard; but Michael VIII, after the reconquest of Constantinople, coined money of which fifteen parts only were gold and nine alloy. At last, Andronicus II, after issuing a coinage of fourteen parts of gold and ten of alloy, carried the depreciation of the standard so far as to make the gold byzant consist of equal parts of gold and alloy.

John III died at Nymphaeum on the 30th October 1254, after a reign of thirty-three years.