Abstract
The article analyzes Byzantium’s attitude toward the events connected with the Battle of Varna and the significance of the Hexamilion fortifications for imperial policy in 1444. The research problem concerns the ambivalent stance of Emperor John VIII Palaiologos toward the Christian–Ottoman conflict and Byzantium’s place in the rivalry between the Turks and the West. This issue is important for understanding late Byzantine policy toward the Turkish threat and the Florentine Union. The aim of the study is to reinterpret Emperor John VIII’s position and to assess the impact of the events at Varna on the situation of the Empire. The author makes use of Byzantine sources, contemporary political correspondence, and modern historiography concerning the Florentine Union and fifteenth-century Balkan policy. The article demonstrates that Byzantium was interested in weakening the Turks, yet at the same time feared the excessive strengthening of the Latin states. The author challenges the authenticity of the letter attributed to John VIII urging King Władysław III to break the peace treaty with the Turks, arguing that such a policy was not in Byzantium’s interest. The most advantageous situation for the Empire was the temporary weakening of both sides of the conflict, which enabled Constantine Palaiologos to rebuild the Hexamilion fortifications and recover influence in the Peloponnese. The results of the analysis indicate that the Battle of Varna was an ambiguous event for Byzantium, while imperial policy remained cautious and defensive in character.
References
Chalkokondyles L., Historiarum libri decem, red. I. Bekker, Bonnae 1843.
Długosz J., Historia Poloniae, t. IV, wyd. A Przeździecki, Cracoviae 1877.
Ducas M., Historia Byzantina, „Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae”, red. I. Bekker, Bonnae 1834.
Phrantzes G., Chronicon Maius, de facto: Pseudo-Sfrantzes czyli kronika Melissenosa z XVI v., „Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae”, red. I. Bekker, Bonnae 1838.
Babinger F., Z dziejów Imperium Osmanów. Sułtan Mehmed Zdobywca i jego czasy, Warszawa 1977.
Bon A., La Morée franque. Recherches historiques, topographiques et archéologiques sur la principauté d’Achaie (1204–1430), t. I, Paris 1969.
Buchon A., Nouvelles recherches sur la principauté française de Morée et ses hautes baronnies, t. II, cz.1: Testament de Nerio Acciaiuoli, Paris 1843.
Cvetkova B., La bataille mémorable des peuples, Sofia 1971.
Dąbrowska M., Francja i Bizancjum w okresie wielkiej schizmy zachodniej, „Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Historica” 1993, nr 48, s. 127–141.
Dąbrowski J., Rok 1444. Spór o traktat segedyński, Wrocław–Warszawa–Kraków 1966.
Dölger F., Regesten der Kaiserurkunden des Oströmischen Reiches, cz. 5, Munich–Berlin 1965.
Gill J., Personalities of the Council of Florence and the Other Essays, Oxford 1964.
Halecki O., Nowe uwagi krytyczne o wyprawie warneńskiej, „PAU. Rozprawy Wydziału Historyczno-Filozoficznego”, s. II, t. XLV, Kraków 1939.
Hohlweg A., Kaiser Johannes VIII. Palaiologos und der Kreuzzug des Jahres 1444, „Byzantinische Zeitschrift” 1980, t. 73, s. 14–24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/bz-1980-0105
Nicol D.M., Byzantium and Venice. A Study in Diplomatic and Cultural Relations, Cambridge 1988. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511660917
Nicol D.M., The Immortal Emperor. The Life and Legend of Constantine Palaiologos, Last Emperor of the Romans, Cambridge 1992. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511583698
Theocharides I., The Stand of the Byzantine Emperor on the Battle of Varna (1444) According to Greek Sources, „Etudes Balkaniques” 1987, t. 23, nr 1, s. 107–119.
Zakythinos D.A., Le Despotat grec de Morée, t. 1: Histoire politique, Paris 1932.
License
© by Adam Mickiewicz University, Faculty of History, Poznań, 1997
OPEN ACCESS