Manuel Ducas
| Manuel Doukas | |
|---|---|
| despotes | |
|
|
| Spouse | Jefimija Nemanjić (1st) Asen (2nd) |
| Father | John Doukas |
| Born | c. 1187 |
| Died | c. 1241 |
| Religion | Eastern Orthodoxy |
Manuel Komnenos Doukas, Latinized as Ducas (Greek: Μανουήλ Κομνηνός Δούκας, Manouēl Komnēnos Doukas; c. 1187 – c. 1241), commonly simply Manuel Doukas (Μανουήλ Δούκας) and rarely also called Manuel Angelos (Μανουήλ Ἄγγελος), was ruler of Thessalonica from 1230 to 1237 and, after his expulsion from Thessalonica, of Thessaly from 1239 until his death in c. 1241.
Manuel was a legitimate son of the sebastokratōr John Doukas. He was thus a first cousin of the emperors Isaac II Angelos and Alexios III Angelos, and a brother of Michael I Komnenos Doukas and Theodore Komnenos Doukas of Epirus.
He married the sister of Serbian Grand Prince Stefan Nemanjić (r. 1196–1228).
Probably after 1225 or 1227 he was given the court dignity of despotes by his brother, Theodore. In 1225, he married Maria Asen, the illegitimate daughter of Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria, helping to cement his brother's alliance with this country.
After his brother's defeat and capture by the Bulgarians at the Battle of Klokotnitsa in 1230, Manuel was allowed by Ivan Asen II to rule in Thessalonica and its environs with the title of despotes. At one point Manuel tried to establish contacts with the Papacy, but in 1232 the longstanding breach with the Eastern Patriarchate at Nicaea was finally healed.
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