| Constantine XIII | |
|---|---|
| Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans
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| Constantine as depicted in an early 15th-century manuscript | |
| Emperor of the Byzantine Empire | |
| Reign | June 2, 1307 - October 7, 1323 |
| Coronation | July 8, 1307 |
| Predecessor | Thomas II |
| Successor | Theodore II |
| Born | September 6, 1271 Constantinople |
| Died | October 7, 1323 Hagia Sophia, Constantinople |
| Burial | October 13, 1323 Hagia Sophia, Constantinople |
| Consort | Helena Angelos |
| Dynasty | Flokarid Dynasty |
| Father | Leo VII |
| Mother | Constantina Diogene |
| Religion | Christianity (Eastern Orthodox) |
| Occupation | Author |
Constantine XIII, nicknamed the reformer or more popularly, the wise, was Byzantine Emperor from June 2, 1307, to October 7, 1323. His reign is best remembered for his attempts to consolidate the territorial gains acquired from Hungary during the reign of his predecessor in addition to stabilizing an empire that was heading into crisis under his successor.
Life []
Coup d'etat against Leo by Michael as depicted in a 15th century French chronicle.
Constantine XIII was born as the twin brother of Thomas II in 1271 to then-emperor Leo VII and his second spouse, Constantia Diogene. Despite Leo being his biological father, Constantine never glanced at the man, as he had been deposed by his eldest son, Michael VII in that year. Not much is known about his life prior to his accession as emperor.
Ascension to the Byzantine Throne[]
In 1307, while campaigning against the Hungarians, Thomas II drowned accidentally in the Danube River. As he had no legitimate children, the throne passed to Constantine, who was coronated a month after Thomas' death. Constantine proceeded to make the highly unpopular decision to conclude the conflict with Hungary, believing that the empire had overstretched itself.
Early Years[]
By the 14th century, the Byzantine Empire was at its second height, only behind the days of Justinian. Stretching from Croatia to Assyria and from Cherssenon to Egypt, the empire was prosperous and powerful, projecting its influence across the region. The Empire was highly populous as well. Constantinople alone was home to around 1.5 million people, and the empire itself had a population of around 20 million. This was the beginning of the Κίνηση (Kínisi), which is Greek for movement. From the 14th to 20th centuries, tens of millions of Greek settlers settled in areas such as the Middle East, Balkans, Italy, Crimea, and the Caucasus, as well as other soon to be Byzantine territories.
However, this prosperity was really just a façade covering the true realities of the empire. Constant war with its neighbors, overextension, population pressure, and the sheer burden of administrating such a vast, multicultural land has greatly weakened the empire. Constantine XIII was aware of this fact.
In 1310, a peasant revolt occurred in the Ionian Isles and Epirus. This was prompted by the collapse of the local government following a brief famine the year prior. The Epirote Revolt as it became known, would grow to encompass a vast area, stretching from the Ionian Isles to Thessalinoki, with rebels even at one point sacking Constantinople in 1312. The revolt caused further disturbances in Trebizond and Antioch as well and at one point a move even appeared in Constantinople, obliterating much of the northwestern area of the city.
By late 1315, these disturbances had mostly been curtailed, though revolts would continue to flare up in the following years, particularly in the fail years of his reign.
Reforms[]
Constantine XIII as depicted in an early 14th Century French Chronicle.
Emperor Constantine as depicted in a 14th Century Byzantine manuscript.
In attempts to stabilize and save the empire, the emperor began to implement numerous reforms, all of which had varying effects.
By the 14th Century, the Byzantine aristocracy that governed the empire had grown stodgy and corrupt. The Byzantine nobility and aristocracy had been rewarded with increased privileges for their participation in recent conflicts the Romans were engaged in. The Byzantine court had become a source of constant infighting. Nothing was getting done.
Constantine sought to reform the Theme System, however, he was blocked by the Byzantine nobility. The nobility was highly suspicious of Constantine's effort to reform the system, worrying that reforms would destroy their power base. He threatened to revoke their land rights to force them to allow reform, however, this threat did little but escalate tensions and also brought in the Byzantine clergy, who allied with the nobility.
In 1316, several Macedonian nobles were assassinated in Platamonas Castle by Alexandros Melodos, a local aristocrat who owned a nearby estate. Rumors surfaced claiming that Melodos was bribed by the Byzantine government to assassinated said nobles as retaliation for there refusal to accept Imperial reform. Constantine fiercely denied these allegations, but the nobility, along with the allied clergy, were convinced that the emperor was an existential threat to their very existence.
In the winter of 1316, an Epiriot noble named Ioannes Anastidis proclaimed a state of rebellion between the Byzantine nobility and Byzantine crown. The revolt, known as the Epiriot Revolt of 1316, received widespread support from much of the Byzantine nobility. The details of the revolt are somewhat unclear as records during these few years are unusually scarce. However, from what historians have managed to gather, the revolt encompassed around 60-80% of the Balkans at its peak. Afterwards, an unknown illness infected Anastidis and the revolt was left in charge of inexperienced nobility who oversaw the ultimate downfall of the revolt. Around the February of 1318, the revolt had been squashed with Anastidis being executed a year later.
As punishment for the revolt, Constantine crushed the rights of the nobility, with them now being in a weak enough position. With the nobility temporarily neutralized, he could focus on reform. A new doctrine was imposed upon the various themes of the empire: "Capital Rule, Periphery Independence" (often simply referred to CRPI). This new doctrine limited the self-governance of themes nearing the imperial capital of Constantinople, while granting more autonomy to the themes at the fringes of the empire. Although this policy has been maligned by later historians, the the system had initial success, centralizing imperial control of the themes close to Byzantium, areas where imperial control was growing increasingly sparing in recent centuries. However, it would eventually come with major consequences that would plague the empire for the next few centuries.
An Imperial bull passed in 1320 further weakened the power of the nobles. The thematic reforms of Andronikos III had recreated the theme system after centuries of neglect. However, the nobility had gradually transformed the theme system into a simple administrative division into a semi-feudal institution, striping the freedom the farmers had and oppressing them. This was beginning to strangle the growth of the Byzantine cities, which harmed the heavily mercantile Byzantine Empire. The towns and merchants, who had close relations with the emperor, implored the emperor to limit noble power to prevent the feudalization of the theme system and harm them in the process.
In 1319, Constantine narrowly survived an assassination attempt by a court interest. The court interest was a noble sympathizer and was promptly executed/
1323 Summoning of the Senate and the Restoration of the Senate[]
Byzantium saw a massive period of population growth and prosperity from around the 11th to 14th centuries as part of the greater High Medieval golden age that swept the globe. However, by the dawn of the 14th century, overpopulation began to become a major issue as the medieval warm period concluded and thus agricultural output declined. Overpopulation of the Byzantine homeland was beginning to become a major issue in the empire. The farmers of Anatolia just could not keep up with the rising demand for food, leading to rampant food shortages in cities such as Athens, Adrianople, Antioch, and of course, Constantinople. This culminated in the 1320s. At the beginning of the decade, worrying reports told of crop failures big enough to wipe out 20% of the Anatolian food production.
In a desperate panic, Emperor Constantine XIII summoned a meeting with the Byzantine Senate in 1323, pleading for aid on solving the issue.
Due to the increasingly autocratic nature of emperors, by the 14th century, the Senate was largely an antiquated and symbolic institution with scarcely any authority over the emperor’s governance. Attempts at chipping away the power of the Byzantine Senate, such as Andronikos III formalizing the principle of automatic hereditary succession (thus meaning that the senate no longer had the juridtriction on approving successors to the throne) further diminished their importance in Byzantine politics and various decrees and laws passed by the emperor had basically made them into a government institution in name only.
Late 20th century painting of the the 1323 Senatorial convention.
For much of early Byzantine history, the Byzantine Senate was primarily an advisory body for the emperors, however, with their diminishing role, this gradually shifted to the court. However, as a food crisis gripped the empire, the court was too muddled in court politics for them to be effective. Not aware of what action should be taken, in 1323, Constantine XIII summoned the senate, pleading for aid. From April 6 - May 27, a session was held discussing the crisis the empire faced and the solution. At the end of the day, the senate ultimately suggested increasing the power of the central government to enforce rationing throughout the empire to mitigate the crisis. While somewhat unsure of the capabilities of enforcing this, unaware of an alternative, Constantine somewhat reluctantly accepted.
Death[]
According to records, Constantine was walking the floors of the Imperial Palace when he tumbled down a set of stairs and land face flat on a hard floor on October 7, 1323. He subsequently perished from his injury.
Constantine had married Helena Angelos sometime in the 1290s and fathered 13 children, of which, two died before maturing. This left his third son, Theodore II, as the successor to the Byzantine throne.
Legacy[]
Constantine has been a quite controversial emperor, primarily centering around the policy of CRPI. Many have maligned Constantine for the establishment of CRPI, which would have disastrous consequences for the empire later. Others have defended the emperor, claiming that the policy actually had significant initial success and appeared to be working.
The emperor has been praised for other administrative efforts. Various myths invented by 19th century authors, primarily centering around his deaths have somewhat cemented him as a prominent figure in Byzantine popular culture.
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