Manuel II Laskaris

Reign: 1316 - 1324Son of Ioannes IV Laskaris, Manuel II ruled the Roman Empire from 1316 to 1324. His reign was dominated by rebellions by Turks in Anatolia and the Roman-Bulgarian War of 1317.

Early Life

The eldest son of Ioannes IV, Manuel married a princess from Georgia, an alliance which led to Georgian troops fighting on the side of the Romans in Ioannes IV’s conquest of central Anatolia. Manuel spent much of his early adulthood in the Roman army, commanding the force which captured Antioch in 1305. His role in this conquest caused Pope Urban V to call him a “servant of Satan.” During his time with the army, Manuel fought alongside a number of Turks, even persuading a few minor emirs to join him, and developed a respect for them that was reciprocated.

Turkish Rebellions

Manuel was crowned Emperor of the Rhomans in 1316, following the death of his father. Almost immediately afterward, a revolt of Turks in Anatolia began, spurred by the conversion and relocation policies of Ioannas IV. An Ottoman Turkish army invaded Cilicia in support, but Manuel II fought an inconclusive battle with them near Tarsus and the Ottomans turn back.

To end the rebellion, Manuel II promised an end to relocation and a new policy of religious toleration. Turks were allowed to maintain their Islamic faith, but are not allowed to proselytize and mosques could not be taller than the tallest church in town. Manuel II instead surrounded Islamic Turks with Christian settlers, including Greeks, Armenians, Christian Turks, Bulgarians, and Vlachs, and ensured that Muslim soldiers fought alongside Christian ones. His efforts were meant to slowly convert the remaining Muslims, a process which would take several generations. This effort however was criticized by the Patriarch of Constantinople.

Roman-Bulgarian War of 1317

In 1317, both Bulgaria and Serbia attempted to take advantage of the Turkish rebellions and began raiding Roman territory in Europe. Manuel II marched his army on the Bulgarian capital, Trnovo (Veliko Tarnovo), as the Serbians were deemed a lesser threat. The Bulgarians tried to divert the Roman army by besieging Adrianople and Mesembria, but even the fall of Adrianople due to treachery did not change Manuel II’s plans. Trnovo fell to Manuel II three weeks later and the Romans razed the city in revenge, killing most of the citizens and taking the rest to be resettled in Anatolia. The remaining Bulgarian forces freed roughly 1,000 captives in a skirmish, but were too weak to meet the Romans in battle. The siege of Mesembria was lifted when the Bulgarians withdrew.

Peace was declared on generous terms. The Romans returned all non-Trnovo prisoners, while the Bulgarians returned all Roman prisoners, were not required to pay a tribute, and kept the loot from the sacking of Adrianople. Serbia sued for peace quickly after, agreeing to pay an annual tribute of 2,500 hyperpyra.

Death

Manuel II Laskaris died in 1324 at the age of forty. He was succeeded by his only living child, a daughter named Anna. She reigned as Anna I Laskaris.