Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 13.djvu/747

 KINGS.] JOHN 713 descended from a distinguished family of Cappadocia, and was the nephew of Nicephorus Phocas, whom he aided to obtain the throne, and with whom he afterwards shared the military command of the empire. Being, however, deprived of this dignity through the intrigues of the emperor s brother Leo, he entered into a conspiracy to assassinate Nicephorus, which was put into execution on the 10th December 969. The reign of Zimisces is chiefly remarkable for his victories over the Russians, and the conquest of Bulgaria. Afterwards he achieved many brilliant exploits against the Saracens, but on his way home from his Syrian campaign he was seized near Constantinople with a sudden illness, caused it is supposed by poisoning, and died there in January 976. JOHN II. (1088-1143), Conmenus, surnamed Kalo- joannes (John the Good), was the eldest son of the emperor Alexius, whom he succeeded on the throne in 1118. On account of his mild and just reign he has been called the Byzantine Marcus Aurelius, but he displayed little vigour in the internal administration of his kingdom or in ex tirpating the governmental corruptions and abuses he had inherited. Nor did his various successes against the Hungarians, Servians, and Turks, though they won him the high admiration of his soldiers, add much to the stability of his kingdom. He was accidentally killed during a wild- boar hunt on Mount Taurus, 8th April 1143. JOHN III. (1193-1254), Vatatzes, surnamed Ducas, emperor of Nicsea, was born in 1193, and earned for himself such distinction as a soldier that in 1222 he was chosen to succeed Theodore I. His successes in war, which earned for him great renown, were rendered of little advantage to him through the intrigues of other sovereigns, but he administered the internal affairs of his dominions with much enlightenment and skill, and devoted great attention to agriculture. He died 30th October 1254, not in 1255 as writers previous to Finlay have generally alleged. JOHN IV., Lascaris, emperor of Nicaea, son of Theodore II., was born about 1250. His father dying in 1258, Michael Palseologus conspired shortly after to make him self regent, and in 1261 dethroned the boy monarch and put out his eyes. John died in prison. JOHN V. (1329-1411), Cantacuzeuus. See CANTA- CUZENUS, vol. v. p. 27. JOHN VI. (1332-1391), Palzeologus, emperor of Con stantinople, born in 1332, was the son of Andronicus III., whom he succeeded in 1341. From 1342 John Canta- cnzenus shared the throne with him, till on the abdication of his colleague, who had been virtually the sovereign, he became sole emperor in 1334. His reign was marked by the gradual dissolution of the imperial power through the rebellion of his son Andronicus and the encroachments of the Ottomans, to whom in 1381 John acknowledged him self tributary. JOHN VII. (1390-1448), Pakeologus, emperor of Con stantinople, son of Manuel II., was born in 1390, and in 1425 succeeded to the semblance of dominion and the wreck of the empire. To secure the favour of the Latins he consented to the union of the Greek and Roman Churches, which was ratified at Florence in 1439. The union failed of its purpose, but by his prudent conduct towards the Ottomans he succeeded in holding possession of Constantinople till his death in 1448. of JOHN (1167-1216), king of England, youngest son of ind. Henry II. and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and third king of the Plantagenet family, was born December 24, 1167. He was his father s favourite chilrl, and Henry hoped to bestow on him the kingdom of Ireland. The Irish princes did homage to John at Oxford in 1177, and in 1185 he was sent to Ireland. His arrogant behaviour roused the resentment of the natives, and he was recalled in disgrace. In the last revolt of Richard against Henry, John was base enough to join with his father s enemies. This treachery was the death-blow of Henry II. (1189). Richard, on his accession, made the most ample provision for John, giving him several English counties, and marrying him to the heiress of the great earldom of Gloucester. But he had so little trust in his brother s character that, before his own departure on the third crusade, he bound John to stay away from England for three years. At the end of the term John returned, and harassed Richard s justiciar, William Long- champ. The unpopularity of Longchamp enabled John, aided by the archbishop of Rouen, to lead a revolutionary movement by which Longchamp was deprived of the jus- ticiarship, and John recognized as siimmus rector of the kingdom ; but the real power remained with the archbishop of Rouen. When the news of the king s captivity arrived, John entered into an active alliance with Philip II. of France, Richard s malignant enemy, and tried to seize the reins of government, asserting that the king was dead. But he was baffled by the fidelity of Richard s ministers and mother, and at Richard s return his castles had to be sur rendered to the king. Richard treated John with great generosity, and for the rest of his reign John gave no further trouble. Richard on his deathbed declared John his heir. The principle of primogeniture, now generally adopted, would have pointed out Arthur of Brittany, son of John s elder brother Geoffrey, as the heir, and Philip II. made himself the champion of Arthur. John made fresh enemies by divorcing his wife, and marrying Isabella, heiress of the count of Angouleme, who was already betrothed to the Count of La Marche. The anger of the La Marche family caused a fresh outbreak of war, in which Arthur became involved. In a misguided attempt to capture his grandmother Eleanor, in the castle of Mirabeau, he was defeated and taken prisoner by John, who marched with great swiftness to his mother s aid. Arthur now dis appears from history ; and, though there is no certain in formation about his death, it was generally believed at the time that John murdered him. Philip s court of peers de clared John guilty, and sentenced him to forfeiture. John abandoned himself to pleasure, and made no attempt to defend his dominions ; he showed such complete indiffer ence, while Philip was reducing castle after castle in Nor mandy, that it was said he was spell-bound by witchcraft. In 1204 all Normandy was lost. Anjou, Maine, and part of Aquitaine soon followed the fate of Normandy ; John made only feeble or abortive attempts to save them. In 1205 his great quarrel with the church began. The monks of Canterbury had elected their sub-prior to the archbishopric, and John had nominated a minister of his own : all parties appealed to Pope Innocent III., who took the matter into his own hands, and ordered the convent proctors to elect Stephen Langton, an Englishman already distinguished by learning and character. John s refusal to accept Langton brought sentence of interdict on his kingdom (1208). He was personally excommunicated in 1209, and in 1211 the pope issued a bull deposing him from his throne ; the execution of the decree was committed to Philip, who prepared to invade England. John at last gave way, moved chiefly by a prophecy that on tlie next Ascension Day he would be no longer king. He made an abject submission to the papal legate Pandulph, agreeing to hold his kingdom henceforth as a tributary fief of the popedom. Thus the ecclesiastical difficulty was settled, but now John had to settle a quarrel with his own people. He had incurred their hatred by his personal vices, by his cruelty and perfidy, of which the supposed murder of Arthur was only one instance among many, and by his exaction of taxes greatly in excess of the customary rates. The barons of the north began the quarrel by refusing to XIII. --90