John Eladas

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John Eladas (Greek : Ἰωάννης ὁ Ἐλαδᾶς; died 914) was a senior member of the Byzantine court and regent in the early 10th century.

Greek language language spoken in Greece, Cyprus and Southern Albania

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea. It has the longest documented history of any living Indo-European language, spanning more than 3000 years of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history; other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic, and many other writing systems.

Contents

Life

He is first mentioned during the reign of Leo VI the Wise (r. 886–912), when he held the title of patrikios and was tasked with collecting money (possibly in exchange for commuting military service) from the European themata . [1] Under Leo VI's brother and successor, Alexander (r. 912–913) he bore the supreme non-imperial title, that of magistros , which he may have received already under Leo. [1]

Leo VI the Wise Byzantine Emperor

Leo VI, called the Wise or the Philosopher, was Byzantine Emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty, he was very well-read, leading to his epithet. During his reign, the renaissance of letters, begun by his predecessor Basil I, continued; but the Empire also saw several military defeats in the Balkans against Bulgaria and against the Arabs in Sicily and the Aegean. His reign also witnessed the formal discontinuation of several ancient Roman institutions, such as the Roman consul and Senate, which continued to exist in name only and lost much of their original functions and powers.

Strateia is a term used in the Byzantine Empire, which according to the Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium "signified enrollment into state or ecclesiastical service and the attendant obligations".

Alexander (Byzantine emperor) Emperor of the Byzantine Empire 912–913

Alexander, sometimes numbered Alexander III, ruled as Emperor of the Byzantine Empire in 912–913.

Follis with Empress-regent Zoe and her son, Constantine VII Follis-Constantine VII and Zoe-sb1758.jpg
Follis with Empress-regent Zoe and her son, Constantine VII

In June 913, shortly before his death, Alexander appointed him as guardian and member of a regency council for Leo's underage son, Constantine VII (r. 913–959), along with the Patriarch Nicholas I Mystikos, the fellow magistros Stephen, the rhaiktor John Lazanes, the otherwise obscure Euthymius and Alexander's henchmen Basilitzes and Gabrielopoulos. [1] [2] In this capacity, Eladas was instrumental in defeating the attempted coup of general Constantine Doukas, by mobilising the palace guard and arming the rowers of the imperial fleet. Eladas' forces confronted the rebel's supporters at the Chalke Gate, and in the ensuing clash, Constantine Doukas was killed. [1]

Constantine VII Byzantine emperor

Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos or Porphyrogenitus was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 913 to 959. He was the son of the emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, and the nephew of his predecessor, the emperor Alexander.

The magistrosStephen was a relative of Empress Theodora and a high-ranking courtier in the Byzantine court of the late 9th and early 10th centuries.

The rhaiktōr was a high-ranking court position of the middle Byzantine Empire.

In August 913, along with his fellow members of the regency, Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos and the magistros Stephen, he received the sons of the Bulgarian tsar Simeon in the Palace of Blachernae. [1] Both Eladas and Stephen soon began to oppose the dominance of the patriarch in the regency council, leading in March 914 to his departure and the assumption of the regency by Leo's widow Zoe Karbonopsina. Upon Eladas' advice, she removed Alexander's henchmen from the regency council. However, Eladas himself fell ill soon after, and withdrew from the Great Palace of Constantinople to that of Blachernae, where he died. [1] [3]

First Bulgarian Empire medieval Bulgarian state that existed in southeastern Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD

The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state that existed in Southeastern Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. It was founded in 681 when Bulgar tribes led by Asparuh moved to the northeastern Balkans. There they secured Byzantine recognition of their right to settle south of the Danube by defeating – possibly with the help of local South Slavic tribes – the Byzantine army led by Constantine IV. At the height of its power, Bulgaria spread from the Danube Bend to the Black Sea and from the Dnieper River to the Adriatic Sea.

Simeon I of Bulgaria King of the Bulgarians

SimeonI the Great ruled over Bulgaria from 893 to 927, during the First Bulgarian Empire. Simeon's successful campaigns against the Byzantines, Magyars and Serbs led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion ever, making it the most powerful state in contemporary Eastern Europe. His reign was also a period of unmatched cultural prosperity and enlightenment later deemed the Golden Age of Bulgarian culture.

The Palace of Blachernae was an imperial Byzantine residence in the suburb of Blachernae, located in the northwestern section of Constantinople. The area of the palace is now mostly overbuilt, and only literary sources are available as to its description.

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Leo Choirosphaktes, sometimes Latinized as Choerosphactes and also known as Leo Magistros or Leo Magister, was a Byzantine official who rose to high office under Emperor Basil I the Macedonian and served as an envoy under Emperor Leo VI the Wise to Bulgaria and the Abbasid Caliphate. Choirosphaktes was also a well-educated and prominent scholar and writer, many of whose works and correspondence survive.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 PmbZ, Ioannes Eladas (#22909).
  2. ↑ Runciman 1988, pp. 47–48.
  3. ↑ Runciman 1988, pp. 51–52.

Sources

Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman, CH, FBA, known as Steven Runciman, was an English historian best known for his three-volume A History of the Crusades (1951–54).

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