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| DC Field | Value | Language |
|---|---|---|
| dc.contributor.author | Μαγκαφάς, Παναγιώτης Κ. | el |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-02-17T13:17:59Z | - |
| dc.date.available | 2026-02-17T13:17:59Z | - |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://olympias.lib.uoi.gr/jspui/handle/123456789/39777 | - |
| dc.rights | Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States | * |
| dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/ | * |
| dc.subject | Μυστράς | el |
| dc.subject | Βυζαντινή Αυτοκρατορία | el |
| dc.title | Ο Δεσπότης Δημήτριος Παλαιολόγος ο Πορφυρογέννητος : ο βίος του από της γεννήσεώς του ως την ανάληψη της δεσποτείας του Μυστρά (1407/8 - 1449) | el |
| dc.type | masterThesis | * |
| heal.type | masterThesis | - |
| heal.type.en | Master thesis | en |
| heal.type.el | Μεταπτυχιακή εργασία | el |
| heal.classification | Δημήτριος Παλαιολόγος, Δεσπότης του Μυστρά, 1407-1470 | - |
| heal.dateAvailable | 2026-02-17T13:18:59Z | - |
| heal.language | other | - |
| heal.access | free | - |
| heal.recordProvider | Πανεπιστήμιο Ιωαννίνων. Φιλοσοφική Σχολή | el |
| heal.publicationDate | 2025 | - |
| heal.abstract | DEMETRIOS PALEOLOGOS (c. 1407/8 — 1470), the fifth son of Emperor Manuel II and Helena Dragas, is a fascinating figure of the late Byzantine period. He is remembered in history as Manuel II’s son who opposed the union of the Churches. Bom after the battle of Ankara, he spent many years in Constantinople and witnessed firsthand, from a central position, the final years of the Byzantine state. To date, no monograph has been dedicated to Demetrios Paleologos. Consequently, at the suggestion of my professors, I pursued my research for the present thesis, which has been submitted in the form of final dissertation for the conferment of a Master’s degree in Medieval Studies from the Department of History and Archaeology at the University of Ioannina. My initial aim was to cover Demetrios’s entire life; but for reasons of space, I confined myself to the years from his birth down to 1449, when he was appointed Despot of Mystras and assumed his new administrative duties in Moreas. My thesis does not proceed to a mere recording of events that transpired in the period of concern to us here. It rather attempts to give a new reading of the sources and shed light upon certain subjects of frequent dispute in modem scholarship. Demetrios is approached within the context of the political environment he lived in, with 1449 serving as the terminal date. It is further discussed the influence he exerted on his contemporaries and the events he participated in and witnessed. The study is structured into six chapters. The first presents a concise, yet informative, history of the Paleologos imperial family, accompanied by a brief account of the most significant events of the final centuries of the Byzantine state. It also traces the rapid development of the new Ottoman emirate of Bithynia into a state—and ultimately an empire. The second chapter covers the events surrounding the birth of Demetrios and his brothers, offers a reasonably precise reconstruction of his education, and provides 222 an initial discussion of the relations among members of the Paleologos imperial family, based, as always, on the facts known to us. The third chapter examines Demetrios’s life during the years following the coronation of his brother, John VTTT, as co-emperor in 1421. It primarily recounts events such as the siege of Constantinople in 1422; Demetrios’s flight to Galata in 1423; his mysterious journey to Hungary; the death of Manuel Π in the summer of 1425; his return from Hungary to the capital in the spring of 1427; a possible first marriage; and the conferment of his title as Despot of Lemnos (c. 1428/9), followed by his second marriage to Zoe Paraspondylou in spring of 1436. During this period, Demetrios participated, to some degree, in contemporary events from a behind-the-scenes position. His role becomes more prominent in 1437, when he is called to participate in the Union Council of Ferrara-Florence. The preparations of and the journey to Italy, the proceedings of the Council, and other noteworthy events connected to Demetrios’s stay there — along with his return journey, his reception back home, and the news of the death of his wife Zoe — are presented in detail in the fourth chapter. In the fifth chapter, we encounter Demetrios in Constantinople, poised to assert the role he believes history has assigned him. We follow him as he assumes the position of Despot of Mesembria in 1441, selects and marries his third wife, Theodora Asan, fathers a daughter, cooperates with the Ottomans, expresses anti-unionist political positions, threatens the emperor with deposition in 1442, fails, reconciles, is imprisoned, escapes, and reconciles once more with John VIII. Eventually, he is sent as Despot to Lemnos, where he remains in relative peace. In the summer of 1448, he is called back to Constantinople by the emperor. At the death of John VIII, Demetrios is the only porphyrogennitos Paleologos in the capital. He faces considerable pressure to seize this second opportunity to claim the imperial throne. However, Demetrios declines these proposals and renounces his claim early. Constantine XI is ultimately crowned emperor at Mystras in January 1449. In March 1449, an imperial family council convenes in Constantinople and decides that Demetrios will go to Moreas to assume governance of Mystras. This chapter details the decision, his acceptance along with his brother Thomas, the history of the so-called “Despotate of Mystras” up to that point, his journey to the southern territories of the empire, and his installation in the citadel — the seat of his new administration. The chapter is followed by a brief conclusion closing the study. My research was not able to delve into the events of Demetrios’s despotate up to the surrender of Mystras to Mehmet II the Conqueror in 1460, nor the final period of the Despot’s life in Adrianople, where he died as monk David in 1470. Equally captivating and intriguing, even by today’s standards, are the last two decades of Demetrios’s life, as well as those of his wife’s Theodora and their daughter’s Helena Palaiologina, who died in the sultan’s palace as consort of the “Great Turk.” In the collective consciousness of most historians, Demetrios has been recorded as pro-Turkish. Yet, a closer examination shows that he did not, from the outset —or exclusively— turn to Ottoman support. In likely July, 1423, at about sixteen years of age, he chose to move to Genoese Galata. Later, he went to Hungary, where he likely remained for four years. Subsequently, under the orders of John Vin, he spent roughly two years in the Italian peninsula for the needs of the Union Council. These years were filled with experience, knowledge, and significant contacts with leading figures of the Western world. Finally, from 1449 onward, as Despot of Mystras, he maintained continuous contacts with several Western powers. Doubtlessly, whenever he sought something or wished to protect himself from injustices, he turned to the Ottomans for assistance. Because of this relationship with the Ottomans he was branded as “pro- Turkish.” I, personally, consider, however, that his choices were each time dictated by reason and practical considerations since the Ottomans were the primary power capable of imposing their will and of providing military troops instantly, given that geographically they were the closest force to the Paleologos family constant conflicts. Despite being an unquestionably distinctive personality, Demetrios was, above all, an other Paleologos. As such, although reluctantly, he would have not hesitated to pursue some form of diplomatic understanding even with the Ottomans, the mortal enemies of the empire. My aim is not to criticise Demetrios or name him “pro-Turkish,” but to understand the deeper causes of his overall stance and behavior. In my view, his position was not fundamentally “pro-Turkish.” Demetrios did not enter the sultan’s court or entourage, nor did he convert to Islam. He did not become a renegade. He remained a consistent advocate of what may have been a passive yet certainly realistic policy of risk management — recognizing that the desperate conflict of the weak against the strong inevitably carries a heavy price. Demetrios understood Ottoman power and the vengeful force of the sultan, while simultaneously realizing the geographic and cultural distance from the Christian West and the West’s unwillingness to commit forces for the sake of “depraved” Byzantium. Even in the case of the surrender of Mystras, it is clear, I believe, that Demetrios preferred a bloodless submission over a violent struggle. He even sacrificed his precious daughter in an attempt to appease the Conqueror and ended his life renouncing worldly existence, choosing the monastic habit. 225 | - |
| heal.tableOfContents | Τριμελής ’Επιτροπή σελ. 2 Προλογικό σημείωμα σελ. 4 Βραχογραφίες σελ. 8 Περιεχόμενα σελ. 12 Είσαγωγή σελ. 14 ΚΕΦ. Α\ Ή άνοδος και ή πτώση μιας αύτοκρατορικης οικογένειας: Οί Παλαιολόγοι σελ. 26 ΚΕΦ. Β'. Δημήτριος. Ένας νεαρός πορφυρογέννητος Παλαιολόγος σελ. 40 ΚΕΦ. Γ'. Στή σκιά του Ίωάννου Η’ σελ. 60 ΚΕΦ. Δ’. Πρώτη φορά στο προσκήνιο: Βενετία - Φερράρα - Φλωρεντία σελ. 93 ΚΕΦ. Ε\ Δύο μεγάλες ευκαιρίες σελ. 137 ΚΕΦ. ΣΤ’. Ή μετάβαση στο Μυστρά σελ. 196 ’Επίλογος σελ. 216 Abstract - Περίληψη στήν άγγλική σελ. 222 Παράρτημα Γενεαλογικό δένδρο Παλαιολόγων σελ. 226 Πίνακες Α\ Δυναστεία Παλαιολόγων (1259- 1453) σελ. 227 Β'. ’Οθωμανοί Ηγεμόνες έως του Μέχμετ Β' σελ. 227 α') Έμίριδες β') Σουλτάνοι Γ'. Πατριάρχες Κωνσταντινουπόλεως (1397 - 1475) Δ'. Πάπες Ρώμης (1406 - 1471) Ε\ Δεσπότες Σηλυβρίας - Μεσημβρίας (- 1453) ΣΤ'. Διοικητές Μυστρα (1262 - 1461) α') Κεφαλαι Μορέως (άπό τοϋ 1262 κ. εξ.) β') ’Επίτροποι Μορέως (ca. 1285 κ. εξ.) γ') Δεσπόται Μυστρα (1349 - 1461) Βιβλιογραφία Α'. Πηγές α'. Συλλογές πηγών β'. Αύτοτελεϊς πηγές Β'. Βιβλιογραφία Γ'. Αρθρογραφία | - |
| heal.advisorName | Αντωνόπουλος, Παναγιώτης Γ. | el |
| heal.committeeMemberName | Κωνσταντινίδης, Κώστας Ν. | el |
| heal.committeeMemberName | Κιαττίδου, Σοφία-Ειρήνη | el |
| heal.academicPublisher | Πανεπιστήμιο Ιωαννίνων. Φιλοσοφική Σχολή. Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας | el |
| heal.academicPublisherID | uoi | - |
| heal.numberOfPages | 271 σ. | - |
| heal.fullTextAvailability | true | - |
| Appears in Collections: | Διατριβές Μεταπτυχιακής Έρευνας (Masters) - ΙΣΤ | |
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| Μ.Ε. ΠΑΝΑΓΙΩΤΗΣ ΚΩΝ. ΜΑΓΚΑΦΑΣ.pdf | 77.39 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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