DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.24719#0265
192
TREBIZOND.
Sinope, the port and arsenal of the new kingdom, did not long remain in the power of the
Comneni ; the Seljoukian princes took possession of it A.D. 1223. In the year 611 of the Hegira,
Sultan Az Eddin Kei Kaous took possession of the coast from the mouth of the Halys to the
promontory Carambis, and the whole of this territory was for eyer lost to the kingdom of Trebizond.
Eew events that happened during the reigns of the successors of Alexis I., up to the time of
John Oomnenus, A.D. 1280, have been recorded in history.
Ducange states that the kingdom of Trebizond lasted two hundred and fifty-eight years,
during which it was governed by twelve princes; but he gives the names of only nine of them.
Andronicus I. formed an alliance with the Sultan of Iconium, for the purpose of re-conquer-
ing Colchis; but this province remained separate from the empire, which constantly diminished
in size.
In the year 1253, Manuel I. despatched an embassy to the Erench monarch St. Louis, who
was then at Sidon, asking his daughter in marriage.
In the year 1295 there arose a new subject of contention with the court of Constantinople :
the Emperor John II. had joined the Church of Lome.
These various events had little influence upon the fine arts. The taste of the Byzantines for
brilliant decoration prevailed, but the edifices erected at this period were not substantially built,
and none of them remain in the present day: sieges and insurrections have swept them all away.
During the fourth year of the reign of Michael Comnenus, A.D. 1347, Trebizond suffered terribly
from the scourge of a pestilence, which was so fatal, that not above one man in five survived :
the neighbouring villages became deserted. At the same time an earthquake destroyed most of
the public buildings. Eor a period of twelve years, Trebizond was overwhelmed with misfortunes;
commerce by land with the interior was suspended, and that by sea would have ceased also, had
not the emperor made a grant to the Genoese settlers of a tract of land upon the isthmus, where
they could erect warehouses, and land their merchandise in security.
The reign of Alexis III., who ascended the throne in the year 1349, commenced under
unfavourable auspices; the patricians had formed a league for opposing, at the same time,
the democracy and the sovereign power : they were overjoyed at beholding the crown descend
to a mere child, whose character exhibited extreme religious tendencies and a taste for pacific
pursuits. Alexis was the son of Basil I., and of Irene of Byzantium. On the feast of Epiphany,
the young emperor was conducted by his mother to be crowned in the church of St. Eugenius.
Two years afterwards, he married the young Princess Theodora Cantacuzenus, of Constantinople.
The patricians (archontes) did not wish for the overthrow of the monarch, but they
wished to govern him. The opposition of Irene, upon which they had not calculated, produced
insurrection amongst the vassals, which spi'ead from castle to castle, and produced general
confusion and dismay. This state of things lasted till the year 1356, and the Mussulmans
profited by it to make incursions into the territory of Trebizond. The feeble monarch had
thus to resist the attacks of enemies from within and from without. Guided by his court, he
decided upon a campaign against the Turks. At first he gained some advantages, but was
finally defeated by a corps of Turcomans, losing four hundred men and many horses, and only
escaped falling into the hands of the enemy by a precipitous flight. The Duke of Chaldaea,
who commanded under the emperor, was made prisoner, and the Turcomans, taking advantage
of their victory, advanced to the coast, and took possession of Limnia.
Like most of the princes of the house of the Comneni, Alexis liberally encouraged the fine arts.
He embellished the town of Trebizond, and, animated by religious zeal, built churches, and founded
monasteries in the town and its environs. Artists were summoned from Constantinople to
decorate his palaces with paintings and mosaics. He caused also to be built at Mount Athos,
the convent and cloister of St. Dionysius, in which was painted his portrait, crowned with
the imperial diadem. The convent stands upon a height overlooking the sea. In it is preserved
the Chrysobullos, written in Greek, enumerating the various donations made by the emperor to
the monastery.
The latter part of the reign of Alexis was disturbed by the incursions of Turcomans and
Tartars, who encamped within forty miles of Trebizond. The alliances which the emperor formed
with some of the emirs checked the victorious Mussulmans on their march; but the mountain
tribes still refused to pay tribute, and pillaged the caravans. In the year 1382 Alexis undertook
a campaign against the Tzanes, who originally paid tribute to the Comneni. Alexis III. died
A.D. 1389, leaving the throne to his son Manuel III., who was bom in 1364, and had married
TREBIZOND.
Sinope, the port and arsenal of the new kingdom, did not long remain in the power of the
Comneni ; the Seljoukian princes took possession of it A.D. 1223. In the year 611 of the Hegira,
Sultan Az Eddin Kei Kaous took possession of the coast from the mouth of the Halys to the
promontory Carambis, and the whole of this territory was for eyer lost to the kingdom of Trebizond.
Eew events that happened during the reigns of the successors of Alexis I., up to the time of
John Oomnenus, A.D. 1280, have been recorded in history.
Ducange states that the kingdom of Trebizond lasted two hundred and fifty-eight years,
during which it was governed by twelve princes; but he gives the names of only nine of them.
Andronicus I. formed an alliance with the Sultan of Iconium, for the purpose of re-conquer-
ing Colchis; but this province remained separate from the empire, which constantly diminished
in size.
In the year 1253, Manuel I. despatched an embassy to the Erench monarch St. Louis, who
was then at Sidon, asking his daughter in marriage.
In the year 1295 there arose a new subject of contention with the court of Constantinople :
the Emperor John II. had joined the Church of Lome.
These various events had little influence upon the fine arts. The taste of the Byzantines for
brilliant decoration prevailed, but the edifices erected at this period were not substantially built,
and none of them remain in the present day: sieges and insurrections have swept them all away.
During the fourth year of the reign of Michael Comnenus, A.D. 1347, Trebizond suffered terribly
from the scourge of a pestilence, which was so fatal, that not above one man in five survived :
the neighbouring villages became deserted. At the same time an earthquake destroyed most of
the public buildings. Eor a period of twelve years, Trebizond was overwhelmed with misfortunes;
commerce by land with the interior was suspended, and that by sea would have ceased also, had
not the emperor made a grant to the Genoese settlers of a tract of land upon the isthmus, where
they could erect warehouses, and land their merchandise in security.
The reign of Alexis III., who ascended the throne in the year 1349, commenced under
unfavourable auspices; the patricians had formed a league for opposing, at the same time,
the democracy and the sovereign power : they were overjoyed at beholding the crown descend
to a mere child, whose character exhibited extreme religious tendencies and a taste for pacific
pursuits. Alexis was the son of Basil I., and of Irene of Byzantium. On the feast of Epiphany,
the young emperor was conducted by his mother to be crowned in the church of St. Eugenius.
Two years afterwards, he married the young Princess Theodora Cantacuzenus, of Constantinople.
The patricians (archontes) did not wish for the overthrow of the monarch, but they
wished to govern him. The opposition of Irene, upon which they had not calculated, produced
insurrection amongst the vassals, which spi'ead from castle to castle, and produced general
confusion and dismay. This state of things lasted till the year 1356, and the Mussulmans
profited by it to make incursions into the territory of Trebizond. The feeble monarch had
thus to resist the attacks of enemies from within and from without. Guided by his court, he
decided upon a campaign against the Turks. At first he gained some advantages, but was
finally defeated by a corps of Turcomans, losing four hundred men and many horses, and only
escaped falling into the hands of the enemy by a precipitous flight. The Duke of Chaldaea,
who commanded under the emperor, was made prisoner, and the Turcomans, taking advantage
of their victory, advanced to the coast, and took possession of Limnia.
Like most of the princes of the house of the Comneni, Alexis liberally encouraged the fine arts.
He embellished the town of Trebizond, and, animated by religious zeal, built churches, and founded
monasteries in the town and its environs. Artists were summoned from Constantinople to
decorate his palaces with paintings and mosaics. He caused also to be built at Mount Athos,
the convent and cloister of St. Dionysius, in which was painted his portrait, crowned with
the imperial diadem. The convent stands upon a height overlooking the sea. In it is preserved
the Chrysobullos, written in Greek, enumerating the various donations made by the emperor to
the monastery.
The latter part of the reign of Alexis was disturbed by the incursions of Turcomans and
Tartars, who encamped within forty miles of Trebizond. The alliances which the emperor formed
with some of the emirs checked the victorious Mussulmans on their march; but the mountain
tribes still refused to pay tribute, and pillaged the caravans. In the year 1382 Alexis undertook
a campaign against the Tzanes, who originally paid tribute to the Comneni. Alexis III. died
A.D. 1389, leaving the throne to his son Manuel III., who was bom in 1364, and had married