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Byzantine Empire, Duchy of Chaldia, Theodore Gabras, c. 1075 - 1098 A.D., In the Name of Alexius I Comnenus
Theodore Gabras' crowning glory was the recapture of Trebizond from the Seljuk Turks c. 1075, which he ruled for years as if it were his own personal fiefdom. By the late 1080s, Theodore was residing at Constantinople. To keep him in check, Alexios I made Theodore Dux of Chaldia and ordered him to take up his post, leaving his eldest son Gregory at the court. By 1091, Theodore returned to the capital, demanding the return of his son. Alexios refused, claiming he was contemplating marrying the boy to one of his own daughters. Doubting the emperor, Theodore sailed with his son to Trebizond in secret. Alexios sent a squadron of ships which overtook Theodore and advised him that if he refused to hand over his son, he would be arrested as a rebel. Theodore allowed Alexios’ emissaries to take Gregory back with them, while he continued back to Trebizond. Gregory attempted to escape but was discovered and imprisoned. A man of Theodore's military talents was too good to waste, and by 1097 he was once again at the front line fighting the Turks in alliance with the Crusaders. While the Franks were engaged at the Siege of Antioch, Theodore was marching with Alexios, helping him recapture towns in western Asia Minor. In 1098 he was captured by the Danishmends and martyred. He was later venerated as a saint. His younger son Constantine Gabras succeeded him as Dux of Chaldia. Following the dissolution of the Byzantine Empire by the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the region became the center of the new Empire of Trebizond which survived until falling to the Ottomans in 1461. The feast day of Saint Theodoros Gabras is 2 October.BZ113693. Bronze follis, Bendall Trebizond p. 131 & pl. 6, 3; Corinth VI p. 151 & pl. X, 175; DOC IV -; Hendy -; SBCV -, F, green patina, light earthen deposits, off center, wavy clipped polygonal flan with 9(?) sides (as minted), Trebizond (Trabzon, Turkey) mint, weight 4.050g, maximum diameter 26.6mm, die axis 0o, c. 1092 - 1098 A.D.; obverse + AΛEΞI - ΔECP (or similar, struck in the name of Emperor Alexius I Comnenus), facing bust, wearing crown with cross and pendilia, stemma, collar piece, divitision and chlamys, cruciform scepter in right hand, globus cruciger in left; reverse Cross fourchée-pommée on three steps, IC - XC / NH-KA (Greek abbreviation: Jesus Christ conquers) in angles of cross; only one sale of this type listed on Coin Archives in the last two decades, the finest of only six specimens known to FORVM; extremely rare; SOLD
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