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John Komnenos (Latinized as Comnenus), nicknamed "the Fat" (), was a Byzantine noble who attempted to usurp the imperial throne from Alexios III Angelos in a short-lived coup in Constantinople on 31 July 1201 (or 1200).〔1201 is the traditional chronology, but some scholars interpret the year as 1200. cf. Brand (1968), p. 348〕 The coup drew on opposition to the ruling Angelid dynasty among both rival aristocratic families and the common people, who were dissatisfied by the dynasty's failures against external foes. Hitherto an obscure figure, John became the figurehead of the uprising because of his imperial blood, as he was descended from the illustrious Komnenian dynasty (1081–1185), but the real driving force behind his coup was probably the ambitious Alexios Doukas Mourtzouphlos. With the support of the capital's populace, the plotters managed to seize most of the Great Palace in Constantinople's southeastern corner, which the mob proceeded to loot, and John Komnenos was crowned in the Hagia Sophia. Alexios III, however, secure in his residence in the northwestern Blachernae Palace, sent forces by sea to land in the part of the Great Palace still held by the loyal Varangian Guard. With most of the urban mob dispersed for the night, the Varangians had little difficulty in suppressing the coup. John Komnenos with many of his followers were captured and executed. == Origin and political background == John was the son of the distinguished ''protostrator'' Alexios Axouch. The Axouchoi were a prominent family of Turkish origin, which was closely associated with the Komnenian dynasty and provided a number of distinguished generals. The two families also intermarried: John's mother Maria was the daughter of Alexios Komnenos, eldest son and co-emperor of Emperor John II Komnenos (r. 1118–1143).〔Kazhdan (1991), p. 239〕〔Angold (2005), p. 60〕 John was thus able to claim a pedigree comparable, if not superior, to the reigning Angeloi, albeit from the maternal side.〔Brand (1968), p. 122〕 The reign of Alexios III Angelos (r. 1195–1203) had been troubled from the outset: the aristocracy conspired against him, his pressing demand for new sources of revenue was blocked by the refusal of Senate, clergy and merchants to contribute, while the lower and middle classes of the imperial capital frequently displayed their discontent with riots against corrupt officials. The most notable of these was a large-scale uprising in February 1200 against the warden of the ''praetorium'', Constantinople's chief prison, John Lagos, which was bloodily suppressed by imperial troops.〔Brand (1968), pp. 119–122〕〔Cheynet (1996), pp. 444–445〕 John Komnenos himself was a rather unimportant figure in the court, and in a marginal note dating to the late 13th century, Alexios Doukas Mourtzouphlos, who briefly became emperor during Constantinople's final siege by the Fourth Crusade, was named as the real mastermind behind the coup. He was certainly supported by a wider circle of nobles from the Komnenian era, possibly even the brothers Alexios Komnenos and David Komnenos, who later founded the Empire of Trebizond.〔〔 Thus the historian Michael Angold traces the coup's inception to the events of early 1199, when Alexios III married his two daughters Irene and Anna to Alexios Palaiologos and Theodore Laskaris respectively. This marriage not only spoke of increasing confidence for the Emperor, but also provided for the imperial succession and began the establishment of a separate aristocratic power-base, which must have displeased many noble families.〔Angold (2005), pp. 60–61〕〔Brand (1968), pp. 119–120〕〔Cheynet (1996), pp. 443–444〕 However, the revolt was also fuelled by a general feeling of discontent and humiliation at the failures of the Angeloi, especially in terms of foreign policy. This much is evident from the – albeit embellished – account of the eyewitness Nicholas Mesarites, whereby John Komnenos's supporters proclaimed that henceforth everything would go well for ''Romania'', that her enemies would be vanquished, and that the kings of all the earth would come to pay homage to Constantinople.〔Cheynet (1996), p. 445〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「John Komnenos the Fat」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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