Theodore Komnenos Doukas was ruler of Epirus and Thessaly from 1215 to 1230. He was also the power behind the rule of his sons John and Demetrios over Thessalonica in 1237–1246. Born between 1180 and 1185, Theodore was a son of the sebastokrator John Doukas and of Zoe Doukaina. He served Theodore I Laskaris, founder of the Empire of Nicaea, for a few years before being called to E Pirus.
About Theodore Komnenos Doukas in brief
Theodore Komnenos Doukas was ruler of Epirus and Thessaly from 1215 to 1230. He was also the power behind the rule of his sons John and Demetrios over Thessalonica in 1237–1246. Born between 1180 and 1185, Theodore was a son of the sebastokrator John Doukas and of Zoe Doukaina. He served Theodore I Laskaris, founder of the Empire of Nicaea, for a few years before being called to E Pirus. Theodore was defeated and captured at the Battle of Klokotnitsa, and spent the next seven years in captivity. Having been blinded during his captivity, he installed his eldest son John as emperor, but remained the de facto regent of the state. He died around 1253 in exile in Nicaea. Most members of his family, preferred to use the surname of Doukas or Doukas, rather than Komneno or Doukas. The only writers to call him ‘Angelos’ were the pro-Palaios, Nikephoros Skoros, and Gregoras Skouti, who were hostile to the Komnene and Doukenei dynasties of the medieval Byzantine Empire. He is buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Athens, where he is buried with his wife, Theodora, a daughter of the Byzantine emperor Alexios I KomNenos. He had a son, Michael II, who became the first Byzantine emperor to be deposed by his son John III Doukas Vatatzes in 1241.
He also had a daughter, Irene, who was married to John Asen II of Thrace. Theodore died in 1253, and was buried at the church of St. Andrew in Athens. His son Michael II was the first emperor to depose his brother John III Vat atatzes and take the throne as Emperor John II Doukas in 1252. He later died in exile. He may have been the father of the future Byzantine emperor John II of Aragon, who ruled from 1260 to 1280. Theodore’s son Michael III was the last emperor to rule over the Byzantine Empire before his death in 1281. Theodore is buried at St. Peter’s Basilica in Constantinople, along with his daughter Irene. His grandson Michael II became the last Byzantine emperor, Alexios II of Arcadiopolis, who died in 1280. Theodore had no children of his own, but had several illegitimate children with other Byzantine aristocratic families. His nephew Michael II had an affair with the Byzantine Empress Alexios III of Trebizond. Theodore also had an illegitimate son, Theodoros, with whom he was involved in the First Lateran War of 1215-1220. He ruled over EpirUS and Thesaly from 1180 to 1215. In 1224, Theodore declared himself emperor, challenging the Nicaean emperor John III. He then ruled over Thrace, most of Macedonia, and Albania.
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