Customer Reviews

The Reluctant Emperor: A Biography of John Cantacuzene, Byzantine Emperor and Monk, c.1295-1383

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This epic study by Donald Nichol is a credible journey through a period of time when great changes were unfolding at the frontiers of Europe. The reluctant Emperor is a magnificent story of the political struggles of the time and the desire of the Romans to rebuild their diminishing empire. Donald Nichol covers a range of themes and currents with an expert analytical hand, respectful of the sensitivities of the key characters and the underlying forces at work.

He distinguishes himself in his awareness of the importance of the Orthodox faith to the Romans and their Emperor and the vital role of the Athonite elders and Patriarchal opinion.

His astute explanations are supported by other Greek texts. It is a pity that a genealogical tree was not included to show the lineages referred to in the text. Some additional mapwork showing the locations of various battles, key cities and other geopolitical states (emirates, principalities) would have helped with the context.

The writer conveys the frustrations Emperor Kantakouzinos experienced in dealing with circumstances that not only tested him, but his people.

I commend this study to all who are interested in history beyond the western european sphere.

This excellent biography makes good use of the copious material that Cantacouzenos supplies in his autobiographical writings. In choosing this topic Dr. Nicol is dealing with a less publicized era in Byzantine history and demonstrating why he is one of the top scholars of the period. He understands the working of late Byzantine society very well indeed. And Cantacouzenos is an interesting subject indeed. At various times he was a general, politician, usurper, emperor and finally monk. Throughout he seems to have been utterly loyal to his friends and to have been a genuinely likeable man. His faults are also examined as he was gullible and overly trusting. That latter particularly was his greatest fault since he allowed the Turks to gain control of Albania and Northern Greece without a fight because he trusted them to keep their word. In fact, if I have a problem with this book it's that Nicol lets Cantacouzenos off too lightly. It isn't clear unless you read a history of Byzantium how much Cantacouzenos let the Turks control the north and how bad that was for the Empire. After his reign it was never a possibility that Byzantium would survive. Nicol explains why this happened but he doesn't emphasize the immensity of it.

As a biography of a Byzantine ruler it is able to go into unparalleled detail on its subject due to the material available. Unfortunately the work is rather short but it is packed with information as is usual from Nicol. I do wish he dwelt more on Byzantine society instead of focusing so hard on the details of Cantacouzenos' life but that's just me wailing about a tendency common in biography. Also mildly annoying is his decision to call Cantacouzenos Cantacuzene because it's a name that is "more familiar" while keeping every other name as a transliteration from Greek. I don't know about anyone else but I haven't heard so much about Cantacuzene that hearing him under a different name would confuse me. It's also harder to pronounce. Anyways, minor quibble. A good book, well worth reading.