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CHAPTER IX - REBELLION AND RESETTLEMENT
The year 1358 would mark a difficult period in the life of Constantine XI Dusanes. In February, his beloved life Maria had succumbed to the plague. In April, his eldest son Uroses was killed in battle while putting down a Turkish uprising in Western Bithynia. The 10-year-old Manuel Dusanes became the Rhomanian heir apparent, and Dusanes became fiercely protective of this bright young boy. Dusanes's youngest child, Thomas, was a sickly three-year-old who would not survive his father. As retribution for the death of his eldest son (and probably at the behest of the Servian nobility), Dusanes resettled many Turks of Bithynia to Thrace and Thessaly, replacing them with Servian and Roman settlers. His successors continued his policy with even greater ardor. The Servian settlers would found what is today the important port city of Novigradi, located some 30 miles away from Pergamos. Talks of reconquest in Candar and a possible invasion of Bulgaria did not materialize into any military action, and Dusanes continued his cautious but all-important task of reincorporating his conquests into the Empire. I will not bore my readers with the numerous legal reforms which Dusanes attempted (most of which would sadly not survive him), as far more important events were occurring outside the Empire at this time.
In February 1361, a popular Roman uprising in Athens headed by the young fisherman Nicholas led to the overthrow (and death) of Roland of Sicily, the provincial despot. Roland's nephew and king, Frederick III of Sicily, had succumbed to the plague a year previously. He had died childless, and the four prominent Sicilian baronial families had been involved in a prolonged and increasingly bloody struggle for control over the island. Though this certainly helped Nicholas and his fellow rebels, the local Latin garrison did not give up without a fight. It took until late Summer for the Romans to secure the city and its surroundings. With the Aragonese busy trying to sort out the troubles in Sicily, Nicholas was given free reign - for how long, he would not know. As we shall see, he took full advantage of this power vacuum. In September, Nicholas rather foolishly declared himself "basileus and autokrator of the Romans." My readers are probably horrified by this sacrilegious proclamation, but I should mention that this audacious peasant was truly loved by the people. His accomplishments on the battlefield against the Latins would finally reestablish Roman rule in Athens, even if Dusanes would not take too kindly to the young leader's brashness.
During this time, the Germiyans continued to consolidate their position as the most powerful Turkish state in Asia Minor. The Sultanate of Rum continued to make incursions into Eretnan territory, and by early 1359 the Sultan Mustafa had moved his capital to newly-captured Ikonion, called Konya by the Turks. Later that year, Hirakleia and Archelais had also fallen, and Mustafa Bey set his sights on the Eretnan capital, Ancyra. One cannot forget that a large part of Mustafa's forces were on loan from Dusanes, mainly Muslim Bithynian Turks led by early Urum converts. One such convert and commander, Michael Aidinoglou (a cousin of John the Turk) distinguished himself in battle, and earned the admiration and respect of the Sultan. An undated letter recently found in an old library somewhere in Turkish Ancyra illustrates the perhaps scandalous extent of this admiration:
Mehmed [Michael's birth name], my son, I would like to extend my sincerest thanks for your recent victory in Eregli [Hirakleia]... If only you had kept the faith of your fathers, you would have truly been a son to me. When we last met in Konya, I could not help but note that my daughter, Yesim, had taken quite a liking to you... Would you not come back, follow the Prophet's path, and revert to Islam? You know little Greek, and their ways are foreign to you. I am an old man...I have no sons, I do not trust the fools I call brothers... I need a man who can continue my work and bring glory to our Sultanate. Are you that man?
I should note that some Turkish historians have dismissed this letter as 16th century forgery. Others, including the eminent Zeki Pamuk, have testified to its authenticity. If the letter (assuming its authenticity) had been made public, Michael would certainly have been dismissed from his position and perhaps even accused of treason. Whatever may be the case, we can be certain of a few things. One, Michael never did revert to Islam, though he continued to serve under the Sultan on Dusanes's behalf. Two, primary sources point to the likelihood of an affair between Yesim and Michael during stay at Ikonion, though we know that Michael went on to marry a daughter of the Servian despot of Epirus. And finally, this would not be the last time an Aidinoglou was offered the hand of a Germiyan.
CHAPTER IX - REBELLION AND RESETTLEMENT
The year 1358 would mark a difficult period in the life of Constantine XI Dusanes. In February, his beloved life Maria had succumbed to the plague. In April, his eldest son Uroses was killed in battle while putting down a Turkish uprising in Western Bithynia. The 10-year-old Manuel Dusanes became the Rhomanian heir apparent, and Dusanes became fiercely protective of this bright young boy. Dusanes's youngest child, Thomas, was a sickly three-year-old who would not survive his father. As retribution for the death of his eldest son (and probably at the behest of the Servian nobility), Dusanes resettled many Turks of Bithynia to Thrace and Thessaly, replacing them with Servian and Roman settlers. His successors continued his policy with even greater ardor. The Servian settlers would found what is today the important port city of Novigradi, located some 30 miles away from Pergamos. Talks of reconquest in Candar and a possible invasion of Bulgaria did not materialize into any military action, and Dusanes continued his cautious but all-important task of reincorporating his conquests into the Empire. I will not bore my readers with the numerous legal reforms which Dusanes attempted (most of which would sadly not survive him), as far more important events were occurring outside the Empire at this time.
In February 1361, a popular Roman uprising in Athens headed by the young fisherman Nicholas led to the overthrow (and death) of Roland of Sicily, the provincial despot. Roland's nephew and king, Frederick III of Sicily, had succumbed to the plague a year previously. He had died childless, and the four prominent Sicilian baronial families had been involved in a prolonged and increasingly bloody struggle for control over the island. Though this certainly helped Nicholas and his fellow rebels, the local Latin garrison did not give up without a fight. It took until late Summer for the Romans to secure the city and its surroundings. With the Aragonese busy trying to sort out the troubles in Sicily, Nicholas was given free reign - for how long, he would not know. As we shall see, he took full advantage of this power vacuum. In September, Nicholas rather foolishly declared himself "basileus and autokrator of the Romans." My readers are probably horrified by this sacrilegious proclamation, but I should mention that this audacious peasant was truly loved by the people. His accomplishments on the battlefield against the Latins would finally reestablish Roman rule in Athens, even if Dusanes would not take too kindly to the young leader's brashness.
During this time, the Germiyans continued to consolidate their position as the most powerful Turkish state in Asia Minor. The Sultanate of Rum continued to make incursions into Eretnan territory, and by early 1359 the Sultan Mustafa had moved his capital to newly-captured Ikonion, called Konya by the Turks. Later that year, Hirakleia and Archelais had also fallen, and Mustafa Bey set his sights on the Eretnan capital, Ancyra. One cannot forget that a large part of Mustafa's forces were on loan from Dusanes, mainly Muslim Bithynian Turks led by early Urum converts. One such convert and commander, Michael Aidinoglou (a cousin of John the Turk) distinguished himself in battle, and earned the admiration and respect of the Sultan. An undated letter recently found in an old library somewhere in Turkish Ancyra illustrates the perhaps scandalous extent of this admiration:
Mehmed [Michael's birth name], my son, I would like to extend my sincerest thanks for your recent victory in Eregli [Hirakleia]... If only you had kept the faith of your fathers, you would have truly been a son to me. When we last met in Konya, I could not help but note that my daughter, Yesim, had taken quite a liking to you... Would you not come back, follow the Prophet's path, and revert to Islam? You know little Greek, and their ways are foreign to you. I am an old man...I have no sons, I do not trust the fools I call brothers... I need a man who can continue my work and bring glory to our Sultanate. Are you that man?
I should note that some Turkish historians have dismissed this letter as 16th century forgery. Others, including the eminent Zeki Pamuk, have testified to its authenticity. If the letter (assuming its authenticity) had been made public, Michael would certainly have been dismissed from his position and perhaps even accused of treason. Whatever may be the case, we can be certain of a few things. One, Michael never did revert to Islam, though he continued to serve under the Sultan on Dusanes's behalf. Two, primary sources point to the likelihood of an affair between Yesim and Michael during stay at Ikonion, though we know that Michael went on to marry a daughter of the Servian despot of Epirus. And finally, this would not be the last time an Aidinoglou was offered the hand of a Germiyan.
