User:Dkzzl/希拉克略
1341-1347年拜占庭帝国内战 | |||||||||
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拜占庭内战、拜占庭-塞尔维亚战争、拜占庭-突厥战争的一部分 | |||||||||
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参战方 | |||||||||
约翰五世 摄政: 萨伏依的安娜 约翰十四世·卡莱卡斯 阿莱克修斯·阿波考科斯 盟友: 塞萨洛尼基的狂热者 塞尔维亚 (1343–1347) 保加利亚 卡尔武纳 |
约翰·坎塔库泽诺斯 盟友: 塞尔维亚(1342–1343) 艾登王朝 (1342/3–1345) 奥斯曼王朝 (1345–1347) 萨鲁汗王朝 | ||||||||
指挥官与领导者 | |||||||||
阿莱克修斯·阿波考科斯 斯特凡·杜尚 乔治·普雷柳布 伊凡·亚历山大 莫姆奇尔 † (1344–1345) |
约翰·坎塔库泽诺斯 曼努埃尔·坎塔库泽诺斯 约翰·安格洛斯 斯特凡·杜尚 赫雷利亚 乌穆尔贝伊 奥尔汗一世 |
1341-1347年拜占庭帝國內戰,或稱第二次巴列奧略王朝內戰[1],指的是拜占庭帝国皇帝安德洛尼卡三世死后国内爆发的内战。安德洛尼卡的儿子约翰五世当时年仅9岁,两派势力围绕小皇帝的监护权展开争夺,一方是安德洛尼卡三世手下权势极大的贵族约翰·坎塔库泽诺斯,另一方是摄政太后萨伏依的安娜以及她的支持者君士坦丁堡牧首约翰十四世·卡莱卡斯及“大都督(μέγας δούξ)”阿莱克修斯·阿波考科斯。战争爆发后,拜占庭社会各阶层态度分化,上层贵族倾向于坎塔库泽诺斯,下层与中间阶层更支持摄政太后。这场战争也有一些宗教色彩:当时的帝国宗教界陷入静修派争论,而支持具有神秘主义色彩的静修信条的人物通常也是坎塔库泽诺斯的支持者。
作为安德洛尼卡三世皇帝的左膀右臂与亲密友人,坎塔库泽诺斯在1341年6月安德洛尼卡死后自封为未成年的约翰五世皇帝的摄政,并得到军队认可。但就在同年9月,将领阿莱克修斯·阿波考科斯与牧首约翰十四世趁坎塔库泽诺斯外出作战,在君士坦丁堡发动政变,取得了太后安娜的支持,约翰十四世自封为摄政。作为回应,10月,坎塔库泽诺斯的军队与支持者推举他为约翰五世的共治皇帝,随后局势便升级为内战。
摄政方的军队在战争的头几年占了上风,色雷斯与马其顿的多数城市在经历了反贵族的政治浪潮(最著名的是塞萨洛尼基的“狂热者”动乱)后支持摄政方。但坎塔库泽诺斯求援于塞尔维亚君主斯特凡·杜尚与小亚细亚的突厥人国家艾登王朝君主乌穆尔贝伊,成功逆转了局势。到1345年,虽然杜尚已改变立场,乌穆尔贝伊也已撤军,但坎塔库泽诺斯又设法得到了奥斯曼君主奥尔汗的帮助,仍然占据优势。当年6月,摄政方的首要大臣阿莱克修斯·阿波考科斯被一群囚徒杀害,严重打击了摄政政权。1346年,坎塔库泽诺斯在阿德里安堡正式加冕称帝(史称约翰六世),并于1347年2月3日胜利进入君士坦丁堡。根据双方的协定,他可以作为首要皇帝与小皇帝约翰五世的摄政统治十年,后者同年后则与之共同统治帝国。虽然坎塔库泽诺斯在这场内战中取胜,但1352年不满的约翰五世再次挑起内战,1354年约翰六世战败,被迫退位进入修道院。
长期的内战对拜占庭帝国来说市场灾难。本来帝国在安德洛尼卡三世统治下刚刚恢复稳定,但七年的战争状态、劫掠成性的军队、社会动荡以及即将到来的黑死病彻底摧毁了拜占庭帝国的实力。内战也使得塞尔维亚君主斯特凡·杜尚得以征服阿尔巴尼亚、伊庇鲁斯与马其顿的大部分,建立了塞尔维亚帝国,保加利亚帝国也趁机获取了埃夫罗斯河以北的土地。
背景
1341年的拜占庭帝国风雨飘摇。尽管米海尔八世皇帝(1259-1282年在位)恢复了君士坦丁堡,并一定程度恢复了帝国的旧日雄风,但他的政策耗尽了国家的资源,使得帝国在其继承人安德洛尼卡二世(1282-1328年在位)统治下快速衰落[2]。在安德洛尼卡二世漫长的统治期间,拜占庭帝国在小亚细亚的残余领土逐渐被许多突厥人政权,尤其是新生的奥斯曼王朝夺取,这导致了涌向拜占庭欧洲领土的难民潮;同一时期加泰罗尼亚佣兵团也给帝国领土带来了巨大的破坏;因为向四周的敌人进贡,税收也急剧增加。一次次的失败与个人的野心驱使皇帝的孙子与继承人——小安德洛尼卡(安德洛尼卡三世)发动叛乱,并得到了以约翰·坎塔库泽诺斯与西尔吉安内斯·巴列奥略为首的一群年轻贵族的支持,经过14世纪20年代的三次冲突,安德洛尼卡三世最终废黜了他的祖父[3]。虽然成功推翻了无能的老皇帝,内战仍然给帝国的未来蒙上了阴影,帝国的强邻——塞尔维亚、保加利亚、突厥人、热那亚、威尼斯纷纷利用帝国的内讧,或者直接夺取帝国的领土,或者扩大其势力在帝国内部的影响力[4]。
约翰·坎塔库泽诺斯是家中的独子,父亲曾任摩里亚拜占庭领地的长官,母亲与皇族巴列奥略家族有亲戚关系。他继承了家族在马其顿、色雷斯、色萨利的众多地产,从小便与安德洛尼卡三世成为朋友,成为他最信任、最亲密的幕僚[5]。安德洛尼卡三世在位期间(1328-1341年),约翰·坎塔库泽诺斯实质上成为他的首席大臣,并担任“大统帅(μέγας δομέστικος)”,即拜占庭军队总司令[6]。他与皇帝的关系在此时仍然密切,1330年,还没有继承人的安德洛尼卡三世(其子约翰出生于1332年)突然生病,就指定坎塔库泽诺斯将在他死后继位或担任摄政[7]。 1341年春,约翰的长子马修·坎塔库泽诺斯迎娶皇帝的堂妹伊琳娜·巴列奥洛吉娜,两人的关系更加紧密[8]。
与解散拜占庭陆军与海军,倾心僧侣与知识分子的安德洛尼卡二世不同,安德洛尼卡是个精力充沛的统治者,坚持亲自率军外出作战[4]。1329年,他第一次出兵作战,目标是奥斯曼贝伊,结果在佩勒卡诺斯战役中遭遇惨败,此后拜占庭在比提尼亚的残余统治迅速瓦解[9]。不过之后他多次率军深入巴尔干并取得了成功,稳固了他摇摇欲坠的统治。 色萨利与伊庇鲁斯专制国这两个第四次十字军后建立的希腊人政权,分别于1328年与1337年几乎不流血得被帝国吞并[10]。安德洛尼卡三世还重新打造了一支规模不大的舰队,使他得以于1329年自热那亚贵族家族扎卡里亚家族手中夺回富裕且战略位置关键的希俄斯岛,并迫使安纳托利亚大陆福西亚城的热那亚总督安德内洛·卡塔内欧(Andreolo Cattaneo)向他宣誓效忠[11]。但1335年,安德内洛的儿子多梅尼克(Domenico)在热那亚的援助下夺取了莱斯沃斯岛,皇帝派遣舰队前去征讨,并请求突厥人政权萨鲁汗王朝与艾登王朝出兵支援,最终成功收复莱斯沃斯岛与福西亚。萨鲁汗方面派遣了援军与补给,而艾登的君主乌穆尔贝伊则亲自赶来与皇帝会面,也就是在此时,坎塔库泽诺斯与乌穆尔贝伊开始了长期的友好与同盟关系[12]。
1331-1334年与塞尔维亚的战争则没那么成功,拜占庭叛徒西尔吉安内斯·巴列奥略率领塞尔维亚军队夺取了马其顿的几个城镇,但随后西尔吉安内斯被刺身亡,匈牙利入侵的威胁也迫使塞尔维亚君主斯特凡·杜尚寻求谈和[13]。随后双方达成的和约对未来的拜占庭-塞尔维亚关系产生了重要影响,拜占庭帝国第一次承认了安德洛尼卡二世时代塞尔维亚夺取的帝国领土的丧失。签署条约之后,杜尚向南迁都至普里莱普,王国的重心也随之南移[14]。
尽管小亚细亚的损失不可逆转,但帝国在伊庇鲁斯与色萨利的胜利也巩固了帝国在巴尔干南部希腊语地区的地位。安德洛尼卡三世与坎塔库泽诺斯还在计划收复南希腊被拉丁人诸国占据的土地,现代学者唐纳德·尼科尔写道:“如果拜占庭帝国能完全收复希腊半岛,那么帝国将再次拥有一个同质的结构,就能够应对塞尔维亚人、意大利人及其他敌人。马塔潘角到塞萨洛尼基再到君士坦丁堡将构成一个虽然面积不大,但紧凑而易于管理的经济-行政单位。”[8]。
坎塔库泽诺斯摄政:1341年6月-9月
短暂生病后,安德洛尼卡三世于1341年6月14或15日去世,年仅45岁,在当时也算是相对短寿,他的死因可能是慢性疟疾[15]。他九岁的儿子约翰(即约翰五世)显然应该继承皇位,但他父亲生前并没有正式宣布或加冕他为共治皇帝[16]。这造成了一种政治真空,帝国政府现在该由谁来领导成了问题[17]。
按照拜占庭习俗,太后是当然的摄政者,然而约翰·坎塔库泽诺斯却在没有正式任命的情况下命令军队看管住正在宫中的太后萨伏依的安娜与皇子约翰,并与拜占庭元老院会面,宣称由于他与先帝的亲密关系,他应该拥有摄政权与治理国家的权力。他还要求约翰五世即刻与他的女儿海伦结婚。但君士坦丁堡牧首约翰十四世·卡莱卡斯反对他的举动,还出示了一份1334年安德洛尼卡二世签署的文件,其上写明,安德洛尼卡二世死后,由他负责照看皇室。只有在6月20日首都驻军示威之后,坎塔库泽诺斯才稳固了摄政之位,并控制了政府行政,他也继续担任“大统帅(μέγας δομέστικος)”以维持对军队的控制[18]。
尽管如此,反对坎塔库泽诺斯的派系围绕三个中心人物逐渐形成:决心在帝国政治中确立发言权的牧首、担心坎塔库泽诺斯会废黜她的儿子的太后、以及野心勃勃的“大都督(μέγας δούξ,海军总司令)”、官僚系统的首脑阿莱克修斯·阿波考科斯[19]。 阿波考科斯出身不高,全靠安德洛尼卡二世的信任才跻身高位并积累了大笔财富,在1341年时,甚至堪称帝国首富,但他的发迹经历也使世袭贵族阶层对他抱有怀疑的眼光。仅存的两部记载这一时期的叙事史书是坎塔库泽诺斯本人撰写的回忆录与尼基弗鲁斯·格雷戈拉斯的历史著作,二人都带有贵族阶层的偏见,把阿波考科斯的形象写得十分负面[20]。据坎塔库泽诺斯自己的说法,阿波考科斯是出于个人野心才加入了牧首的阵营:为了谋求更高的地位,阿波考科斯劝坎塔库泽诺斯自己称帝,但后者表示拒绝,于是阿波考科斯就秘密地转换了阵营[21]。
在现代学者唐纳德·尼科尔看来,如果坎塔库泽诺斯选择呆在君士坦丁堡,他的地位或许能继续稳定下去。然而,他既是军队统帅,又是小皇帝的摄政,有义务前往对抗那些试图利用安德洛尼卡死去之机的敌人:塞尔维亚的杜尚入侵了马其顿,萨鲁汗王朝劫掠了色雷斯沿海,保加利亚沙皇伊凡·亚历山大也威胁要开战[22]。7月,坎塔库泽诺斯率领军队离开首都,他认为阿波考科斯仍忠于他,于是命他代理执政。坎塔库泽诺斯的战斗比较顺利,他说服杜尚撤退、击退了突厥劫掠者,伊凡·亚历山大则在一支艾登王朝舰队的威胁下与拜占庭续签了和约[17][23]。锦上添花的是,亚该亚国的拉丁男爵们派出的使团前来拜访,他们表示愿意将国家献给拜占庭,以换取财产与权利的保留;正如坎塔库泽诺斯在他的回忆录中承认的那样,这可以算得上一个绝无仅有的机会,如果此事成功,加泰罗尼亚人控制的雅典公国必将效仿,拜占庭帝国将大大巩固对希腊的控制[24][25]。
但就在此时,坎塔库泽诺斯受到了君士坦丁堡传来的惊人消息:8月底,阿波考科斯决心政变,并尝试绑架约翰五世但没有得手,他成功逃到自己在埃皮巴泰的设防居所内,但军队将他封锁在其内部。9月初,坎塔库泽诺斯抵达君士坦丁堡并留居数周,与太后商议国家事务。之后他启程重返色雷斯,准备远征摩里亚。途中他前往埃皮巴泰,赦免了阿波考科斯并让他官复原职[26]。
内战爆发:1341年秋
事后来看,坎塔库泽诺斯这次离开首都是个错误。阿波考科斯返回后,坎塔库泽诺斯的敌人们趁他不在积极行动。阿波考科斯聚集了一帮高级贵族,其中有“警戒军团大长官(μέγας δρουγγάριος)”约翰·加巴拉斯(John Gabalas)以及与阿波考科斯联姻的乔治·霍姆诺斯。牧首以阿波考科斯的团伙和太后的权威为后盾,宣布罢免坎塔库泽诺斯,并宣布他为公敌,随后他自命为摄政,任命阿波考科斯为君士坦丁堡城市长官。坎塔库泽诺斯的亲戚与亲信或是被投入监狱,或是逃出城外,他们的财产都被没收[27]。坎塔库泽诺斯的妻儿呆在他位于德莫蒂卡(季季莫蒂霍)的大本营中,因而平安无事,但他的母亲狄奥多拉被软禁在家里,不久之后去世[28]。
随着第一批君士坦丁堡来的逃难者抵达德莫蒂卡,坎塔库泽诺斯得知了消息,据他自己在回忆录里的说法,他尝试与新摄政谈判,但被对方拒绝[29]。之后他做出最重要的决定:1341年10月26日,他在军队(据格雷戈拉斯记载,有4千步兵与2千骑兵)与支持者(多来自地主贵族阶层)的拥护下称帝。他称帝的行为几乎等于是宣布开启一场内战,虽然他宣称自己只是小皇帝约翰五世的低级共治者,并以小皇帝的名义行事。[30][31]在此之后,他仍希望以谈判解决冲突,但他派遣的使节全部被扣押,牧首还宣布开除他与他的支持者的教籍。1341年11月19日,摄政还正式为约翰五世加冕,以回应坎塔库泽诺斯的称帝。[32][33]
面对坎塔库泽诺斯的发难,拜占庭社会内部产生了分裂:控制乡村地区的有钱有势的地主贵族们(传统上被称为“有权势者(δυνατοί)”[34])迅速聚集起来支持坎塔库泽诺斯;而生活困苦,受租税压迫的普通民众则支持太后与牧首。[35][36]阿波考科斯迅速利了这种分裂,广泛宣传没收自坎塔库泽诺斯和他的支持者的房屋、地产的巨额财富,以煽动普通民众对贵族的厌恶。[37] 用学者唐纳德·尼科尔的话来说:“人民站出来反对的是他(坎塔库泽诺斯)和他作为地主与巨富所代表的一切。‘坎塔库泽诺斯式的(Kantakouzenism)’成为他们的战斗口号,代表他们的不满的口号”。[38]
正因如此,城市派系与乡村派系在这场内战中站在对立面。由中产阶级的城市官僚与商人阶层(时人所谓“市场中的人们”)所控制的城市更倾向于商品化的经济,它们与意大利的航海共和国也有密切的关系;而乡村则仍被保守的地主贵族控制,他们的财富源于地产,视商业为不符合他们身份的活动。而社会底层则更倾向于支持本地的主导派系,在城市则服从中产阶级,在乡村则遵从地主贵族。[39]
Polarization of this nature was not new in the Byzantine Empire. Evidence of competition between the landed aristocracy and the city-based middle classes in the political, economic and social spheres has been attested since the 11th century, but the scale of the conflict that erupted in 1341 was unprecedented. This class conflict was mirrored in the breakaway Byzantine Empire of Trebizond as well, where a pro-imperial and pro-Constantinopolitan urban faction confronted the provincial landholding aristocracy between 1340 and 1349.[40] The more conservative and anti-Western tendencies of the aristocrats, and their links to the staunchly Orthodox and anti-Catholic monasteries, also explain their increased attachment to the mystical Hesychasm movement advocated by Gregory Palamas, whose views were mostly opposed in the cities.[41] Although several significant exceptions leave the issue open to question among modern scholars, in the contemporary popular mind (and in traditional historiography), the supporters of 'Palamism' and of 'Kantakouzenism' were usually equated.[42] Kantakouzenos' eventual victory also meant the victory of Hesychasm, confirmed in a synod in Constantinople in 1351. Hesychasm eventually became a hallmark of the Orthodox church tradition, although it was rejected by the Catholics as a heresy.[30][43]
The first manifestation of this social division appeared in Adrianople where, on 27 October, the populace expelled the city's aristocrats, securing it for the regency. This event was repeated over the next weeks in town after town throughout Thrace and Macedonia, as the people declared their support for the regency and against the despised forces of 'Kantakouzenism'.[44] In this hostile atmosphere, many of Kantakouzenos' soldiers abandoned him and returned to Constantinople.[45] In Demotika alone the popular uprising was quelled, and the town remained Kantakouzenos' main stronghold in Thrace throughout the war.[46]
坎塔库泽诺斯寻求杜尚的帮助:1342年
When heavy snowfall rendered campaigning impossible during the following winter, Kantakouzenos instead sent envoys, including an embassy of monks from Mount Athos to Constantinople. However, they too were dismissed by the Patriarch.[47] By then, almost all of the Byzantine provinces and their governors had declared themselves for the regency. Only Theodore Synadenos, an old associate of Kantakouzenos who was the governor of the Empire's second city, Thessalonica, indicated his support. Synadenos had kept his allegiance to Kantakouzenos secret from the city's populace, and intended to surrender Thessalonica in collusion with the local aristocracy. Furthermore, Hrelja, the Serbian magnate and virtually independent ruler of Strumica and the Strymon River valley, seemed to lean towards Kantakouzenos. Consequently, as soon as the weather improved, on 2 March 1342, Kantakouzenos left his wife Irene Asanina, his brother-in-law Manuel Asen and his daughters to hold Demotika and marched west with his army toward Thessalonica.[48] On the way, he first attacked Peritheorion but was repelled and continued westward. Kantakouzenos was however able to take fortress Melnik, where he met with Hrelja to forge an alliance. Their two armies marched toward Thessalonica, but arrived too late to take control. As they approached the city, they were met by Synadenos and other aristocrats, who had fled after an uprising led by a radical popular party, the Zealots.[49] Soon afterwards a fleet of 70 ships led by Apokaukos reinforced the city. Synadenos, whose family had remained behind in Thessalonica, defected to the regency. Apokaukos' son John was appointed governor of Thessalonica, although effective power rested with the Zealots, who for the next seven years led an autonomous regime unparalleled in Byzantine history.[50]
At the same time, the regency's army campaigned in Thrace, formally taking possession of towns secured by popular revolt. With Thessalonica barred against him, his supply lines to Thrace cut, and desertions having reduced his army to 2,000 men, of whom half belonged to Hrelja, Kantakouzenos was forced to withdraw north to Serbia, where he hoped to secure the aid of Stefan Dušan. Soon after, Hrelja also deserted Kantakouzenos and joined the regency, hoping to gain control of Melnik for himself.[51] In July 1342, Kantakouzenos met Dušan near Pristina. The Serbian ruler appeared initially reluctant to form an alliance. Nevertheless, under pressure from his nobles, especially the powerful Jovan Oliver, he could not afford to miss this unique opportunity to expand south. Desperately in need of Serbian aid, Kantakouzenos apparently agreed that the Serbs could keep any town they took, despite his own later account to the contrary. According to Nikephoros Gregoras, the Serbs claimed all of Macedonia west of Christopolis (Kavala), except for Thessalonica and its environs. The only concession Kantakouzenos secured was that an exception be made for those towns that surrendered to him in person. To seal the pact, Kantakouzenos' younger son, Manuel, was to be wed to the daughter of Jovan Oliver, although after Dušan later broke the alliance, the marriage did not take place.[52] Hrelja too acceded to the pact, in exchange for the surrender of Melnik by Kantakouzenos' garrison. After Hrelja's death later that year, Melnik was seized by Dušan.[53]
In late summer 1342, Kantakouzenos, accompanied by several Serbian magnates, marched into Macedonia at the head of a Greek and Serbian force, intending to break through to his wife, who still held out at Demotika.[54] His advance was stopped almost immediately before Serres when the city refused to surrender, and the subsequent siege had to be abandoned after an epidemic killed most of his men, forcing him to retreat into Serbia with a rump force of barely 500 soldiers. Dušan led a more successful parallel campaign, capturing Vodena (Edessa).[55] Serbian forces captured Florina and Kastoria shortly afterwards, thereby extending their hold over western Macedonia. The Serbs also expanded their control over Albania, so that by the summer of 1343, with the exception of Angevin-controlled Dyrrhachium, all of the region appears to have fallen under Serbian rule.[56] Morale among Kantakouzenos' followers fell dramatically. Rumours circulated in Constantinople that a dejected Kantakouzenos planned to retire to Mount Athos as a monk, and riots broke out in the city in which several rich men were killed and their houses looted by the populace.[57]
In late fall, Empress Anna twice sent embassies to Dušan trying to convince him to surrender Kantakouzenos, but the Serbian ruler, seeking to extract more profit from their alliance, refused.[58] Kantakouzenos' fortunes began to improve when a delegation of the nobles of Thessaly reached him and offered to accept his authority. Kantakouzenos appointed his relative John Angelos as the province's governor. Although in effect a semi-independent ruler, Angelos was both loyal and effective. He soon brought Epirus — which he had governed in Andronikos III's name in 1340 — into the Kantakouzenist camp, and even made gains in Thessaly at the expense of the Catalans of Athens.[59] Another effort by Kantakouzenos to break from Serbia into Macedonia failed before Serres.[60] In the meantime, Kantakouzenos' wife Irene called upon the aid of the Bulgarians to help relieve the blockade of Demotika by the regency's army. Ivan Alexander dispatched troops, but although they clashed with the regency's forces, they made no effort in assisting the city, instead pillaging the countryside.[61]
坎塔库泽诺斯势力增强:1343年-1345年
At this point, Kantakouzenos' position was greatly strengthened by the intervention of his old friend, Umur Bey, who in late 1342 or early 1343 sailed up the Evros river with a fleet of 300 ships and 29,000 (according to Kantakouzenos) or 15,000 (according to Turkish sources) men-in-arms and relieved Demotika both from the siege by the regency's forces and from the depredations of the Bulgarians. After pillaging Thrace for a few months, Umur was forced to retreat to Asia at the onset of winter, to which the Turks were unaccustomed.[62] This turn of events displeased Dušan, for Kantakouzenos now had an independent power base and was less reliant on the Serbian ruler's goodwill. The final rift between Kantakouzenos and Dušan occurred in April 1343, when Kantakouzenos persuaded the town of Berroia, besieged by the Serbs, to surrender to him instead of Dušan. This was followed by the surrender of several other forts in the area to Kantakouzenos, including Servia and Platamon. These moves strengthened Kantakouzenos' position and independence from Dušan, thereby thwarting the latter's plans for expansion. Realizing that he had little to gain by continuing to support Kantakouzenos, Dušan opened negotiations with the regency and concluded a formal alliance with them in the summer of 1343.[63]
Meanwhile, Kantakouzenos and his army camped outside Thessalonica, hoping to take the city through the aid of his supporters within the walls. Apokaukos arrived at the head of the Byzantine fleet to aid the Zealots, pinning Kantakouzenos down in Macedonia between Thessalonica and Dušan's possessions. Once again Umur of Aydin came to Kantakouzenos' assistance with a fleet carrying some 6,000 men, whereupon Apokaukos and his ships fled from the superior Turkish navy. Nevertheless, a reinforced Thessalonica was able to hold out against a siege by Kantakouzenos and Umur.[64] Although he had failed to take Thessalonica, the presence of his Turkish allies allowed Kantakouzenos to turn his attention towards Thrace. In late 1343 he left his son Manuel as governor of Berroia and western Macedonia and marched towards Demotika, relieving the city and seeing his wife for the first time in almost two years. On his way to Demotika, Kantakouzenos had seized a number of fortresses in Thrace, although another siege of Peritheorion failed. He followed up with a successful campaign that took Komotini and other fortresses in the Rhodope area.[65] Over the next couple of years, the towns and forts of Thrace came over to Kantakouzenos' camp one by one, but at great cost, as his mainly Turkish troops repeatedly plundered the countryside.[66] The shifting tide of the war did not go unnoticed in the opposing camp. In late 1344, several prominent personalities defected to Kantakouzenos, including John Vatatzes, a general and relative by marriage to both the Patriarch and Apokaukos, the Patriarch of Jerusalem Lazaros, and, most importantly, Manuel Apokaukos, son of the megas doux and governor of Adrianople.[67]
At the same time, the regency's alliance with Dušan was paying dividends for the Serbian ruler alone, as he had free rein to plunder and occupy all of Macedonia and Epirus. By the end of 1345, only Thessalonica, held by the Zealots, Serres and the surrounding region, which remained loyal to the regency, along with Berroia, which still held out under Manuel Kantakouzenos, remained outside Serbian control.[69]
These developments placed the regency in considerable difficulties. In spite of Apokaukos' adroit management of the state's finances, the devastation caused by the prolonged wars had emptied the treasury. In August 1343, Empress Anna was forced to pawn the crown jewels to Venice for 30,000 ducats. In addition, Turkish ravages in Thrace led to a scarcity of food in Constantinople.[70] Hoping for Western aid, Anna appealed to the Pope, promising the submission of herself, John V, Apokaukos and even the Patriarch to his authority, and began persecuting the pro-Kantakouzenists and anti-Western Palamists.[71]
In 1344, the regency concluded a further alliance with Bulgaria, which required the surrender of Philippopolis (Plovdiv) and nine other towns in northern Thrace along the river Evros. Nevertheless, after their occupation, Ivan Alexander refrained from direct action against Kantakouzenos' forces operating in southern and eastern Thrace.[72] At the same time, Momchil, a former brigand whom Kantakouzenos had entrusted with control over the region of Merope in the Rhodope mountains, switched over to the regency.[73] In early 1344, Kantakouzenos was deprived of Umur and the bulk of his army, who had sailed home to repel a Latin attack on his main harbour, Smyrna. On their way, the Turkish force was attacked by the Serbs under Gregory Preljub, but prevailed at the Battle of Stephaniana.[74] Nevertheless, Kantakouzenos was able to ward off joint attacks by Dušan and Apokaukos until Umur returned to his aid the next spring at the head of an army of 20,000 men.[75]
Kantakouzenos and Umur raided Bulgaria, and then turned against Momchil. The latter had exploited the power vacuum in the Rhodope, an effective no man's land between the Serbs, Bulgarians and Byzantines, to set himself up as a quasi-independent prince, supported by a substantial force of around 5,000 men. On 7 July 1345, the two armies clashed at Peritheorion. Momchil's army was crushed, and he himself fell in the field.[73] Soon afterwards, Dušan arrived before Serres and laid siege to the city. Rejecting demands by Kantakouzenos to withdraw, a clash appeared inevitable until the murder of Alexios Apokaukos in Constantinople forced Kantakouzenos to direct his attention there.[76]
内战的最后几年:1345年–1347年
In early 1345, Kantakouzenos sent Franciscan friars to the regency to make an offer of conciliation, but it was rejected. Despite this show of confidence, the regency's position remained insecure. The defections of the previous winter had weakened their control of the capital, and in response Apokaukos launched a series of proscriptions. He also ordered the construction of a new prison to house political prisoners. On 11 June 1345, while undertaking an inspection of the prison unaccompanied by his bodyguard, Apokaukos was lynched by the prisoners.[77]
When Kantakouzenos heard the news he marched towards Constantinople, urged by his supporters, who expected that the death of Apokaukos would result in the collapse of the regency. Kantakouzenos was more sceptical, and indeed the Patriarch and Empress Anna quickly brought the situation under control.[79] At the same time, Kantakouzenos suffered a series of reverses. These began when John Apokaukos, the nominal governor of Thessalonica, openly announced his allegiance to Kantakouzenos and his plans to surrender the city. He was immediately thwarted by the Zealots who rose up again and killed Apokaukos and the other Kantakouzenist sympathizers in the city.[80] Then John Vatatzes, who had defected to Kantakouzenos the year before, once more switched sides. He attempted to take some of Kantakouzenos' Turkish allies and a few Thracian cities with him, but was murdered soon afterwards.[81] Finally, Kantakouzenos lost the support of his most crucial ally, Umur of Aydin, who left with his army to confront the crusaders in Smyrna. Kantakouzenos replaced him by allying himself with the Emir of Saruhan and, more importantly, Orhan of the rising Ottoman emirate in Bithynia.[30][82]
In September 1345, after a long siege, Serres fell to Dušan. The Serbian ruler, who by now controlled about half of the pre-1341 Byzantine realm, was spurred by this success to lay his own claim on the Byzantine throne. Consequently, on Easter Sunday, 16 April 1346, he was crowned "Emperor of the Serbs and the Romans" in Skopje, thereby founding the Serbian Empire.[83] This development prompted Kantakouzenos, who had only been acclaimed Emperor in 1341, to have himself formally crowned in a ceremony held at Adrianople on 21 May, presided over by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Lazaros. Lazaros then convened a synod of bishops to excommunicate the Patriarch of Constantinople, John Kalekas.[84] Not long afterwards, Kantakouzenos' ties with his new ally Orhan were cemented through the marriage of his daughter Theodora Kantakouzene to the Ottoman emir at an elaborate ceremony in Selymbria.[85]
For the regency, the situation had become desperate. Empress Anna's requests for aid from foreign powers proved unsuccessful, as both Orhan and the beylik of Karasi rebuffed her overtures for assistance.[86] Only Balik, the ruler of Dobruja, sent an elite force of 1,000 men under his brothers Theodore and Dobrotitsa, but they were routed by a Kantakouzenist army under protostrator George Phakrases.[87] The emirate of Saruhan offered a more substantial force of 6,000 men in the summer of 1346, but instead of fighting, they plundered Thrace and then defected to join Kantakouzenos' army.[88] Revenue remained scarce for the regency, the Genoese once again seized the imperial possessions of Chios and Phocaea, and on 19 May 1346, a part of the Hagia Sophia cathedral collapsed, a terrible omen in the eyes of the capital's inhabitants.[89]
By the summer of 1346, Kantakouzenos stood on the verge of victory. He left Thrace under the control of his son Matthew and moved on to Selymbria, close to Constantinople.[90] He did not attack the capital, but waited for almost a year for the city to surrender. In his memoirs, he explains that he did not want to turn his Turks on the city, although contemporaries such as Gregoras accused him of indecision and of needlessly prolonging the war.[91]
As the months passed, and the privations in Constantinople increased, the pro-Kantakouzenos faction in the capital grew as the Empress refused even to consider negotiations. Twice agents were sent to assassinate Kantakouzenos, but they failed. The Empress eventually fell out with Patriarch John Kalekas, who was deposed in a synod on 2 February 1347. On the same night, supporters of Kantakouzenos opened the disused Golden Gate, and Kantakouzenos entered the city with 1,000 men.[92] Meeting no resistance, his troops surrounded the Palace of Blachernae, the imperial residence, the next morning, but the Empress refused to surrender for several days, still fearful of the fate that awaited her. Kantakouzenos' men grew impatient and stormed part of the palace complex, and John V persuaded his mother to accept a settlement.[93]
和平协议与坎塔库泽诺斯的统治
On 8 February 1347, the war formally ended with an agreement making Kantakouzenos senior emperor for ten years, after which he and John V would reign as equals. Kantakouzenos also promised to pardon anyone who had fought against him.[94] To seal the pact, John V married Kantakouzenos' daughter Helena, and in May, Kantakouzenos was crowned again in the Church of St. Mary of Blachernae.[95] In the end, as Donald Nicol commented, the long conflict had been meaningless, with terms that "could have been agreed five years before and saved the Empire so much bitterness, hatred and destruction."[96]
Despite the moderation and clemency shown by Kantakouzenos in this settlement, it did not gain universal acceptance. Supporters of the Palaiologoi still distrusted him, while his own partisans would have preferred to depose the Palaiologoi outright and install the Kantakouzenoi as the reigning dynasty.[97] Kantakouzenos' eldest son, Matthew, also resented being passed over in favour of John V, and had to be placated with the creation of a semi-autonomous appanage covering much of western Thrace, which doubled as a march against Dušan's Serbia.[98] Of the remaining Byzantine territories, only the Zealots in Thessalonica, now an isolated exclave surrounded by the Serbs, refused to acknowledge the new arrangement, instead leading a de facto independent existence until Kantakouzenos conquered them in 1350.[99]
After 1347, John VI Kantakouzenos tried to revive the Empire, but met with limited success. Aided by the depopulation brought by about by the Black Death, Dušan and his general Preljub took Kantakouzenos' Macedonian strongholds as well as Epirus and Thessaly in 1347–1348, thereby completing their conquest of the remaining Byzantine lands in mainland Greece.[100] An attempt to break Byzantium's dependence for food and maritime commerce on the Genoese merchants of Galata led to a Byzantine–Genoese war, which ended in 1352 with a compromise peace.[101] In 1350, Kantakouzenos took advantage of Dušan's preoccupation with a war against Bosnia to recover Thessalonica from the Zealots as well as Berroia, Vodena and other Macedonian cities from the Serbs, but the Serbian emperor quickly reversed the Byzantine gains, leaving only Thessalonica in Byzantine hands.[102]
Steadily deteriorating relations between Matthew Kantakouzenos, who now ruled eastern Thrace, and John V Palaiologos, who had taken over Matthew's former domain in western Thrace, led to yet another internal conflict. Open warfare broke out in 1352, when John V, supported by Venetian and Turkish troops, launched an attack on Matthew Kantakouzenos. John Kantakouzenos came to his son's aid with 10,000 Ottoman troops who retook the cities of Thrace, liberally plundering them in the process. In October 1352, at Demotika, the Ottoman force met and defeated 4,000 Serbs provided to John V by Stefan Dušan.[103] This was the Ottomans' first victory in Europe and an ominous portent. Two years later their capture of Gallipoli marked the beginning of the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans, which culminated a century later in the Fall of Constantinople.[104] Meanwhile, John V fled to the island of Tenedos, from where he made an unsuccessful attempt to seize Constantinople in March 1353. John VI Kantakouzenos responded by having Matthew crowned as co-emperor, but John V Palaiologos, enlisting Genoese support and relying on the declining popularity of Kantakouzenos, succeeded in entering the capital in November 1354. John VI abdicated and retired to a monastery. Matthew held out in Thrace until 1357, when he too abdicated, leaving John V Palaiologos as the sole master of a rump state.[105]
后果
这次内战成为了拜占庭帝国历史上的一大转折点。用学者安格利基·莱欧的话来说,“在第二次内战结束之后,拜占庭仅在名号上还是个帝国”[107],爱娃·德弗里斯-范德威尔登(Eva de Vries-Van der Velden)则称这场战争标志着“拜占庭帝国自“衰落”走向“灭亡”的转捩点“[108]。
拜占庭帝国的分裂与内战各方向外国军队,尤其是塞尔维亚人和突厥人求援的行为,激发了他们的扩张欲望。斯特凡·杜尚尤其成功地利用拜占庭的内战,占领拜占庭帝国的领土,扩展了自己的领土[30][109]。在巨大的领土损失之外,旷日持久的冲突还耗尽了拜占庭国家的各种资源,如爱丽丝-玛丽·塔尔博特(Alice-Mary Talbot)所言,战争带来了“城市的混乱与乡村的破坏”。帝国仅剩的大片连续领土色雷斯遭遇了巨大的破坏,以至于他要像君士坦丁堡一样依赖自保加利亚和克里米亚进口的粮食[30][110]。商业也因战争而停止,至于国库,用格雷戈拉斯的话来说,里面 "除了伊壁鸠鲁的原子,什么也没有"。 坎塔库泽诺斯的个人财产也在战争中耗尽,而太后安娜则欠了威尼斯人一大笔钱。内战也导致中央集权的行政体系崩塌,色雷斯的乡村被地方豪强控制,转向了庄园领主制。这些拥有可观财产的豪强,通过免税特权或是直接逃税避免向政府纳税[111]。雪上加霜的是,1347年黑死病到来,此后又多次爆发,进一步减少了帝国的税基和兵源,削弱了帝国自塞尔维亚手中收复失地的能力[112]。
Along with the renewal of the civil war in 1352, these factors destroyed any chance of even a modest recovery similar to that experienced under Andronikos III.[113] Thereafter, Byzantium remained under the menacing threat of stronger neighbours, unable to pursue an independent foreign policy, handicapped by a shortage of resources and riven by internal strife.[114] Nevertheless, through a combination of fortuitous external circumstances and adroit diplomacy, it survived for another century, until finally conquered by the Ottomans in 1453.[115] Only the Byzantine exclave in the Morea remained prosperous, having been spared the ravages of the civil war because of its relative isolation. The appointment of Manuel Kantakouzenos as its despotes in 1349 heralded the creation of the semi-independent Despotate of the Morea, which experienced the last economic and cultural flowering of the Byzantine world before it too fell to the Ottomans in 1460.[116]
引用
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- ^ Bartusis 1997,第67頁; Nicol 1993,第93頁
- ^ Bartusis 1997,第87–91頁; Nicol 1993,第156–161頁
- ^ 4.0 4.1 Nicol 1993,第157–161, 167頁.
- ^ Nicol 1993,第155頁.
- ^ Nicol 1993,第168頁.
- ^ Nicol 1993,第186頁.
- ^ 8.0 8.1 Nicol 1993,第185頁.
- ^ Bartusis 1997,第91–92頁; Laiou 2002,第25頁; Nicol 1993,第169–171頁
- ^ Nicol 1993,第178–181頁; Soulis 1984,第8–10頁; Bartusis 1997,第92–93頁
- ^ Nicol 1993,第171–172頁.
- ^ Nicol 1993,第174–175頁.
- ^ Bartusis 1997,第92頁; Soulis 1984,第6–8頁
- ^ Soulis 1984,第8頁.
- ^ Lascaratos & Marketos 1997,第106–109頁.
- ^ Nicol 1993,第185–186頁.
- ^ 17.0 17.1 Bartusis 1997,第94頁.
- ^ Nicol 1993,第186頁; de Vries-Van der Velden 1989,第62–63頁; Soulis 1984,第10頁
- ^ Nicol 1993,第186–187頁; de Vries-Van der Velden 1989,第63–64頁
- ^ de Vries-Van der Velden 1989,第64–67頁.
- ^ Nicol 1996,第45–48頁; de Vries-Van der Velden 1989,第63–66頁
- ^ Nicol 1993,第188頁; Fine 1994,第292–293頁; Soulis 1984,第10–11頁
- ^ Nicol 1993,第188頁.
- ^ Nicol 1996,第50–51頁.
- ^ Soulis 1984,第11頁.
- ^ Nicol 1996,第51–52頁.
- ^ Nicol 1996,第53–55頁; de Vries-Van der Velden 1989,第67頁; Weiss 1969,第33–36頁
- ^ Nicol 1996,第54–55頁.
- ^ Nicol 1996,第55頁.
- ^ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 30.4 Kazhdan 1991,第467–468頁.
- ^ Bartusis 1997,第95頁; Nicol 1993,第191頁; Fine 1994,第294頁; de Vries-Van der Velden 1989,第67頁
- ^ Nicol 1996,第60頁.
- ^ de Vries-Van der Velden 1989,第68頁.
- ^ on the dynatoi in Palaiologan times, cf. de Vries-Van der Velden 1989,第53–58頁
- ^ Nicol 1993,第191–192頁.
- ^ Fine 1994,第294頁.
- ^ Nicol 1993,第192頁.
- ^ Nicol 1979,第22頁.
- ^ Oikonomides 1988,第327–329頁; Treadgold 1997,第815–816頁; Jeffreys, Haldon & Cormack 2009,第290頁
- ^ Treadgold 1997,第815–816頁.
- ^ Oikonomides 1988,第329–331頁; Treadgold 1997,第815頁
- ^ Kazhdan 1991,第468, 923頁; Jeffreys, Haldon & Cormack 2009,第289–290頁
- ^ Nicol 1979,第39–41, 85頁.
- ^ Nicol 1993,第192–194頁; Nicol 1996,第58–60頁; Fine 1994,第294頁
- ^ de Vries-Van der Velden 1989,第69頁.
- ^ Fine 1994,第294–295頁.
- ^ Nicol 1996,第61頁.
- ^ Bartusis 1997,第95頁; Nicol 1996,第62頁; Soulis 1984,第13頁
- ^ Fine 1994,第295頁; Nicol 1996,第62頁; Soulis 1984,第14頁; de Vries-Van der Velden 1989,第69頁
- ^ Fine 1994,第295–296頁; Nicol 1993,第195頁; de Vries-Van der Velden 1989,第69頁
- ^ Fine 1994,第294–297頁; Nicol 1993,第196頁; Soulis 1984,第14–15頁; de Vries-Van der Velden 1989,第70頁
- ^ Fine 1994,第297–298頁; Soulis 1984,第15–18頁
- ^ Fine 1994,第299–300頁; Soulis 1984,第17, 21頁
- ^ Nicol 1993,第196頁; Fine 1994,第295頁
- ^ Nicol 1993,第196頁; Fine 1994,第300頁; Soulis 1984,第19頁; de Vries-Van der Velden 1989,第70頁
- ^ Fine 1994,第301頁; Soulis 1984,第19頁
- ^ Nicol 1996,第65–66頁; de Vries-Van der Velden 1989,第70–71頁
- ^ Nicol 1996,第65頁; Fine 1994,第300–301頁
- ^ Nicol 1996,第65頁; Fine 1994,第301–302頁; Soulis 1984,第20–21頁
- ^ Nicol 1996,第65–66頁.
- ^ de Vries-Van der Velden 1989,第71頁.
- ^ Fine 1994,第295頁; Bartusis 1997,第96頁; Nicol 1996,第66–67頁
- ^ Fine 1994,第302頁; Soulis 1984,第21–23頁; Treadgold 1997,第768頁
- ^ Nicol 1996,第67–68頁; Soulis 1984,第22–23頁; Treadgold 1997,第768頁
- ^ Soulis 1984,第23–24頁; Treadgold 1997,第768頁
- ^ Nicol 1993,第200頁; Fine 1994,第303頁
- ^ Nicol 1996,第70–71頁.
- ^ Soulis 1984,第26頁.
- ^ Fine 1994,第301, 304頁; Soulis 1984,第24–25頁
- ^ Nicol 1993,第199–200頁.
- ^ Nicol 1993,第198頁; Treadgold 1997,第768頁
- ^ Fine 1994,第304, 307頁; Soulis 1984,第24頁
- ^ 73.0 73.1 Fine 1994,第304頁; Soulis 1984,第24頁
- ^ Fine 1994,第303–304頁; Soulis 1984,第24–25頁
- ^ Fine 1994,第303–304頁; Treadgold 1997,第768頁
- ^ Fine 1994,第305頁; Nicol 1993,第202頁; Soulis 1984,第25–26頁
- ^ Nicol 1996,第71–73頁.
- ^ Reinert 2002,第263, 265, 270頁.
- ^ Nicol 1993,第201–202頁.
- ^ Nicol 1993,第202頁; Fine 1994,第308頁
- ^ Nicol 1996,第74頁; de Vries-Van der Velden 1989,第108–109頁
- ^ Nicol 1993,第202–203頁.
- ^ Nicol 1996,第74–75頁; Soulis 1984,第26–30頁
- ^ Nicol 1996,第75–76頁; Soulis 1984,第33頁
- ^ Nicol 1996,第76–78頁.
- ^ Nicol 1993,第203頁.
- ^ Bartusis 1997,第96頁.
- ^ Bartusis 1997,第97頁; Nicol 1993,第205–206頁; Soulis 1984,第33頁
- ^ Nicol 1993,第206頁; Treadgold 1997,第770頁
- ^ Nicol 1993,第205–206頁.
- ^ Fine 1994,第308頁; Nicol 1993,第206頁
- ^ Nicol 1993,第206–207頁.
- ^ Nicol 1996,第81頁.
- ^ Nicol 1993,第207頁; Soulis 1984,第34頁
- ^ Fine 1994,第308頁; Treadgold 1997,第771頁
- ^ Nicol 1996,第82頁.
- ^ Nicol 1993,第210頁.
- ^ Nicol 1993,第215–216頁; Fine 1994,第308–309, 321–322頁
- ^ Fine 1994,第309頁.
- ^ Fine 1994,第320頁; Soulis 1984,第35頁
- ^ Bartusis 1997,第98–99頁; Treadgold 1997,第773–774頁
- ^ Fine 1994,第323–324頁; Soulis 1984,第42–46頁; Treadgold 1997,第774頁
- ^ Fine 1994,第325–326頁; Soulis 1984,第49–51頁; Treadgold 1997,第775–776頁
- ^ Fine 1994,第326頁.
- ^ Fine 1994,第326–327頁; Treadgold 1997,第775–778頁
- ^ Nicol 1996,第45頁.
- ^ Laiou 2002,第26頁.
- ^ de Vries-Van der Velden 1989,第61頁.
- ^ Reinert 2002,第267頁.
- ^ Bartusis 1997,第98頁; Fine 1994,第321頁
- ^ Bartusis 1997,第98頁; Fine 1994,第321頁; Nicol 1993,第219頁; Treadgold 1997,第770頁
- ^ Nicol 1993,第216–218頁; Reinert 2002,第265, 267頁; Treadgold 1997,第773頁
- ^ Reinert 2002,第265, 267頁; Treadgold 1997,第777頁
- ^ Laiou 2002,第26–28頁.
- ^ Jeffreys, Haldon & Cormack 2009,第291頁.
- ^ Bartusis 1997,第98頁; Kazhdan 1991,第1410頁; Nicol 1993,第130–131頁
来源
- Bartusis, Mark C., The Late Byzantine Army: Arms and Society 1204–1453, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0-8122-1620-2
- de Vries-Van der Velden, Eva, L'élite byzantine devant l'avance turque à l'époque de la guerre civile de 1341 à 1354, Amsterdam: J.C. Gieben, 1989, ISBN 978-90-5063-026-9 (法语)
- Fine, John Van Antwerp. The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. 1994 [1987]. ISBN 0-472-08260-4 (英语).
- Jeffreys, Elizabeth; Haldon, John; Cormack, Robin (编), The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies, Oxford University Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0-19-925246-6
- 亚历山大·卡日丹 (编). 牛津拜占庭辭典. 牛津: 牛津大学出版社. 1991. ISBN 0-19-504652-8.
- Laiou, Angeliki E., Political History: An Outline, Laiou, Angeliki E. (编), The Economic History of Byzantium: From the Seventh through the Fifteenth Century, Dumbarton Oaks, 2002, ISBN 978-0-88402-332-6
- Lascaratos, J.; Marketos, S., The fatal disease of the Byzantine Emperor Andronicus III Palaeologus (1328–1341 A.D.), Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 1997, 90 (2): 106–109, PMC 1296151 , PMID 9068444, doi:10.1177/014107689709000215
- Nicol, Donald MacGillivray, Church and Society in the Last Centuries of Byzantium, Cambridge University Press, 1979, ISBN 978-0-521-22438-3
- Nicol, Donald M. The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261–1453 Second. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1993. ISBN 978-0-521-43991-6 (英语).
- Nicol, Donald MacGillivray, The Reluctant Emperor: A Biography of John Cantacuzene, Byzantine Emperor and Monk, c. 1295–1383, Cambridge University Press, 1996, ISBN 978-0-521-52201-4
- Oikonomides, Nicolas, Byzantium between East and West (XIII–XV cent.), Howard-Johnston, J.D. (编), Byzantium and the West c.850–c.1200: Proceedings of the XVIII Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies, Oxford 30th March–1st April 1984, Amsterdam: A.M. Hakkert: 319–332, 1988, ISBN 978-0-902566-19-4
- Reinert, Stephen W., Fragmentation (1204–1453), Mango, Cyril (编), The Oxford History of Byzantium, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press: 248–283, 2002, ISBN 978-0-19-814098-6
- Soulis, George Christos, The Serbs and Byzantium during the reign of Tsar Stephen Dušan (1331–1355) and his successors, Dumbarton Oaks, 1984, ISBN 978-0-88402-137-7
- Treadgold, Warren. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. 1997. ISBN 0-8047-2630-2 (英语).
- Weiss, Günter, Joannes Kantakuzenos – Aristokrat, Staatsmann, Kaiser und Mönch – in der Gesellschaftsentwicklung von Byzanz im 14. Jahrhundert, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1969 (德语)
- 1340s conflicts
- 1340s in the Byzantine Empire
- Aydınids
- Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars
- Byzantine–Ottoman wars
- Civil wars of the Byzantine Empire
- Medieval Macedonia
- Medieval Thrace
- Palaiologos dynasty
- Wars involving medieval Serbian states
- Wars of succession involving the states and peoples of Asia
- Wars involving the Second Bulgarian Empire
- Sarukhanids
- Byzantine Empire–Republic of Venice relations
- Wars of succession involving the states and peoples of Europe