Chapter XVI
It would seem, perhaps plausible, that someone might have some misguided feelings toward Theodoras in the last 100 days of his rule. After all, his commanders had betrayed him. He was forced to flee Constantinople. And all things considered, this was no way an emperor of the Romans should be living. Despite this, only the faint of heart may have developed some misguided sympathy to a man undeserving of even the remotest praise. Upon his arrival in Trebizond, Theodoras barricaded himself in the palace of Duke Michael, and promptly forced even his most loyal supporters out of the palace.
Meanwhile, Duke Patras seized the Imperial Navy in a daring morning hour raid on the Golden Horn. The ships, who were given orders by Theodoras not to fall into the hands of the rebels, appeared to be another force that betrayed the emperor’s wishes. When the Italian condottieri under Patras’s command broke into the harbor docks, the Roman sailors and marines stood down their arms and allowed for him and his men to seize the entirety of the Roman navy – the fourth largest in the world and the largest in the Mediterranean after 50 years of rebuilding and re-armament, although the navy still paled in the power and sheer force of the English, Danish, and Spanish fleets: with their prized carracks and other heavy ships being their prized jewel.
In many ways, the flight of Theodoras to the east is befitting of the episodes of the War of the Liberators, when Cassius and Brutus, and other republican conspirators against Julius Caesar, had fled from Rome to Greece to build up their support in the eventual showdown with the forces of Marc Antony and Octavian. Old habits, and customs, certainly die hard.
The universal verdict of the reign of Theodoras, particularly his final months, is one of absolute and abject destitution and negativity – as a man, he ranked immeasurably below even the worst of Pagan chiefs. As a society, the Romans ranked below the Pagans in their love of liberty and their commitment to patriotism and loyalty – the constant shifting of alliances and loyalty, not only among the merchant and noble classes, but even among the army and the lower classes is something that can only be described as revolt or revolution against the superstructure of Roman rule and hierarchy. And as Patras sailed into Sinop, he was greeted by an joyous crowd of Christians and Mohammedans who would like nothing less than to see Theodoras the Mad be overthrown. In his arrival, Annia and Prince John came out of hiding – having been sheltered by the Orthodox bishop from the clawing hands of Theodoras’s assassins.
It is here, however, that even lighter and positive things come to an end. The great popularity that Duke Patras was receiving in his march against the emperor also made him a great threat to the future inauguration of John as emperor. Annia, well aware of this, plotted to have Patras removed from the “game.” In the halls of the local palaces in the city, Annia had courted the Duke to join her for dinner and a night. After celebrating him as the savior of the empire, a son of Caesar, and having indulged in a night of gluttony and other sins, Annia had Patras murdered in her bed chambers. Perhaps he was the savior of the empire – the sacrificial lamb, like Jesus, who would bring about the salvation of the Romans. As it was known, his popularity among the commoners was a threat to the stability of the natural nobility – many of whom were equally pleased with his removal from power.
However, this posed an even greater problem. The some 4,000 soldiers who had made the journey to Sinop were loyal to the now deceased duke. While other nobles who had made the adventure also jockeyed for position – few had the charisma and ability to control loyalty as Patras did. Although Annia was clearly situating herself to be the regent of John’s prospective reign, at least until he came of age (for it would seem unfair to say that she herself desired the throne, rather, she genuinely saw herself acting in the interests of her favored nephew), as a woman she would never command the loyalty and the respect of the male dominated Roman army.
To counter this she turned to Strategos Metochites, a Roman general, politician, and civil officer who had travelled with Patras and was probably the closest alternative to a subordinate of the duke who commanded the loyalty and respect of the soldiers. Metochites was a young man, only in his early thirties by the accounts of Evagrius:
Left, Empress Annia, wife of Theodoras, guardian of Prince John. She was instrumental in the orchestration of the rebellion against her husband. At right, a painting of the young John, aged 16, at this time he was emperor and at war with the Turks. He was the focus of both sides during the civil war. Empress Annia and the rebellious nobles were determined to see him become emperor, while Theodoras believed that capturing or killing him (and his unfaithful wife) would crush the rebellion against him. The turmoil created the political atmosphere that influenced John's worldview and political philosophy.
While some of the condottieri deserted the cause, those who were paid by Duke Patras now had little reason to stay and fight – a common problem with the Late Roman Army and its reliance on mercenaries who simply fought for monetary purposes, not political. Metochites however did command a certain degree of respect and loyalty from among the more professional soldiers who had surrendered their arms to Patras earlier. Metochites promised the men full re-instatement and compensation if they joined his cause, even going as far as promising that Prince John would reward them for their display of loyalty to him in overthrowing Theodoras. Here, the politician in Metochites became apparent. Although only a modest man in the social order, he was now taking full advantage of the opportunities set forth in front of him to achieve social mobility and a greater standing in the new Roman society – not to mention he was clearly maneuvering to be John’s military court adviser.
Some of the other nobles who had joined with the Duke of Patras were less amiable to the new developments. They feared a strong and centralized Roman army would be a threat to their local dominion as despots of the Greek lands they had come to control while only soliciting de jure alliance to the emperor in Constantinople. To maintain their mercenary armies was the key to their political power, and now, the Roman army would be joining with them. As Manuel Phokas bluntly opined, “How do we know we won’t be betrayed like everyone else?”
Metochites broke into the armory at Sinop and re-armed the Roman soldiers. The promises of Metochites seemed to have their intended affect. The soldiers, and their junior officers who were otherwise trusted as subalterns unlike their ranking officers who were still imprisoned. Metochites efforts were ingenius, as it swelled the ranks of the rebel army by nearly 4,000 additional men. By contrast, Emperor Theodoras had only managed to rally 2500 men to his cause – many of them Georgian expatriates and criminals who were promised liberty and freedom if they would fight for him. All of these recent developments were unknown by Theodoras, and was captured in the last chapter of Evagrius’s great work on his life:
In the lead up to the Battle of Amisos [Samsun, Turkey], Theodoras had only managed a scant force compared to what his conspirators had amassed. The rebel general, Metochites, had re-armed the captured Roman soldiers who had abandoned the emperor – like so many others. However, Theodoras was not made aware that he was marching against a force three times his size. It seems fitting that the last battle of Theodoras was one in which he was completely unprepared for. The sad irony and tragedy of his life – captured from his beginning to the very end.
-Evagrius, Life of Theodoras, Book 7: The Last Battle
And it is certainly fitting that Evagrius ends his work covering Theodras as “The Last Battle,” for the last battle between the emperor and his conspiring opponents was about to begin in the hills of north central Turkey. And in a very unfortunate, but fitting way, Theodoras's finals days, lo, hours, were now ticking toward zero.
A painting of the Roman historian Evagrius, who was a member of the court with Theodoras. His chronicle of Theodoras's life: Life of Theodoras was believed to be lost until it was discovered, in full, in the archives of Constantinople in the early nineteenth century. He was commissioned by John X to detail his uncle's reign. He also served as the court historian for John. Life of Theodoras is his most famous work, although he started (but never completed) a chronicle of John's reign (Evagrius died in 1519, short of John's full reign).
The Collaborators of the 100 Days Against Emperor Theodoras
It would seem, perhaps plausible, that someone might have some misguided feelings toward Theodoras in the last 100 days of his rule. After all, his commanders had betrayed him. He was forced to flee Constantinople. And all things considered, this was no way an emperor of the Romans should be living. Despite this, only the faint of heart may have developed some misguided sympathy to a man undeserving of even the remotest praise. Upon his arrival in Trebizond, Theodoras barricaded himself in the palace of Duke Michael, and promptly forced even his most loyal supporters out of the palace.
Meanwhile, Duke Patras seized the Imperial Navy in a daring morning hour raid on the Golden Horn. The ships, who were given orders by Theodoras not to fall into the hands of the rebels, appeared to be another force that betrayed the emperor’s wishes. When the Italian condottieri under Patras’s command broke into the harbor docks, the Roman sailors and marines stood down their arms and allowed for him and his men to seize the entirety of the Roman navy – the fourth largest in the world and the largest in the Mediterranean after 50 years of rebuilding and re-armament, although the navy still paled in the power and sheer force of the English, Danish, and Spanish fleets: with their prized carracks and other heavy ships being their prized jewel.
In many ways, the flight of Theodoras to the east is befitting of the episodes of the War of the Liberators, when Cassius and Brutus, and other republican conspirators against Julius Caesar, had fled from Rome to Greece to build up their support in the eventual showdown with the forces of Marc Antony and Octavian. Old habits, and customs, certainly die hard.
The universal verdict of the reign of Theodoras, particularly his final months, is one of absolute and abject destitution and negativity – as a man, he ranked immeasurably below even the worst of Pagan chiefs. As a society, the Romans ranked below the Pagans in their love of liberty and their commitment to patriotism and loyalty – the constant shifting of alliances and loyalty, not only among the merchant and noble classes, but even among the army and the lower classes is something that can only be described as revolt or revolution against the superstructure of Roman rule and hierarchy. And as Patras sailed into Sinop, he was greeted by an joyous crowd of Christians and Mohammedans who would like nothing less than to see Theodoras the Mad be overthrown. In his arrival, Annia and Prince John came out of hiding – having been sheltered by the Orthodox bishop from the clawing hands of Theodoras’s assassins.
It is here, however, that even lighter and positive things come to an end. The great popularity that Duke Patras was receiving in his march against the emperor also made him a great threat to the future inauguration of John as emperor. Annia, well aware of this, plotted to have Patras removed from the “game.” In the halls of the local palaces in the city, Annia had courted the Duke to join her for dinner and a night. After celebrating him as the savior of the empire, a son of Caesar, and having indulged in a night of gluttony and other sins, Annia had Patras murdered in her bed chambers. Perhaps he was the savior of the empire – the sacrificial lamb, like Jesus, who would bring about the salvation of the Romans. As it was known, his popularity among the commoners was a threat to the stability of the natural nobility – many of whom were equally pleased with his removal from power.
However, this posed an even greater problem. The some 4,000 soldiers who had made the journey to Sinop were loyal to the now deceased duke. While other nobles who had made the adventure also jockeyed for position – few had the charisma and ability to control loyalty as Patras did. Although Annia was clearly situating herself to be the regent of John’s prospective reign, at least until he came of age (for it would seem unfair to say that she herself desired the throne, rather, she genuinely saw herself acting in the interests of her favored nephew), as a woman she would never command the loyalty and the respect of the male dominated Roman army.
To counter this she turned to Strategos Metochites, a Roman general, politician, and civil officer who had travelled with Patras and was probably the closest alternative to a subordinate of the duke who commanded the loyalty and respect of the soldiers. Metochites was a young man, only in his early thirties by the accounts of Evagrius:
Left, Empress Annia, wife of Theodoras, guardian of Prince John. She was instrumental in the orchestration of the rebellion against her husband. At right, a painting of the young John, aged 16, at this time he was emperor and at war with the Turks. He was the focus of both sides during the civil war. Empress Annia and the rebellious nobles were determined to see him become emperor, while Theodoras believed that capturing or killing him (and his unfaithful wife) would crush the rebellion against him. The turmoil created the political atmosphere that influenced John's worldview and political philosophy.
While some of the condottieri deserted the cause, those who were paid by Duke Patras now had little reason to stay and fight – a common problem with the Late Roman Army and its reliance on mercenaries who simply fought for monetary purposes, not political. Metochites however did command a certain degree of respect and loyalty from among the more professional soldiers who had surrendered their arms to Patras earlier. Metochites promised the men full re-instatement and compensation if they joined his cause, even going as far as promising that Prince John would reward them for their display of loyalty to him in overthrowing Theodoras. Here, the politician in Metochites became apparent. Although only a modest man in the social order, he was now taking full advantage of the opportunities set forth in front of him to achieve social mobility and a greater standing in the new Roman society – not to mention he was clearly maneuvering to be John’s military court adviser.
Some of the other nobles who had joined with the Duke of Patras were less amiable to the new developments. They feared a strong and centralized Roman army would be a threat to their local dominion as despots of the Greek lands they had come to control while only soliciting de jure alliance to the emperor in Constantinople. To maintain their mercenary armies was the key to their political power, and now, the Roman army would be joining with them. As Manuel Phokas bluntly opined, “How do we know we won’t be betrayed like everyone else?”
Metochites broke into the armory at Sinop and re-armed the Roman soldiers. The promises of Metochites seemed to have their intended affect. The soldiers, and their junior officers who were otherwise trusted as subalterns unlike their ranking officers who were still imprisoned. Metochites efforts were ingenius, as it swelled the ranks of the rebel army by nearly 4,000 additional men. By contrast, Emperor Theodoras had only managed to rally 2500 men to his cause – many of them Georgian expatriates and criminals who were promised liberty and freedom if they would fight for him. All of these recent developments were unknown by Theodoras, and was captured in the last chapter of Evagrius’s great work on his life:
In the lead up to the Battle of Amisos [Samsun, Turkey], Theodoras had only managed a scant force compared to what his conspirators had amassed. The rebel general, Metochites, had re-armed the captured Roman soldiers who had abandoned the emperor – like so many others. However, Theodoras was not made aware that he was marching against a force three times his size. It seems fitting that the last battle of Theodoras was one in which he was completely unprepared for. The sad irony and tragedy of his life – captured from his beginning to the very end.
-Evagrius, Life of Theodoras, Book 7: The Last Battle
And it is certainly fitting that Evagrius ends his work covering Theodras as “The Last Battle,” for the last battle between the emperor and his conspiring opponents was about to begin in the hills of north central Turkey. And in a very unfortunate, but fitting way, Theodoras's finals days, lo, hours, were now ticking toward zero.
A painting of the Roman historian Evagrius, who was a member of the court with Theodoras. His chronicle of Theodoras's life: Life of Theodoras was believed to be lost until it was discovered, in full, in the archives of Constantinople in the early nineteenth century. He was commissioned by John X to detail his uncle's reign. He also served as the court historian for John. Life of Theodoras is his most famous work, although he started (but never completed) a chronicle of John's reign (Evagrius died in 1519, short of John's full reign).
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