Im sure it was never far from the emperor's in Constantinople mind, that the ruling family in Trebizond had a better claim to the throne then they had.
Eh not really, the Byzantines didn't place as much importance on dynastic "claims to the throne" as did the western Europeans. Once it was clear that the trebuzantines had no intention or possibility to claim Constantinople, I doubt the court of Constantinople feared them at all.
@@jessedawson8338 at that late period sure they did. How long did the last dynasty last after the restoration from the Latins, til the end. If you mean historically sure I'm with you. But this late period is full of a few elite byzantine family's in the empire and successor states like Trebizond and Eiprus
@@tylerellis9097 the Komnenos family only reigned for over a 100 years before that. I'm sure if they would have had the ability to retake Constantinople this would not be any issue
@@christopherevans2445 The Palaiologians were also descended from the Komnenoi. All the major families were. The true Komnenian branch was usurped and destroyed by Andronikos who became a hated emperor that got deposed and ripped apart. His son Manuel got blinded and his heir John Executed. It’s Manuel’s sons who founded Trebizond. Their claim was not stronger than the rest.
There is no doubt about the highest ranked Emperors, they were indeed the best. So the child rulers just slightly better than the mediocre, all the three Empresses are among the worst, but Basileios Megas Komnenos, who murdered his nephew Manuel II, purged his government, hired haughty foreign mercenaries that disturbed order in Trebizond, whose almost polygamous behavior brought the condemnation of Constantinople and his later demise and the ensuing civil war, is among the good Emperors?
These are fair criticisms. While I have tried to place the kids in the middle I think some of the mediocre emperors are below average and some of them are above without necessarily warranting another epithet. The empresses of Trebizond did not reign for very long and unfortunately we either don't know all that much about them or what we do know is not exactly a litany of successes. While Basil was a ruthless man and unpopular but was a competent ruler and fairly successful, his undoing as you rightly point out was his bigamous affair with Irene of Trebizond.
Love your stuff - I find Trebizond so fascinating and the whole middle-to-late Byzantine eastern Anatolia. I am also interested in what happened to the Byzantine nobility went after loss of empire - and the rump states like Epirus and Gothia, like Doukas, Gavras (or Gabras), Angelos, Komenos,etc. etc. I know one ended up in Stepney, supposedly one of the last of the Palaiologos. I believe my family were around at the time. But we only know that Godscall Paleologue was baptised I believe in the same church my ancestors went to, people say I look Greek - who knows maybe I am descendent of Godscall Paleologue!!! Τόν Δεσπότην και Αρχιερέα! Ha! :p I am currently reading Digenes Akritas at the moment, and ordered another book late Byzantine folk songs and poetry. Niche! :D
My grandfather's are Greek romans from Pontus Trabson they went to Greece in 1924 after surviving a genocide in Turkey Most of the pontian Greeks were Akrites in the borders of the Byzantine empire we figth Islam for almost 1400 years 😂
@@isaacpaleolog7103 Supply route too long, if persians attacked their army would be very far. Also once arab expansion began and they lost the Levant + Egypt/Magreb it became unlikely.
The Russian Tsars claimed their authority through them. The meanline Byzantine branch sold their inheritance to hapsburgs strangely enough, though I'm not sure it ever came to have relevance. So I guess the Russians have a better claim given that they actually made use of it.
@tylerellis9097 Calling Issacs usurpation and manipulation of the populace anger just that is a bit of a stretch. Ether way my comment is a joke on the idea of who are the true romans.
They were a parallel continuation, no more legitimate than the restored empire in Constantinople. And just as fractured and ineffectual at the end of the day, sadly.
