Manuel I Komnenos, the Maiandros campaigns of 1177-8 and Thessaloniki
Part of : Balkan studies : biannual publication of the Institute for Balkan Studies ; Vol.38, No.1, 1997, pages 21-29
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21-29
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Articles
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Abstract:
Scrutiny of the panegyrics of the twelfth-century Byzantine rhetor Eustathiosof Thessaloniki has uncovered testinomy to historical events not recordedin any of the contemporary sources. Study of an oration to the Grand HetaireiarchJohn Doukas, and an oration to the emperor Manuel I Komnenos,made upon a temporary recovery from his terminal illness, suggests thatManuel had directed the repair of Thessaloniki’s fortifications in 1179, andprovides a chronology for the campaigns in Asia Minor on the RiverMaiandros in the latter part of Manuel’s reign. The dating of the two orationsmay be subject to revision, as the Doukas oration may be earlier than late1179, and the oration on the occasion of the emperor’s recovery may belong tolate 1179 rather than early 1180, but it is fairly certain that the two orationsbelong to the 1179-80 period. The suggested date for the refurbishment ofThessaloniki’s defences is therefore accurate to within only a few months, butthe suggested chronology of the Maiandros campaigns would nevertheless stillbe valid.
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Keywords:
Manuel I Komnenos, Maiandros
