John VII Palaiologos
John VII Palaiologos or Palaeologus was Byzantine emperor for five months in 1390, from 14 April to 17 September. A handful of sources suggest that John VII sometimes used the name Andronikos, possibly to honour the memory of his father, Andronikos IV Palaiologos, though he reigned under his birth name.
Andronikos IV was the firstborn son of Emperor John V Palaiologos, and had thus been the heir to the throne. After a failed rebellion in 1373, Andronikos IV was imprisoned and partially blinded, the same punishment possibly being carried out on John VII, then only three years old. Andronikos IV escaped in 1376 and successfully took Constantinople, ruling as emperor until 1379. John VII served as co-emperor during this time, possibly being appointed in 1377. Though deposed in 1379 by his brother Manuel II Palaiologos and their father John V, Andronikos IV never renounced his claims. To prevent further conflict, it was agreed in 1381 that Andronikos IV was to succeed John V, making John VII second-in-line to the throne.
Upon Andronikos IV's death in 1385, John VII inherited his claims. Despite the previous agreement, Manuel was seen by John V as the favoured successor. John VII rebelled against John V and successfully seized Constantinople in 1390. After just five months, Manuel succeeded in deposing his nephew with the help of the Ottomans and the Knights Hospitaller. Upon John V's death in 1391, Manuel succeeded him as emperor. Still possessing a powerful network of allies, John VII never surrendered his claim to be the legitimate emperor, and the tense relationship between him and his uncle brought the empire close to civil war several times. Though they were only honoured to a limited extent by Manuel, several agreements in regards to status and the line of succession were made between the two in order to avoid conflict, certifying that John VII remained co-emperor and was to succeed Manuel upon his death.
In 1394, the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I besieged Constantinople. Manuel left the city in 1399 to travel around Western Europe in search for military aid, and entrusted John VII with serving as regent in Constantinople, overseeing its defense. Despite allegations of conspiring with the Ottomans, John VII held the city loyally for the entire duration of Manuel's three and a half years-long journey, refusing to surrender it to Bayezid. The threat to Constantinople ended with Bayezid's defeat against the Timurids at the Battle of Ankara in 1402. In the aftermath of this battle, John VII negotiated a favourable treaty with one of Bayezid's sons, Süleyman Çelebi, which ensured that the important city of Thessalonica, lost to the Ottomans in 1387 due to the actions of Manuel, was returned to imperial control. Despite John VII's loyal service, Manuel sent him away in disgrace once he returned in 1403, and the two were once more enemies. This feud proved to be brief, as they were reconciled a few months later and a new agreement was made, in which John VII was allowed to take possession of Thessalonica and was acknowledged with the full imperial title. From 1403 until his death in 1408, John VII thus ruled in Thessalonica as "Emperor of All Thessaly", with his own separate imperial court. The Thessalonians considered him an able ruler, and his work with local church affairs and improving the city's defensive structures garnered him a positive remembrance.
Biography
Background and early life
John VII Palaiologos was born in 1370 as the only son of Andronikos IV Palaiologos and Keratsa of Bulgaria, a daughter of Emperor Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria. Andronikos IV was the first-born son of Emperor John V Palaiologos and thus the legitimate heir to the Byzantine throne.The Palaiologos dynasty, in power since 1259/1261, was often plagued by infighting, with the emperors and princes of the family often being unable to cooperate among themselves, to the detriment of the empire. The main enemy of the Byzantines at this time was the Ottoman Empire, which throughout the 14th century conquered vast swaths of former imperial territory. John V had even agreed to serve the Ottoman sultan Murad I as a tributary vassal. At this time, despite geopolitical adversity, Byzantine and Ottoman aristocrats were in close contact with each other.
While John was serving on an Ottoman campaign in Anatolia, as per his vassalage agreement with Murad I, Andronikos and one of Murad I's sons, Savcı Bey, co-ordinated simultaneous revolts against their fathers. The two princes were defeated, captured and imprisoned within a few months, as their fathers joined forces to put down the revolts. Andronikos and Savcı suffered harsh punishment. Savcı was blinded and beheaded by Murad I, and though the sultan ordered John V to blind his son as well, the Byzantine emperor was reluctant, only partially following through. Andronikos was only partially blinded, apparently losing just one of his eyes. Some sources suggest that Andronikos's infant son John, the later John VII, only three years old at the time, was also partially blinded in the same way. Furthermore, Andronikos lost his right of succession to the throne, with his younger brother, Manuel II Palaiologos, being designated as heir by John V instead.
Imprisoned with his family in the Prison of Anemas in Constantinople, Andronikos escaped in July 1376, together with his wife and son, to Galata, a colony of the Republic of Genoa on the other side of the Golden Horn, where he was enthusiastically received by the Genoese. The Genoese preferred Andronikos over John V, due to the latter having recently granted the island of Tenedos to their rival, the Republic of Venice, thus hurting their commercial interests. Andronikos also retained the support of a large fraction of Byzantine society, despite his rebellious actions, and successfully took Constantinople on 12 August that same year, with Genoese and Ottoman support. John V and Manuel were imprisoned, and Andronikos ruled as emperor for three years before they escaped and deposed him. During his father's reign, John VII was proclaimed co-emperor, probably in 1377. Even after being deposed, Andronikos never renounced his claim to the throne, residing in Galata and openly declaring his intentions to retake the capital.
The standoff between Andronikos and the emperors in Constantinople lasted until 1381, when an agreement was reached that Andronikos and his son John were to be John V's successors as emperors. Furthermore, Andronikos was once more recognised as junior co-emperor and was allowed to retain and use the title of basileus. Andronikos also received lands around Selymbria as an appanage in 1382.
Andronikos predeceased John V, dying on 25 or 28 June 1385. John VII inherited his father's lands around Selymbria and, as per the 1381 agreement, also inherited the right to use the title basileus, becoming a junior co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. He also inherited his father's claim to be John V's legitimate heir. From his position as junior emperor, John VII received support from the Ottoman Empire, especially from the time of Bayezid I's accession onwards, and from the Genoese. The Genoese support did not escape the attention of John V. At some point between 1387 and 1391, John V is recorded as having complained to the Genoese that the inhabitants of Galata were acclaiming and saluting John VII as if he were the senior emperor, while denying John V the appropriate honours.
Usurpation of the throne and reign
Despite the agreement of 1381, which explicitly stated that John VII was the legitimate successor, and Manuel having shown some rebellious tendencies himself, Manuel remained John V's favoured heir and represented John VII's main obstacle on the way to the throne. When Manuel was away campaigning in Anatolia in 1390, John VII, twenty years old, seized the moment and proclaimed himself sole emperor, laying siege to Constantinople. According to the contemporary Russian chronicler Ignatius of Smolensk, 1390 had seen a strong current of opinion in John VII's favour. John VII had secured the support of the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I and the Genoese; shortly before the siege he had even travelled to Genoa in person to rally support. As he travelled back to the Byzantine Empire by land, it is possible that John VII passed through Bulgaria, where he might also have sought the assistance of Ivan Sratsimir and Ivan Shishman, Tsars of Bulgaria in Vidin and Tarnovo, respectively.In addition to his external allies, a large percentage of the population within Constantinople also supported John VII, and might even have approved of subtle Ottoman intervention in the succession. John entered the city on 14 April 1390, his brief siege having ended through a group of commoners opening the Gate of Charisius, without struggle, and letting him in. Though some coercion was used, before long everyone inside the city had recognised and acclaimed John VII as emperor, submitting to his rule.
There is some contemporary evidence that John VII used the name Andronikos at the time of his usurpation. Ignatius of Smolensk, eyewitness to the event, wrote that the soldiers in John VII's service shouted the acclamation "Polla ta eti Andronikou!", rather than the expected "Polla ta eti Ioannou!" and records of the registers of expenses in Galata in 1390 mention that the emperor in Constantinople at the time was Andronico Paleologo. It is possible that John VII changed his name to Andronikos upon his father's death in 1385 to honour his memory, or adopted it only in 1390, in order to avoid confusion and facilitate his usurpation of the throne. If his soldiers and the people of Constantinople were to depose an emperor named John and proclaim another of the same name, the entire affair could be conducted in bewilderment. By using the name Andronikos, any such issues would be avoided. During his actual reign as emperor, after successfully taking the throne, John VII does not appear to have used the second name, reigning under his birth name. In treaties he signed he is referred to as John, and contemporary Byzantine authors also consistently refer to him by his birth name, ignoring any second name for him.
The few activities recorded to have been conducted during John VII's brief reign suggest that he believed that he was going to rule for a long time. In June, he signed a treaty with Venice and throughout his time as emperor he issued and minted coins. John VII is also recorded to have supported the restoration of Macarius to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Macarius had been Patriarch of Constantinople during the reign of John VII's father, in 1376–1379.
John VII's reign ended in the same year as it had begun, when Manuel returned from his campaign. With the support of the Knights Hospitaller and the Ottomans, Manuel deposed John VII, who had ruled just five months, on 17 September and restored the rule of John V. After helping Manuel retake the city for his father, sultan Bayezid I forced him to live at the Ottoman court, acting as a submissive vassal.