Образът на българския цар Георги II Тертер (1322 – 1323) в историческия труд на Йоан Кантакузин. Византийската перспектива

Автори:
Страници: 27-42
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/FEOK4214

Резюме:

This article examines in detail the account of the historical work by monk Joasaph Christodoulos, i.e. the ex-emperor John VI Kantakouzenos (1347 – 1354), on the reign of the Bulgarian Tsar George II Terter (1322 – 1323). It is the only surviving Eastern Roman narrative record devoted to the short reign of this ruler. The aim of the critical analysis of the indicated text is to reconstruct the image of the contemporary Bulgaria's ruler, as the author wished to present to his readers and as it emerges in general in the light of the reading of the source in question. In keeping with his custom, Kantakouzenos reports on the very actions undertaken by the Bulgarian monarch, leaving the reader to draw conclusions from the lecture. And he appears in the text as an aggressor, ruthlessly taking advantage of the ongoing civil war in Byzantium to invade, plunder imperial territories and capture their strongholds with impunity. He only manages to do so due to the lack of resistance from the Byzantines themselves, as well as through betrayals and deceptions, and not as a result of his own strength and martial skills. When the warring Byzantine parties come to an agreement and Emperor Andronicus III steps in against Terter, he immediately puts an end to the hostilities. In addition, the sudden and mysterious death of the Bulgarian Tsar leads to a completely opposite situation, in which the Byzantines take over the Bulgarian cities and fortresses in Northern Thrace. The latter surrender to them voluntarily, which is supposed to show that they were unwilling to be ruled by the Bulgarian “tyrant”.

Ключови думи:

George II Terter, John VI Kantakouzenos, Byzantine-Bulgarian relations, the image of Bulgarians in Byzantine sources, medieval Bulgaria, Byzantium, Byzantine-Bulgarian wars

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