Alexios Philanthropenos

Alexios Philanthropenos
Born	ca. 1270
Died	1340s possibly Lesbos
Allegiance	Byzantine Empire
Years of service	ca. 1293–1295, 1324–1340s
Battles/wars	Wars against the Anatolian beyliks
Other work	Governor of Lesbos

Alexios Doukas Philanthropenos (Greek: Ἀλέξιος Δούκας Φιλανθρωπηνός) was a Byzantine nobleman and notable general. A relative of the ruling Palaiologos dynasty, he was appointed commander-in-chief in Asia Minor in 1293 and for a time re-established the Byzantine position there, scoring some of the last Byzantine successes against the Turkish emirates. In 1295 he rose up in revolt against Andronikos II Palaiologos, but was betrayed and blinded. Nothing is known of him until 1323, when he was pardoned by Andronikos II and sent again against the Turks, relieving a siege of Philadelphia, allegedly by his mere appearance. He was then named briefly governor of Lesbos in 1328, and again in 1336, when he recovered the island's capital from Latin occupation. He ruled the island thereafter, probably until his death in the 1340s.

Alexios was born circa 1270 as the second son of prōtovestiarios and megas domestikos Michael Tarchaneiotes. His mother, Maria, belonged to the noble family of the Philanthropenoi, which rose to prominence in the latter half of the 13th century. She was the daughter of prōtostratōr and megas doux Alexios Doukas Philanthropenos, after whom Alexios was named. On his father's side, Alexios was also closely related to the imperial family of the Palaiologoi, through his grandmother, Martha Palaiologina, a sister of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos (r. 1259–1261). Alexios married Theodora Akropolitissa, daughter of Constantine Akropolites and granddaughter of the historian George Akropolites. They had one child, Michael Philanthropenos, who also became a general.

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