CHAPTER 16 – A CITY REBORN
- A luxurious gold and silk shroud made in Thessaloniki
- A silk weaver in Thessaloniki, 15th century,
- Eastern Roman workshops usually operated their own retail establishments. Men and women worked together in them. Most shops would hold around 10 people.
Thessaloniki, located in northern Greece, has a rich and storied history of economic development. Once a vibrant center of trade and culture in the Roman Empire, Thessaloniki has seen its economy rise and fall over the centuries, but it has always maintained a significant role in the region's economic landscape.
In its past economic glory, Thessaloniki was a major hub of activity, attracting merchants, craftsmen, and scholars from all over the Mediterranean. Its strategic location a major conjunction on the Aegean Sea made it a natural gateway for trade routes connecting the Black Sea, Aegean See and the rest of the Mediterranean Sea. The city flourished as a center for the production and exchange of goods such as silk, spices, and jewelry. Thessaloniki's prosperity was also reflected in its architecture, with the construction of numerous temples, palaces, and public buildings that still stand as testament to its former grandeur.
During its heyday in 13th Century where Thessaloniki became the largest port in the Empire surpassing even Constantinople, the population of the city numbered 300.000 souls.
Over time, however, Thessaloniki's economy and its standing has undergone gradual decline in sync with the decline of the Empire. As of 1418, after almost a hundred years of revolt, warfare, siege, sacking, stagnation and change of trade route, Thessaloniki now only possess less than 40.000 inhabitants, its dominance over trade in Argean Sea overtaken by newly formed colonies of Genoa and Venice, its manufacturing and economy a shadow of its former self.
However, the past ten years of relative peace had brought a slow economic recovery. The fields, wineries and olive gardens in the hinterlands now free from Turkish incursions began to increase its yields, new farms were occupied and fields plowed by men from Epilektoi, and the silver and gold mines of Chalkidiki operating since the times of Alexander the Great, had reopened many of its abandoned mining shafts.
Increased production and demand in the hinterlands gave rise to a reestablished industry in the city of Thessaloniki itself. The sound of mills grinding flour fill the air, barrels after barrels of olive oil roll out of newly formed pressing plant, wines of fine quality were sold to the merchants, a constant dark plume of smoke rises from countless blacksmith workshop that produce tools and armaments day and night, and minting facilities smelt the newly mined ores into silver and gold ingots, the silver ingots were then minted into Imperial stavraton coins.
As economic activity began to grow, so too did trade and population, the ships docking in Thessaloniki tripled in the last 5 years, harbor facilities, warehouses and market places all expanded – not only were the local populace more willing to give birth and their offsprings more likely to survive in peace time, people from across Argean Sea and Ottoman lands flowing into Thessaloniki, wanting to have their share in the city’s growth.
Finally, all of these increased economic activities meant an increase in tax revenue to the Roman authority, their otherwise empty coffers began to fill, combined with a hefty annual subsidy from Ottomans for keeping Mustafa and Junayd, as the result the tax revenue of the Despotate of Thessaloniki rose from a meagre 9.000 ducats a year to almost 16.000 ducats a year, giving vital support to the expensive cost of military campaigns and expenditures of Andronikos.
August 1418 brought a new fresh breath help to the economic prosperity to Thessaloniki. Andronikos, brought with him a considerable wealth of almost 20.000 ducats, the fruits of the plunder from Athens and the ransom paid handsomely by Antonio. Furthermore, the recent successful campaigns in Achaea and Athens all saw considerable riches brought back to the economy by soldiers and their share of the loot during campaign, giving an even bigger boost to the local consumption.
With more than a year’s tax revenue at hand to spend, Andronikos embarked on a series of ambitious projects, determined to fast track the economic revival and restore Thessaloniki to its former grandeur. He oversaw the expansion of the silver mine, bought new tools and recruited men from Ottoman Rumerlia, its rich deposits now exploited even further to yield a steady stream of precious metal. The clang of hammers from the mine's filled the air, a symphony of progress and prosperity.
The textile industry also flourished under Andronikos's guidance. Already well-known for its silk-production and weaving during the Antiquity, Thessaloniki saw the reopening of its silk-weaving factories under state fundings, silkworms again populated silk-farms, and beautiful silk began to be exported to Italy for crucial ducats.
In addition to the luxurious silks, Andronikos encouraged the development of textile for the commoners and his soldiers. Fields of lush green cotton plants stretched across the countryside, their blooms promising a bountiful harvest. Mills hummed with activity as workers spun and wove the cotton into fabrics that would be traded across the Empire and beyond.
But it was the mint facilities that truly left the mark of Thessaloniki's economic revival in the minds of people. Silver coins known as stavraton were minted by the Romans imitating Venetian silver ducats, the quality and silver content had declined over the years, but as new stavraton with a finer quality and holding proper contents of silver stamped with the city's seal began to circulate around the Empire, it became popular and increased its circulation. Soon, as the clang of the mint's dies striking coins echoed through the city, market places across the Argean Sea began to be filled with Thessaloniki stavratons, a direct symbol of Thessaloniki's renewed power and wealth.
As the city prospered, so did its people. Merchants and traders from all over the Mediterranean flocked to Thessaloniki, eager to take part in the city's economic renaissance. The bustling marketplaces were filled with the sounds of haggling and laughter, the scents of spices and cooked meats wafting through the air.
Andronikos, now finally having a rest from relentless and stressful military campaigns, walked the streets of his city, and saw his prospering sceneries with a newfound pride. He greeted merchants and craftsmen alike, listening to their stories and dreams for their future. He revised total tax and commercial code to better adapt to the newfound economic activities, he ruled on major business dispute fairly and justly, and he appointed capable and talented men to oversee his funding into the local industries.
"Look at what we have built here," Andronikos said to a group of Florentine merchants and representative from great houses in Italy, gesturing to the bustling streets and bustling workshops. "This is Thessaloniki's new dawn, a city rising from the ashes of its past, a true symbol of the rejuvenation of the Empire."
Standing atop a grand large balcony in the Palace of Galerius, Andronikos hosted a large dinner banquet for a large ensemble of men from Italy.
These men had travelled from Italy to Thessaloniki at the invitation of Andronikos. In order to compete with Venetian and Genovese merchants that dominated the trade in Argean Sea, Andronikos wished to involve the other merchant houses and republics into the picture – instead a duopoly of Genoa and Venice which undermined the Empire’s authority, why not let in the merchants of Pisa, Florence, Padua, Ferrara, Ragusa, Mantova and Lucca, why not let in the Sienese, the Aragonese and Neapolitans, and let all these Mediterranean merchants compete for the market share, and have the Empire regain its position as the ultimate arbitrator of Eastern Trade.
“My dear friends from Italy, tonight you have in your hands fine glassware made in Thessaloniki, drinking fine wine fermented in great wooden barrels in Thessaloniki, adorned by beautiful silk woven in Thessaloniki, the gold on your medallions mined and smelted in Thessaloniki, all that you desire you can find it here, we have the port ”facilities and ships to ferry the goods you need to your land, and I, as the Despot of Thessaloniki, have every intention to fulfill all your needs, you only need to open your mouths and ask me.”
To the cheers of Italian commercial notables, Andronikos raised his cup with a beaming smile: “To our friendship and to our common prosperity!”
Looking at a prosperous and vibrant city, which shined even brighter during the nightly scenes, and impressed by the charismatic young Despot whose vision and accomplishment itself speaks volume, many merchants and representatives of Italy agreed to set up trading posts in Thessaloniki to explore the possibility of great wealth and prosperity in the East.
Under the nightly sky, where laughter and sound of glasses clinging filled the air, a Roman naval fleet arrived at port.
It was Leontares who first jumped from the ship. He was sent by Andronikos to the coast of Ottoman Izmir to salvage survivors of Bedreddin’s rebellion which had failed and now on the run from the Ottoman pursuers, and now after two months of operation had returned to Thessaloniki with his men intact, his mission accomplished.
When Leontares arrived at the Ottoman coast first, he first bribed the local fishermen and Greek populace to spread the words of their coming. As Ottoman navy were utterly destroyed by the Venetians, he operated safely at sea. It didn’t take long before the news of safe haven spread among the followers of Bedreddin now running and hiding from Ottoman soldiers, who had a direct order from Prince Murad to find and kill every last of the heretic rebels.
Soon a stream of men flocked to the Izmir coastline, they were brought by Roman boats abroad the large galleys, where they were interviewed and swore an oath of loyalty to Despot Andronikos and Empire of the Romans before being allowed on ship. Getting wind of this, and lacking a proper navy to stop the Romans, the Ottoman employed a significant force along the Izmir coast to intercept the fleeing rebels. The Ottomans enjoyed success initially, but the rebels began to spread out and flee to the coast, some even finding willing fishermen to sail them on to Islands controlled by the Romans.
In the end, more than 10.000 Bedreddin survivors were rescued by the Romans, around half of them were temporarily settled on the isle of Skyres, while the rest were ferried to Thessaloniki.
One of the lucky survivors were a Greek young man named Thomas Mavrokordatos. Coming from a well-off merchant family on the isle of Chios, Thomas heard of the of the teachings of Bedreddin from his principal disciple Börklüce Mustafa on a market place in Izmir some five years ago.
Back then, the young and inexperienced man had only finished his theological study, but was immediately gripped by the preaching of a free and equal society, where every man was born and treated equally, regardless their faith or ethnicity. Despite his family wealth, as a Greek youth who had experienced firsthand the ruthlessness treatment of Ottoman beys and garrisons on the local Greek populate, and with the great sacking of Izmir by Timur’s Turkish allies still fresh in Greek memories, Thomas dreamt of a world where he wouldn’t be forced to bow and kneel before the Turks, that he would be treated as a decent human being.
Thomas soon joined the ranks of Börklüce Mustafa, becoming indoctrinated as an ardent supporter of Börklüce Mustafa and the prophet-like Bedreddin, despite never meeting him, Thomas was soon convinced by the idea, that he persuaded his counsin Nikolaos Macrocordatos into the group. When Börklüce Mustafa began to plot rebellion, Thomas and Nikolaos stole from their family treasuries to fund the cause, and when Börklüce Mustafa finally raised the banner of revolt, Thomas and Nikolaos was there beside him, sword drawn and singing the song of a new age.
In 1416, Thomas and Nikolaos participated and fought with great valor to ambush and defeat the bey of Saruhan, Alexander Bey.
In early 1417, Thomas and Nikolaos again participated as a minor officer to defeat a numerically superior enemy led jointly be Ottoman Prince Murad and Prince Mustafa, by brilliantly utilizing the tactics of guerilla warfare and divide and conquer.
In late 1417, when the battle turned for the worse as Börklüce Mustafa became bogged down by an unexpected prolonged siege of Izmir and Ottoman reinforcement led by Vizier Bayezid were arriving, and the rebel cause seemed doomed, Thomas and Nikolaos stood firmly by the side of Börklüce Mustafa. And when Börklüce Mustafa fell on the battlefield, Thomas escaped the battle and instead of fleeing went to join the ranks of Torlak Kemal, another disciple of Bedreddin to keep the rebellion going.
In early 1418, when even the brave Torlak Kemal fell to the dominant power of the Ottomans, and with the final bastion of the rebellion in Anatolia decisively crushed, Thomas’ fighting will finally broke. He fled the now lost cause, and along the way gathered a small group of survivors to escape westward to the coast, where he hoped to find a boat and escape the clutches of Ottomans through sea.
It was almost a miracle that Thomas survived the treacherous journey and was picked by the Romans waiting for survivors like him. On the boat, he was interviewed by a Roman officer. Because of his Greek heritage, his Orthodox belief prior to his conversion to Bedreddin’s faith, and due to his rich battlefield experience, he was luckily selected as a candidate for epilektoi. Many others were not as lucky – some because of weak body-strength, others because of lack of fighting experience, were instead of joining epilektoi forced to sign up for 5 years of compulsory labor in the fields and mines of Thessaloniki.
At that time Thomas didn’t understand what epilektoi was or what it meant to be a part, he was given a detailed explanation by the surprisingly approachable officer, which to his utter amazement was a fellow follower of Bedreddin, albeit a former one.
Thomas soon learned that if he passed the test to become an epilektoi, he would be granted an initial 6 acres of farmland called a ‘paroikoi’ which yields could sustain a small family of four, and he would own the land until he died or be stripped due to punishment, he would be provided with everything from ploughs, tools and seeds, the land was permissible to enlargement if he raised his ranks or was rewarded, and all the yields from the land would be his to keep. In return, Thomas was obligated to fight as an epilektoi for 30 years – when the time comes, the state would purchase his paroikoi based on its market value, and he could use the money as pension.
The size of epilektoi stands at around 2000 men, but expected to be expanded to 4000 men soon. Despot Andronikos serves as the ultimate commander of epilektoi, under him serves two taxiarchia, each commanding a thousand men. Under a taxiarchia was six combat Tagmatarchis, each commanding 200 men of specific unit type. A standard Taxiarchia consists of three Tagmata of spearmen, one Tagmata of swords and shield, one Tagmata of archers, and one Tagmata of cavalry which only has 100 horsemen. Auxiliary units such as cooks, retainers, standard bearer, music corps and many others are organized into 200 men auxiliary Tagmata. A Tagmatarchis could then delegate commission to a number of lochagos, each usually commanding 10 to 20 men, and a Tagmata consists of 10 to 20 lochagos.
As epilektoi, Thomas would live in a large community, usually a community consisting of 100-200 fellow epilektois from the same tagmata, they would farm together, work together, perform communal duties together, train together, march together, fight together, and help each other out as a one big family. As a matter of fact, it became a natural response of the epilektois to call each other brothers. An epilektoi community doesn’t have churches or mosques. An epilektoi is free to choose his religion, and may come from a variety of ethnic origin, but religion or ethnicity is relevant neither in the community nor the army, for they are all to be regarded equally as epilektoi.
“So, most of the epilektois were just like us, disciples of the Prophet?”
“Pretty much, but just like you had to swear an oath, me and our brothers too had to swear fealty to our liege, Despot Andronikos and to the Empire, and nominally put our liege above all else.”
“I have heard of this Despot; he is very young right? How is he like?”
The officer which Thomas spoke with, a lochagos of spear, is called Selim, formerly a Turkish farmer in Macedonia which converted to the teachings of Bedreddin. As one of the original epilektoi, and participant in the Morea campaign, he proceeded to describe his experience in epilektoi from the beginning to Thomas: “…the young Despot, brave as always, despite grave injury to his thigh, fought valiantly against the dreaded Latin knights among our fellow ranks in Glarentza. I was next to him, and I saw with my own eyes he pieced the chest of a knight.”
“Despot Andronikos was always friendly with us, he treated us as his equals, shared his food and drinks with us, talked to us, remembered every name of our brothers, he gave us, dogs on the run, a new life, and made us human being again. Some of our brothers even believe that Despot Andronikos is secretly a follower of the Prophet.”
“Do you believe that?” Thomas inquires with great interest in his eyes.
“I don’t know, but I know he cares for us, and he believes in an equal and fair world. That is enough for me.”
“If I get the chance, I would like to meet this fascinating Despot.”
“You will have your chance; we have arrived at Thessaloniki.” Selim points towards light in the distant night, as Thomas looked along, he saw a port of many ships, countless buildings standing next to each other like woods in a forest, a palace in the distant shined bright and clear by light, a city of wonder and magic.
While Thomas immersed himself in the depictions of life as epilektoi by Selim, became fascinated by the grandiose of Thessaloniki, and dreaming and wondering about his future, he had no idea that his arrival to Thessaloniki will cause a hurricane of political turmoil within the Empire.
